The food of the Philippines truly offers something for everyone. From crunchy lumpia, crispy lechon kawali, and sweet banana turon, a bounteous Pinoy spread knows no bounds. Southern California’s options are abundant with huge concentrations of eateries in Northeast LA, Southeast LA, and the South Bay. From chef-driven restaurants to fast-casual staples, here now are 18 essential Filipino restaurants in Los Angeles.
Read MoreThe 18 Essential Filipino Restaurants in Los Angeles
Crunchy lumpia, hearty lechon, and sweet banana turon
Lilian's Bread & Sweets at Northridge Mall Food Court
Lilian’s, which used to be located in a car wash but now operates inside the Northridge Mall food court, is where Filipino seafood takes a front seat. A steam table showcases the day’s preparations, such as fried milkfish, pancit, and vinegary bone-in chicken adobo. The two other Lilian’s locations in North Hills are still serving customers.
Chaase Family Market
Tucked within a quiet strip mall on the corner of Allen Avenue and Corson Street, Chaaste Family Market has been serving Pasadena since 1987. The market, which is run by the Esteban family — who were among some of the first Filipinos to migrate to Pasadena following World War II — features a hot bar with a rotating selection of dishes, including lumpia shanghai, lechon kawali, Filipino spaghetti, and fried fish.
Arko Foods International
Arko Foods International is everything you want in a grocery store. There’s an entire market dedicated to specialty Filipino ingredients, with a fresh fish market and busy hot food counter serving favorites like oxtail kare kare, turon, and lumpia. Families often call ahead to order huge trays of crisp sisig to bring to parties.
American Ranch & Seafood Market (Mga Lutong Bahay)
If grab-and-go items like siopao, siu mai, empanadas, and foot-long turon are what you’re after, Vermont Avenue’s Mga Lutong Bahay is a must. The Filipino grocer has become an East Hollywood essential for numerous reasons: First, it’s located right next to LACC and a Red Line train stop. Second, the store accepts EBT — even for hot food items. Apart from grab-and-go snacks, the hot bar also offers well-made entrees like ginataang gulay (vegetables in a coconut curry sauce), fried shrimp, and picadillo.
Spoon & Pork
The food at Spoon & Pork isn’t exactly what one’s lola would make — the restaurant specializes in what it calls modern Filipino comfort food, offering unexpected, compelling twists on traditional dishes. Stop by for small plates like pork belly nigiri, chicken skin chicharron with datu puti aioli, or lumpia served with a sweet chili lime dip, or go for shareable entrees like short rib kare kare or slow-cooked pork belly adobo with garlic confit.
Kuya Lord
Former Bestia and H.Wood corporate chef Maynard Llera has garnered high praise for his wood-grilled Filipino food specialties in Melrose Hill, serving blistered head-on shrimp, chicken, hiramasa alongside slow-roasted lucenachon pork belly with thick pancit chami noodles and garlic java rice. Most days, Llera himself will man the grill and prepare dishes for a 20-seat dining room that gets packed for lunch. It’s not hard to argue that Kuya Lord could be the most impressive Filipino restaurant in Los Angeles right now.
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Dollar Hits
No Los Angeles Filipino food map would be complete without mention of Dollar Hits, the do-it-yourself Filipino barbecue spot that gained worldwide recognition after making an appearance on the Netflix special Street Food: USA. Here you can grill your own food after choosing from a wide array of skewers and small bites, including marinated chicken, chicken skin, chicken hearts hearts, and longanisa (sweet pork sausages). Don’t forget to try the balut, a delicious but thrill-seeking bite. Be sure to stop at My Mom’s Bakeshop next door for fresh-made pan de sal and other baked goods to take home.
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The Park's Finest
Chef Johneric Concordia has been deeply embedded in the Filipino community for years, preparing grilled dishes for parties and gatherings before venturing into this American barbecue-influenced restaurant in Historic Filipinotown. Expect smoked tri-tip coated in a thick coconut adobo sauce, hot links, chicken manok, and pork spare ribs alongside smoked gouda mac and cheese and cornbread bibinka.
