Good Filipino restaurant to try out. They also cater too! They have frozen meals in their fridges…read moreoff to the side. Which makes it easy if you're traveling. They make cake and have deserts too. They make the food to order so there is a waiting period.they are closed certain day of the wee

I would absolutely return! I will first state that the entire menu is well priced for every budget…read more Under $5, $10, or $20, you will find something to eat that will leave you satisfied! The staff are incredibly kind and helpful. You truly will walk in and feel like you are eating at a family member's home in the cozy, peaceful atmosphere. The Sisig Empanada was a 9.7/10. It was flaky and smelled amazing. My first bite had a great amount of sisig and flavor. I would get this again and again. Taho was a 8.1/10. This was a dessert that was well balanced and not overly sweet. They also have deals of 50% off on Thursday!

Update 6/22/2026:…read more Met up with a colleague for lunch and this place never fails me! The owner and staff are wonderful people working hard to bring the Hawaiian-Filipino taste to the Jax Community! Reminds me of when I visited Hawaii in the past and I just miss the islands! It was during early lunch so it was quiet at first but later saw folks coming through for lunch. My colleague never had Hawaiian food so the owner and I recommended a few dishes -- he chose the Loco Moco, Hawaiian-comfort food. I missed the garlic shrimp back then, and so luckily they had it in the menu -- Hawaiian Fried Garlic Shrimp!!! It was fantastic! The savory and super garlicky taste of those fried shrimps (yes, they had the shells still on, but that's the best part). The shells were crispy/fried enough and covered in the garlicky sauce that you can just eat it. Some folks may have other opinions, but I'm used to eating it this way in my culture as well. The fiesta rice was seasoned well and the Hawaiian Mac Salad was wonderfully semisweet and seasoned well too. Always great vibes by the decor and the owners!

My favorite was probably the pork skewers appetizer: two smallish skewers for $5.16. I'd put it…read moreslightly ahead of the short ribs. The latter was $19.65 for the Fiesta Plate. I didn't like the sides on the Fiesta Plate that much (macaroni salad, which my wife didn't like, rice, salad), though the salad was pretty good. It also had a piece of fried chicken; I thought it was nice, my wife not so much, but neither of us thought it was up to Jollibee (admittedly, a high standard). I had a taste of the pancit bihon, which was more strongly flavored than any I've had before, and not a favorite. Servings are smallish, so I don't think that Fiesta Plate is a good value. They close too early at night: 8 PM on a Friday. The setting is simple. Some of the seating looked uncomfortable, e.g. a bench or tables along the wall with wood at your back. We got a table with four plastic chairs, however, which was comfortable. Our server was very nice and friendly, though she had more work than she could handle without issues. They add 3.5% (reflected in the prices above), for using credit cards. With a soda ($3.36 for a can) and tip, the total for two shared courses came to $35.

Purple Roots is back and they're better than ever!…read more They are currently in their soft opening phase and is offering a limited menu from 5:00 PM-11:00 PM. They removed the kiosks and transitioned to full-service dining. - They are under new ownership with exciting plans ahead. Their vision is to elevate the Filipino dining experience in Jacksonville while collaborating with the local Filipino community to showcase the richness of Filipino cuisine. One concept I'm especially excited about? They're planning to launch a Filipino-inspired Chef's Table experience, similar to an omakase, highlighting Filipino flavors in a whole new way. Jacksonville's Filipino food scene just keeps getting better, and I can't wait to see what's next for Purple Roots!

Haven't tried purple roots before they reopened, but we came for their soft opening and we were…read moreimpressed! The workers were super friendly and really good about checking in with us. And of course the food was delicious! I've had lumpia and pork sisig before so no surprise there that they were good. But I loved being able to try things I've never had before like batangas bulalo and bicol express. We didn't have any space for dessert, but they sounded so good. Gonna have to try that next time!

The Roasted Brussels Sprouts appetizer is a delightful surprise.... simple at first glance, but…read morebursting with character once you take that first bite. Each sprout is roasted to crisp perfection, with beautifully charred edges that give way to a tender, almost creamy center. The flavor is deep and nutty, with just the right touch of seasoning to highlight the natural sweetness that emerges from slow roasting. It's the kind of dish that feels both wholesome and indulgent, transformed by technique into something far more memorable than a typical vegetable starter. Light, crispy, and full of layered flavor, it's a testament to Filipino Abstrakt Essence's ability to elevate even the humblest ingredients into something truly exceptional.

