Quick summary: Some of the best Filipino restaurants in the U.S. to celebrate Filipino American History Month including Abacá in San Francisco, Lasita in Los Angeles, Magna Kusina in Portland, Kultura in Charleston, and Estrellita in Atlanta, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Filipino cuisine is the fastest-growing Asian cuisine segment in the U.S., according to Datassential.
Why is Filipino food growing in the U.S.?
Filipino cooking is sour, salty, garlicky, and built to share: vinegar-braised adobo, tamarind-sour sinigang, crackling lechon, and rice at every meal. More consumers are discovering it every year. Filipino cuisine is the fastest-growing Asian cuisine segment in the country, according to Datassential.
The community behind it is large and deeply rooted. There are about 4.2 million Filipino Americans in the U.S., according to Census data cited by The Food Institute. California is home to roughly 1.7 million of them, the largest Filipino population in the country, according to AAPI Data at UC Berkeley.
Most of that growth is coming from independent owners and operators who cook their families' recipes and build something of their own. That's who SpotOn, a leading restaurant technology company, builds for. A growing number of Filipino restaurants run on SpotOn's restaurant management system, including Tropa Modern Filipino, Patio Filipino, Estrellita, and Abstrakt Filipino Essence. This October, SpotOn is partnering with Chef Francis Ang on Abacá's annual Filipino American History Month series. JB Balingit, chef-owner of Tropa and SpotOn's new Chef in Residence, is cooking the Kamayan dinner.
What is Masters of Filipino Flavors?
Masters of Filipino Flavors is Abacá's Filipino American History Month series where Chef Francis Ang has invited some of the U.S. most celebrated Filipino American chefs and bartenders to take over service at his award-winning restaurant Abacá in San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. This includes Brunch on Saturday, Oct. 10, a Pulutan Night on Monday, Oct. 12 from 6 to 9 p.m., a communal Kamayan Dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 14, and a Paubaya Tasting Dinner on Friday, Oct. 16. Tickets are available on OpenTable.
Best Filipino restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area
Abacá
San Francisco | Host of Masters of Filipino Flavors
Abacá is a Michelin-recommended Filipino-Californian restaurant in San Francisco from chef Francis Ang and Dian Ang. The couple opened it in 2021 after years running their Pinoy Heritage pop-up. Esquire named it one of America's Best New Restaurants in 2021, The New York Times put it on its list of 50 top restaurants in 2022, and it was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant. It's also recommended by the Michelin Guide. Start with the sisig fried rice and Lola's pork lumpia. On weekends, leave room for ensaymada from Panaderia Abacá.
Address: 2700 Jones St., San Francisco, CA 94133 (inside the Kimpton Alton Hotel) Website | Reservations
Tropa Modern Filipino
Lafayette, Calif. | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef
Tropa Modern Filipino is a modern Filipino restaurant in Lafayette, California, from chef-owner JB Balingit. JB opened it in 2025 to cook the food he grew up eating in Manila, in a dining room styled after retro Manila. Diablo Magazine and East Bay Express both reviewed it in 2025. In 2026, JB cooked for the Filipino Food Movement's Kulinarya Live. Order the adobo sticky ribs, the kilawin (a coconut-citrus ceviche), and the oxtail kare-kare, and don't skip the cocktails. JB also owns The Hideout Kitchen and recently joined SpotOn as Chef in Residence.
Address: 3406 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, CA 94549 Website | Reservations | Order online
Patio Filipino
San Bruno, Calif.
Patio Filipino is a family-run Filipino-Spanish restaurant in San Bruno, California, open since 2005. Its garden patio and catering business have made it a go-to for family celebrations on the Peninsula. Regulars come back for the paella Valenciana and oxtail kare-kare. The restaurant was featured on KQED's Check, Please! Bay Area [2010]. For its 20th anniversary in 2025, it was recognized by the South San Francisco City Council and the Philippine Consulate General.
