I ordered pancit bihon yesterday for our Christmas party. Since I have no time to cook, I decided to try tastebuds. After I paid the cashier showed me the tray. And I told her is there meat and veggies there? Coz looks like all noodles. And she told me underneath. So I went to our Xmas party and told my coworkers to mixed the bihon. And you can see in the picture there's little meat and no veggies. NEVER AGAIN! it's embarrassing that you paid just for noodles! read more

Tastebuds - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

We visited for the first time on a Sunday and the place was packed. We waited for about 10-15 minutes for a seat so that was not so bad since we were 6 in the party and had not made a reservation. Now on to the food ratings for some of the items we ordered: Cebu Lechon - tasted good and skin still crispy but meat was not even warm despite being under the heat lamp. They should consider putting under the broiler for a minute or so before serving so it's somewhat steaming when it arrives at the table. Pork Sisig - I expected a sizzling platter but it arrived cold and taste was very forgettable. Garlic rice - was very good. Kare Kare - have had better at Tribu but this was ok not spectacular. We'll probably return at some point and try the other items on their menu. read more

I ate here for the second time and tried their lechon. I can honestly say that the lechon is one of the best I've had in years. It is moist and tender. The staff is great and the prices aren't so bad. read more

You have got to check this place out for awesome and cheap filipino brunch buffet on the weekends! For about $7/per person, you get to eat arroz caldo, champorado, tuyo, longanisa, tocino, lechon, and other filipino delicassies! You can't beat it for that price! You have to be patient though because it's not a very big restaurant and their buffet is so popular, that there is usually a wait time to be seated. Besides the brunch buffet, they also specialize in lechon dishes, which is definitely worth it! Perfect with some Mang Tomas sauce!!! read more

By far one of the best Kare Kare dishes I've had outside of my own mom's cooking. I also had their tasty Laing and calamari. Very thankful to a friend who introduced me to this place! read more

Is there a negative 5 stars. What can I say about my disappointment about this place? Let's begin with the greeting. -Took 20 minutes to get seated. It was fairly busy, there was a table that needed to be cleaned but it took 3 times speaking to 3 different serve staff to get seated. -disorganizaed: there's no method to the madness. It seems like a round robin of hodge podge of helping. -Service: lets say we waited an ample amount of time to begin receiving our food. The appetizer came. 5 minutes later the soup came. another 10 minutes later the rice came. Then the rest of our order. -Quality of food: Everything was bland. Toyo and kalamansi, no where to be found, had to ask 2x. To top it off, their specialty- THE LECHON- was dry and tasteless. Hmmm, if one cannot get their specialty right...enough said. -Overall- I'd rather go to TK Noodles or some hole in the wall Chinese restaurant...to get the same quality of food but a lot cheaper price. All the Filipino "stars" that promote this place--if you know one of them--ask them how to get there...I have to guess they have never been there and they were just paid to promote it. read more

I've been to Tastebuds a few times now and my experience has been great. Service was friendly and the response time have been okay considering that I've only been there around dinner time when they get really busy. My favorite dish is the sisig bangus (grilled milk fish with minced jalapeno and onions), it's delish! The other one would be the Crispy Dinuguan, it states on the menu that it's crispy rich sauce but that rich sauce is actually pork blood! Yes, gross I know but for someone who doesn't eat it and will have a few bites when ordered tells you something. If you can stomach the thought of eating it then by all means give it a try! Their parking lot is small but there's also street parking. read more

Now that's some good lechon. Ordered a lechon Cebu for my son's 1st birthday and am soooo happy that I decided to go with Tastebuds. Being that the party was in Union City, I was going to go through Nayong or have a friend amateurly roast it and thank goodness I didn't take those routes. We picked up our lechon by 11am and when it got to the house, it wass still warm and the skin super crispy! I didn't get to taste much of it since I was busy entertaining but from what I did, mmm mmm good. Everyone also raved that the lechon was delicious and the thing was just straight bone at the end of the party. 1 star off though because they accidentally charged someone else's order on our credit card but the amount got credited back right away. No biggie. I will definitely use Tastebuds again for another function! read more

