Flavorful food that was unique to me; I think my first Filipino food experience! We came for lunch…read moreand were able to be immediately seated with attentive service. The menu was approachable; lots of similar dishes to other cuisines I had had before, but obviously different spins and flavors. It was hard to pick what to get, but based on the table it doesn't seem like there is a bad option! Parking - private lot

Came here on a nice Wednesday night weatherwise. Their happy hour is all day on Wednesdays which is…read morea plus and they have a number of bar bites discounted $3-5 dollars. My BMP calamansi margarita was distinct in its tanginess. Tried the veggie lumpias and brussel sprouts. The lumpias had tangy dipping sauce that might have been dominated by calamansi. More tang than savory. The brussel sprouts were standard but had a good portion. I tried to detect whether they used fish sauce but I couldn't tell. Ordered the daing na bangus (milkfish) as my entree. They gave me the whole fish and it threw me off that it was mostly deboned since I kept looking for the bones with my tongue and teeth. Fish was nice and crispy and the dipping sauce was more savory than what came with the lumpias. The garlic rice that came with the dish was smoky from that wok hay. Probably could have used a little more soy sauce for flavouring. My favourite dish was the turon dessert (fried bananas) along with the ube ice cream. The coconut sauce they used seemed more like caramel. I haven't eaten much Filipino food so I wasn't sure how authentic the dishes were. I was expecting a little more intensity in the flavours, and I don't know if it was toned down for their customers. There were around ten customers that night. The inside was beautiful and they have a two level patio that is perfect for nights like these. The service was very nice and the kitchen was faster than I expected.

Most of my adult life has been spent working in the medical field, more specifically in the Texas…read moreMedical Center. Because of this, I was introduced to Filipino food many years ago. IYKYK! I've had homemade as well as from the Filipino restaurants around town. I've had Gerry's Grill catered at functions but I finally got the chance to check out their location in Chinatown. It is located right off the Beltway, tucked away in the back of a shopping strip. It can be easy to miss not only because it doesn't face the highway, but you gotta be aggressive getting into the parking lot if you're exiting from the highway. There is an entry point in the back which is what I would do next time I come here. Customer service was amazing. I've become accustomed to friendly, Filipino hospitality and it is no different here. The staff here make sure you leave happy. For my dining in experience, I came for my bestie's baby's baptism lunch. The staff did a great job catering to our party as well as guests dining in off to the side. Though we were in the main dining area, we still felt like we were in our own party. We had a buffet style set up in a glass enclosed room overlooking the main dining room. This was great as it gave me a chance to really check out stuff off their menu other then the usual pancit and lumpia that is always at every potluck at work. There was pancit, garlic rice, lumpia, lechon, adobo chicken, calamari, beef kaldereta, fried chicken, different veggies, and other dishes I didn't get the name of. The difference of eating it in house and not catered was night and day difference. It was delicious catered, but even better eating it hot and fresh. For dessert, we had banana lumpia. Delicious. Overall, Gerry's Grill in person was a big hit. Not only did we have great food, but you almost always will have someone on a mike singing some karaoke as well. I will definitely be back when the Filipino food craving hits.

Gerry's Grill is easy to find right off Sam Houston Parkway, and there's plenty of parking, which…read moreis always a plus. The place is clean, and the staff is super friendly, though I'm pretty sure our server didn't realize I'm Filipino because she kept asking if we liked the dishes like we'd never had them before. It cracked me up lol! Most of our cravings were definitely satisfied. I was disappointed they don't serve sago with the gulaman anymore, and the crab fried rice didn't seem to have actual crab in it. I could smell it, but I couldn't see it. The pork BBQ sticks were huge and flavorful, while the inihaw na pusit was on the smaller side, but dipping it in their vinegar sauce made it extra good. My husband tried pork sisig for the first time, and the server explained it's best eaten while drinking, aka as a "pulutan" which again confirmed she didn't realize we're Filipino. The halo-halo was perfect for cooling off in this Texas heat, though I remember the serving being bigger when they first opened. Overall, a friendly spot with solid Filipino comfort food with a few misses, but still a great place when the cravings hit.

