I've been to Eskenita foods a few times. We had the Kamayan feast once here before, where everything is laid out on leaves for the whole table -- this needs to be booked and paid in advance. It was an experience, but next time I would just order my favourite dishes. I really enjoyed the skewers especially the pork ears -- that texture! I've also had the pork bbq skewer which was fine. read more

Came here with family and friends and the owner and staff were very accommodating and welcoming. We booked the Boodle Fight for nine people. The price is decent for the amount of food and experience you get. It's a good way to try different Filipino dishes. They have the food ready when you come and they start laying it out on the banana leaves. Everything tasted great! I really like garlic fried rice but I thought that their fried rice didn't quite have the garlic flavour I was looking for, it was fragrant though. Also got to try some of their desserts: halo-halo, gulaman, and scramble (fair warning as these tend to be really sweet). read more

Eskenita Foods - Filipino Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

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If you're looking to try authentic Filipino food, this is one of the great places to go to. Although the place is quite small, they are very welcoming and accommodating to large groups as well. There were 9 of us and the staff was very attentive. We tried their Boodle Fight where they serve all the food on top of banana leaves on the table. It came with garlic fried rice, spring rolls, sun-dried fish, your choices of BBQ skewers, grilled egg plants, grilled squid, mussels and salted eggs. We also had their halo-halo, ice scramble and sago gulaman. I highly recommend! Make sure to call ahead and reserve your spot for if you're going to try the Boodle Fight menu. read more

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April 25, 2025: We ordered for take-out 2 bowls of lomi, 1 tapsilog, 1 order of lumpiang shanghai, and 1 halo-halo just to try them if they are really authentic Filipino dishes. We were quite disappointed with the quality and taste. The worst was the lomi which tasted nothing but lomi but more of an old and bland Japanese curry - with, i believe, a single piece of fish ball chopped into tiny bits! Don't get me wrong, I love real Japanese curry. The tapa in the tapsilog was so salty! The lumpia was not crispy at all and a bit bland as well. I thought the halo-halo was the saving grace but it was way beyond sweet and did not have the traditional Filipino "sahog" in it - except for a lot of shredded coconut. This is our very first time with this restaurant. I felt I wanted to return the other bowl of lomi but chose not to. Will never be back again and will not recommend this restaurant to anyone. No wonder, when we came to pick the food up, the restaurant has only one customer. read more

Our second time visiting Eskenita! Always a good time coming back. So many Filipino streetfood that you crave for all in one place. From inihaw skewers, kikiam, kwekwek, fishballs, iskrambol, silogs!!! and so much more. I just wish my wallet has more budget to buy more. We come from Mississauga, and drove here because of cravings. Staffs are diligent, and respectful. Music is spot-on! Decent seating area, not for larger groups, but maybe can be rearranged if needed. Had pork sisig bowl ($9) , liemposilog ($10), our fave cheesy fries ($4.50?) kikiam ($5?) and iskrambol. All in all-- great. Kikiam is not as close taste to what it was like from back home but it was good to try! Wish sisig bowl has more portions though but tasted great! Will probably get the platter next time. Liemposilog was good, hope it had the same marinate like the skewers-- like sweet/salty taste. Overall, rating it at 4/5 dining experience! Keep it up, Eskenita! read more

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This is one of those small ethnic food place I wish I would love but I left unsatisfied with the desserts I ordered. Love the concept of Filipino street food. There are skewers of different protein available! Even Chicken Feet! But I was here for some dessert! Turon Special ($6) - Deep Fried Plantain and Jackfruit Rolls with Ube/Macapuno Ice Cream - Nicely presented! Love the contrast colour of the ice cream. Though the fried banana was made when ordered, it did not taste good. Might be the banana was not ripe enough? Halo Halo ($7) - I always love halo halo! But this one was meh. The ice was in such a big chunk and it was hard to break that up with our plastic fork. The toppings can be better. I might give their cook food a try but will be a pass for their dessert. read more

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Bbq pork meat was hard but the sauce was flavourful. Sio mai here was hollow in taste, not similar to what one would eat at dim sum places. Not worth paying $5.50 (4 pcs.) The dimsum sio mai at T&T at $3.75 (4 pcs) had more taste. They should tell their sio mai supplier to improve on their recipe. Sisig bowl was salty and not crispy. Had pork jowl/face meat. Used to be good. Lomi had 1 small mystery meat/ 2 thin slices of hard-boiled egg, 4 small pork rinds , 1 half fish ball, 1 cup of noodles and loads of msg (had a headache after eating). Will never order this again. First time I ordered their lomi was a better experience and had different discernible ingredients. I scramble drink dessert was OK. Redeeming items bought: Lumpia (spring rolls) at $6.50 for 10 were piping hot and crispy. Ube halaya dessert at $9.05 was soft and good-tasting. read more