Came here this past weekend around 6pm, parking lot looked full however only 3 tables were occupied. Anyways ordered the Chicken Sisig and Bistek with garlic rice. Chicken sisig tasted like yesterday chicken (kinda hard) however the Bistek was great (not too much fat) My lady ordered the Halo Halo - she like it except for the beans The service was good, the guy who pour water asked if the food was ok Not bad so far but I would stay away from the chicken sisig though read more

This place was awesome. I ordered the tapa breakfast with two eggs. They gave me garlic peanuts and like an egg flower soup to start with. The portions were generous. The restaurant was very clean. I'm going to come back soon and have the spam or longoniza breakfast. read more

So I'm still new to Filpino food, but, this place was impressive. It was clean, semi-orderly - they did fudge up my order and try to charge me for stuff I didn;t order. But for quality of food. I thought it was good. Atmosphere is also good as well and the portions are ample. Even though they had given me semi-good service - meaning - I order 1lb lechon and she had only said they had 1/2 pound, it was uncool because they were still chopping away at the huge pig in the back. But 1/2 pound had worked, I was full. Just was planning to share the food with family... couldn't... I would go again even though service was not great, maybe I will do take out next time so I don't have to deal with the crappy parking situation. Lechon available only Fri. Sat. Su. read more

I would say their daily lunch special is hit or miss, but after today, I'm definitely a FAN. Their lunch combo is about $8.50 with 2 entree, with rice and soup. I really love their Lechon Sisig. You have the tanginess, crunch of lechon skin, hit of calamansi and seasoning. Yummy! It's worth every drop of fat in that dish. If you're craving for Lechon, you have to go to this place because they have several dishes out of lechon including their Lechon wrap. They're really good. The staff are very friendly and the interior of the restaurant gives the "Presco" vibe. read more

I met some coworkers here on one of our off-days for lunch since someone recommended this place. We ordered the appetizer sampler -- basically a bunch of fried Filipino bites. Decent, but nothing extraordinary. Now, the sisig bangus was something we heard we just HAD to try. I had no idea what to expect, but it was pretty good. We had some veggie dish and some rice along with everything else, but it wasn't anything memorable. You don't see too many Filipino restaurants around, so this was fun to try out, but I probably won't be back since it's not like I have Filipino food cravings. read more

I called them up for an order of crispy dinuguan for we have not savored it for about 2 years. (Actually I called up a day earlier but the female to order told me to order the next day so it will freshly made.) A male voice answered with a not so enthusiastic tone on his voice but I placed the order, he let out a scream to somebody and CONFIRMED my order for pick up in 30 mins. So we arrived at the restaurant added a few more orders and paid the bill. After about 15 minutes the lady/cashier talked to me and was telling me no more dinuguan available. DAMN. It took them more than an hour to tell me that it is not available when they billed me the full amount including the not available food. It is so pathetic and disheartening to travel far from NorCal to the city just get a taste of that menu to no avail. Sorry guys you lost another customer!!!! read more

Food- Average. Came Here For A Private Event & There Was A Variety Of Food Available. Buko pandan was really good although the texture was really milky. There was this dish- I can't remember the name- but it had lechon pieces, mango, & tomato in it. THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Customer service- Friendly staff. They were accommodating and made sure we had everything we needed. Atmosphere- Clean restaurant. The only thing I would say that they can fix is to have some sort of background music. The only thing they had playing the entire time was karaoke tunes. Overall, I would come here again if I was craving Filipino Food. read more

