We went on a Sunday evening and got seated right away! Menu consists of Filipino cuisine but slightly elevated. Our server was friendly and a great help. It's a lil pricey but had a great time. Huge indoor seating with full bar. Out of all the dishes we ordered, if I had to choose, it would be 100% the lechon. The skin was super crispy yet the meat was tender. Can definitely taste the different layers which were beautifully fried. I'd recommend drizzling it with their vinegar. Super delicious! read more

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Ambiance We sat outdoors for a full table of 10 after 6PM and it was great. Service ‍ Was good we just had to ask for the check a few times. Taste Superb, the adobo rice is best and everyone raves about it, same sweet taste as the tacos. The skewers were standard. The drinks were awesome! I didn't eat the pusit, but everyone said it was good Verdict ‍ I'd come back here for dinner with friends. Double check the hours and days to make sure it's open. Other times we wanted to come it was closed. read more

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I decided to give this place a third try and ordered the lumpia and grilled liempo. The food itself wasn't bad, but I was disappointed with the portion sizes, especially for the price. The service was also extremely slow. My food arrived before my rice, and I waited so long that I eventually had to ask the waiter to check on it because I didn't want my food to get cold. One thing I also noticed was that, for a Filipino restaurant, I would love to see more Filipino staff represented. It could add a warmer and more authentic touch to the overall dining experience. Overall, the food was decent, but the small portions and slow service made the experience disappointing. read more

Great spot for big parties in downtown San Mateo. I was able to make a reservation online easily and the table was ready right away. They have an extensive menu and everything looked good! I like how they have tapas/entree options for most things, so you can order a bunch of things and customize the quantity. They also have a fair amount of vegan/vegetarian dishes. I really liked the chicken wings, the grilled squid, and the short rib! The crab fried rice was unfortunately pretty bland but went well with the other saltier dishes. Pancit was okay but nothing crazy. The white chocolate espresso martini was very sweet and not that strong so definitely recommend that drink if you like sweet cocktails! Vibe inside is very lively and service was friendly. read more

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Got the squid, crispy Pata, fried chicken, pork sisig, bulalo, treviche, and garlic rice! All were so good and flavorful. Definitely a must get for all of them. For drinks we got the ube martini, ube pina colada, and calamansi juice. Fun drinks to try. Our server, Jermaine, was so attentive and kind! Haven't been here in a while and he did a great job suggesting dishes and explaining the portions. Place is neat and has plenty of seats. Definitely will come back! read more

Avenida Restaurant - Filipino Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Had a big group dinner with friends, solid dinner and nice presentation! Parking in downtown san mateo can he hit or miss but we were lucky on a weekday. Service was quick and friendly, and they called out the auto-gratuity for a large party, which was appreciated! Drinks were delicious, lumpia were good. Everything tended a little towards the salty side but good flavor. Would be down to try their HH and some of their other drinks and snacks on the menu! read more

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Came here on a Saturday night for a friend's birthday. First time trying after so many people have told me about it (with mixed bag reviews ). I must have walked by this place a million times, so I was happy to finally try it for myself. I honestly thought it was in a different place altogether, I'm glad I was able to put the location with the name. I love Filipino food, so this place is a no brainer. The location is great and the decor is nice, art deco maybe? Very inviting and it was busy even for how early it was. They are known for their drinks/desserts too so definitely save room for the extra calories. lol The service was also top notch. The manager came by a few times and even sat with us to chat. Our waitress was a doll! I truly enjoyed my meal here. read more

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Avenida in San Mateo is another fantastic spot for Filipino food! Every meal we've had here has been delicious, and the service has always been warm and welcoming. My personal favorites are the Gerry's Iced Tea and the Inihaw na Pusit, both are so good. My fiancé can't get enough of the Bulalo and Sinuglaw, and they're always at the top of his order. They also have a nice outdoor patio, which makes for a great place to enjoy a meal. One of my favorite memories here was when we brought our baby Sulcata tortoise with us to sit outside. Our server thought it was the cutest thing and even brought out some baby bok choy for him to snack on. It was such a thoughtful gesture and really showed how kind the staff is. Great food, great service, and a welcoming atmosphere, Avenida is definitely worth a visit if you're craving Filipino cuisine! read more

