I didn't expect a great Filipino Fine Dining in my backyard. I usually expect this type of…read moreexperience in Manhattan. The staff, host and chef were very friendly. They made sure that all our needs were met and that we had a great night. The decor was classy and very homey. One of the long benches they had reminded me of my uncle's back in his home in Laguna, Philippines. The food was exceptional. Everything was cooked perfectly. They didn't lessen the flavors to cater to the "American" palette. We were really full by the end of the night. This spot is really worth visiting. Go check them out if you're in the neighborhood.

I had a eureka moment when I discovered Maricel's Kitchen. I immediately declared, "This is where…read morewe're celebrating our anniversary!" Cozy and unpretentious, it's a small business and a true hidden gem. The moment we set foot in the door, we were warmly greeted by Paul, the extraordinary host and husband of the chef, Maricel. Upon seeing our reservation via OpenTable, he noticed we were celebrating our wedding anniversary. He gave us the most romantic table in the house. Megan quickly came out to take our order. We were deciding, and she mentioned they have Benguet coffee. As it was freezing outside, it was perfect as we looked through the menu. The Benguet coffee came out in a French Press. Benguet coffee is a single-origin coffee that grows in the Northern part of the Philippines. We tasted notes of chocolate, berries, and nuts. Intoxicating!! Pandesal, Filipino bread with accompanying butter, came out with the coffee. These are truly melt-in-your-mouth, as when you first break it, the crispy outer layer gives way to a soft and fluffy center. Heavenly!! We decided upon their Kamayan Tower, which is a 4-tier is like a Filipino celebration of food, all brought together and giving you a tasting banquet at your table. The top tier was the appetizers, where crispy Lumpia and Siomai (Filipino version of Shumai) lay. The second tier consisted of Pork Sisig, Chicken Inasal, and Pancit Bihon. The Pork Sisig was my absolute favorite as it was a symphony of rich and savory flavors. My husband loved the Chicken Inasal, as the flavor profile is smoky, tangy, and savory-sweet. The following tier held many delights, but what stood out from that tier were Chicken Adobo, the perfect ratio of soy and vinegar marinade, and the crispy Whole Fried Tilapia. Excellent combination of crispy skin and moist and flaky inside. Last but not least, the final tier had many stars, but what stood out for us was Beef Kaldereta and Inihaw Na Liempo. The primer is a stew with vegetables, potatoes, and tender beef. Slow-braised in tomato-based sauce, giving us hearty and comfy feelings. The latter is grilled pork belly, where the smoky and sweet flavors come together. Just when we were finished, Megan brought out a plate of desserts, and Paul gave us two flutes of champagne to celebrate. The food was all phenomenal, as was the service. Chef Maricel herself came out to greet us, and we talked about how these dishes were prepared. She has a full staff prepping for the dishes and truly tries to replicate the flavors of her grandmother's cooking from Manila. Both she and Paul were in the cooking school where they first met, and we laughed at how we first met our spouses. The place is a hidden gem, and Chef Maricel wisely chose her signage to be huge black lettering on a white, lit-up background so that passing cars can see her restaurant as they drive by. Plenty of parking as they share a parking lot in the strip mall. If you are looking for great Filipino cuisine where they treat you like family, this is the place. The place is not huge, so I strongly recommend people make their reservation via OpenTable. Chef Maricel also mentioned they offer cooking lessons during the weekdays, except for Friday evening, and they also serve Classic Filipino brunch towers on weekends. Sign. Me. Up!!

Everything was delicious! I got the Crispy Pork Sisig and was a great portion and flavor!…read more Should have taken a photo before eating haha

We came in first thing in the morning for breakfast- of course we had to try the tapsilog, ube…read morepancakes, and dulce de Leche coffee. I enjoyed the tapsilog but the beef was different than the usual but the rice was good too! The ube pancakes was overloaded with berries! So good! The restaurant is smaller than what I thought it would be but its cozy. The bathroom placement was just different, you have to go through the kitchen BUT the bathroom is so clean! The food was served in paper plates and plastic utensils, which i wish was not the case because the less waste the better for the environment but I get it though the manpower is lacking! I was not informed that there was an extra $1 charge for the whipped cream in my coffee. I wouldve opted out of the whipped cream. The people were nice all throughout but it was just those two things that can be improved on! BUT the Ube pandesal with cheese was sooooo good and unexpected. It seems like cream cheese was used as the filling and they were generous with it too.