The best way to discover a new cuisine or culture is through their street food. Eskenita is a family owned Filipino restaurant that specializes in BBQ Skewers and Filipino-style breakfast. They are definitely a hidden gem tucked away in a small plaza in Thornhill. If you are adventurous, I definitely recommend trying all the different kinds of BBQ meats they have available to go with your Silogs (rice). Their skewers are marinated and grilled to perfection and you can't go wrong with their Silogs as well. Highly recommend! read more

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I visited Eskenita for lunch on a Friday. It's a small restaurant located in a fairly large outdoor mall, which made it a little difficult to find. However, it seems to be quite popular because half the tables were full when I arrived. The interior was interesting. It looked a lot like a corner bodega with a kitchen attached and they sell apparel as well (shoes, sunglasses, hats, etc.). They serve all-day breakfast, so I decided to try the TapSiLog, which is marinated beef, and a fried egg over rice. The beef was delicious. You can tell that it has been marinated for a long time. It reminded me so much of home and the skewered meats you can find in Southeast Asia. I didn't particularly like the rice. I thought it was too crunchy and dry. The sauce that came with dish helped a bit with the dryness. The egg looked promising because the yolk looked runny on top. However, when I cut into it, I realized that it was overcooked. I might come back for the skewers, but probably not the breakfast. I also tried the halo halo. It was definitely tasty and sweet. I enjoyed the ice cream, the condensed milk, and the toppings. However, there were several large pieces of ice that had formed, making it a little difficult to eat at times. read more

Eskenita Foods - TapSiLog - Filipino Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

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This place has got to be one if not the most fun and cool place to hang out to when you're missing Pinoy street foods or if you want to get a small taste of authentic Filipino street foods. They are the only Filipino restaurant in GTA that offers authentic Filipino street foods like Isaw, Betamax, Chicken & Pork bbq, Kwekwek and many more! They really live up to their tag line: "Tastes like home" They also offer a wide variety of Filipino favorites! My favorite is their Sisig bowl and halo-halo! I will definitely come back here when I visit in the area again. I'm so glad I stumbled upon this hidden gem in the heart of Vaughan! Thank you for existing, Eskenita Foods! read more

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This review is way long overdue! I came here with my friends during our trip from Boston to Toronto and we made sure that we drop by this store because I have heard a lot of amazing reviews on Facebook about their authentic Filipino street foods! They have a 4.9/5 Stars rating on Facebook and while I believe that they should have 5 stars there as here on yelp, I know that nobody's perfect anyway. There's always room for improvement and I really appreciate how the owners of this restaurant took their time in making sure that we enjoyed their food and service! Everyone was very accommodating and we really felt "at home" during our entire dining experience. Their foods were really really good compared to most places around GTA. Believe me, I've tried 3 others Filipino restaurants in the area but I'm not gonna name names. I also enjoyed how casual their store is. You won't feel out of place or anything like that. I definitely believe and experienced the hype and I can't wait to come back again soon! read more

Eskenita Foods - My favorite Kwek-kwek (deep fried quail egg) and their best selling skewers! - Filipino Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

This is not your typical Filipino restaurant because by the name itself: "Eskenita Foods" meaning street corner foods, you can't really expect it to be fancy. If you were born and raised in the Philippines then you'll know what I'm talking about.. So I don't really understand when I see people complaining about the ambiance of this restaurant? Lol. It is what it is you guys. If anything, the only difference is their food is legit clean unlike the foods that you can buy from the literal Eskenita in the Philippines. (If you know what I mean) Haha. Location wise: It's not very easy to find, but if you just follow your GPS then you'll get there for sure. Lol. And they have store signs that stands out! Parking is very easy since it's located in a commercial complex meaning, there's always a spot within walking distance so that's a huge plus! Prices: Very affordable! And for the portion of the food? Omg. I can't really complain about it. They also have a Buy 12 skewers get 3 free so yeah. Might as well get that to save some $! Taste: Very legit! I enjoyed every bite of my pork Isaw. The flavors of their skewers are unlike any other Filipino restaurants around! But don't just take my word for it, ya'll gotta try it! And OMG. Their Mais Con Yelo is so delicious! Like I'm not even exaggerating! Service: they really do make you feel at home. All of their staff are very friendly and accommodating! They will always serve you with a smile, chat with you and even take pictures with you if you let them, of course. Overall? I would definitely recommend it to all Filipinos and non-Filipinos who wanted to know and experience what the street foods in the Philippines taste like! read more

