Great Filipino food. We don't have places like this in Monterey, so when I'm up in the Bay Area this is one of the places I crave.

First of all, I must say that , beside chicken adobo, I don't know much about filipino food. Kalesa was the first filipino resto I've ever been and I didn't know much of what to expect The restaurant provides excellent value, so much that we ended up ordering way too much food. All in all, although not my type, the food was enjoyable and a nice experience. The outdated decor actually added some charm to the place. read more

CRISPY FRIED SKIN ALL OVER YOUR FACE. Man, oh man. The Pork pata (giant, fried bone-in pork leg) was awesome--you won't find this at your local American joint. Also, the sisig was really yummy, charred, chewy, delicious. The oxtail was almost awesome (but was instead merely good) as they (a) chopped it post cooking, which left tiny bone shards everywhere and (b) sauced it poorly which subtracted from the goodness. The portions here were ENORMOUS and we came back with enough food for two more meals. During lunch, no wait and quick service. It seems like nobody has discovered this place. I would totally go back for it again. read more

Their crispy pata, bangus sisig and special halo-halo is a must-try! You'll never go wrong with these 3-sumptuous-foodies.

You know food is authentic when their own people come eat there and Kalesa is an example of that. You walk in and all you see is tables of Filipino people! It's unlike other Asian cuisines where it's catered to Americans so that the food looks more appealing and not the original. We went here to celebrate a friend's birthday. We had a table for 10 and ordered Lumpiang Shanghai, Chicharon Bulaklak, Sizzling Sissig, Grilled Eggplant, Lechon Kawali, Kare Kare and Fried Rice. I really enjoyed the sissig as did everyone else because we ordered another one. The Grilled eggplant was delicious. I didn't evven realize I was eating a vegetable! Lechon Kawali is my favorite Filipino dish and you can never go wrong by ordering it. Kare Kare is also a good choice at Filipino restaurants but the meat could have been tad bit softer than what was served here. Lastly, the rice...what can you say...it's rice and it taste good with everything. All the food came out quickly and everyone was perfectly full. Ooh, They even have a recording the play at the end of the meal overhead for all the people celebrating their birthdays. So come here an bring your whole family (they have room for it) to celebrate your birthday! read more

Staff are friendly & professional! Service is fast and the food is served hot! Every dish is worth the price because of the portion sizes it's great for 2-4people to share! I like coming here! I highly recommend this place! read more

Kalesa - Kare Kare! Yummm - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

Have been here 3 times now and other than the service being a little spotty, the environment is great and the food fantastic! Definitely reminds me of GOOD home cookin! I suggest the Crispy Pata, Kare-Kare, and Chicken Tinola. Great place to take friends or for quiet meals with your special someone. Kalesa is definitely a "come backer". read more

I had been craving lumpia shanghai and didn't know anyone who knew how to make it (homemade always tastes better!) But, my cousin and his wife suggested we try Kalesa for a good filipino lunch. We ordered: - lumpia shanghai - you can't really go wrong with little fried rolls filled with pork - adobe rice - it was like a fried rice with bits of pork in it. very tasty, not salty - sizzling grilled squid - I was hoping for some really tender squid and was not disappointed. The sauce is a little sweet, but goes well with the rice - kare kare (oxtail and tripe in peanut sauce) - my husband loves oxtail. The meat was tender. The sauce wasn't too heavy. This dish came in a pretty large portion, so we took the leftovers home. Looking forward to reheating this dish with the sauce over steamed rice. We were so stuffed, so we didn't order the halo halo, though I really wanted to try it. I think this is my first time trying filipino food (besides lumpia) and it was delicious! I left definitely satisfied and loved the flavors of the food. read more

Great food and great service. We wanted to try everything and so each person ordered a dish... they told us that we were ordering too much food, hehe, so we took off a couple of dishes. And even with that, we had extra food to take home. We liked everything that we ordered... pancit palabok, pinakbet, a couple of pork dishes, and a couple of chicken dishes. Yummy! I wish I lived closer... I would come here more often. The ambiance is nice too. read more

Been here maybe 5 times since its opened...with a friend for lunch, with family parties, and for take out. I've always been satisfied and happy with the food/service. I love the broasted chicken. I've taken it to Pacquaio parties and its a hit. If you wanna try filipino food or are looking for a good place, this is the spot. read more

Somewhat recommend if you're craving for filipino foods. We ordered the chicharon bulaklak, sinigang, lechon kawali ang chicken bbq. I like hiw the servers are wearing the barong unlike the typical tshirts, nice paintings too. read more