We had an incredible meal at Patis & Toyo! Everything we ordered was outstanding--the crispy…read morepampano, Bicol Express, and bagoong fried rice were all packed with flavor and cooked perfectly. The crispy pampano deserves special recognition. It was hands down the best pampano we've ever had. The fish was unbelievably flavorful and juicy on the inside with an incredibly crisp exterior. We're not sure what the secret is--maybe it's brined or marinated--but it was absolutely exceptional. The Bicol Express had just the right balance of richness and spice, and the bagoong fried rice complemented everything perfectly. Great food, friendly service, and we'll definitely be coming back. Highly recommended!

Stunning! My mom is…read morein town from Maryland, so I was on the hunt for a new Filipino spot, and I'm so glad we found this one! We originally stopped in just for the infamous halo-halo, but once we saw lumpia on the menu, we couldn't resist. Best decision ever. The halo-halo was fresh, flavorful, and not overloaded with the sweet mix like some places can be. The lumpia? Crispy, perfectly seasoned, packed with just the right amount of filling... and dare I say... it might've been almost better than my mom's. (Don't tell her I said that.) The atmosphere deserves its own shoutout. The moment you walk in, it feels like stepping into a lush little green oasis. It was such a refreshing escape from the middle-of-the-day Texas heat. To top it all off, the service was amazing! Attentive, patient, and genuinely kind. We'll definitely be back. I was already texting my daughter about it before we even left!

With several Filipino restaurants in the Houston area, blessed to have found Pinoy Gourmet. We…read morewere introduced to this restaurant when a party had the delicious pork belly (pictured), which had the perfect blend of crispy skin and flavorful meat. During our first visit here, we tried the bangus sisig, the long anise breakfast, lumpia, lumpia gulay, pancit, and pork bbq. All dishes were served fresh, all with the traditional flavors of authentic filipino cuisine. The service was top notch, and all staff were friendly. Would highly recommend this restaurant for those wanting to experience a laid back filipino dining experience.

I came here with my husband and my mom for brunch. When you first come in, you can just grab a…read moretable. The menus are at the checkout counter. When you know what you want, go back to the checkout counter and order all your food. Staff will come with utensils and water. The food was very filling. I'm pretty sure we over ate. The food are more on the Sweet side and focus on pork meats. The drinks are behind the checkout counter and not on the menu. If you want condiments, it's by the checkout counter too. As you can tell, most of the stuff is kind of self-serve, which is normal for this kind of establishment. We came on a Sunday around 11 AM. It was a steady crowd. Tables and chairs are very clean. The light took a little bit to get used to. I think we picked the bad spot because the fan above us had a light above the fan so it kind of got stroby. The breakfast plate is garlic rice, one meat, some tomato slices, and two eggs. (The breakfast plate is served all day.) If you have a friend, get two breakfast plates and a street food (3 sticks of one type of meat only). And share that. It's very filling. The pandan dessert was a refreshing after dish but I think it would taste better cold. (I'll ask for some ice next time to put on top of it.) Parking is free and out front. There is a lot of space. This place is in a new looking plaza with plenty of shops ready to rent out.

So my coworker would always bring ube bread for me to work and I finally got her to give up where…read moreshe goes. She told me to go to the bakers son and make sure I go early because they do sale out and people buy in bulk. I entered with intentions of only getting the ube bread but $40 and 5 items later I went slightly overboard. They have so many items and they all look delicious. The customer service was great and prices were really good. Now to the items, the ube bread is phenomenal, soft, sweet, flavorful 10/10. I also got a biscoff bread sandwich (I'm forget the name) which had the softest and most perfect bread I've ever indulged in. Now to what the employees recommended and the absolute star. The ube Swiss roll. Omg, it was phenomenal. 20 out of 10! It was perfect in every way. I live 30 mins away but will make sure to keep The Bakers Son on a must go place weekly!