Small place , packed shelf's that looked well kept not a spec of dust. Extremely clean. Food was…read moregreat. The chicken or pork on a stick is a fantastic quick lunch.

Im not sure how the rating for this place is so high and definitely not the case for me when I…read morevisited the establishment today. I ordered (to go) Lechon (L) , Pork Menudo (M), Pork Adobo (S), Sinigang (L) and Palabok. Half of the lechon was nothing but fat and no meat, pork menudo was decent, Pork adobo sauce was too thick and a bit on the salty side, sinigang was also thick and hardly any meat and the palabok - good Lord! Im not sure when it was made but after heating it up, the orange sauce was still a full chunk, I've tried a lot of variations of this item and this is not palabok. Not recommending this place as I dont want to see disappointments on people faces. Very sad.

The food was okay. I called them first to make sure they're…read moreopen and asked if they do cook to order or it's ready to serve (food) they have. The lady I spoke with on the phone said it's a buffet - eat all you can. And then she said they do combo, so I was a little confused but decided to just go there and find out myself. We drove an hour from Atlantic city and I was visiting from California. We stepped inside and found out that they don't have a buffet style but it's ala carte and combo food to go and you can also dine in coz there's table and seats also. My friend and I were in line next to the people ordering their food. When it was our turn, this older lady (server) was helping my friend with her order first, but the lady already got sinigang with rice and asking what else did my friend want. (Both of us were ordering 2 entrees) We were wondering why would she serve sinigang when we didn't order it. So we told the server we didn't order the sinigang. The lady then started acting weird and mean - telling the young lady (also a server) that she heard sinigang. She didn't get back to us abt what we want and didn't even apologize or anything. She just ignored us leaving us hanging and just helping someone else instead. The young lady ended up getting our order instead and she was nice. I was so upset how this older server (maybe she's the owner) made us feel! You have to treat your customers right when you're in business. I was visiting in NJ and drove far to try this Filipino food and she made us very uncomfortable. She's not friendly and very unprofessional and seems like a typical toxic "tita"! I'm sorry but I don't recommend this place. I can cook better. All the foods were served cold because they're just hanging there (display) for the people to buy them. Right after eating, my tummy was hurting a little. 20min later, I had an upset stomach and badly needed the restroom when we got to Costco!

Everything is fantastic the food the atmosphere the people everything the food is fantastic value…read moregreat food

Having my late lunch on weekday here…read more I ordered their lunch combo of white rice, fried veggie roll (lumpia gulay) and pork on tamarind soup (sinigang pork). Not a busy place I late afternoon. Self service like a cafeteria set-up. Server is friendly and helpful. Very clean, well lighted and uniquely decorated Filipino Restaurant. New owners took over from former owners of Phil-Am Restaurant. They modernize the place and upgraded the lighting fixtures and changed the whole setup of the place. They have catering service too.

When they first opened a couple of years ago, they were so stingy with the food portion and food…read morewasn't that good, so I didn't go back until after 2 yrs. I'm glad I gave them another shot because they are 10x better now! Food wise, everything is pretty good. Also, they give you a decent amount of food now for the combo meal. I usually get their sisig and their bbq liempo and white rice. I've also had their dinuguan (pork blood stew), chicken afritada, pakbet(veggies with shrimp paste), sinigang(pork with sour soup). You choose 2 dishes for your combo meal and a choice of either pancit (rice noodle) or rice . I haven't tried any of their desserts yet so I can't speak about that. Staff is very welcoming and happy. Ambiance is pretty much your typical filipino restaurant. You pick your food, pay, then you seat yourself. I keep coming back to this place pretty much once a wk lol. The combo I usually get is $12.99. But I think their combo meals start at $11.99, depending on what dishes you get. Also, they have a grocery store with lots of snacks, frozen food, ice cream, etc. I highly recommend this spot :-)