Address: 1770 El Camino Real, San Bruno, CA 94066 Website | Reservations: (650) 872-9888 | Order on DoorDash
The Sarap Shop
San Francisco | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef
The Sarap Shop is a Filipino American comfort food shop in San Francisco and the first Filipino restaurant inside Chase Center. JP Reyes and his partners started it as a food truck. The sinigang-spiced curly fries and Halo Halo Milktea are the crowd favorites, whether you're at a Warriors game or the shop on Stillman Street. It was featured on KQED's Check, Please! Bay Area [YEAR], and its bottled sauces have a following of their own.
Address: 171 Stillman St., San Francisco, CA 94107, plus a stand inside Chase Center Website | Order online
La Kalidád
San Francisco, SoMa | Masters of Filipino Flavors chefs
La Kalidád is a Filipino-Californian bakery opening in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood this fall. Paul Faraon and Angelica Nulud built a following at pop-ups and farmers markets with pastries like ensaymada, turon pie, and a calamansi-blueberry cruffin. The Infatuation named the shop one of San Francisco's most exciting fall openings of 2026.
Address: 680A 2nd St., San Francisco, CA 94107 Website | Order online
Tarts de Feybesse
Oakland, Calif. | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef
Tarts de Feybesse is a French patisserie with Filipino influences in Oakland, California, from pastry chef Monique Feybesse. Monique trained in Michelin-starred kitchens in the U.S., France, and Denmark before opening the shop with her husband, Paul. Try the apple rose tart and the trompe-l'oeil mango pastries, which are built to look like whole fruit. Monique was a James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker in 2025 and was a Top Chef contestant in 2022.
Address: 324 24th St., Suite A, Oakland, CA 94612 Website | Order online
Carabao
Napa, Calif. | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef
Carabao is Napa Valley's first Filipino restaurant, from chef Jade Cunningham. Jade is a Bulacan native and French Laundry alum, and she opened Carabao in 2025 after three years of pop-ups. She pairs traditional Filipino flavors with Northern California ingredients in dishes like kare-kare with an oxtail croquette, sisig tacos, and bistek. The San Francisco Chronicle and Napa Valley Register both covered the opening.
Address: 145 C Gasser Drive, Napa, CA 94559 Website | Reservations | Order online
Best Filipino restaurants in Los Angeles, Portland, and Las Vegas
Lasita
Los Angeles, Chinatown | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef
Lasita is a Filipino rotisserie and natural wine bar in Los Angeles' Chinatown. Chase and Steff Valencia and chef Nico de Leon opened it in the space of LASA, their acclaimed tasting-menu restaurant. The chicken inasal and rolled pork belly lechon are the reasons to go. Lasita made the Los Angeles Times 101 Best Restaurants list [2024], and The New York Times named it one of the 25 best restaurants in Los Angeles in 2023.
Address: 727 N. Broadway #120, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Website | Reservations | Order online
Magna Kusina
Portland, Ore. | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef
Magna Kusina is a modern Filipino restaurant in Portland, Oregon, from chef Carlo Lamagna. His cooking honors his parents and his roots, and it has earned national attention:
- Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2021
- The Oregonian's Restaurant of the Year in 2021
- James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific in 2022
Order Mom's Crab Fat Noodles and the pork rib adobo. Lamagna also runs Magna Kainan in Denver.
Address: 2525 SE Clinton St., Portland, OR 97202 Website | Reservations
Istorya
Las Vegas | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef connection
Istorya is a Filipino tasting-menu pop-up in Las Vegas built around the history of the Philippines. Each themed menu traces a different chapter, and the dishes rotate to match. It was named Las Vegas Weekly's Best Pop-Up in 2023 and now runs a weekly residency at Durango Social Club.
Address: Durango Social Club, 3655 S. Durango Drive, Suite 29, Las Vegas, NV 89147 Website | Reservations
Best Filipino restaurants in the South
Estrellita
Atlanta, Grant Park
Estrellita is a Michelin Bib Gourmand Filipino restaurant in Atlanta's Grant Park neighborhood. Hope Webb and chef Walter Cortado run the small, walk-in-only spot, which serves Pampanga-style cooking. It has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand every year since Atlanta's first Michelin Guide in 2023. Order the lechon, Angus beef lumpia, and adobo. A larger home on Broad Street, with a full bar, is coming in late 2026.