Avenida Restaurant - Filipino Near Me - San Mateo, California

Lovely restaurant, great tapas and happy hour menu. Staff was awesome. It does get busy throughout the evening but service remains consistent. read more

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Located in Downtown San Mateo, parking is plentiful but availability is difficult to find. The interior is quiet and spacious making it good for groups of all sizes. Food is delicious. I loved the lumpia and pancit. Lumpia was very crispy and the pancit was light whilst having flavor. Tap to pay is accepted. Overall, Avenida Restaurant is a delicious place for Filipino food. read more

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I had such a blast here, the food was so enjoyable. I took my time and ate for 2 hours, trying a bunch of stuff. if you want a rounded meal, try an appetizer, pancit, the crispy meat (lechon was wonderful!), and another meat dish. must get dessert, halo halo is fantastic. sweet cup of goodness with ube ice cream, pudding, jellies, beans. I'm in heaven. service was so kind and cordial. would def come back with a group, they have plenty of space for a large group party. you can try more food with more people! beautiful modern interior- job well done decorating this place. read more

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We arrived just before our lunch reservation. Thankfully it was not yet busy, and we were seated fairly quickly. Seating options include the bar, indoor, indoor patio, upstairs indoor, and outdoor patio all surrounded by Island Pacific decor and atmosphere. Our server, Ace, and the rest of the staff were kind and helpful. We requested mango juice and waters all around. Also ordered Lumpia, Mango Salad, Avenida Fried Chicken, Pork Sisig, Salmon Sinigang, and (of course) both plain and garlic rice. Although we found the sisig dry, everything was well received. We might visit again when in the area again, and we would accept the menu's offer to pay with cash for a 5% discount. read more

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Tried Avenida for dinner, I haven't eaten much Filipino food before so I was excited to try this spot. Ordered the lumpia, crispy tadyang, grilled squid, and a side of rice. -Lumpia: can't go wrong! solid appetizer, light and crispy. -Crispy tadyang: I was deciding between this and the crispy pata. This dish was very flavorful and had so much depth! The outside was crispy and the beef was very tender -Grilled squid: light and cooked well, it wasn't chewy at all. it paired nicely with the crispy tadyang to balance out! Not a biggie but I wish the slices had been fully cut through since the squid slices were all still connected. I also liked the cooked peppery side veggies. Everything was super flavorful, I'd definitely come back to try other dishes read more

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Our experience started out great here then just kept declining as the meal went on. Upon entering, we were greeted by an energetic man who offered us patio seating since their live musician was starting soon. When we were ready to order, the same host came and he emphasized if we wanted any apps, order it now so he can put it in first to beat the dinner rush. We ordered drinks, just the lumpia as the app, and also the rest of the entrees. I'm not sure what was happening with the service that day but we saw a server come out with our drinks and ask another table if the drinks were for them. And then later, the server knocked over a drink at the other table. And then the servers brought out another table's food order to us by mistake. The table that was seated after us got their food before us. We waited over 40 minutes for our correct order to come out, and the food tasted cold. The lumpia and lechon didn't come out which made us wonder why the first server was very adamant in putting in the lumpia order first. We waited another 20 minutes for the lumpia and lechon which was piping hot when it came out so it was obvious they forgot our order or gave it to someone else. The drinks were great but the food here was very mid. The crab fried rice had no seasoning. All the meat was overcooked. To be honest, I would rather go to Jollibees if I want filipino food. We were obviously annoyed throughout the meal and the waitress was hovering our table but never came to check in on us. When we paid, she asked us how everything was and we told her the food wasn't great. She had the nerve to say "omg I should've checked in on you" as if she didn't stand around us the whole time without any acknowledgment. Anyway this was the worst meal and experience we've had in a while and it makes me wonder how it has such high ratings. RESPONSE TO KENNETH: I'm not sure if you were the one that initially greeted us and took our order but we didn't see you at all after our drinks came out. Our concerns were that our food didn't come out and we asked various servers. Nobody came to check in on us throughout the meal. As the customer, it's not our job to try to flag a manager down to share feedback. Even then, we told the server and she didn't tell a manager. Your snarky response shares all I need to know about your business. If you have "real questions", you can send me a message. read more