We had our Brunch here today and we werent satisfied .. First, customer service really was bad.. We came in first yet the cashier/server/crew gave the table to the group (happens to be same # of party) who arrived minutes after us.. It was a disappointment that she didnt know the "first come first served" policy.. They don't accept reservations so no way that the 2nd grp made one.. The place was so tiny..Second, The food wasnt appealing, considering it was a Brunch but we did not see any breakfast meal except for EGG without any taste.. The lechon paksiw, adobo, sisig, adobo rice, were left over from their weekday menu or yesterday's buffet.. we have tasted home cooked filipino meals and food from other filipino resto so we know how it SHOULD taste.. Third, Presentation of buffet was off , rice was so greasy, tuyo was undercooked.. The only good they had there was the bilo bilo and champorado.. Frustrating part also was when we got the bill it was almost $100.00 with a 14% gratuity on it..We have eaten in buffet and other fine dining class resto but none of them ever charge us an automatic or instant gratutuity.. It was Ok if we were satisfied and happy with the food, but it's like we paid big but with less quality.. This was our first time to dine in here at Tastebuds and they left us with a negative impression.. Never will we eat here ever again... We'd rather pay a couple of bucks more at Moonstar Buffet for more choices of food and fantastic buffet set up and dessert choices than a ripped off Tastebuds. My Mom and Grandma'a cooking are way better than this cold left over torn pieces food.. read more

Tastebuds - Old food - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

Poor customer service. I called last week to reserve a lechon for Xmas eve. I called the catering # on their website and had several conversations with a gentleman who is one of the owners. He took my order and we agreed. The following day he called me to say that the pick up time I wanted was not available and Id have to get it earlier. I asked him to double check. The day after (day 3 of placing initial order), I called him to verify my order since I had not heard back. He told me to call the resto. I called the resto and they said they do not have my order and never got it. I explained the conversations I've had and I was told they are already backed up and could not accommodate orders. She said the person was simply collecting orders but not coordinating availability with the resto. I am very upset especially bec this order is for our holiday party and I had to scramble last minute for plan B. Poor service and misrepresentation! read more

This place is pretty decent. I don't think that it's the best Filipino restaurant around the area, Isla and Kuya's is a better option in my opinion. I'm this restaurant I recommend the binagoongan which is basically chopped up liempo with tomatoes, onions and green mango. Bomb.com especially if you eat it with their dilis fried rice. The crispy pasta here is just ok so if you want something deep fried, go with the lechon kawali instead. Calamari here is on point as well. If you're fond of pre-sweetens iced tea like in the Philippines, this place has it. I recommend this place especially for their buffet brunch. read more

I lived in Cebu for a long time and I am 101% sure their Lechon doesn't taste like Cebu's. Not even close! Our server told us it has nothing to do with Cebu's. They make/experiment on their own recipe. So why call it Cebu's Lechon?! Marketing purposes? Very deceiving! The Crispy Dinugoan and Chicharon were good that's why the 3 stars. I don't mind going back. But no more lechon! read more

Tastebuds - Lechon, Crispy Dinuguan, Chicharon Bulaklak and Laing. - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

The best Filipino Lechon in town. I highly recommend this place to all my Filipino people. The food is awesome. Could be a little pricey but its all worth it. Its made to cook food. The staff is nice as well. You will surely feel the warmth of hospitality of the Philippines in this place. The restaurant itself is pleasing to the customer eyes. Bright and clean. If you are looking for a Filipino Restaurant this is the place to be. read more

We ordered our food here for my nephew's baptismal party last May. The portions are generous, prices are reasonable, but most of all the Filipino dishes are all delicious. Our guests were all impressed. We ordered full trays of pork sisig, boneless bangus sisig, kaldereta, menudo, adobo, pansit bihon, lumpia, pinakbet, chopsuey, and one whole lechon cebu. They are all delicious but my favorite is their Pinakbet. The Kalabasa they used is the creamiest I had and the taste and saltiness is just perfect. The Lechon's skin is very crispy and the sauce they provided is very good also, they said they make their own lechon sauce and not just regular bottled Andok lechon sauce. We made lechon paksiw from the left over lechon the next day and it was so good! Their Pork and Bangus sisig are very very good also. Everything was perfect that day except that we didn't order enough rice so we had to rush and cook more rice for our guests. Overall, our guests are all happy and went home full and satisfied. I haven't tried dining in their restaurant so I cannot comment on their service.We went there a week in advance, ordered the food trays and lechon and sent my sister to pick it up on the day of the event. However, according to my sister who went there to pick up the food on a Saturday afternoon, parking was horrendous!!! It took them so long to find a parking spot. read more