Kalesa - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

The race begins on the weekend! The race to be the first 10 people to have a breakfast buffet for half price! From garlic rice to longonisa to lugaw to kare-kare to ukoy to leche flan (just to name a few...)So many choices to choose from! Some of my friends wanted to taste filipino food, this was the perfect place because of the variety of dishes. They loved it that they want to try it again! :) Love coming here when I miss my parents good home cooking. read more

Living in Milpitas has taught me that Filipino food is around every corner when there's nothing in my house to eat. Kalesa is one of those restaurants where I'm 50/50 on. On one hand, my mom can make me all that for free but on the other, because Kalesa is a restaurant, there are just some things that taste better and are cooked better. My favorite dish at Kalesa is their sinigang because it's so sour (or maasim for us who know Tagalog). It has that soup quality that you just can't get at home unless whoever cooks for you can cook sinigang Kalesa style! I also like their lechon baboy, and most especially: their desserts! Who doesn't like a big halo-halo bowl or ube ice cream? Anyway, Kalesa is good for every-now-and-then get togethers but not a place I would go on a daily basis. Their prices seem a bit overpriced, even for that kind of quality of food. read more

Was out here for business when a customer suggested this place. She noted that you don't find many actual Filipino restaurants because (1) they usually stay home and cook and (2) they go to chinese restaurants. Come to think of it, she was right, I don't I ever went to a real Filipino food establishment. So it's not some high end place, just nice decor, really good food and decent service. When we walked in for lunch, I think we were the only non-Filipinos in the place, always a good sign. We tried a few different dishes, sisig, fish, kuri-kuri, etc. All pretty good. read more

I'll take Kalesa over Bario Fiesta any day... When the Filipino in me decides to come out, I usually partake in silogs Sunday morning since it's ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT. What kind of filipino would turn down the saltilicous meats! Environment is pleasant and service is personable. Sunday Morning are pretty packed so bring your fat-boy shorts and be prepared to wait. read more

Coming from Sonoma County with no Filipino resto. we always try different Filipino places each time we visit the South Bay. It was a busy Friday night, the place was packed which is a good sign for a good restaurant I think. We managed to check in with a 20 mins. wait and the front desk staff were accommodating and treated us with professional manner when we keep on checking with them if our table was ready. Oh how I wish they have this buzzer gadget when your table is ready, but oh well, will keep on wishing. We patiently waited for this particular table that the staff reassured was meant for us. It was occupied by an inconsiderate diner - a middle-aged Filipino man with O.C.D. (obsessive compulsive disorder). Based on our wait clock it felt like It took him almost 20+mins. to assemble his leftovers in 2 styrofoam containers in slow motion, making sure that his plate was empty and every morsel was emptied in a slow manner, and licked the last drop of sauce from the plate tip, he was also checking if the box was balanced in all sides, the to-go bag handles were in proper alignment with no creases. My hubby's TV show is "Monk" and despite the fact that he was hungry for his crispy pata, he was entertained watching this guy to see the "OCD man live in action". The place was clean and has a good ambiance. Philippine art and portraits adorn its walls.The staff wears the traditional barong ensemble and are friendly and offered great service. We ordered the ff: Tokwa't Baboy, Kalabasa at Sitaw sa Gata, Crispy Pata, Pancit Bihon. We loved every bite of the tokwa baboy and dipping sauce. The vegetable gata was so good! My son said that he was craving for "laing" (his fave) at that time and wasn't on the menu. This was very good for a gata entree. The crispy pata was perfectly cook and the portion was just right. We wrapped the pata leftover for to-go. The pancit has so much meat in it. It was a little bit under seasoned with soy sauce based on the pale color. Hey, if you are watching your sodium intake like I do, it is just right. Although some of the meat and carrots were sliced a bit bigger than the julliened slices of a traditional pancit. We had no room for dessert. Sigh, no room for halo halo. Possibly next time and definitely come back to try other entrees. Hopefully this OCD guy will not dine in that same day. Whoohoo as good as it gets! read more

Awesome, awesome place. Every dish ordered was delicious. Bangus (milk fish), Chicharon Bulaklak, Lumpia Shanghi, Palabok, Kare Kare (good enough), sisig (awesomest I've tasted!), Crispy Pata and Menudo! MMMMMMMM! MMMMMMMM! Can't wait to visit my old home, the Bay Area again!!! Only problem is Filipino Food is very oily, greasy and fattening. But it is what it is! Another MMMMMM! MMMMMMM! GOOD! For the road! read more

Great food. Great ambience. The decor is contemporary but is still filipino inspired. The okoy and tofu has a great crispy texture and very flavorful. We had the sinigang which is very flavorful and they use good meat for the ingredients not over fatty and tastes fresh. I definitely would go back. read more

