Their crispy pata (deep fried pork leg) is awesome. Service is warm and friendly. Good to see more of these restaurants in the area.

2.5 stars?? All of our entrees were pretty bland including the Kare Kare, Bulalo & Garlic Rice. I was looking forward to the garlic rice & grilled squid, however it was very poorly flavored. On a positive note, I did not overeat. One of my favorite desserts to order in any Filipino restaurant is the Buko Pandan. The server actually forgot to bring it out & I almost cancelled it had it not been added to the bill already. It's not the best Buko Pandan I've ever had but it was still pretty good. Service was ok. We all wanted our own serving of rice--not sure why the server complained about this. Workday lunch for work, this will suffice, otherwise I do not recommended this place. read more

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This place surely is better than nayong filipino but still isn't the best restaurant but anyway, the food is pretty A-ok but the waiter service isn't the brightest! read more

This is one of my favorite Filipino places in the Bay Area. The food is good. I usually only get the breakfast dishes such as the Topcilog (grilled beef with garlic rice and an egg). The only reason I do not give this place a 5 is because sometimes it can take a while until I get to order my food. I usually get seated right away but ordering food is another story. Other than that the food and staff is great!! read more

Came here with hopes of finding our go-to Filipino joint. We ordered the kare kare, lechon, and fried milk fish with a side of garlic rice. All the dishes were just okay for me, a little on the bland side. The garlic rice was disappointing, not enough garlic flavor for me. Prices are around 10-12 a plate. Too pricey for average tasting food in my opinion. read more

Since getting my wisdom teeth extracted recently, the bf decided to get me some Pork Sinigang from Kalesa. Omg! I don't know if it's because I haven't eaten real food/ meat for 5 days but the broth was surprisingly the best tasting one I've had from Kalesa. I'm just giving the broth a 5 Star review aite? I still can't eat meat right now. ;) read more

A bit pricey ($12.00) for a Filipino brunch but without a doubt, the food was presented with class and looked and tasted very appetizing. The selection was plentiful yet they could have expanded more on the brunch-type items. Where was the tapa and daing na bangus? Nonetheless, the delicious champorado made up for the absence. The service was excellent and the ambience was very pleasant and allowed me to enjoy my weekend brunch with a smile. read more

I came here with a large group of people. The decor is nice and authentic. The male waiters were all wearing barongs. Our waiter was really nice. We ordered a lot of food. I should have taken a picture of it. It was all good. I am definitely coming back here when I am in town. read more

We came here cause I was craving sisig again. We order the sizzling sisig, chicken adobo and a sago gulaman. The drink was so bland my boyfriend was beyond disappointed. The sisig was pretty tasty but I did not enjoy the adobo as much. It looked like it was just sitting there all day and they just reheated it. The service was not that great, the lady place our plate on another customer's table and after another waitress told her that was wrong she just went right up to the other table without saying a word and took the plate back. I would probably come back just to order the sisig togo. read more

I have to say, the place is clean and have a nice ambience. I like the Filipino artwork of places and churches of the Philippines. It adds culture to the place. The service is very good too, friendly and fast. I love how they speak Tagalog! I give it two stars because the food is so bland. I know they can give fish sauce and soy sauce but it was way too bland. The sisig, was so bland and the meat super dry. Singing pork was a disappointment. The pork is too tough and the pork skin was nasty like it's not fully cooked! I had to spit it out. This is why is rather go to my moms house when it comes to Filipino food. read more

Food is good but the last two times I been here there has been a hair in the food or like a tissue in the soup. Sad part is the waiter was not apologetic but was actually defensive. So not worth it. read more

Good ambiance and excellent service. Food is cooked to almost perfection. It is the way Filipino food should be. Love this place and I would highly recommend it. read more

Nice lunch spot with a bunch of unique items. Service was good and food was hot!