Came here for Mother's day it was bad service. It is not so much the food it's really the service. First thing they don't have enough people? Second they keept taking orders on the phone which is crazy ? That day it was only waitress who is working and I can tell she is overwork. We paid for what ??? Food wise not even that good just plane filipino food. I would not recommend this place read more

Ordered food to go on Sunday. It was inedible. Had to throw it away. What a waste! Texture of meat was not right that I had to spit it out. Potatoes were uncooked - come on! Banana looked old that it had purple roots all over it. This dish should never have gone out for service. The quality of the ingredients was horrible. I would not go back to this place. If they don't care about the food they serve, why would I even bother. read more

Tastebuds Filipino restaurants. Oh my G. The food was great and delicious. I really love the crispy dinuguan and crispy binagoongan. Daing fried rice ang the binagoongan yummy.. I want to eat that all ang the bangus siding. I also Try the buffet was so good and the lechon fantastic. I want to go there everyday. And the dessert so yummy I would love the bobo chacha and Buko pandan and also the turon. And the service so great read more

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We catered with them for our baby shower. The owner, Michelle, and her husband were wonderful to work with. The set up and clean up was prompt and professional. Most importantly, the food was so good. Our guests loved it! Of course Tastebuds let us keep any leftovers. Choosing to cater took a whole load of stress off our shoulders. Great service + good food + less stress = worth every penny spent. read more

The pork sisig was salty. And it was served as boiled pork with just added soy sauce, pepper and onion. The pancit was okay but the smell of fish sauce was very strong. Halo-halo was just fine. Serving was okay but pricey compared to other Pinoy Resto. read more

I love love love their tofu sisig. I'm sorry but being a vegetrian Filipino is really hard with all the culture's dishes being usually meat, so I am just so excited and happy that something delicious like this exists! read more

So I've lived in Daly City for a large part of my life, but I've never really had very good Filipino food. I was certainly well-versed in the enjoyment of lumpia and all its deep-fried glories, as well as savoring the vinegar tang of chicken adobo and luscious peanut butter sauce of kare kare, but I've never actually had a full-fledged Filipino food fest. Luckily, my co-workers came to my rescue and took me to Tastebuds, where I had my first really positive experience with all that is Filipino food. The place was packed when we went on a Friday night, but luckily there was room for the 6 of us, although the table arrangement was a little awkward. My co-workers took care of the ordering, well, because if left to me, I probably would have just gotten the lumpia Shanghai and called it a night. They did order the lumpia, but then went all out and ordered a virtual best of Filipino dishes smorgasboard. They also got the garlic calamari, kare kare, pork sisig, laing, sinigang with bangus, beef estofado, pancit miki bihon, as well as a lovely drink for me (sago-gulaman). I was nearly overwhelmed by the amount of food that showed up at our table because the owner also gave us a plate of lechon for free. My favorites of the night included the pork sisig (diced grilled pork served with a soy-based sauce and mixed with finely diced onions and jalapeno peppers), which was awesome over rice, as well as the laing, which was taro leaves in coconut milk. Basically, you can think of the laing almost like a coconut flavored, creamier version of creamed spinach. The lumpia and garlic calamari were good, though I wished the calamari were a little crisper and the garlic flavor more prominent. The sinigang was very good with a lovely tang from the tamarind, although I have to say I'm not a real big fan of bangus. The kare kare was delicious- the meat melted off the oxtails and the peanut butter sauce, though a tad too thick for me, perfect with a mound of fluffy rice. The beef estofado had some great pieces of banana, along with a tasty sauce, but the beef was tough. The only items I didn't enjoy as much was the lechon- the skin was not crisp and had some hair left on it, but that's probably beause there wasn't much left on the pig by the time we got there- as well as the pancit, which was just okay. To top off this feast, we had dessert- the bobo cha-cha, which makes me feel happy just saying it aloud a few times. Its basically ice cream with pieces of gelatin and sweet yams drizzled with coconut milk and topped with something resembling Rice Crispies. Delicious, delicious, delicious, although that pretty much put my glucose levels through the roof, along with my cholesterol. I have to say Filipino food is very, very filling- I left the restaurant feeling like there was a brick in my stomach. You can't help but eat a lot of rice to help sop up the rich sauces and even with the inclusion of vegetables in the sinigang and kare kare, you end up feeling like you've eaten your weight in protein, whether its chicken, beef or pork. 4 stars for a great dinner out with the co-workers- Tastebuds served tasty food in huge portions and you can be sure that you will not leave here anything less than stuffed to the gills. read more