I celebrated my birthday here last year with my family. The waitress who served us was very friendly and accommodating. It was very cool when they started playing the "happy birthday" song and the crew starts singing and dancing. Haha! The food was very delicious! Huge servings! read more

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Food quality and service have really gone downhill for Kalesa since the times I used to frequent this place 2 years ago. Went recently and waited over 10 minutes for someone to come by and take our order. The restaurant wasn't even busy and there were plenty of wait staff around. When we finally ordered, it took forever for our food to get there. I ordered the broasted chicken and it was all bones with very little meat. They also breaded the heck out of the pieces I received to make them look bigger. That really pissed me off. We also order the chop suey which had no flavor and very little in the way of chicken or shrimp. So disappointed! read more

We come here about once a month if we're craving for Filipino food in a fancy setting. The setting is definitely fancy. Sometimes we come in sweats and feel underdressed. We pretty much always order the same things--chicharon bulakak, lumpias, chicken drumlettes, spaghetti, palabok, sizzling sisig, crispy pata, kare kare, bistek, halo halo, etc. We always order a ton of dishes and take the rest to-go so that we can eat it for leftovers the next day. I've never had a bad experience here. Sometimes you have flag down the waiters because they don't see you. I always get the ice tea because it's bottomless!!! They don't make it a big deal if you refills so I always take advantage of that lol. The only time where we had to wait was probably on Father's Day, but other than that I never had to wait too long for a table. The workers are nice. Food comes out. Food is good. Never had a dish I didn't like. The garlic rice is good. They do catering too. I think the cripsy pata with soy sauce is my absolutely favorite dish. It doesn't taste as good the next day because the skin gets soggy so I recommend eating it all right away while it is fresh. Sizzling sisig would probably be my next favorite dish. The chicken drumlettes is pretty good too. I can go on and on. Everything is good! We like coming here for date night and family dinners. This is probably one of our favorite Filipino restaurants in the area. I recommend getting a halo halo at the end of your meal because its huge here. If you don't finish it you can ask for a container and take it to go. Overall, we like this place and never had a problem so we're here about once a month. read more

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Love their sisig, lechon kawali, kare-kare, and sinigang.. Oh, like their bangsilog also! Great food, nice decor.. Staff is half friendly, half rude.. Lol I tried asking one of them about where the church drawing/image on their wall was located in the Philippines and totally gave me an attitude.. I was just curious! Sorry for asking.. But most of the time the servers are nice. I love their kalamansi drink and their papaya drink.. So refreshing! Free refills too! They're closed on Mondays btw. Oh and I really like that the servers have to wear barongs.. It makes it feel so formal :) read more

We've only been here on Sundays to have their breakfast buffet. I don't really have any complaints because the food was pretty good and the buffet had a good number of choices. They have everything from the traditional filipino breakfast to the classic kare-kare... And they even had halo-halo for dessert, sago and. Gulaman for drinks, among other things. read more

Came here earlier today for the first time and was thoroughly impressed by the food, vibe, and service. We had a huge party with up to 30 people and our food was brought out in a timely manner. I haven't been fortunate enough to fully indulge in Filipino food, but am familiar with pancit and adobo; however all of the food I tried today was delicious. I look forward to trying it again. read more

Pancit canton was salty and the noodles were overcooked. The boneless chicken adobo was salty and possibly prepped the night before and really soupy. The string bean with squash in coconut milk would've been good if not for the salty sauce. The only enjoyable part of our supper were the lumpia Shanghais. Crispy and flavorful paired with sweet and sour sauce. I gave three stars because the service was good though we were the only customers at the time. Yeah, we were early 16:00 hours in fact. Maybe the chef was having an off day. Peace! read more

I went there to set up a banquet, the lady made me wait for a long time, she did not offer me the banquet menu to look at while waiting. We decided to get a table and order a meal, the lady said she will come to see us. We finished the meal and the lady was busy on the phone and never acknowledged my presence. I learned that they booked a banquet during the earlier part of the day that I was reserving. I wish she told me that they didn't have availability for a 2nd banquet on the same day, instead of making me wait and wait and waste my time. Not up to par with other restaurants. And food is not that great. read more

Food is awesome! Best Filipino cuisine I know! Would be 5 stars if the service was better. The waiters never refilled out water or drinks. We saw the waiter take our water, give us drinks then never came to our table again except to give us the check. read more