I've heard a lot and seen many posts about The Baker's Son in Houston. The videos and pictures made…read moretheir bread and pastries look delicious and very promising. Since we were already in the area after breakfast at TJ's Filipino Cuisine, we finally got the chance to stop by and try their baked goods for ourselves. We arrived early, so the bakery wasn't too busy yet. The bakers were busy prepping more goodies in the back while my cousin and I browsed all the Filipino baked goods we really miss from back home in the Philippines. They even had suman, sapin-sapin, biko, and other kakanin, which was nice to see. I specifically looked for the chicken empanada, and my cousin wanted to try the ube white chocolate chip cookie. We also saw different kinds of siopao and planned to come back later to buy some before heading back to San Antonio. We tried the ube white chocolate chip cookie first, but honestly we weren't totally satisfied. It tasted more like a regular white chocolate chip cookie with purple coloring and didn't really have much ube flavor. I also tried the chicken empanada. My cousin didn't like it because it was sweeter than expected--we were both expecting it to be savory. There seemed to be caramelized sugar in the outside of the pastry, which probably added to the sweetness. I still like it, though it was definitely sweeter than what I'm used to. Red Ribbon's chicken empanada is still my favorite. Later that day before leaving Houston, we came back for the siopao we planned to take home. We finally decided to just buy a couple pieces for ourselves, heat them up in the bakery, and try them fresh. When we saw the price for a four-pack, we were honestly disappointed. It felt expensive for the size. The siopao wasn't huge, and while I like the dough, there wasn't much chicken filling inside. For the portion, taste, and quality, it felt overpriced. Overall, it's probably not worth making another trip back for us. We did enjoy the cassava ube suman, and I like the chicken empanada, but not enough to drive all the way to Houston just for those. If I live nearby, I might come back to try other baked goods, but based on this visit, I'm not sure the rest would impress my palate. I still give them credit for cleanliness and customer service, although we did notice fruit flies on one of the shelves and reported it. The staff was friendly, and the bakery itself was welcoming. At the end of the day, since they're a bakery, the expectation is great-tasting, quality, mouthwatering Filipino breads, pastries ", and kakanin. While some items were enjoyable, overall it just didn't quite live up to the hype for us.

A passion project located inside of the Elev8 apartment complex off Smith St: needless to say, a…read morevery unique experience. Chef Bham (previously from Alinea, amongst a few other baller restaurants) is a literal genius. The menu was a really thoughtful ode to various Filipino dishes with a little twist on each. You get the comforting tapsilog and taho that you might have grown up with alongside interesting flavors and ideas. Pandesal made into a tart crust, kinilaw made with daikon and beef...they also are very good at keeping in mind dietary restrictions: I was the annoying halal option, but, man did my experience rock. Pork belly replaced with enoki mushrooms or octopus, and the dish was still amazing. My sister was unfortunately gluten free, but still able to enjoy every bite. Because of the location, you get the experience of sitting with the chef and his team and that alongside them in almost in the kitchen. It's very cozy and different, and you learn a lot about each dish because of it (and his amazing team). I love Musaafer, but this may have become my new favorite high end place.

From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed by the entire staff. The ambience was warm and…read morethoughtful: soft lighting and cozy table setup. They allow byob and there's also a wine tasting as well. The 5 courses menu was thoughtfully crafted, with each dish rooted in heritage and memory. Highlights included the fried octopus with eggplant, it was a bit hard to hear what exactly the sauce he made was--but it was amazing. Also the fried rice with Wagyu, quail egg and topped with caviar was fantastic. Great texture and presentation. Service was impeccable. Chef Bham and the staff were deeply knowledgeable and genuinely passionate. Every glass was topped off before we even noticed. You could tell they weren't just serving food but also they were part of the storytelling. This experience deserves every bit of praise. If you're looking for something beyond the usual dining. Truly unforgettable. I'll be talking about this night for a long time.

I ordered it from uber eats with the BOGO deal. It was $20.70 on uber eats (definitely marked up…read moreprice by around $2?) but with tips my total still came out to $30 which was definitely worth it given that I didn't have to drive there. The meat was delicious. Very soft. Not too sweet. It has picked radish and spicy sour sauce? But I didn't eat with any of those because it tasted super delicious with just the meat and rice. I definitely didn't have enough rice though! It was that good!!!!!

Ate here for the first time. We ordered the Sarsa MNL Lechon Chicken and the BBQ Plate. The food…read morewas definitely flavorful and delicious. Not the traditional style Filipino food that you'd find at a hole-in-the-wall. We also got the combo which comes with a drink and a side of tiny lumpias and some salt/vinegar shrimp chips. Overall, pretty pricy and not worth the price you pay. The food is pretty flavorful and the portions aren't bad or anything, I just don't think it's worth the price. Staff are friendly. Lots of tables to dine at to include the rest of the food court. The fountain drink machine is near one of the front doors. The parking lot is small and tight so I wouldn't bring a huge truck in here. The gate automatically lets you in, but you can pay on your way out and they don't validate here.

