Got tired of eating Italian Food over the past couple weeks while in Florence/Rome, so we decided to get some Filipino Food for dinner on our last night here. We are staying at the Meininger Roma Termini a few blocks away, so it was very walkable. They have both indoor and outdoor seating. We opted for take-out since there is a kitchen/dining room where we were staying at. When you enter the restaurant, you need to a walk down some stairs as the indoor dining area is in the basement. There were some diners eating, but there was a table of what seems like family members/friends drinking some beer and eating Nilagang Mani (boiled peanuts). It was a little awkward because they kept staring at my son and I the whole time while we were ordering and waiting for our food. You can tell they were making tsismis (gossiping) and talking about us a little. My wife is Filipino (didn't come with us), so I can understand and speak some Tagalog and my son can understand pretty fluently. That was somewhat uncomfortable (minus 1 star for that). Later after I ordered and spoke a little Tagalog, we heard them say in Tagalog, "oh they can speak some Tagalog". Usually in the USA, it is not as obvious, but it's in the culture.
As for the food, they have a lot of the traditional Filipino dishes. They have a board on the wall with the day's specials (€8 each). The best deal is the Pinoy Mega Mix for €12 which you can choose 3 items from the day's specials. We ordered 1 special (pork Binagoongan), Pinoy Mega Mix, Pork Sisig, and steamed rice ($1 each, about 2 cups worth of rice). When we brought back the ulam (main dish, entree), we noticed that instead of normal take-out packaging, most items were packed in plastic bags like they do for street food which was interesting. The portion size of the ulam was also pretty small (except for the steamed rice) for the price compared to what you get in the USA. Overall the food was tasty. I don't think there are too many Filipino restaurants in Rome, so if you are looking for Filipino food and rice, then they can satisfy your craving.
Overall rating of 3 stars, docked stars for feeling uncomfortable while waiting and for portion size. read more