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Had a lovely dinner at Avenida with a friend before heading to SFO on redeye. Nice ambiance, not loud at all for good conversation. Service was wonderful and food excellent! My friend doesn't eat meat so we did not try the many pork and chicken options that Filipino food is known for, next time! Lumpia Togue (vegetarian) - 4/5, maybe because it was vegetarian was more like a chinese egg roll (also same size as typical egg roll) and not the smaller lumpia I'm used to (with pork!). Two in the serving were plenty for the two of us (other size is 5 which would be too much!) Salmon Inasal - 5/5, this was fantastic, I'm not sure how they prepared the salmon beyond char-grilling it as the glazing and texture were very unique. It was delicious and came with a cauliflower puree which was amazing (and I don't like cauliflower) and a sizeable serving of perfectly sauteed spinach. Also they gave us two 4-5 ounce pieces of salmon - very generous portion! Ginataang Hipan (coconut milk shrimp) - 5/5, very similar to what you'd get at at Thai restaurant as green curry with shrimp , string beans, squash, very yummy! Garlic rice - 5/5 a must have at a Filipino restaurant Can't wait to go back with a meat eater friend and try all the pork and chicken items! read more

DELICIOUS MODERN FILIPINO IN SAN MATEO. Ambience: 5/5 Conveniently tucked in the middle of other restaurants and plenty of street parking with garages nearby. Both outdoor and indoor seating is very cozy and great vibes. Service: 5/5 The customer service was absolutely out of this world, our waitress Samantha and the manager Ken have the best personalities. Felt so welcomed and accommodated, quick service too! Food: 5/5 We ordered as much as we can to taste it all, and we enjoyed and came out of there completely satisfied. The lumpia, fried tofu, Filipino ceviche with grilled pork belly, grilled squid, bangus sisig, sinigang soup, garlic rice, and dessert were all just delicious. They even customized a Calamansi lemon drop for me and how refreshing! Overall: 5/5 Absolutely amazing and worth the trip here. Can't wait to come back and try everything else on their menu! read more

Absolutely LOVED my first time dinner experience here! Our waitress was super kind and attentive and checked in with us often for "last call", as our party of 11 ate near closing hours. Love the elevated bougie vibes of this restaurant as well as the aesthetic plating of their modern Filipino dishes. Everything was packed with so much flavor and I had a positive dining experience here. Highly recommend this restaurant & I'd definitely come back! read more

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We had the BEST experience! The food and drinks were delicious, and the service made it even better. Ken was fantastic and gave us excellent recommendations. You have to try the octopus and crispy pata (pork). We'll definitely be back! read more

lumpia: tapas 8 halves entree 16 halves, nice and crunchy inihaw na pusit: entree size feeds 4-5, definitely a recommend the texture and sauce were delicious pork sisig: entree size, definitelly a recommendation as well. adobo rice: entree will be good for 4, tapas would be 1-2 people pinakbet: tapas style, it wasn't a stand out dish and it was smaller than i thought and there was very few of each type of vegetable even though there were so many listed spinach ala pobre: really good garlic rice: large portion good for all the mains we shared leche flan: good flan calamansi pie: subtle citrus flavor We made a reservation for a party of 5 on a Thursday at 6:30, and it was more packed than expected. We were recommended some dishes and did family style and had an insane amount of leftovers. Everything was pretty delicious and the service was great besides the end when our server disappeared for about 15 minutes and we couldn't get the check. Definitely a recommendation for a party to share a little bit of everything! read more

