Best Filipino restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area

At this relaxed bar, a onetime stagecoach stop (established in 1889), TV screens are usually tuned to sports. But the sizzle of a sisig ($17) commands everyone's attention in the joint, turning heads the same way that a piping hot fajita platter does at a Mexican restaurant. The menu is a mix of Italian, American and Filipino cuisine — the latter the influence of Filipino owner Vanessa Garcia — so you could have a globe-trotting meal of a burger or pasta with a side of lumpia, if you were so inclined. The fish lumpia ($12) — a rarity in the market — have a pleasing crackle, and the dipping sauce provides a vinegary tang. The most comforting of the Pinoy menu items is the arroz caldo ($13). The velvety, chicken-flavored rice porridge is fragrant with aromatics like green onions, ginger and garlic. Make sure to add a hard-boiled egg for 2 bucks.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Full bar

Hours: Lunch and dinner Wednesday-Monday

Phone: 415-467-2343

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The pucker of the pork sinigang ($10.95) broth at Aldas Kitchen and Bakery in Pittsburg draws you in quickly. It's slightly more sour than its peers but still possesses a pleasant taste of pork, complemented by green beans and tender eggplants. The lumpia ($6.75) here only come three to an order, but they’re extra long and excellent, with a thin, glass-like crunch. Located in a Pittsburgh strip mall, Aldas houses two operations; the other is Ube Area, whose pastries utilize the purple yam in truffles, cannolis and cake bars. This spot is takeout-only, and while you could order in person, it's best to order ahead.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Full bar

Hours: Lunch and dinner Thursday-Sunday

Phone: 925-267-4319

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Because Avenida opened in 2020, it took a while for folks in San Mateo to realize it was there. But now, the Filipino restaurant and cocktail bar is often bustling with diners sipping on calamansi spritzers at tables covered in barbecue dishes and stir-fried noodles. Grilled dishes, like the smoky whole squid ($25) and citrus- and soy-marinated chicken inasal ($18.50), are expertly charred in all the right places. Traditional dishes, like crisp-skinned pork lechon kawali ($20) and crispy pata ($32), get a face-lift but have substance to back up their style. Lush with tropical plants, warm wood accents and intricate patterned tiles, the space is exceptionally pretty to look at if you can tear your eyes away from the food.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Beer and wine

Hours: Dinner Monday-Thursday, lunch and dinner Friday-Sunday

Phone: 650-781-3637

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A classic in the Bay Area's growing Filipino culinary canon, Chibog is the local go-to for homestyle comfort cooking. Families pack into the simply decorated dining room on weekends, plucking crunchy morsels off crispy pata ($14.95/$23.95) and sizzling hot platters of pork sisig ($18.50). The bangus sisig ($22.95), a saucy, shredded mixture of milkfish meat and crunchy skin, is presented with the blissful grandiosity of a double-baked potato. Group eating might be the most popular path here, but most of the dishes are available in smaller silog-style meal sets that work well for the solo diner.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Soft drinks

Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday

Phone: 650-878-3591

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While making the rounds of Bay Area food festivals like the Foodieland Night Market, Ems Kusina became a fan favorite for its quirky Filipino street food. Its presentation is a little bit extra: Steamed Filipino siumai, or siomai ($10), come loaded with a confetti-like dusting of fried garlic, while its braised beef pares silog ($16) is accompanied by an intimidating-looking marrow bone and a perfect poached egg. Garnishes of calamansi citrus add a bright oomph to the dishes. Though the food truck is situated in a humble 7-Eleven parking lot in Milpitas, a roomy tent and heat lamps make eating on location a pretty pleasant experience.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Soft drinks

Hours: Lunch and dinner Thursday-Sunday

Phone: 408-560-6095

Website

If you're into food on a stick, Fil-Am Cuisine has your back. Flame-licked chicken and pork skewers ($3.40) sporting blackened edges and dripping with juice are the main attraction at this humble shop, which busts out hundreds of skewers every day, both a la carte and in party-size portions. The skewers add extra dimension to stir-fried pancit noodles ($8.55), which will absorb the toasty barbecue juices while you carry your food home. Don't leave without a 10-piece order of the pinky-size lumpia Shanghai ($3.98), which crunch with the irresistible delicacy of pirouette cookies.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Soft drinks

Hours: Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily

Phone: 650-992-6191

Website

FOB Kitchen started as a pop-up in 2015 and opened a brick-and-mortar three years later in Oakland's Temescal neighborhood. Try the wonderful, crackling chicken skins ($9) with a vinegar-forward hot sauce, or velvety pork adobo ($18) thickened slightly with coconut milk. The kitchen also excels at brunch, as seen with the deliciously fluffy tortang talong ($16), a flattened eggplant omelet, or the lechon kawali silog ($16) with fatty, crisp pork belly, garlic rice and a runny egg. Brunch is available Friday through Sunday; otherwise, the restaurant is only open for dinner. At either occasion, it's a great place to sip cocktails made with tropical fruit purees and flavors like guava, pandan and tamarind.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Full bar

Hours: Dinner Wednesday-Thursday, brunch and dinner Friday-Sunday

Phone: 510-817-4169

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Most people come to Lucky Three Seven for the elongated XL lumpia (three for $6) or the G-fire wings (three for $6); others come for the engaging graffiti art. But everyone returns for the sense of community. The aforementioned wings are sticky-sweet, garlicky and exceedingly crisp. Earlier this year, the East Oakland community mourned the loss of co-owner and neighborhood hero Artgel Fernando "Jun" Anabo Jr. The family-run restaurant continues to dish out Filipino favorites like chicken adobo ($13), which is on the menu daily along with rotating specials. On "oxtail Saturdays" you can sample dishes like estofado ($20), stewed oxtails with fried plantains, and kare-kare ($20), a rich peanut stew. Lucky Three Seven is a trailblazer for introducing Filipino food to this part of Oakland since its opening in 2013. Cash only, ATM on-site.