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Didn't know there was place for boodle fight in North York! Well, technically its Vaughan, but it's on steeles and yonge ish so I would say its north york enough. Interior reflects previous convenience store. My group ordered boodle fight for 3. It was pretty good! Boneless milkfish was my favorite along with the skewers. Only thing was the squid. I'm not a huge fan of ginger, and the squid was stuffed with ginger lol. Overall we had good dinner and would love to come back and try other menus read more

Eskenita Foods - Boodle fight! - Filipino Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

Food is okay.But they are selfish in sauces specially vinegar.I ordered 20 sticks of skewer(mixed),they gave me 2 sauce in a small container.Was asking to add 1 but they sell it 2 dollars(4oz)which is very small for the price read more

Eskenita Foods - Filipino Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

Ordered a couple of times already and I would say that the Food is worth it especially with it's price! I love the liempo! * I would suggest changing the garlic rice. I always need to buy or cook my own rice when ordering here because it taste weird. Overall, I love this fil resto as go to! read more

Came across this little Filipino gem on my way to work. The place is small, but it reminds me of the Filipino canteens I use to eat in when I was a kid, so you know, nostalgia. The selection and combos they have is more than enough and the price is just right! A great place to have street food style bbq, and fish balls, would definitely come back! read more

Eskenita Foods - Filipino Near Me - Vaughan, Ontario

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the owner guy is rude ... food are always delayed ... inasal was gross . Expensive ... place are dirty

Hot food is good although the bangusilog in the poster looks bigger than the actual food... deceiving! Lots of isaw, blalunbalunan, tenga nang baboy read more

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Amazing. I have been to this place many times. Really tasty bbq. Today I came to pick up my order, strict cleaning/sanitation were observed from staff. Sanitizer is placed as soon as you get in the door, another sanitizer by the cashier and tables were used for physical distancing and they are wearing masks as well. Free loaf bread was given as well. This establishment knows how to be kinder to their customers during this challenging time. Kudos! read more

To be perfectly honest, i like the food. Liking the food is one thing but bad customer service is another thing and its always the latter that turns me off and makes me not want to go back to a restaurant. Ive been coming here 2 weeks straight now, at the beginning was great, customer service was up to par. The following days was not so good, you can actually tell how much attitude the owner was emitting. There was a time that the store was busy and he was getting orders from this app and the driver was there to pick up and not going to lie it was pretty bad. He was giving the driver bad attitude and said "call the customer and if they cant wait im going to cancel the order"(while rolling his eyes). Like who would say that to a paying customer? And he was the owner. I shrugged it off and thought "oh its ok he's probably feeling the pressure cause its too busy" BUT 2 days after we were in the crossfire from his bad attitude. I get there's a 5 people rule in the store cause of social distancing, there were people in the store when we got there so we waited in line, OUTSIDE in the cold thinking full well we'd get our fair turn. There were 5 of us, so when the people that were ahead of us left, us 5 went in and after we ordered our food (we havent gotten our food yet, we literally just paid) we got kicked out saying only 5 people in the store, 3 people were waiting behind us. I assumed since we got there ahead of them they should cater to us first , Since obviously it should be first come first serve the way we waited in line when there were people ahead of us. But nope, wait outside in the cold while your food is being cooked. When the owner was taking our order he was emitting such bad energy, rolling his eyes at us thinking we didnt notice it, we did, and not the first time too. Im not saying i gave him business but i gave him business, my friends went there because of my recommendation, how much i regret that now. To be in a customer service industry, you should learn how to deal with people especially if you're busy, you should never EVER give people bad service because 9 out of 10 people wont come back if you have bad attitude even when you have good food. You should learn that. I really liked the food reason why ive gone back everyday for 2 weeks thinking we'd have good service because not only do they know us now but we were paying customers. sad to say but im not going back anymore. read more

I had chicken and pork skewers there. Both are terribly burnt. And too much sauce were put on that flavour of meat is completely shadowed. The sauce itself isn't even tasty. read more