$14.99 per person with very limited choice of food for breakfast. Not worth it at all!!! Not many options. Maybe if the food actually tasted good, it wouldn't be too bad, but it doesn't. Even the sinigang, tocino and egg were tasteless, which I don't understand how you can mess that up.. On top of that, the workers were rude!!! Customer service is way more important to me but they even failed at that. NOT worth it at all. Save yourself and go elsewhere! read more

Really felt like eating lechon but I knew it was to late to order from Ongpins. So looked through Yelp and found this place. The restaurant has a parking lot but only fits about 8 cars or so. The inside was nice, was seated right away. Wait staff seemed overwelmed even though it wasn't busy yet. Food came out about 10 minutes after we order which is surprising. Food was just ok. Didn't like the lechon at all which is sad because the lechon is what this place is supposedly known for. Go to Ongpins if you want good lechon. read more

Service is very slow. Desert came sooo late. Food is good but company need to hire more people. You will choke to death. Still has no water to serve. No body will even check upon you if you still need anything or doing fine. Please hire some extra personnel. read more

Its the best Filipino restaurant i have tried so far. I will definitely come back. Food tastes great, if you are missing filipino dishes cooked in the most authentic way, this is definitely the place to go. I recommend kare kare,crispy binagoongan and daing rice:) tip! Look for Ate Dory:)) actually everyone is nice:) read more

I'm going to start my review with a disclaimer: I was born and raised in the Philippines. I've been fortunate to eat some of the best traditional lechons found in Manila and the more aromatic and lemongrass/herb-infused ones flown in from Cebu.With that said, I've also had my share of mediocre lechon. Since we were planning on ordering a whole lechon for my boyfriend's birthday this year, we decided to try Tastebuds' food first before ordering an entire pig. And thank god we did! FOOD: We ordered 1lb. of lechon (it was lechon cebu last Sunday), chop suey and adobo rice. All three items came out at the same time, which was good. As soon as the lechon hit the table, I immediately tried the skin, which while a bit too cold for me, was very crisp and had that authentic dark caramel sheen. My excitement for the rest of the meal instantly vanished when I had some of the meat. In my opinion, the pork meat was extremely dry & bland. We're not talking about not-as-moist-as-it-could've-been dry here. I'm talking about stringy, almost dehydrated, very TOUGH pork. Why, why, why??? To make sure it wasnt just that one piece, I took small bites of the other pieces and experienced the same texture and blandness. Very, very disappointing. Defeated and quite embarrassed by this lechon, I told my boyfriend that properly-prepared lechon really is good and like Anthony Bourdain said in his No Reservations show about the Philippines, it is truly one of the best pork meals that you could ever eat in your life. The chop suey was decent and had similarities to the version I've had growing up. Plenty of quail eggs, shrimp, chicken and assorted vegetables. The adobo rice was bad. While the rice had the "adobo color" to it and you would sometimes find meat bits hidden in the grains, it lacked a real adobo flavor. Call it subtle if you want but if you had blindfolded me and asked me to eat and identify it, I would'nt have guessed adobo rice. Patio Filipino & Intramuros' adobo rice are much, much better. If those places and other Filipino joints can make something simple like adobo rice really well, it makes me wonder why this place can't. SERVICE: We arrived at the restaurant promptly at 11 am to avoid the lunch rush, being Easter Sunday and all. While we got our calamansi juice 10 mins after being seated, all three dishes didn't get to the table until 11:40. As a recap, we had lechon (which was already cooked and just had to be chopped), chop suey (it's veggie stir fry, it takes 5 mins literally) and adobo rice (takes very little time if rice + adobo are already pre-prepared, which I'm sure was the case). So I'm completely baffled as to why it would take 40 mins to get our food. And we came when the restaurant wasnt that busy yet. After we paid for the bill, the server noticed our barely touched food and asked in Filipino if we didnt like it. I politely said no, and that was the end of it. She just blinked at me and said nothing. No apologies from the server, no apologies from the manager/owner-type guy who was right next to us and could've easily heard what was said. We were just ignored after I said that, as if nothing has happened and that's expected. SUMMARY: pros: lechon skin was good and authentic. calamansi juice prepared well, decent chop suey cons: extremely dry lechon meat (i've never had pork this dry), horrible adobo rice and ice-cold, slow service In summary, I really, really wanted to like Tastebuds so I can have my go-to lechon place, as my favorite Filipino restaurants - Patio, Tribu Grill & Intramuros - don't have it. I'm not sure if they were just having a bad lechon day or what, since some people here on yelp seem to adore their lechon. After having been extremely turned off by last Sunday's meal, they have lost my business and I will not be coming back. read more