Visited. Food good. Go by. Get your fix for Filpino food. Met Joe. Very nice young man. He'll fix…read moreyou up. I missed Turon. He advised get there early. Nice place to dine. Home feeling. There's a store. So get your snacks. They have frozen foods. Baked goods. I'll be back. Hopefully soon.

Lady in the front was very nice and explained the menu to me. Severely disappointed in the portion…read moresizes. I came in at 1pm and the still had decent options available. Rice was really bland, meat in stick was okay and lumpia was definitely refried. Sausage was okay. I try to support local and small businesses but there's no way combo b was worth a whole $15. Unfortunately I doubt I'll be going again.

THEY DO NOT FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!…read more I called in to order 2 vegetable pancit bihon and 10 veggie Eggrolls for pickup. We arrived and honestly it wasn't really somewhere I would normally want to see, knowing I'm about to eat from this establishment; but hey, don't judge a book by its cover, right? They definitely need some external renovations though. NOW LETS TALK FOOD. They actually gave us 2 more Eggrolls than ordered which was really cool. The Eggrolls were actually good and the sauce that it came with was decent. The issue comes in when I get to the house and check to see that the pancit bihon has lo mein noodles in it, including PIECES OF CHICKEN. We're not sure if this is how they make their food, but we do not like this AT ALL. It also was lukewarm (not freshly cooked at all), and we don't even live that far. I feel it's lazy and unprofessional to order one thing and receive a mixture of others. It's really annoying and irritating to the point I'm not going to eat this. Additionally, it has NO FLAVOR. The meal is real INSIPID. AND they're closing in the next 7 minutes so I can't even return to get my $$ back. The prices are good though. I guess I got what I paid for. I would've appreciated paying $10 for the pancits and Eggrolls to get a delicious, hot and accurately prepared meal. My rating...TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK, I will not be ordering anything else from this place. It's unfortunate because we're big on loyalty to businesses that do us right and we like to spend money. However, first impressions are everything, and unfortunately they did not give us a good impression at all.

Although most of the dishes were delicious especially the lechon and the dinuguan, many of them…read morewere lukewarm which was not ideal. The desserts were okay and the inside of the restaurant was not crowded at all. It can be easy to miss since it's located in a nondescript strip mall. Overall, it's worth trying once since Filipino buffets are hard to come by.

After years since our last visit, we finally made it back to TJ Filipino Cuisine--of course for…read moreFilipino breakfast. We really missed Hazel. I'm not sure if she still works here, but the place honestly felt different without her welcoming smile and warm reception. We arrived just in time for breakfast (last Saturday) I ordered Bangsilog, while my cousin had the Tocilog. Service was fast as usual. I really enjoyed my Bangsilog--the bangus tasted fresh, perfectly fried, crispy on the outside while still tender and juicy inside. Unfortunately, my cousin's tocino was disappointing. The tocino was tough and tasted like it may have been leftover from previous day and simply reheated. Either that or it has been sitting in the kitchen for quite awhile. We still finished our meals. Because we were starving, but it definitely affected the experience. It also made us miss Hazel's customer service even more because if she had been there, we're pretty sure she would've handled the situation right away. I waited a while before writing this review because I wanted to be as fair as possible. The lady who served us was still very good, although it was obvious that the overall customer service experience was not quite at the same level as when Hazel was around. The biggest issue was really the tocino. Because of that, this latest visit to TJ's wasn't perfect and honestly made us wonder if it's still worth making this one our go-to spot whenever we're in the Houston area.

I've had great experiences at TJs before but this latest experience was awful. Arrived on a Friday…read moreevening at about 5:30. The food was old and not fresh with much of the soups overly salty due to cooking under the heater from what I assumed was since lunch time. Most of the other dishes was not fresh and with most of the fried items not retaining any crisp. I can only assume this was the remaining lunch batch being kept and served for dinner. The service was friendly and the restaurant was clean. However, the issue of food quality was upsetting, especially at $20, which while not much in today's economy, can get you a made to order and filling meal at other restaurants. Hoping this review is taken constructively and improvements are made.