Came in and saw a buffet. I think most Filipino restaurants have a buffet or, some sort of ready made food. Or, it could be just for Sundays? I'm not quite sure. The price is OK if you plan on stuffing your face. There's a two hour window so, plan accordingly. I think a good majority of people were attacking .. yes, attacking the kare kare and the halo-halo. Every thing else seemed pretty standard. You got your steamed rice, garlic rice, you have your shanghai lumpia .. champorado and more. This place carries a good amount of staples as well as having enough seating for bigger groups/ families. read more

So we finally made it here for their Sunday Brunch and oh man...it was freakin awesome! They had the usual breakfast items; longganisa, tocino, tapa, eggs, etc. but they also had dinuguaan, kare-kare, sisig, tokwa't baboy, lumpia shanghai, etc. (My stomach just growled right now. :) The buffet price also includes beves such as Calamansi Juice...mmm! Wayyy worth it! It felt like I was at that one party of that "one Auntie" (everyone has that "one Auntie") that always takes it over the top! I can't wait till next Sunday! TIP: Arrive HUNGRY!!! read more

Meh. I will always say home cooking is the best no matter what. But, I think I can make an exception... First order of business: What's with the wax paper covers? I know that it makes the server's jobs more convenient and easier to clean a table, but I personally find it uncomfortable to eat on. Oh, as a suggestion, if they can work on the interior decoration a bit, the barongs the servers wear would match better with the restaurant. Wallpaper is peeling off and it looks outdated inside. Food: Kalesa's crispy pata blew me away. Wooooosh! It was that good...when hot. Yes, when you let the crispy pata get cold or reduce to a warm temperature, enjoy your pata jerky because that's what it turns into. Full of flavor from the meat, the oh so super delicious pork skin, and the juiciness of it when served right away. Surprisingly, the skin remains crispy even when it's not that hot anymore. Sizzling pork sisig. Where's the calamansi? Where's the over-easy egg that is supposed to sit on top of this porky goodness? C'mon! A little overcooked, evident from the pork stuck on the plate, but yet, it's still fulfilling and very savory. So, on to the bistek. It's a bit sour to my liking, but from what I understand, that's how it should be. It's not the first time I've had sour-ish bistek, but it just doesn't match for me. Very saucy, though, with plenty of beef and onions. Now, I don't like the rice here. I'm guessing it's long grain white rice. Sticky, which is an A+ in my book, but it's not the same type of soft white rice I like to eat. When you want to take your leftovers with you, I guess you get a styrofoam cup? I was excited when she brought the cups over, because I thought it was a complimentary drink or whatever, but I found out it was for my leftovers. Hahaha. Overall, I liked it here. The service was alright, even though my waitress didn't check up on my table like she did with everyone else, but no big deal. I'm being generous in my rating, mostly because of the crispy pata. read more

This is the go to spot for my family when we have Bday celebrations. The food here is amazing! Reminds me of my fams cooking back home in the Philippines. If you're here, definitely try out their bottomless iced tea. it's perfection. Also, if you love a good Filipino breakfast come here on Sunday morning. They serve an affordable Filipino breakfast buffet. read more

Kalesa - Sunday Buffet prices - Filipino Near Me - Milpitas, California

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Finally, I've gotten the chance to try this place out. I came here to eat a late lunch with my boyfriend. Upon entrance, we were greeted right away with the hostess wearing an old-fashion traditional filipino dress and our waiter wore a barong. She seated us right away without waiting for a table. Took our time to look at the menu. I noticed they have lunch specials monday through friday between the hours of 11am-3pm. Each day they serve a different main dish along with vegetables, soup, and rice for only $8.99. Sundays they serve all you can eat buffet breakfast between 8am-11am. Not bad, we're going to come back for the buffet and give it a trywell, my boyfriend loves filipino breakfast food so it gives us a reason to come back. Also, they have a catering menuI'll mention this to my mom in case she wants to try out something. We finally decided what we wanted, but it took one of the waiters to come by our table. My boyfriend and I were already irritated and hungry.there were 4 tables being served and only one waiter was serving all of us while 2 other people were standing off to the side flirting with the hostess!! When the waiter finally caught our attention after I waved my hand down, he took our orders. We got the tapsilog, sisig silog, pancit palabok, and chicharon bulaklak. Pros: -ambianceclean, casual, nice choice of music -friendly service -nice presentation of their food -some choices of food. 1. sisig was cooked perfectnot too spicy nor too bland on the taste 2. tapsilog (marinated beef)...tender, not on the dry side 3. pancit palabok.I didn't want to use any lemon because I figure it would just enhance the dish itself, so I gave it a try without ityummy! I'll have to come back for more -portions were big but the amount of ricedidn't serve as much -prices were reasonable for a restaurantit's not like a hole in the wall type of place Cons: -service is quite slow and not quick to attention -choices of food. 1. chicharon bulaklak was overcooked (burnt to crisp)...I'll have to give this another try 2. garlic rice was a bit too much.need to tone it down a bit I'll have to give this place another try, especially their desserts and the crispy pata. I would've given this place more stars if I could, but my biggest complaint was the service but that could easily be fixed. read more

