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October is Filipino American History Month. Get a taste of the island country by dining at these eateries around the Peninsula showcasing a range of Filipino flavors. Some spots have opened since our last guide, while others are local stalwarts worth revisiting. Whether you’re craving a hearty breakfast, an all-you-can-eat spread, a boba drink or a cocktail made with Filipino spirits, this food crawl has you covered.
Russ Fam Kitchen in Daly City for Ilocos empanadas and street food
Pork lumpia at Russ Fam Kitchen in Daly City ($13). Courtesy Russ Fam Kitchen 
Russ Fam Kitchen offers Filipino food from a gas station in Daly City. Courtesy Russ Fam Kitchen. 
Ilocos empanadas with fresh green papaya, homemade pork longganisa and egg, at Russ Fam Kitchen in Daly City. Courtesy Russ Fam Kitchen.
Russ Fam Kitchen takes the crown as the Peninsula’s only Filipino restaurant located in an Exxon gas station. But don’t let the location stop you from grabbing a bite.
For breakfast, order a silog-style plate with spam, sweet-and-savory pork tocino or marinated beef tapa, served with garlic rice and fried eggs.
For snacks, find street foods served in Manila and beyond, like kwek-kwek quail eggs and fish balls on a stick, both served with a vinegar-based dipping sauce. For another handheld bite, pick up a crispy, red-hued Ilocos-style empanada filled with green papaya, homemade pork longganisa and egg.
This takeout spot also offers an extensive party tray and buffet catering menu for larger gatherings.
People are showing up for Russ Fam Kitchen – so much so that the restaurant is expanding to a commercial kitchen in Redwood City later this year to serve even more of the Peninsula via takeout, delivery and catering.
Russ Fam Kitchen, 1216 Hillside Blvd., Daly City; 510-691-3658, @russfamkitchen_. Open Tuesday from noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday from 8:15 a.m. to noon and 2-7 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 2-7 p.m. and Sunday from 1:45-5 p.m.
Inda + Mely in San Bruno for reimagined favorites
You may have heard of Filipino-style spaghetti, but Filipino-style carbonara has a life of its own. A common menu item at casual eateries in the Philippines, it often features a cream-based sauce, mushrooms and other toppings.
Now, Peninsula diners can experience that dish and much more at Inda + Mely in San Bruno.
The eatery began as a pop-up in the Brisbane home of owners and mother-daughter duo Raquel and Justine Acuña. The brick-and-mortar location opened in 2025, and Inda + Mely has steadily built a base of diners seeking reimagined traditional Filipino flavors.
At Inda + Mely, the carbonara is topped with sisig, adding a different kind of protein to the pasta. Other dishes include Vietnamese spring rolls inspired by three styles of lumpia, filled with housemade longganisa, sprouts and mint. Milkfish, a popular Filipino protein often served grilled or fried, gets a Japanese-style aburi torching treatment before being topped with béchamel, sweet soy sauce and garlic aioli. On weekends, the restaurant offers breakfast burritos and rice plates.
Two entrees close to Justine Acuña’s heart are the kare kare and bistek Tagalog, which are her grandmother’s recipes. Kare kare, a peanut-based stew, is made with scratchmade peanut butter and shrimp paste. The bistek Tagalog is their take on steak frites, pairing soy-braised beef tenderloin with French fries, just as her grandmother served it.
In a nod to the restaurant’s pop-up roots, Justine Acuña invites diners to experience true Filipino hospitality.
“Our restaurant is an extension of our home, and cooking for you is an extension of our dining room,” she said.
Inda + Mely, 582 W. San Bruno Ave., San Bruno; 650-392-0363, Instagram: @indaandmely. Open Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Karilagan in South San Francisco for its all-you-can-eat buffet
Seeking an all-you-can-eat Filipino food experience on the Peninsula? Before closing after a 32-year run earlier this year, Ongpin in South San Francisco was the go-to spot, offering a weekend brunch buffet.
Thankfully, its buffet lives on at sister restaurant Karilagan. Owners Manny and Ludy Noguera continue to serve a variety of Filipino entrees that guests can pile high onto banana leaf-lined wooden plates. The buffet costs $22.95 per person (half off for children) and is offered from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekends.
Savory items on the buffet line include tamarind-based sinigang soup; kare kare; pancit noodles; and laing, taro leaves cooked in coconut milk. On the sweet side, try a bowl of champorado, a Filipino chocolate rice porridge. Coffee and juice are also included.
Karilagen, 1129 El Camino Real, South San Francisco; 650-589-4405, Instagram: @karilagen.ssf. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (buffet is 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on weekends).
Auntie Em’s Fine Foods in South San Francisco for rice-based sweets and snacks
Founded in 2008 by Emee and Buddy Santos, Auntie Em’s Fine Foods specializes in Filipino desserts, particularly kakanin. Made with ingredients like glutinous rice, coconut milk, and sugar, these traditional delicacies come in a range of regional varieties throughout the Philippines. The bakery is located next door to Karilagan in South San Francisco.