I am really starting to enjoy this place. The prices are just right, and the servings are pretty huge. Crispy pata was just alright. . . lumpia shanghai pretty standard. . . the sisig was good--not too greasy. . . their fried chicken pieces were SUPER good. . . boneless bangus was nice. . .my only complaint is the live band that they sometimes have there. . . the last time I visited, I was with my 80+ year old grandmother and a bunch of middle-aged aunts and uncles. . . the band was playing some super LOUD un-dinner-like music that made it very difficult to carry on a conversation with the person sitting next to you. My grandmother was completely turned off to the restaurant simply for the fact that the band was playing music that was too loud for her 80+year old ears. read more

From the outside, kalesa looks like a charming restaurant and its lobby decor is no different. Unfortunately, that's as far as the charm gets as their decor budget stopped at the lobby. The tables were bare, and the chairs looked like they were purchased at a restaurant surplus store. We were holding out hope that their unique offering of filipino food would be their saving grace. We were wrong to hope. Had I not known that what I was eating was sisig, I would've mistaken it for liver with soy thrown on top. And the beef stew was no different. My 3 year old could've done a better job with water and soup mix. It's been a while since I was this disagreeable about filipino food. Would never return. read more

My Filipino coworker's family enjoys this place, so I thought to check it out. I ordered the house special - sizzling sisig (chopped up, grilled pork), small bowl of pork adobo fried rice, miki bihon pancit, leche flan. We really likely the sisig - it wasn't spicy at all. The adobo fried rice (shreaded pork, rice, topped with scallions) was a little on the dry side. I prefer Hainanese chicken rice. The miki bihon pancit (stick rice noodle with some broad egg noodle stir fried in a chicken broth with chicken pieces, celery, and dried shrimp) was superb! The leche fan was very dense - I prefer a lighter flan. The 2 of us had a ton of leftovers. I'll definitely return and try more things on the menu with more people. read more

My family tried Kalesa for Mother's day Breakfast Buffet. The food was good other than the Tapa it smelled funny and wasn't marinated at all. They were very slow to refill the food. We just got there and went to get our first plate and the trays were pretty much empty. The space needs to be bigger because with as many people as there were for the buffet there was barely any room to move. Chairs were cramped and hitting each other and people had to squeeze between the line for the food and the tables. The set-up needs a little work but the food was good. And for $13...why not??? read more

So I didnt feel like going home to cook after getting off a baby sitting job, and I remembered this place wasn't far from where I was baby sitting, so I decided to stop by and grab some grub to go. I ordered the lumpia rolls and the beef soup. The rolls were kick ass good! The soup wasn't bad either though I've had better at a Mexican rest. that serves the exact same soup for 1/2 the price. For the 2 items it was $23 bucks which is too expensive for me to do all the time but the flip side was that there was enough food to feed 3 people. I am one lucky girl to know Filipino people who can cook and often bring me leftovers, so nothing compares to home cookin if ya know what I mean. Ill probably go back for a sit down with some friends and get there honest opinions. read more

This restaurant is good for big parties, they were able to tend to a party of 20 and still get our food to us in a timely manner. The Kare Kare is yummmmmmmmmmmmm, loved it. I also highly recommend the Sisig. They have good customer service too. The only part I didn't like was that I had food coma after meaning that there probably was a lot of MSG in the food, but then again alllllllllllllll Filipino food contains MSG, shux! read more

Kalesa gas been on my "to try" list ever since I saw it on TV (http://cbs5.com/eyeonthebay/yelp.internet.popular.2.1068000.html). After finally trying it, I was definitely impressed. I had assumed it would be more of a mom and pop sort of place, but the decor felt on the fancy side. Dinner was chicken adobo and pork sisig (with sides of rice), which was solid, though I'm not expert on Filipino cuisine. The bill came to something like $28 with tax and tip. The service was not too attentive, but overall, it was a good experience. I'll be back. read more

I'm glad this place is here. It's probably the best Filipino restaurant in the South Bay that I've come across. Decent service, clean, and good food. read more