HiFi Kitchen
Located along Beverly Boulevard just down the street from Historic Filipinotown landmarks like Unidad Park and the recently built gateway arch, HiFi Kitchen is a fairly new addition to the neighborhood — an emblem of the changing tides of the area’s cuisine. Chef Justin Foronda first opened the casual dining spot in 2019, and his menu blends traditional cuisine with the evolving palates of younger Filipino Americans. Cue dishes like veggie sisig, which swaps out pork for a combination of roasted eggplant, marinated tofu, and shiitake or LA-inspired HiFi tacos topped with tocino pastor.
Neri's Casual Filipino Dining
Koreatown keeps it casual with Neri’s, a small storefront first opened in 1984 in Historic Filipinotown and now located at a busy retail mall on the corner of Wilshire and Alexandria. Those wondering why Neri’s moved here might consider the proximity of the Philippines consulate in the office building next door. Neri’s serves various comfort dishes like sisig and pancit, plus more modern takes like tocino burgers.
Lasita
With its breezy interior featuring soft lighting, colorful artwork, and lots of wood, plants, and other natural elements, it’s no secret why Lasita has become a favorite among Los Angeles creatives. Come here for an upscale and trendy twist on typical Filipino fare; the rotisserie and natural wine bar is best known for its sinigang shrimp chips and chicken inasal, made with lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and more.
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Big Boi Filipino Comfort Food
Sawtelle Japantown’s Big Boi, named in memory of owner Barb Batiste’s father, offers soulful Filipino comfort fare in the form of affordable combo plates. But that doesn’t mean the chef skimps on flavor, with clean takes on classic dishes like adobo, sisig, tocino, and sinigang served with a choice of rice or pancit.
Ito Ay Atin Restaurant
West Covina’s Itoy Sa Atin offers one of the city’s best steam table smorgasbords. Although nothing is cooked to order, the selection of soups, stews, and stir-fries gleam with freshness. Always available and reliable is the pork adobo, a delectable stew redolent of garlic, soy sauce, and vinegar. The hunks of meat are so tender that the provided plasticware cuts through like butter.
Pampangas Bakery
The birthplace of sisig, Pampanga, is known to be the culinary capital of the Philippines — and Artesia’s Pampanga Bakery lives up to the beloved province’s name. Don’t let the size of the shop fool you. It’s packed with tons of Filipino treats, including fresh pan de sal, ensaymada, and what some consider to be the best turon in Southern California. The bakery also offers a small selection of hot food, like sisig and pancit palabok.
Gerry's Grill
Live music paired with sizzling plates of sisig and decadent servings of halo-halo are what make Gerry’s Grill a staple for families of the 562. Stop by for noteworthy house specials like bangus sisig, beef kaldereta, or tinomok, taro leaves stuffed with ground meat and a variety of spices, then simmered in coconut milk. The restaurant also has a solid selection of beer, including the iconic Philippine-produced lager Red Horse.
Pinoy Pinay Filipino Fastfood
Pinoy Pinay opened in 1992 in the heart of Cerritos, where traditional home-style cooking. A lot of customers will call ahead to order heaping catering plates of beef kaldereta, sisig, and pancit for parties, but those just coming in for lunch can pick a two-item combination plate with dozens of options like pork adobo or lechon manok with pancit palabok.
Nita's Restaurant
Just a stone’s throw away from beloved bakeshop Luisa & Son, Nita’s has been a Carson community go-to for the past 26 years. With its assortment of traditional Filipino favorites like pork sinigang, sisig, and chicken barbecue skewers, the restaurant is everything one would expect from a traditional turo-turo or “point-point” spot. Turo-turo places are cafeteria-style restaurants popular in Filipino cuisine where customers create combination dishes by pointing out choices to the server.
Edna's Filipino Cuisine
Open since 1991, Edna’s is well-known in Long Beach for its inexpensive combo plates in a low-frills but colorful strip mall space, offering plenty of rice alongside staples like chicken adobo, pancit, and more. One’s eyes might quickly gravitate toward the glowing, crisp pieces of lechon kawali and fried chicken skin that add extra crunch to lunch plates.