Nothing fancy-can even be described as neighborhood joint. Friendly and helpful service. 3 entree combo is the value play if you're here for the first time. No matter what you try, you can't go wrong. This is a place for comfort foods. Either you're an adventurous eater or not, there's something here for you. Our favorites are the pork adobo, bbq chicken skewers, fried banana inside a fried skin, and the lumpia (3 orders). Pro-tips: -Park blocks away in the neighborhood. -Street parking available during the weekends if you go early (10-10:30am). read more

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Maraming salamat po for the amazing food!!! We always work with Kababayan for our party at work and family. Kuya Ed and his team are hard working and the best!!! read more

My go to lumpia. $6 for 12 but add tax. Crunchy , fresh with Thai sauce from a bottle. Add some Filipino tv, I am not in SF. Yes, hole in the wall. Beware, finding it will be a blink. This place is tiny. read more

The food is ok. Service is good . The location is easy to find. The place needs more light inside., read more

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The is always great, especially me being half filipino. Me and a friend went here today 5-5-2025,for cinco de mayo. We decided instead of Mexican food, let's have filipino food and our choice was the best choice. read more

Kababayan - The bomb.com of filipino foods - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

tl;dr solid cheap food + variety for lunch Kababayan Cafe, located in the heart of the Mission District, is a place that could easily be overlooked due to its inconspicuous nature. It's a fundamental hole in the wall joint, run by just a solitary person - a potential setback for those in a hurry, but ensuring a meticulous execution of each dish. The restaurant, despite its humble appearance, offers generous servings of food without putting a significant dent in your pocket. My hearty plate that was basically just meat was just $12. Depending on the day of your visit, the menu varies. On my stop in, the pancit noodles had good texture but fell a bit short on flavor. The sisig was flavorful but suffered slightly from the chewiness of the pork. While the individual dining atmosphere might turn off some, those who appreciate solitude in their culinary adventures will find it to their liking. The service is mostly run by 1 person so you go up to the counter and order nand there's not much else - so good if you're going in-n-out for lunch. Kababayan Cafe lacks the Instagrammable vibe we often seek out, and it may be a bit better on price/quality point in Daly City in terms of quality, but it's certainly not a venue to write off and is very solid for a Mission Lunch spot and offers a hard-to-find variety of Filipino food in SF (compared to Inion city/Daly city). read more

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one of my favorite go-to small filipino shops in sf! - food is quick, served fast food style (like chipotle), and the prices are even better (huge plus) unfortunately, they were short on balut when we came by, but we still ended up being satisfied with our meal. - the worker there was super helpful with recommendations and was quite friendly! - ambiance wasn't amazing, they do have spots to sit down but it's more of a 'grab & go' type of spot. parking situation was a bit difficult as it's in a busy area as well. all-in-all though, very satisfied with what they offer here at Kababayan. i'll be back the next time i'm in SF. :) read more

Kababayan - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great neighborhood lunch spot. The chicken soup was on hitters. It was a light homemade soup without noticeable amounts of MSG, just like my wife cooks. Perfect ratio of ginger and seasoning to broth and soft, lovely chicken flavor. Served with bone in and a bitter squash that really adds to the flavor of the soup. I've been looking for a clear broth soup like this for 6 years since we moved to SF. Finally! The other dishes I got were ok, too. Nothing special, but juicy and good. The pancit noodles had a great texture but lacked in flavor. I also prefer thinner noodles. The sisig was juicy and flavorful, but the pork was a bit chewy. Both dishes were ok, and I'd have them on the side with the soup again. I would recommend this place if you're in the area, or if you're like me and have been craving a light, clear broth soup but are too lazy to cook it yourself. Of course, it seems like this place kind of just makes whatever dishes they feel like on any given day (e.g., today no lumpia), so not guarantee it will be there if you make the trek across town. In any case, this is a great little spot with no fuss. One of the main reasons this place does not get 5 stars is because $13 for a 2-item box and small soup seems pretty steep. I have leftovers for tomorrow. While affordable, this place is not truly cheap. And that's really kind of what it would need to make up for the otherwise unappealing restaurant vibe, i.e., no one who ordered in front of me stayed to eat inside. Not a perfect place, but I'll definitely be back. Happy eating! read more

Kababayan - Ginger chicken soup w/ what tasted like kugua (chinese pronunciation, bitter squash) and spinach - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

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The pancit is good and the longanisa ($1.75 each) as well as the sisig is very good. My chicken adobo pieces were mostly bones. Skip the dinuguan as it had too much vinegar. I haven't tried to balut yet. Not sure if I will be back. read more

