Twist & Buckle: Cebu Travel Guide

You find it by following the queue. That’s usually how a brand-new SM Supermalls tenant announces itself in Cebu: not with signage you can see from across the atrium, but with a line of people holding up their phones to film a churro being piped fresh into oil.

What Twist & Buckle actually is

Twist & Buckle didn’t start in Cebu. It built its name in Manila as a churro and comfort-food specialist, picking up recognition in the Michelin Guide three separate times before ever setting foot on the island. That track record is why its Cebu debut landed with more buzz than a typical mall food opening.

The format is gourmet-casual: quick-service counter, but the food is plated and priced like something you’d order at a sit-down spot. Expect churros as the anchor item, alongside a rotating set of comfort dishes built to be shared.

• Michelin Guide-recognized three times in Manila before expanding
• First Cebu location inside SM Supermalls
• Positioned as gourmet-casual, not fast food
• Known primarily for churros plus comfort-food mains

Why an SM Supermalls debut matters here

Cebu’s SM malls function less like shopping centers and more like the city’s default social venue: air-conditioned, central, and where most new food concepts choose to test the market first. A brand launching inside SM here is effectively announcing itself to the whole city at once.

For a Manila import, that’s also the fastest way to reach both mall regulars and the newer wave of Cebuano diners chasing whatever’s trending on social feeds. If a churro stand can generate a queue in an SM atrium, it’s doing something right.

The churro, and why it’s the thing to order

Churros are the reason Twist & Buckle has a Michelin Guide track record at all, so treat them as the non-negotiable order rather than an afterthought. The brand’s whole identity is built around getting the fry and the dip right, not around a long menu.

Comfort-food sides exist to round out the visit, but they’re supporting acts. If you’re only ordering once, order the churros first and decide from there whether you have room for anything else.

Finding the counter inside SM

SM Supermalls in Cebu run large, and a newly opened stall can sit in a different wing than you’d expect, sometimes in a food hall, sometimes as its own storefront. Because this is a fresh opening, exact hours, the specific SM branch, and whether they’re taking reservations are all details worth confirming the same day you plan to go, either through the mall directory or Twist & Buckle’s own social channels.

Don’t assume mall-wide hours apply to the stall itself. New tenants sometimes run shorter hours in their first weeks while they staff up.

Queueing like it’s already popular

Treat this as a spot that’s drawing crowds from day one, not a quiet find. A brand with three Michelin Guide mentions arriving fresh in a city doesn’t stay uncrowded for long, especially inside a mall where foot traffic is constant by design.

• Go on a weekday if your schedule allows it; mall traffic in Cebu skews heavily toward weekends and evenings
• Have a backup order ready in case the signature churro flavor sells out during peak hours
• Expect payment to run through standard mall food-hall methods: cash and cards are typically both accepted at SM tenants, though confirm on site
• If there’s a queue system or number ticket, take it before you browse elsewhere in the mall

Pairing the visit with the rest of the mall

Because it’s inside SM Supermalls rather than a standalone shop, Twist & Buckle works best as one stop in a longer mall circuit rather than a destination trip on its own. Cebu’s SM branches typically anchor a full afternoon: groceries, a movie, other food stalls, retail.

Build in slack either side of your churro stop. If the queue is long when you arrive, it’s easy enough to circle back after browsing rather than standing in line the entire time.

Before you go

This is a recently opened outlet, and details like exact operating hours, the specific SM branch it’s in, and reservation policy are the kind of thing that can change in the first few months of any new location. Check Twist & Buckle’s official social media or the SM Supermalls directory shortly before your visit to confirm the current setup, rather than relying on any single secondhand account of what’s on offer.