I like this Restaurant. Good service, yummy foods at cheap prices. I like it a lot although, I don't really eat Filipino foods, so I don't have much to compare it too. *shrugs* I'd eat there again, but I'd also like to know where else I can eat this kind of yummy goodness? read more

It's usually hard for me to rate Filipino restaurants - so here it goes. Food is about 3 stars. Some people like the sisig from here, but like the crispy, fatty pork sisig. Their sisig looks like it comes from lean pork cuts and they just over season it. The rest of the menu is OK. I'm sure it's delicious to someone who doesn't do Filipino food too often, though... The restaurant itself is clean, and ambiance is nice. It's a lot better than the turo-turo places for sure!!! I've been here for a few private functions, and it seems like a nice place to throw small banquets. Food wise, I'd rather go to Barrio Fiesta, but if it's Monday and BF is closed, or if the waiting list to BF is too long, Kalesa is an OK alternative... read more

After several recommendations from coworkers, our craving for Filipino Food came back around and we decided to give Kalesa a shot! We do not regret it, and only regret not checking it out sooner! Service was beyond amazing and Gigi is the sweetest ever! She was so attentive and our yummy Pandan Tea (free refills) never went empty! The food, OMG! Where to start!? First off, all items are served "family style" so be sure to order accordingly, they give a TON per portion, and we literally had enough food to take home for a second meal today! ShangHi Lumpia and Tofu Fries a hit! Both come with dipping sauces and a single order of each was enough for 6 adults and 2 toddlers! Fried chicken is on point!! Lechon, Bisteak, Garlic Bokchoi, and Kare'Kare are amazing here! Flavor is perfect with enough salt to decide if you want to add more or not, based on everyone's preference! We couldn't leave without a desert, even though we were crazy full! Halo Halo is a must and HUGE! Tu'ron ala'mode is to die for!! This is for sure our new favorite spot! read more

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This place is not bad! You definitely get your money's worth here. Went here with a few friends for lunch and had major leftovers to take home. The ultimate test was taking my grandparents here - they did not complain....UHMAZING! Love their sigsig and sinigang....YUM! They might need to update their decor a little. Anytime your craving filipino food....like right now for me....go check out Kalesa. You won't regret. read more

Came here to help my friend from the East Coast satisfy a Filipino food craving. Then came back to watch a friend perform. The service is great. The food is delish - I was salivating over the longsilog - mmmmmmmmm. The place is big and has live music some nights. I think it'd be a good spot to reserve for a family function. If only it were closer, then I'd come back. read more

Came back to Kalesa to introduce some friends to Filipino food and Kalesa impressed me (and my friends) again. We ordered: Crispy Pata Sisig Adobong Kangkong Pancit Palabok Beef Kaldereta *this fed 6 people EASILY . The crispy pata was super delicious, but then - when is it not delicious? Sisig was of course a crowd pleaser but the hit of the night was the pancit palabok. I was kind of disappointed that it didn't have the thicker noodles that I wanted but it was still super yummy. The only "meh" moment of the night was the beef kaldereta. I think it's just further proof that I should never order filipino food that I can make at home because I'll always prefer how I make it better - but the rest of Kalesa's menu was yum, especially dessert - get turon! read more

Really a 3.5 stars because their service is good, and their Sunday breakfast/brunch buffet is good. But the last time we went there they served their Kare Kare even though it smelled and tasted like burnt charcoal. The buck isn't worth it when you serve bad food to your customers. Have you no pride in the food you serve?!???! That was such a turn off to me. I'd rather you tell me that the Kare Kare is not being served today because it's 'out' or something, rather than give me something that just taste like charcoal and inedible anyway. read more

Yum... If you need your fix for Flipino food this is the place to go. The service is great. Portions are huge as well. I did both dine in and ordered to go. The dine in experience was great went in got seated right away. Maybe cause it was a weekday. I don't know if it get crowded during the weekends though. We had the Kare Kare, Garlic rice, Lomi soup, Egg rolls and Halo halo. everything was delish. The reason for only four star is they don't have Pancit Canton bummer. My son was hoping that they do. The service for the to go was fast I called in my order and when I got there is was ready. They even call you back if they can't complete your order witch I didn't expect them to do. Glad my niece told me about this place !! read more