Kababayan - My chicken adobo pieces were mostly bones. - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

My go-to Filipino spot in the city-- the food is flavorful, affordable, and authentic. The food is already prepared, so when you walk in, you can choose which items you want. They're also great for catering. A few months before the pandemic, I purchased banana turon (enough to feed 2 dozen teammates for a Thanksgiving potluck). I was amazed that they were able to take my order and have it ready by 9am. It was a huge hit with my teammates! A lot of them went back for seconds :) I came here yesterday with my mom, and we bought the following: - Medium chicken adobo - Large rice - 2 pieces banana turon - 1 order lumpia - 1 tilapia fish - Small pancit All of this food was only for $30!!! I also want to give a shout-out to the gentleman who works here because he has the patience of a saint. My mom went back and forth numerous times on whether she wanted to buy the tilapia, and he remained kind and patient. read more

Once you accept that this place is one of those old school hole in the walls that doesn't focus on aesthetics, you can appreciate the quality of the food. I am very hard on Filipino restaurants knowing how to cook dishes to my liking. But this place has the taste that I love! I have ordered their Filipino breakfasts, lumpia, bistek, sinigang, and chicken curry. All these so far has satisfied more then to my expectations. The service is good. There are a couple Filipino restaurants near by, but for this area, Kababayan is the one! Catch up on Filipino pop culture or news from The Filipino Channel while eating your meal. TFC is on all day! So if you ever find yourself in the Mission district of San Francisco craving Filipino food, I recommend coming here. Happy Yelping and stay hungry adventurous! read more

Kababayan - Mmmm - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

This place is the spot!!!! I'm limited in my Filipino cuisine knowledge, but Tito was super helpful and recommended the Bisket Tagalog, which was a lemon, soy sauce, garlic beef steak. It was fatty and delicious!! The sinigang was sooo flavorful and good. I hate it when sinigang isnt sour enough and this had the perfect blend of savory and sour. Craving satisfied!! We came maybe an hour before closing on a Saturday night, so there was just scraps of the pancit left, which didn't really look that appetizing cause it looked dried out. He literally scrapped off all the noodles to dish it for us. But boy was I wrong. The pancit was kicking with flavor and soft! I can't imagine what it would taste like fresh! Ugh, writing this review makes me want to eat it again. It's a good thing we ordered more for tomorrow! This place is a total diamond in the rough! Got to try the adobo next time! read more

stumble upon a Filipino hole in the wall restaurant while I was walking on the Mission. I ordered ala carte of two items (Pork Menudo & Dinuguan) with a dessert (Halo-Halo). this is a place to get some Filipino food if you don't want to go to the Tenderloin or Daly City. not bad, but the menu is a bit confusing. read more

Kababayan - Filipino Home Cooking - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

Wasn't that friendly !! Couldn't explain what was inside of the Sausage but that it was Pork.. I really feel customers should be able to sample ideas to ensure the taste is correct when the viewing of the food doesn't look that pleasant !! Especially when the Food is sitting out .. After Purchasing & Tasting the Food : It was very dry (sausages) and tasted Old!! I asked for some juice from the sausages tray on my rice I received None . read more

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Hole in the wall Filipino restaurant in the Mexican-dominant Mission district. Given my obsession with Filipino food and not wanting to go down to Daly City, I gave Kababayan a shot. The options are rather limited and didn't seem very fresh when I went at 5pm on a weekday. I wanted the kare kare but unfortunately they didn't have it that day. I opted for another pork dish that was coconut+shrimp paste based and it tasted ok - would not order again. I also got the karioka - which I LOVED at Fil-Am - but here, it tasted a day old and was too hard. There were a lot of blue collar solo diners, so everyone kind of just eats in peace. Not somewhere you bring your friends. The lady was super nice and patiently explained what every dish was and helped me pick one I would like. Prices are average for the area but overpriced for the quality. So if you have time, I'd definitely recommend venturing to Daly City for your Filipino fix. read more

Kababayan - Pork with coconut + shrimp base and rice for $5.99 and karioka for $2... With Filipino drama in the background - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

A little hole in the wall filipino spot butttttt came through with the dinuguan craving I was having!!! So glad we stopped. I got sinigang too but it was a little salty for my taste - they probably used real tamarind HAHA which.. if you're Filipino you know that most of us be using the flavor packet (the green and yellow one not mamacita y'all don't play with me!) read more

Very good and authentic. Unfortunately the chicken adobo had many broken bone pieces to be able to fully enjoy the great flavor. Very good price. They just need to be careful with the bones. Chicken Adobo read more