First time visiting this restaurant. Very friendly people and very clean place. We usually go to…read moreJersey city, but one of our friends suggested this place. We came on a Friday at lunch 11/8/24. My husband and myself ordered food and ate it at the restaurant. I can only speak for the food I ate. Our food was places in a black to go container. I ordered sour soup, rice and Lechon kawali. The food is good. My husband ate all his food. We also had take orders Pork bbq on a stick Beef and chicken empanadas Dried fish Suman sa lihiya and I also requested additional brown sweet sauce. I was so happy ! We went home- unpacked the food I was excited to eat by suman- I opened both brown sweet sauce to find MOLD GROWING ON BOTH CONTAINERS. This is unacceptable. It just killed my vibe. You as restaurant workers who represent the food you make and sell, should know better. This is not good business! I am not to sure if I will return. It may be closer to home , MOLD ON THE FOOD YOU SELL IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! At least in Jersey city , I can look at the food that I am buying. Advise to owner and employees: please look before selling food to customers.

Had their Rolling Kusina stop by at the military base JB MDL parking lot. Food was on their pricier…read moreside but was well made. They were quick and efficient in prepping food. Only ordered 1pork bbq, 1chicken bbq, and turon.... $17, review pics for quantity and quality. I'll have to try their actual location in Hamilton, huge fan of their snacks. Overall, too pricey for my liking, I will reevaluate when I try their actual location. Very nice and welcoming service.

The gang decided to make the trip from NJ to Queens in support of our friend, Cutuy Here to, lead…read moresinger of the band, Key of C. The place used to be called, Promdi, back in the 2010s. The place has changed a bit, slightly different decor from the last time we were there. The atmosphere was more "bakya" than Kabayan (from across the street). Still nice. They kept the bar, which is good. The staff was friendly, but kind of rushed us to get our orders before the show started. They explained it would have been more difficult to take orders later. The food was really, really good. All the flavors were on point. For the appetizer, we had some Crispy Chicken Skins. It was nice and crispy, but it needed some more salt. We had the Port Belly Kare-Kare, Beef Salpicao, the Pancit Palabok, Laing and Gambas. The one that stole the show was the Bagnet. That was mind blowing! Very flavorful and I highly recommend it. Dare I say that the food was better than Kabayan. The Key Of C band rocked the whole night through. Everyone was dancing and enjoying the great music. It was such a fun-filled night. Definitely worth coming back to whether it's for the food or the music.

The place itself is nice and clean, and the staff were extremely kind, welcoming, and very…read moreattentive, which I really appreciated. Service wise, they did a great job. The chicken barbecue sticks were flavorful and enjoyable. Unfortunately, the lumpia Shanghai didn't quite hit the mark for me :( it tasted like it was fried in older oil, and the filling was very minimal, so it felt like mostly wrapper. I was most excited to try the pork sinigang. While the broth had good flavor, the pork didn't taste freshly cooked and came across as if it may have been made a day or two prior. Overall, I really liked the vibe of this place and the friendly service, which makes me hopeful that my next visit will be better. I'd definitely be open to giving it another try.

I always love coming here. The food is very good and affordable. They're a great alternative to…read moreTropical Hut. Their pansit bihon is more flavorful than Tropical Hut's, IMHO. The place is clean, even though the outside environment may not seems as appealing as other strip malls around. Ate Salve is great to work with. The staff is always friendly. Just be aware that when ordering trays for the holidays, they can be overwhelmed a bit. Be patient and you'll get your order.

The place is very nice, and Salve, the lady at the register, is super friendly and accommodating…read more The food is amazing and absolutely delicious--especially the palabok lug lug, which is a must-try! All I can say is, definitely come check this restaurant out. In my opinion, it's one of the best Filipino restaurants in New Jersey. Don't believe the previous reviews--this spot is truly worth visiting!