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Let's start off with the positive. The service was Great!! A+ on that. . We got seated right away even though we arrived 30 minutes before our reservation time. The servers were very nice and helpful. They always made sure we were doing good. The drinks were very tasty and it did it's job right away. We got the the Purple Jeepney which was a little too sweet but tasted good. Puto Maya Mangga which was also a little sweet but okay. The best one was was the Black Pandan Old Fashioned. That drink was Amazingly Good!! We ordered 5 dishes and Garlic Rice. The best tasting dish we got was the Dinakdakan. Ingredients were well put together and full of flavor. Coming in second was Kare Kare. It had plenty of meat and veggies along with enough peanut broth (sabaw) to compliment the dish. Only bad thing is that it was really heavy on the peanut butter but it did taste like real Kare kare. The lumpia Shanghai comes in third because it didn't taste or look like store bought. Now the negative side is the last 2 dishes. Coming in 4th place was the Sisig. We ordered 2 eggs along with it. The eggs were way over cooked and was hiding under the dry pork. Even though it was pork, it was also super dry. The flavor was missing something and didn't have the traditional Sisig taste. Not all Sisig is supposed to taste the same but if I didn't know that was supposed to be Sisig, then I wouldn't know what I was eating. It felt like I was searching for the Easter egg under the hay. I wouldn't recommend ordering it. For the finale was the horrible tasting Pancit Palabok. Don't let the looks deceive you because it was horrible. It was awful. That was a bad representation of Authentic Filipino cuisine. All we tasted was Bagaong (shrimp paste). Yes, shrimp is used to make that dish but not shrimp paste. You can tell it wasn't made the right way. This may sound harsh but if that's how they make it, then they should remove it from the menu. That dish was either made wrong by mistake or they need to revisit their cookbook and fix it. The whole expierence was nice but the food was below average. The price was also high for the quality and taste of the food you get. Would we go back to give it a second try, I highly doubt it. read more

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Came here for happy hour and had a wonderful time! The food is probably some of the best Filipino food I've had lately in the bay. You can tell the quality of the food with each bite. The pinakbet was not skimping on the bagoong and was delicious. The kare kare was tender and the bangus sisig had a perfectly crispy bottom. The high quality of the protein here really makes each dish taste worth the price. The cocktails were also really good, I enjoy the purple jeepney which was an ube based cocktail. They do have smaller sizes for entrees that you can order so you can sample more of the menu. Will be back to try to crispy pata! The service was also very warm and friendly, they first asked if we've had Filipino food before (which we have many times) to see if they could help make any suggestions from the menu. read more

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Bustling on a Friday night - great food and great vibes! We had a reservation for the evening and luckily so, as the restaurant was packed. Located in downtown San Mateo, it can definitely be difficult to find parking, even in the garages. We had to circle around a couple of times until finding a street parking spot. Keep that time in consideration and come early if you have a reservation. The inside has relatively dim lighting and is quite spacy, and there's plenty of seating both upstairs and downstairs. Service was pretty quick despite how busy it was, and the servers were great! We ordered: - hot calamansi tea - thai chili & garlic wings - inihaw na pusit - pork sisig - sinigang - garlic rice The food came out pretty quickly and mostly all at once. Standouts of the night were the inihaw na pusit (super tender and chewy, and grilled with a great char) and pork sisig (super umami and tender). With that being said, was very satisfied with all the dishes, and there wasn't one that left a negative impression. I will say that this restaurant does lean on the pricier end, but there's a great ambiance for good food and conversations with friends. Would come back! read more