Start with bibingka, a traditional baked rice cake made with rice flour, with a spongy texture and a topping of cheese or salted duck eggs. Or try kuchinta, an orange-brown steamed rice cake with a jelly-like texture. For something sticky and chewy, go for sapin-sapin, a tricolored treat featuring coconut and sweet rice flavors with a hint of ube.
The treats don’t stop at kakanin. Auntie Em’s Fine Foods also offers custom cakes and pastries, including buko pie with a creamy young coconut filling, leche flan, guava turnovers, and savory empanadas with beef, chicken, or tuna.
Auntie Em’s Fine Foods, 1127 El Camino Real, South San Francisco; 650-588-6068, Instagram: @auntieemsfinefoodandpastries. Open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Kapwa Cafe in Daly City for Filipino desserts in boba form
Part social enterprise, part boba cafe, Kapwa Kultural Center exists to uplift the community, educate the next generation, and promote Filipino heritage–all with tasty drinks in hand. Proceeds from Kapwa Cafe support the nonprofit’s youth programming.
Kapwa Cafe tells the story of Filipino desserts through boba drinks. Turon, a caramelized egg roll filled with banana and jackfruit, becomes a milk tea with saba banana, cream cold foam, and turon chips. A matcha-infused buko pandan drink takes inspiration from the icy Filipino dessert made with young coconut strips, pandan, green gelatin and milk. For something refreshing, order the green tea-based Lychee Passionfruit Calamansi drink. Thai tea, brown sugar boba and strawberry milk with cold foam are also on offer.
As Daly City’s first Filipino-centered cafe, Kapwa offers free wifi, a laptop friendly space and welcoming atmosphere.
Kapwa Cafe, 1-B San Pedro Road, Daly City; 650-993-4415, Instagram: @kapwakulturalcenter. Open Wednesday to Friday from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Avenida in San Mateo for inventive cocktails
Since 2020, Avenida has served modern Filipino cuisine in its airy, art deco-style space. The downtown San Mateo eatery is part of the group behind Gerry’s, a Philippine restaurant chain with a Bay Area outpost in Union City. Like Gerry’s, Avenida specializes in grilled dishes, including grilled pusit (jumbo squid), barbecue skewers, branzino with garlic confit and beef short ribs.
What sets Avenida apart is its bar program. Filipino flavors and spirits like Tanduay Gold rum, coconut, ube, calamansi and pandan find their way into inventive drinks.
For libations and light bites, check out the daily happy hour menu at the bar or on the patio. Snack on sisig tacos, shrimp toast, liempo (grilled pork belly) or green mango salad. Pair them with a Manila Mule, made with lambanog, a Filipino spirit distilled from palm sap. For a dessert drink, try the Ube Espresso Martini, which features Fiesta Ube Cream Liqueur and Gruven vodka.
Stopping by for dinner? Explore other signature cocktails built around Filipino ingredients, such as the Black Pandan Old Fashioned, made with house-made pandan and toasted black sesame syrup, and the Purple Jeepney, their take on a piña colada featuring Tanduay Gold rum, ube and pineapple juice.
Avenida, 201 E. 3rd Ave., San Mateo; 650-781-3637, Instagram: @avenidasanmateo. Open Monday to Thursday from 4:30-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The Pantry in San Mateo for diner Filipino fare
The Pantry is a humble spot for breakfast staples such as steak and eggs, omelettes, pancakes and tuna melts. The eatery also serves a handful of Filipino dishes that expand its menu.
Breakfast rice plates with either longganisa or tocino come with eggs and a dipping sauce. Lumpia can be ordered by the tray for parties and get-togethers. For entrees, adobo and sisig are available daily. Other Asian-inspired offerings include teriyaki steak or chicken, teriyaki burgers and loco moco.
Located near the Concar Shopping Center, which is slated for redevelopment, employees at The Pantry say they remain open until further notice and have not received notice of demolition from the building owner.
The Pantry, 1855 S. Delaware St., San Mateo; 650-345-4544. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cafe Colma in Colma for 24-hour Filipino eats
Since 1998, Cafe Colma has served hungry gamblers, late-night diners and locals alike at its 24-hour eatery.
The casino restaurant features a wide menu designed to satisfy all kinds of cravings, including American, Chinese and Vietnamese fare. In addition, Filipino food features prominently on the menu. Specialties include chicken and pork adobo, cooked in soy sauce and vinegar; pinakbet, mixed vegetables with shrimp and pork; pancit palabok, rice noodles in a rich pork-and-shrimp sauce; and halo halo for dessert. Nine varieties of silog breakfast plates are available around the clock.
Cafe Colma, 1700 Hillside Blvd., Colma (inside Lucky Chances Casino); 650-758-2237. Open 24 hours.
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