Address: 580 Woodward Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA 30312 Website | Walk-ins only (parties of 5+ call (404) 390-3038) | Order online
Kultura and Bareo
Charleston, S.C. | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef
Kultura is a modern Filipino restaurant in Charleston, South Carolina, from chef Nikko Cagalanan. Nikko was a 2024 James Beard Emerging Chef finalist and is a Chopped champion, and he runs Kultura with Paula Kramer. The wagyu ribeye kare-kare, arroz Valenciana, and halo-halo cocktail are the dishes to order. In 2026, the pair opened Bareo, a Japanese-Filipino spot for dumplings and kakigori, in Kultura's original space.
Kultura: 267 Rutledge Ave., Unit C, Charleston, SC 29403 Website | Reservations | Order online
Bareo: 73 Spring St., Charleston, SC 29403 Reservations | Order online
Abstrakt Filipino Essence
Jacksonville Beach, Fla.
Abstrakt Filipino Essence is a contemporary Filipino restaurant in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, from chef JoJo Hernandez. JoJo took it from a food truck to a full-service restaurant. In 2024 it made Yelp's Top 100 U.S. Restaurants list, the only Northeast Florida restaurant to do so, and Nation's Restaurant News has featured his work. Come for the lumpia and pork belly sisig bowl, or bring a group for a kamayan feast. The Sunday silog brunch is a weekend ritual for regulars.
Address: 1500 Beach Blvd., Unit 215, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250 Website | Reservations | Order online
Best Filipino restaurants in New York City
Tradicionale
New York, Chelsea | Masters of Filipino Flavors chef
Tradicionale is a Filipino-Spanish bistro in New York's Chelsea neighborhood from chef Anton Dayrit. Anton is a French-trained chef born in the Philippines, with a résumé that includes Jean-Georges and ABC Kitchen. Tradicionale is his second restaurant, after Tradisyon. The callos, lobster palabok, and dinuguan tacos all appear in Resy's 2025 roundup of the restaurant's best dishes.
Address: 156 Ninth Ave., New York, NY 10011 Website | Reservations
June Baby
New York, East Village | Masters of Filipino Flavors bartenders | Opening soon
June Baby is a Filipino American cocktail bar opening in New York's East Village. Darwin Pornel, Roxanne Bangalan, and Ben Rojo are building it as a bar and community space. Expect cocktails built on Filipino flavors, with pork adobo and kilawin to share.
Address: 197 Second Ave., New York, NY 10003 Instagram
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Filipino restaurants in the U.S.? Standouts include Abacá in San Francisco, which is Michelin-recommended, Lasita in Los Angeles, Magna Kusina in Portland, Kultura in Charleston, Estrellita in Atlanta, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and Abstrakt Filipino Essence in Jacksonville Beach.
Where can I find the best Filipino food in San Francisco? In the city, start with Abacá, The Sarap Shop, and La Kalidád. Nearby, try Tropa Modern Filipino in Lafayette and Patio Filipino in San Bruno.
Which Filipino restaurants have Michelin recognition? Estrellita in Atlanta holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and Abacá in San Francisco is recommended by the Michelin Guide.
Which Filipino restaurants serve kamayan? Abacá offers kamayan dinners in San Francisco, and Abstrakt Filipino Essence serves kamayan feasts in Jacksonville Beach. Kultura in Charleston offers kamayan trays on Sundays with two days' notice.
What should I order at a Filipino restaurant for the first time? Start with lumpia (crispy spring rolls), chicken or pork adobo, pancit (noodles), and sisig (sizzling chopped pork). End with halo-halo or anything ube.
What is kamayan? Kamayan means "by hand." It's a communal feast of rice, grilled meats, seafood, and vegetables laid out on banana leaves and eaten without utensils.
When is Filipino American History Month? October. It marks the first recorded landing of Filipinos in what's now the U.S., at Morro Bay, California, in 1587.
For restaurant owners and operators
Tropa, Patio Filipino, Estrellita, and Abstrakt run on SpotOn, from a full-service dining room to a walk-in counter. If you're building a Filipino restaurant of your own, see how SpotOn supports independent restaurants.