We live two blocks away. The first time we went we had a bitter melon and pork soup and two dishes with a fried egg, garlic rice, and one each with beef and pork. I don't remember the names of the dishes but they were in the specials posters in the window. Everything was really good. I've been by there 4 times since then. Each time during posted hours. They are always closed. I guess the covid got them. I just walked there in the cold rain for some soup. Closed. I really hope they open again soon. read more

I love Filipino cuisine because of its heartiness and it literally feels & tastes like home! If you're anywhere near the mission this place has perfect ready-to-eat Filipino classics. I ordered the 3 combination plate with: diniguan, adobo, and bistek + rice. I couldn't have been happier with the food & service! I also treated myself to two turons (jackfruit/banana fried egg roll) and it reminded me of my childhood. Can't wait to be back! read more

I needed some food and figured that some adobo might hit the spot. The lady that served the food glared at me the whole time and then went from handling food to handling money and then back to food with no glove or hand washing in between. It's cheap but not very good. read more

Kababayan - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

Kababayan is a Filipino fast food eatery. scoop and eat. prepped food ready to go. 1 item and rice/4.99 eats: shanghia lumpis (12 pieces/$3) -small. tasty, fried, and no waiting -fresh, not frozen, nice dipping sauce. notesL -unsure what the entrees were, they were unlableled -went with the lumpia, no complaints. -most patrons elderly filipinos. -tv: filipino dramas... read more

First time trying tocino at lunch time. It was delicious and fresh. It had garlic rice, fried eggs and tocino (sweet pork). Total cost was $7 only. read more

Kababayan - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great service, the cashier is very friendly! The food is also delicious and most importantly AUTHENTIC. Their bistek and sinigang are my go tos! And the portions are nice for the price. I've been to tapisilog in Hayward and normally their portions are over priced. This place is gonna be my new spot :) read more

More like 3.5 stars, but I want to support this local mom and pop take out spot. This place is best for lunch and if you aren't afraid of a little sodium and cholesterol. I got the sisig, a chicken skewer and what looked like pork belly with eggplant. All were tasty! And for $10! The menu is pretty confusing because they have so many add on options and daily specials that aren't on the menu that are on display. Order by sight or ask questions--they are pretty friendly. I'd recommend this for a day where you don't expect to be productive after lunch. Maybe even plan a nap. read more

This place is bomb. I'm so in love with theirs longanisa (aka Filipino sausage) and their Kare kare is flavorful and not oily

Excited to see a traditional Filipino restaurant near me. Had a hankering for Filipino breakfast but my nose lead me to the sinigang. Sinigang and 2 scoops of rice is $5.99. It's exactly as expected - pork spare ribs, sour, delicious. It's turo turo so I expect the offerings change daily. I was surprised to see papaitan and ginatang langka under the warmer as they're not common dishes for turo turo. My spouse had the tocilog, which is not turo turo, and we were pleasantly surprised with the thick and tender cuts of meat. The staff are so friendly. You feel like you're eating in the barangay with the glossy layers of paint on the wall. We look forward to our next visit! read more

As a half-Filipino, this review is only half-credible. But I will say, the sinigang here tastes just like home.

I'm only giving them three stars because the lumpia was burnt. And I mean burnt as in black charred. We had to bite off the ends and toss them They never should serve burnt food they messed up on The pork on the stick was excellent We walked here from Glen Park Bart, thru Glen Canyon Park , into Noe Valley, and down to mission 24th street bart. Four miles, nice views too read more

Came here today with a friend and it was my first time trying it out. I had the shrimp fritters? longsilog and banana lumpia. Everything was alright but I thought it lacked taste. read more

This is a hidden gem in the mission. You can really eat traditional Filipino food right here and actually cooked by a Phillipine man! Their Balut are really tasty too! Service is just fine. The place is clean, but a little warm. Totally recommended! read more

Nice little inexpensive spot. The chicken skewers are tasty, and the taro leafs in sauce. read more

Kababayan - Tocilog $6.50 tasty - Filipino Near Me - San Francisco, California

I really want to like this place because it's in the 'hood and there aren't many point-point joints on that side of the Mission. After eating here twice though, I've decided to stay away. First time I had super greasy pancit and soggy, chewy lumpia. I walked in a month later and was served crispy white rice (ouch) and very fatty bistec and a dry, mediocre BBQ chicken skewer. My canned coconut juice was the only highlight of my meal. Maybe Grandma's Filipino home cooking has ruined point-point joints for me... NO, this place just isn't the best. read more