I found this place on yelp because my hubby was craving pancit palabok after I introduced him to a mediocre one in Maui. The pancit did not disappoint! It had a lot of shrimp sauce on it and the eggs, yummy. We ordered the pancit palabok and the kare kare. I thought the kare kare should've been more flavorful, the sauce just tasted pasty to me, with not enough peanut flavor and not salty enough, so it was really good with the shrimp paste, otherwise bland. This is a great place if you're looking to cure your filipino food cravings. Its a nice dining experience vs. the Goldilock establishments all over CA. I will definitely go back to try their other food dishes and their desserts. My hubby has already brought his coworkers there for lunch. My friends parents still make better pancit palabok, kare kare, and chicken adobo than Kalesa. But its not like I can (or should) invite myself over to their houses for dinner every night! read more

Went here yesterday with my son since I was craving filipino food around the area. This was my first time here. I have to say that the prices for the dishes are a bit pricier than other filipino restaurants, for example in Daly City or South San Francisco, but the quality of food is just as good. We ordered Kare Kare and also the Sisig. The Kare Kare was pretty tasty, but most of all it was huge. It came in a huge serving bowl. Service was good as well. Waitress came on time, food didn't take long, and our waitress did come back around a few times to ask how we were doing. Parking isn't so bad either. Plenty of spaces in the area. Also, the bathroom was clean! I would've gave this place 5 stars, but I thought the pricing was a little bit higher than other filipino restaurants (not including places like Goldilocks, however). read more

Yay good food better than the other place Bario Fiesta. Been here a few times already and tried a lot of the dishes and it's all good. Taste like my mom's cooking. Things that stick out the most is the bangous sisig, any fried rice dish, and the Nilaga is also good. Simple but sitll good. The Kare Kare is also good, but not as good as my mom's. Not enough meat on the oxtail, and not enough veggies. Needs more love! But, still a good place to get it. CRISPY PATA soo bad but so good. Definetly going to be coming back here again and again. Oh oh get the Coconut drink, it's served get this...in a coconut... read more

I love this place!!! They served us even though we walked in not to long before closing & didn't rush us at all! Between my 3 girl friends & I, we shared lumpias, pork sinigang, & fish sisig (i think?). EVERYTHING was delicious even though the sinigang was waaaay more sour than I'm used to but I took the leftovers home & diluted it with water. read more

I think this eatery is one of the better places out there. Nice and cozy set up. 1st time coming out Came in with a little party and sampled the short rib caldereta, bistek, bangus sisig, pork bbq, pancit luge luge, chicken sinigang, chicken lollipops, and kare kare. I noticed they add a little dash of sugar to their eats for a sweeter taste which is cool but I can personally do without. Still all good.... The short ribs are fine. They cook the meat into the sauce with usually comes out as a winner in most cases, here they do. Potatoes fried soft right before they enter they sauce, gives em the brown crispy bark. Peppers are crisp too. bistek is flavored but you can tell sat around for a little bit. Got that aged leathery look to the meat. haha stupid american born -bangus sisig is alright, found some scales, well actually alot of scales and I got a feelng that may have been a secret suprise, CRAP, haha on me, compared to patio filipino in SSF, they got nothin on em pork bbq is cool, gives that longanisa burp a.k.a marinated at least 2 days. good with the vinegar dip, pre cooked pancit palabok was moist and flavorful, man.....squeezed fresh lemon juice and it was over, gewd eats chicken sinigang had alot of flavor which reminded of MSG, man.... chicken lollipops had a crisp batter that was kinda in midlife or jeopardy, it wanted to be crispy and soggy at the same time, that's them filipino tricks they be doing Service here I gotta admit stood out. The waiter was pretty much running the show, 1 waitress helping out, 1 bus boy cleaning up, and owner calling the shots and working too. For being solo he made it happen like he been there before, now for anyone hustling at work knows what that means with all that performance management bs 5 ppl, $125, parking is easy I would come back read more