Excellent! Like stepping into your aunt/grandma's kitchen. Situated in the corner of the main road…read morestreet and lot parking. Staff is friendly and warm, seems like a reservation heavy establishment but we were able to snag a table for 4 upon opening. Shortly after arrival the rest of the tables of 4 and even 10 filled up quickly. The dishes are huge and we left with plenty of leftovers. Happy bellies with meals made from the heart. Spring rolls 5/5 what a huge plate! Crispy and delicious. Bulalo soup 5/5 really hit the spot. Piping hot and could feed all 4 of us as a side or 2 people as a dish. Beef noodle soup (5/5) (had a bit of sweetness in case folks aren't into that) it was incredible tasty, ample meat and veggies and packed with flavor. My girls shared this and still had leftovers. Kare kare oxtail (5/5) anther awesome dish, heavy peanut flavor, loads of veggies (love!) and definitely had leftovers Would absolutely come back and highly recommend. Simple and hospitable space for small and large parties, would suggest making a reservation.

As we were craving for a Filipino cuisine after our cherry blossoms stroll at Branch Brook, we…read moreended up at this place with the help of Yelp search engine. It was about 25 minutes away from where we were but the great experience here made our drive worth. The place is very homey with a wonderful staff. Service is impeccable. The owners are very friendly and has great customer relations skills. The foods are excellent. We had the pleasure of trying their bangus sisig, pork bbq and caldereta. The tastes exceeded our expectations. We learned that their chef hailed from Luzon so the degree of cooking style satisfied our taste buds. The calamansi drink I had was fabulous. Honestly, the best I had so far. Our halo/halo dessert was heavenly. Satisfied our sweet tooth. The serving size is in huge portion. Each order is shareable by around 2-3 people. Pricing is higher in comparison to other place but proportioned to the serving size. I have one star less for my review for two reasons- 1.The check includes a service charge that confused us if a gratuity should be given or not. We need to Google first for right information. We ended up adding gratuity for their hospitality . 2. Looking for parking spot is challenging. We ended up downloading the town's parking mobile app to get parked closer. We are willing to return if ever we are near the area.

Hubs had been wanting to give this place a try for a while, so we decided to give this place a try…read more We ordered the following: Banana lumpia- I thought this wasn't bad. It was a bit sticky but ok. Hubs said he remembered this in the past when Chinese restaurants did this. He thought it was a little sweet for his taste, but it was delicious in a nostalgic way. Lumpia - This tasted like a Chinese vegetarian egg roll. I'm used to lumpias being thin and small but this was more like an egg roll. It was still pretty good. Lechon with sausages and bean vermicelli with vegetables. Hubs said the lechon was tasty. This is similar to Chinese roast pig. He said that the sausages had a sweet and salty umami essence and that it was also delicious. The bean vermicelli with vegetables were a nice high fiber filler which we're familiar with. Bitter melon with pork belly and gravy on rice. We thought the bitter melon was a little undercooked for our taste. But, when reheated, it was delicious. The pork belly with gravy was mixed nicely with the rice. The spare ribs and potatoes were also pretty good. Hubs said that he liked it and thought it was a nice mix with the rice. This place is a hole in the wall. There was only one table in there which someone was eating when we were there. We ended up eating in the car. Service was friendly . Will return to try other items on the menu.

Still my favorite place to stop and grab Filipino food. Ready to go food and the roice is very…read morereasonable, all in all my go to for Filipino comfort food. Dinuguan, here is absolutely the best and I have eaten a lot of it in my lifetime, I buy the large size container and over steamed rice with a little vinegar it's FANTASTIC, it isn't for everyone, I am sure, because it is pork blood dish and people tend to think it will taste strange, but it is a such a savory dish, I literally have it twice a month. Again, this store has a lot of spices and sauces you can buy and I have to urge you to go by and try the hot plate food, don't be shy to try new stuff. Start with the pancit and lumpia, two favorites of mine and probably will be for you too!