This is a place you really cannot frequent too often because the deep fried things are really not good for you. Why is it that things that taste so damn good are not good for you? Oh well. Here's looking at you spin class: Turon (yes, straight up deep fried banana with a light honey glaze) $1 each *I curse the Pinoy who introduced these to me. Lumpia - 12 for $3. They're dinky but baby Jesus, they are gluttonous. On a somewhat lighter note, the BBQ chicken skewer costs you 8 quarters *which is an hour in the meter, btw* and is quite filling. Real tasty too. I've been known to pick one of these bad boys up and eat it while strolling down Mission amidst the colorful street of loud drug addicts fighting with a pole or yelling at a wall ad, the Nooner drunk Latino grandpas, the sweet little flower and tamale hustling grandmas and of course, the terribly dressed hipsters (socks visible and all). Gotta love the Mission. read more

All right if you are a die hard fan of dinuguan ( you know the 'chocolate stew' your filipino friends often like to describe it), bibingka and bopis- this place is for you-- reminds me of Quiapo- where you often find such filipino delicacies- dont forget the daing and langonisa...other goodies- chicken/pork adobo, ukoy and pancit! Oh and the empanadas (pork and chicken) are really good too :-) Masarap! PS- like most canteen style filipino eateries- they're tiny and well serve yourself...lots of condiments like patis, suka with chilis and bagoong too ;-) read more

This restaurant is very close to the 24th St BART and my work. I stopped by for lunch with my co-worker who is half Filipino. The food is very delicious. I ordered the 2 items combo, which was only $6. Cash only unless if you order $10+. I ordered bbq pork and an eggplant dish. Both tasted really good! I think it has coconut milk and some kind of shrimp paste to the eggplant dish, because it reminds me of Vietnamese/Thai food. My co-worker said it's really delicious and pretty authentic. I stopped by after work another time and ordered the fried banana dessert and fried shrimp crepe. Both were really delicious too although a bit greasy. This is a great place but too small for a large group. read more

My buddy and I where strolling through the mission killing some time with talk about the previous night's 'No Reservations'. Tony had been to the Philippines a country where the island culture has caused national cuisines to vary by geography. Pretty interesting stuff we thought and, oh, is that a little Filipino hole in the wall over there? Funny coincidence and the place was cheap so we decided to see if it lived up to the 'authentic' TV experience we had the night prior. Well the novelty was pretty much the best part of the meal it turned out. The food was about what you expect for the price and if you are not Filipino you might not understand what is going on. Still a Yelp-worthy experience if there ever was one. read more

My friend and I dropped in for a quick lunch on a Saturday. Kababayan is one of those small hole-in-the-wall restaurants. The food is in heating trays behind a glass counter and you can order one, two, or three dishes along with a serving of rice. We split a lumpia appetizer, and ordered to dishes to share family style. We had the chicken adobo and some kind of beef dish (I don't remember what it was called). The flavors were strong and savory and the meat was all very tender. The prices were very affordable. Along with the appetizer and two dishes we eat got a Snapple and the whole meal was less than twenty dollars. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for tasty and inexpensive food in The Mission. read more

Nothing bad to say about this spot. When you're in the Mission district filipino eatery is like 1-10 ratio against a taqueria. But this place is actually a pretty decent mini restaurant that serves quite a few popular selections that you want. FOOD : very good selection, warm all the time, price is very affordable and of course cooked to our local taste. LOCATION : another 5 star .. bus stops right in front. BART is only half a block away. . And right after your meal Mission shops are just next door. OWNER/SERVICE : GREAT owners/operators and also you feel right at home with their service! ! + FILIPINO channel 24/7 ! :) read more

Cheap, freshly made, laid out carinderia-style... This place will get you full for $5. They A plus for having Filipino sweet snacks. But I'll hold one star, because their suman (sticky-rice cake) doesn't have coconut-milk sauce, instead they advise you to dip it in grated coconut and sugar. Like, how could they. A plus is to watch bizarre Filipino noontime shows that border on Japanese absurdity. read more

This place makes some excellent Filipino dishes, I tried the Pork Menudo, the Dinuguan, the Adobo Chicken, the Fried Fish, Chicken Soup, Taro leaves in coconut sauce, Filipino Pork BBQ on a stick [Kebobs] the Shrimp fritter called a "UKOY" , they even have the baby duck eggs known as "Balut" those are pretty good too The food is always very well made and fresh and the owners are very friendly & hospitable, excellent service! since this seems to be the only Filipino diner in the area, with a few Chinese places, but I see mostly taquerias in this area since it's in the Mission. highly recommeded! read more