Payment options: Cash only

Drinks: Soft drinks

Hours: Lunch and dinner Wednesday-Sunday

Phone: 510-866-2023

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Outfitted with tropical accents, bamboo decor and a false indoor palapa, Pampaguena ably plays the part of the quirky Filipino restaurant. People come here for the kamayan-style feasts ($32.95-$79.95), an eye-catching spread of vegetables, rice, crisp lumpia, meat and seafood scaled to the size of your party. Highlights include gorgeously fried whole fish, diced mango and tomato to refresh your palate, char siu-style pork, whole fried prawns and, in a performative nod to nutritional balance, steamed broccoli. The considerate staff are happy to talk you through the selection if you're new to the genre and won't tease you for asking for a fork instead of eating with your hands.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Soft drinks

Hours: Lunch and dinner Wednesday-Sunday

Phone: 415-586-8899

Website

Parekoy Lutong Pinoy is a cozy restaurant parked in San Leandro known best for its pork sisig ($16), which is in a league of its own in the Bay Area. It comes on a blazing-hot cast-iron skillet with a tantalizing sizzle of crackling pork, onions, green pepper and a well in the middle for a raw egg. This dish has to be enjoyed in person; unfortunately its magic is diluted if you elect to do takeout. If you’re visiting with a large party, try the giant platter of pancit bihon ($16), clear noodles stir-fried with shrimp, chicken, sausage and veggies. For a traditional Filipino breakfast, silogs ($12) like juicy longanisa or sweet tocino are also on offer.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Soft drinks

Hours: Lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday

Phone: 510-614-8112

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You'll have to email chef Lee Opelinia directly to get a seat at his extremely exclusive pop-up in San Francisco, but it's worth the extra effort to try this singular Filipino tasting menu. The veteran chef, whose resume includes the Michelin-starred Madcap in San Anselmo, has a playful and smart view of Filipino food, balancing his nostalgia for its flavors with an urge to make them new. The nine-course meal ($100) is filled with the highest of highs, including a savory polvorón, which nails the texture of the traditional Spanish shortbread cookie while infusing it with the gentle, earthy taste of black truffle. Showy presentation is part of the fun of dishes like Opelinia's charred avocado sinigang, served with a waft of smoke floating over a refreshing tamarind broth.

Payment options: Venmo and Zelle

Drinks: Soft drinks

Website

With its proudly nontraditional Filipino-Mexican cuisine, Señor Sisig became one of the biggest names in the Bay Area's food truck scene when it hit the streets in 2010. It was founded by longtime friends and San Francisco natives Evan Kidera and Gil Payumo, who were inspired by the breakthrough work of Los Angeles chef Roy Choi. Choi's taco truck, Kogi, laid the groundwork for a national Korean-Mexican food boom, but Kidera and Payumo took that idea in a distinctly Filipino direction. They stuff burritos ($15.50) with garlicky, adobo-flavored rice and pork sisig; drape churros ($9) with ube and young coconut sauces; and flavor agua frescas ($4) with calamansi juice and honey. The Valencia Street restaurant is heavily influenced by Mission District taquerias and good old Taco Bell, with a bit of street art aesthetic thrown in. Everything on the menu also has a vegan version. There are two restaurants in San Francisco, one in Oakland and a few roving food trucks.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Soft drinks

Hours: Lunch and dinner daily

Phone: 510-735-9963

Website

Flying a little under the radar in Alameda, Sampaguita is the place to pop in for a quick lunch. The set-up is buffet-style, where all the options are laid out and you pick your entree and rice. The pork dinuguan ($10), made with pork blood, is tangy, rich and a tad spicy, while the chicken adobo ($10) is well-balanced, not too salty or vinegary. Locals seek out Sampaguita for a Pinoy breakfast too, with longanisa silog ($10) being the most popular. If that sausage isn't your jam, try the torta ($7), which is on the right side of oily. For something guaranteed to warm you up, go with the comforting sour pork sinigang ($10).

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Soft drinks

Hours: Breakfast and lunch Monday-Saturday

Phone: 510-865-2931

With a name like Tapsilog Bistro, it's no surprise that this Filipino restaurant has every type of silog imaginable. The enormous crispy pata silog ($28) pairs a mound of garlic rice topped with over-easy eggs with a crunchy, fried pork hock. The pata, or pork leg, comes with a sweet and savory special sauce made of soy, vinegar and chopped chiles — perfect to dial back the richness just so. Another staple is the milkfish silog ($14.95), which is fried until dark gold and crunchy like a chicharron. Brunching at this spot is fun, with various mimosa options that swap out the orange juice for calamansi, guava or mango. Though the restaurant closes early, at 2 p.m., it has a full roster of all-day Filipino classics: Try the tokwa at tenga ($15.95), a winning combination of sticky pig ears and fried tofu.

Payment options: Credit cards accepted

Drinks: Beer and wine

Hours: Breakfast and lunch Wednesday-Saturday

Phone: 408-412-8926

Website

Insights on Northern California's culinary scene, from the Chronicle Food team

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