Yakski Barbecue is known for its tasty signature sauce.
There’s a lot to appreciate about Cebu food culture. From sauces and spices to condiments and all kinds of toppings, Cebuanos get creative with how they can make any dish even more flavorful.
Sauce in particular – locally called sawsawan – is essential in adding flavor, texture, and moisture to any dish. And Cebuanos are huge fans of sawsawan.
This is especially true with pork barbecue skewers sold at various street food eateries. It gives a rather simple and ordinary grilled dish an added kick, completing its overall taste.
At Yakski Barbecue, their barbecue sauce is the main highlight. Even the servers wear hats that say, “Spicy or Original?”
Their sauce has remained the same for nearly two decades. It’s a long family recipe that only the owners and their family members know of.
WHAT’S IN THE SAUCE?
Yakski Barbecue opened in 2008 as a home-based eatery near Fuente Osmeña Circle.
Their barbecue dishes were cooked and prepared by Flaviano “Boyaks” Roxas, who used to serve them to friends and family. Boyaks eventually started offering them to the public from his garage along B. Rodriguez Street.
The small eatery gained a cult-like following from Cebuanos, as more and more customers visited this quaint carinderia. When Boyaks passed away in 2012, his children continued the business and improved their products and services.
The new owners, led by Dr. Alvin Roxas, opened a physical store along Don Mariano Cui Street in Capitol Site. They continued selling their iconic barbecue skewers and added other grilled favorites like hotdogs, chorizo, and chicken liver.
The location is rather unassuming because of its converted garage-like ambiance with cement walls, gravel, and monobloc furniture. The company has a big emphasis on sanitation, which can be observed through their interior design.
Yakski has also been applauded for having decent comfort rooms and wash areas. Servers also wear spit guards when they serve and prepare the food.
Yakski gained so much more popularity that they started opening other branches around the city. Today, Yakski Barbecue is one of the go-to IT Park restaurants because of how spacious it is.
There is also another branch in Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City.
In 2014, it was awarded the Best Barbecue in SunStar’s Best of Cebu.
DINING EXPERIENCE AT YAKSKI BARBECUE
All Yakski Barbecue branches use the same secret sauce that customers can’t get enough of. They have the sweet original blend and the special spicy sauce, which you can distinguish through the color of the saucers provided (green for spicy, white for original).
The spicy sauce does not have an overwhelming amount of spice, while the original sauce has a sweet tang to it. You can ask for a refill if you’ve used up the sauce they gave you.
The sauce definitely goes well with any of their dishes, not just the barbecue skewers. Another great thing about Yakski Barbecue? You can have a delicious and filling meal for a very affordable price!
They get their meat and ingredients from trusted suppliers like Monterey and Magnolia to ensure the freshness of their products.
Aside from pork barbecue skewers, their quarter leg chicken is a pretty hefty late night meal, while their chorizo has light sweet meat, with a well-charred exterior.
You can also try a few Filipino exotic dishes like chicken gizzard and chicken heart.
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On their Facebook page, Yakski Barbecue claims they are simply “the best barbecue in town.” A quick bite of any of their grilled dishes dipped in their signature sauce will definitely convince you.
The establishment is also a great example of the perseverance seen in many success stories in the Cebu food scene. Little did the Roxas family know that their sauce would jumpstart a huge and successful business that is well known and loved by fellow Cebuanos.