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Two words: crispy pata. I'm a sucker for deep-fried pork and this dish here never fails to impress me. My next favorite is their pork sisig; the flavors are full-bodied and I like that some of the pieces are crispy without tasting burnt. I've also tried their beef kaldereta, lumpia, adobo rice, chicken inasal, and palabok which were all good. I'd skip on the lechon though and get the crispy pata. Their garlic rice could have more garlic intensity as well. Service was fine. Avenida is an upscale Filipino restaurant, so expect to pay more premium prices. Definitely make a reservation because this place gets really busy. read more

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Food 10/10. Amazing flavors. Everything is fresh. The drinks are great. They made a special drink for my wife, calamansi drop. Service 1000/10. Our server Samantha has been the best. Tentative to everything we need and provides details on the dishes with great recommendations . The manager Ken has been checking in on us and makes us feel like family. The vibes are great. Elegant and simple, definitely makes me feel like I'm getting a little from the Philippines. read more

Avenida Restaurant - Filipino Near Me - San Mateo, California

I recently just went to Avenida Restaurant in Downtown San Mateo for a nice sit down dinner + it was sooo yum! There are two parking garages nearby which make it easy to get to. The interior is so aesthetic with a tropical atmosphere and the food did not disappoint! Plus, the portions were extremely reasonable considering their huge portion sizes! My friend + I shared two appetizers and two entrees and we were sooo full even with a full box of leftovers. The servers were also incredibly sweet + gave us great recommendations!! Every single dish was so delicious and flavorful, but if you asked me my favorite dish I would have to go with the Crispy Pata. That's their house special + the menu describes it as "crispy on the outside & juicy on the inside" which was exactly how it tasted! So flavorful, so crispy, AND the dipping sauce was 10/10. Our server recommended to pair it with the garlic rice which was the right combination! If you're looking for a sweet treat to top it off, I recommend the Halo Halo Milky Ice + Strawberry Milky Ice! These are definitely shareable sizes too! What I ordered: Lumpia - Crispy pork & vegetable spring rolls, side sweet & sour sauce ; such a yummy classic + filling was so good!! Tokkwat Lechon Kawali - Crispy tofu, crispy pork belly, fresh red onion, side soy-vinegar sauce ; tofu lovers you will LOVE this!! I could not stop eating the tofu!!!! Crispy Pata - Pork knuckle, crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside ; One of their house specials + I can see why! It was sooo crispy and tender especially with the dipping sauces! Pairs well with the garlic rice!! Pancit Bihon - Stir-fried thin noodles, Chinese sausage, pork, shrimp, squid balls, carrots, cabbage, celery, garlic, scallion ; Couldn't decide on which boodles because they all looked good, but decided to choose these because House Special and it was so delicious! I loved adding the lime on top too! read more

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Decided to finally try this restaurant out after walking by it so many times. The atmosphere was very nice! Nice and clean, and definitely had the feel of a fancy restaurant. The service was great too. Nice and prompt, as well as polite. Sadly...the food itself is where it was lacking. The Chicken Skewers were fantastic! Nice and flavorful, as well as filling. Vanilla Ice Cream wasn't anything special, but a nice refreshing sweet treat to end it. Sadly, the Crab Meat Fried Rice came up short. There were packets within it that were very tasty and flavorful, but overall it tasted pretty...plain, for lack of a better word. So plain that I couldn't bring myself to finish it, and didn't want to take it with me afterwards. I got the full entree size instead of the half size, so maybe that had something to do with it. Might go for the half size next time. Overall, willing to comeback in the future and give it another shot in the future, but sadly not blown away this time. Here's hoping the next visit goes better! read more

Avenida Restaurant - Crab Meat Fried Rice (minus Green Peas), and Chicken Skewers - Filipino Near Me - San Mateo, California