I've been here once and their food was pretty good. I really liked their sinigang. I didn't really like their "fried calamari" though because it was hard like pork rinds...but I'd go here again. read more

Came here for Sunday breakfast buffet. Will definitely be back. A great deal and the food was prepped just as it should be. The best deal on Filipino breakfast in the Bay Area! read more

The food here is pretty good, definitely more authentic than your typical Goldilocks run. The portions are a little on the skimpy side. We typically order sinigang and there usually isn't enough meat or veggies for each person to taste. read more

When we're craving filipino food, this is where we go. Everything is delicious that we've tried. Our favorites are definitely the crispy pata, sizzling sisig, kare kare, and any silog plate with garlic rice. We ordered some trays for our baby shower and everyone loved the food. The restaurant is clean and spacious and the staff is always nice. It's a great restaurant to book dinner parties also. read more

It's Saturday September 12, 2015 3:00pm. Service is horrible! Waited at our table for 20 min and not a single waiter to get us drinks. We just got up and left. This is no longer my Filipino place to eat. This is the worst service I had at this place read more

This restaurant is great. Been married to a girl from Pampanga for 29 years and this is the first restaurant to compete with her families cooking. I think some of the people who think the food is just ok are addicted to MSG which a lot of Filipino restaurants use. read more

This post is in regards to their service and how they operate business. KALESA CHARGES A 21% SERVICE FEE WHEN YOU USE A FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE SUCH AS DOORDASH. They charged me an ADDITIONAL $5 to my meal. It's hard enough trying to get out of bed and pick up food when I'm sick and bed-ridden, but to charge for it when I need it delivered? Simply ludicrous. read more

I've been here about 3 or 4 times and it's the best filipino food in San Jose Area. The serving size of the plates are huge and usually feed 2 or 3 people. There's not usually a terrible wait and our family is 5 people. The servers are pretty nice too! Nothing bad to say. read more

We had dinner here the other night. It's not bad but for about the same price I'd say Gerry's Grill is much better. Seems like Gerry's Grill dishes are prepared fresh while some of Kalesa Restaurant dishes are pre-made and have been sitting around in the kitchen. We'll have to go back another day and try their breakfast buffet to see if that's any good. read more

my parents are not from california.. they're actually from the east coast and every time they come to visit, they are always trying to go to new and different filipino restaurants. well, during my research, i stumbled across this restaurant and i decided to give this place a try. the place was waaay nicer than i thought it was going to be. our server was super nice and didnt make me feel awkward at all for not being able to speak tagalog (like other places usually do). their food was pretty good. my husband and i got the tocilog, palabok and lechon kawali. i also had a sago at gulaman and my husband had a halo halo. the palabok wasnt so good but the rest was so great! during our after church brunch, i heard that they have a breakfast buffet on sundays until 11am. i will DEFINITELY look into that next time. and i'll definitely be taking my parents and in laws here the next time they come to visit. read more

I attended a wedding rehearsal dinner at Kalesa Restaurant, and the food was served buffet style. That did not take away from the quality of the food. Most impressive was the litson carving station! It does not get much better than that. read more

I usually wait...ohhh 3+ years before I like to officially review a joint! This spot is DA SPOT!!! Talk about grubbin'....if ya haven't had Filipino food yet then ya don't know what ur missin!!! It is FANFCUKINGTASTIC !!!!!! and this spot doesn't disappoint. Pricey, but cheaper than Barrio Fiesta read more

da bomb da bomb...always so happy to go to Kalesa for my Palabok fix. On our last excursion had the Crispy Pata...nice!

Pancit Palabok, Longsilog, sizzling pork sisig, a bottle of Red Horse beer, and Halo Halo was what we ordered from Kalesa. The food here is good, but not great. Hard to compare it to home cooking from Mom or my Auntie's, which I consider the best. Overall good service (the dude was a little slow to get me my water, though), a fair price range, and a relaxed ambiance. Not to mention, this place was very clean and presentable. I will definitely try other items on the menu. read more