There was an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain in which he was in search of the best roast pig. He gave that title to a Filipino specialty called lechon. I don't blame the guy! It's good stuff. And this restaurant has it; 4 kinds to be exact. Aside from this tasty pig, their menu features other popular Filipino dishes. My favorites here are the Pancit Bihon, Crispy Binagoonan (crispy pork and eggplant cooked in shrimp paste), and Bangus Sisig (marinated Milk Fish with onion and jalapeno). You might want to not overdo it with the fried items, or you'll be sure to be hit with some serious food coma. read more

We ate here for dinner.. This particular night was not busy so we got a table fairly quick.. Thats when the horror start first service was non existent the waitress messed up and forgot our order.. And the food toooook a very long time to get to our table.. The worst of all when we got our laing and there was a piece of long black hair yuuuckk.. and instead of apologizing for the hair she said its normal for the laing to have a hair wtf ... One of the most horrible dining experience ever thank you but never again read more

I have been to this place many times and I can honestly say their food is really good! Parking could be hard if you come during busy hours( lunch and dinner). Also the quality of food may vary if the restaurant is really really busy! Although the food is still good, when the restaurant is busy the quality sometimes go down a little. I suggest their kare-kare! It's one of their bests! Also try the leche flan for 3.50$ it is soooo good and baked/steamed into perfection;) read more

Although the ambiance of the place itself was a bit shabby, I did love the food and the service. I went on a Sunday at seven after mass. I particularly loved the lechon. It brought memories of back home in Manila. As a Fil-Am, I am absolutely in love with lechon and sisig, both of which Tastebuds had. I ordered the bangus sisig--so good! Never had it before, but if I were to have it again, it'd be at Tastebuds. The girl with braces and glasses was particularly helpful and was smiling so much that made me feel welcome--very good Pinoy welcome :) Not just to me too. I saw her singing to another table (although not very good haha). Love this place. Will stop by again. Best lechon in the bay area. read more

Spent over 300 dollars on 3 trays for sister's baby shower. Palabok, beef kalderetta and sisig, and everything was poorly done. The palaok was noodles were dry, clumpy lacked sauce so much it had bald spots (will provide picture), the kalderetta was not sweet, lacked carrots and Had dry meat. The sisig had a burnt taste, and the sauce couldn't even save it. Was very disappointing and embarrassing to provide this to my family and friends. The worst thing is that the palabok was an obvious disaster since they had to place it in the tray and they didn't have the decency to stand up and correct the problem. I had a catering ordering from them couple years ago and hat was done well, it was a shock to see such bad food, this will probably be the last time I'll order food from them. Sorry to be a downer, it needed to be said. Hope yelp doesn't delete this! read more

My family and I were craving Filipino buffet so we decided to check it out. First off, parking is terrible! When we went inside, It wasn't what I expected it to be. The food selection wasn't good at all. I did see a lechon on display in the back thinking it was part of the buffet but it wasn't (what a tease). The only thing I thought was decent would be the arroz caldo but even that, there was barely any chicken! I found 3 little pieces at the bottom. The tocino tasted smoked/burnt. The fish wasn't boneless like most places. The sisig had no flavor and was fatty. I wish I didn't waste my time coming here. read more

Great food! Not super greasy/fried....excellent Lechon!