The food here is okay. I would say most of what you pay for are the aesthetics, experience, & service. As a Filipino, the authentic Filipino food is going to be at home or at a small mom & pop's shop. Went here for a second time and got the grilled squid, pancit bihon, & lechon kawali. Shared it with a girl friend so we got half portions which were just enough to have room for dessert else where. They start off with chicharron as a small app/snack. I'd say for Filipino food if you haven't had it tied Filipino food it was good. I just wish there was more flavor to it. The squid was alright, could've grilled one at home. I enjoyed with the dipping sauce and it wasn't chewy. Pancit was mid, wish there was more flavor. The lechon kawali was tasty, however, I get the same thing for a better price at a local kitchen. Definitely over priced. Unfortunately the service was lacking. It took quite a while for our server to come, introduce themselves, & give water. When they first came and said they will give some time to review the menu, we were already ready to order. Then they vanished and we never got checked in on again until all of our food was gone. They cleared the table and gave the check. Surprisingly when I got sat apparently the table next to me were not satisfied with their food so I heard that their check was revised. The ambiance and aesthetics look nice. The drinks looked tasty on the menu but didn't get to try them since we were not in the mood for drinking. Halo halos for desserts but we passed as there were other dessert places we had in mind. Most likely will not come back again. read more

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Been here at least a handful of times, but this past weekend, our experience didn't live up to our expectations. Service was friendly but a bit spotty. Not a huge issue, however, more importantly, the dishes overall just didn't hit the same. (We ordered some of the same dishes we always get here). There was one dish (bistek) that was just too tough and was disappointing. We left at least half of it untouched. It cost $36. On the other hand, the best items were the chicken inasal and Kare Kare. Avenida is great for large parties, and it is a nicer Filipino restaurant for gatherings. However, I don't know if it was a one off. We used to be able to recommend this restaurant without hesitation, however after the last dining experience, this is not longer the case. read more

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Parking is a nightmare but besides that, restaurant is amazing and beautiful. Staff were very attentive, and the menu was very straight forward. Pricing Is definitely on the higher end of things. Crispy pata: 3/5, very very dry Lumpia: 3/5, not crispy and soggy Chicken adobo: 3.5/5 Beef salpacio: 3.5/5 Beef kare kare: 2/5, not true kare kare Pancit palabok: 5/5, amazing must try read more

Avenida Restaurant - Filipino Near Me - San Mateo, California

My sister and I took my dad here for dinner. Arrived early to my reservation of 5 but had to wait til my actual reservation time, which is totally fair. The food came in big portions, definitely recommend family style eating. The drinks were strong and worth the price. My favorite dish was the bangus sisig! The lighting was dim but it set the mood of a night filled with good conversation and laughter. Would recommend to give this restaurant a try! read more

Avenida Restaurant - Filipino Near Me - San Mateo, California

Food is good. Service is good. Some interesting fusion items. Location is right downtown in San Mateo. Always crowded though and the outdoor area somewhat limited. Definitely a worthy place to try out. read more

I would come back again! This place is a fun restaurant for family-style food with creative drinks. I really enjoyed that you had the option of ordering a half versus full plate which made sharing entrees and appetizers particularly enjoyable, especially if someone on the menu caught your eye and you wanted to just have a few bites. The black pandan old fashioned was a very fun drink, pancit bihon a classic that met expectations, and the lumpia exceptional. The tuna in the sugba kilaw was a bit fishy tasting, calling into question how fresh it was. The rest of the dishes we had were fun but just okay. As for service, our waitress was great but the hostess confused our party. Our party of three made a reservation and arrived 20 minutes early. The hostess acknowledged that our table wasn't ready and asked us to wait. During the entirety of the time leading up to our reservation we had eyed an empty table and were ultimately sat at said empty table. It wasn't clear to me why we were not seated earlier. read more

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My 88 yo mom asked for Filipino food and as an avid cook herself she was impressed with the flavor and taste of their karekare! Diana, our attentive and friendly server, added to our great meal by serving the birthday boy his fave leche flan even after we took care of the tab! Our neighboring tables seem to share our positive experience based on other servers engaging with the customers as well! read more