Came here for dinner with my family - the food, service, and ambiance were great! We even got to…read morewatch the World Cup as we ate dinner (TY!) I ordered the BBQ Skewers and they were exactly as I wanted them - saucy, meaty, and with all the fix ins. We ate family style so I also tried the Adobo Wings, Lumpia, and Sinigang. All were good too!

A perfect tweak to a known saying would be 'The way to a…read moreFilipino's heart is through Max's Restaurant.' There may be several Filipino restaurants around, but this hits different. It is by far the closest to Filipino flavors. We always order Max's Fried Chicken paired with ketchup, Crispy Pata, Kare-Kare, Pancit, Lumpia, Chicharon Bulaklak and of course, Rice; Calamansi juice for drinks; and Halo-Halo for dessert. They are always very good, savory and very consistent. They have lots of options to choose from. One order is good for sharing hence I like that they offer Group/Package Meals from time to time that it feels like a feast, so we get to taste different items at a reasonable price. They also have 2 event rooms which we have reserved for one of our Christmas parties as they have mic and television which are perfect for either playing music or Karaoke. They also have Party Menu where they can serve in chafing dish, as well as To Go Catering menu. During our 1st time, I recall most of us saying, 'This tastes exactly the same', 'I remember having this with my family/friends after work', 'We used to order Crispy Pata during celebrations or drinking sessions', and a bunch of other stories to share over Max's meal, fit for almost everyone.

My wife and I were driving up from Daytona Beach on our way to Amelia Island and decided to stop by…read moreMax's. It has been a long while since we ate at a Max's...perhaps not since we lived in Hawai'i 8 years ago. In any case, we were looking forward to dining at Max's once again. Upon being seated, we perused the menu. My wife ordered the Max's Budget Meal (fried chicken leg quarter, lumpia and rice for $18) and I ordered the Lechon Kawali ($18) and an order of white rice (3 scoops for $7). The fried chicken was good as expected but I thought the banana ketchup, which is probably house made, didn't seem to have that familiar Jufran or UFC brand banana ketchup taste. The lumpias were OK but once again, we would've preferred a sweet garlic chili sauce to dip it in instead of the house made sauce. The lechon kawali had a nice and crispy skin with tender and flavorful meat but the house made sauce fell short of duplicating the familiar Mang Tomas lechon sauce. Of course we had to top off the meal with an order of Halo Halo to share and that hit the spot...although at $11, it was a bit on the steep side. All in all, we felt the food quality and flavors were good but the house made sauces were a bit off what was familiar. Perhaps we were focusing on nostalgia and memories of past Max's dining experiences, but this visit fell a bit short. Lunch for 2 with tip came out to just over $70.

Excellent variety and flavor of Filipino comfort food. Great value for the cost of the food.read more

What could be improved is that the owner stops peeking from behind a peice of screen and would be…read morenice to see her face every now and then. She's not a friendly person. Maybe something has happened to make her this way. The food is okay.

This place is a Philippine fusion. The guys at the truck were super nice. The food was made with…read morehigh quality ingredients. Portion size was big. I will totally come back.

This food truck will knock your socks off. Quality is top notch, taste is phenomenal, and portions…read moreare huge. The guys working the truck were very helpful, and easy to talk with about the menu. 10/10 would recommend!!!

Special ordered Pork Lumpia, Chicken Lumpia, Turon (Banana Lumpia), Chicken Pancit and Pork Adobo…read morewith Jasmine Rice. Everything was very fresh and had an excellent flavor. Vegetables in the Pancit were crisp with a pleasing array of color. The attention to detail was very obvious and we are looking forward to ordering/sampling more of Marivic's delicious food !!! Farmer's Market Food Stand every third Saturday in the month From 10 AM - 2 PM. Special Orders available at least 24 hours in advance for meals/food. Catering also available.

Yummy chicken pancit! I'd heard great things about Marivic's food from a neighborhood blog/forum…read more(nextdoor.com) so finally ordered some & we met today for the money/food exchange. Hadn't had pancit in years and my taste buds were thrilled to say the least. It was hot & ready to be eaten straight from the pan. Plenty of little bites of chicken and crisp veggies along with the rice noodles and lots of flavor. I ordered 1/2 pan and it can easily feed 8-10. The picture I've included is after my hubby & I ate 2 huge servings. Doesn't even look like we put a dent in it. ;-) I'm happy to know that when I get a craving I can text Marivic & place an order. And she told me today she's at the Nocatee farmers market when it's open every 3rd Saturday of the month so I can also go there. And something I didn't realize until after I got the pancit was that she uses local ingredients and there's no preservatives. Win-win!