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Avenida Restaurant exceeded our expectations! From the moment we walked in, the ambiance was beautiful, warm, cozy, and inviting, perfect for hanging out with friends or family. The Filipino dishes are on point. From savory Pancit Palabok, flavorful Dinakdakan, to the perfectly Crispy Pata, everything hit the spot. The food was outstanding. Fresh, flavorful and clearly made with care. Huge shout out to Lyanne L for her exceptional service. She was incredibly friendly, attentive, and made us feel well taken care of the entire time. Her positive energy and professionalism truly made our visit even better. Highly recommend Avenida Restaurant if you're craving authentic Filipino food, great vibes, and amazing service. We'll definitely be back! read more

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This is "upscale" Filipino. I will start with my rant first (which according to the server is a non-issue in the neighborhood they're in; but he claims he understands my concern). Here we go - almost $5 for a cup of white rice! NOPE - that set a bad initial impression that I expected the rest of the meal to be awful. Imagine serving Filipino food with no rice - and I don't care if your wealthy clients don't always need rice with their meal. Rice is a MUST with the heart of a complete Filipino cuisine. I end my rant. Now for the AMAZING experience. The ambience is awesome, definitely has the upscale restaurant feel that they're going for. The servers are very attentive and friendly and ensure that you're well taken care of. The place has both indoor and outdoor seating and I noticed a small private area on the 2nd floor as well. We were actually surprised with the quality of the meals. They tasted authentic without being too overpriced or too avant-garde to distinguish themselves that they lose the core of what the Filipino meal should be. Our eyes and curiosity definitely ordered more than what our stomach could handle. My dad joked that he was doing a tasting menu as he tried a bit of every meal to ensure if it is really Authentic. It was also his Birthday! So we're thankful for the staff for allowing us to bring our own cake without charging a corkage fee. Also, we got some complimentary desserts - thank you. For 5 adults - we had at least 10 entrees - yes abundance! But we were celebrating an important Birthday. I will most likely return in the future read more

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Food tasted fantastic! Everything was cooked well, and every bite was amazing. Time between ordering and arriving at the table took a bit long. The ambiance and decor were all perfect. We ordered tapas sized plates to share. My favorite was the dinakdakan. The crispy tadyang would have been my favorite, but the order came out with one rib with meat paired with one rib with no meat. Unsure what we were supposed to do with the bone. Other than that, everything was great. read more

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I've come here quite a few times and maybe I've just gotten unlucky; however, every time I've arrived, this place is littered with unsanitary hygiene. It doesn't help that the outside is constantly being worked on by construction. Discussing more about food, their plates come out quite cold and the wait makes it hard for me to justify. They're also always out of ingredients and their happy hour menu is very limited. read more

Had a fantastic welcoming dinner, squid and pork knuckle are to so great. Started off by Ken introducing us and just treating us like family. We cleaned the bone of the pork. Drinks were super creative and vibrant. We felt engaged by Ken and his staff. read more

I'm new to the bay area and was in dire need of some Filipino food. My friend recommended Avenida. We came on a Friday night promptly at 5 pm and were quickly seated to the bar. We ordered drinks that played on your typical Filipino flavors such as mango and ube and pandan. My bf and I were impressed!! For our dishes, we ordered the Thai chili wings, liempo, sisig bangus, and the chicken inasal. Unfortunately, our experience went downhill after that. We waited at the bar for 45 min before our server went to go check on our food. It kind of gave off the impression that we were forgotten about since our server didn't think to round on us. We got the Thai chili wings and the chicken inasal first, to which our server told us that the liempo and the sisig would come out in 5 min. -Wings 3.5/5 Cooked well, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I just couldn't taste any of the Thai chili. -Chicken Inasal 3.5/5 Now maybe it's because I've been to the Philippines and had Mang Inasal, but Avenida's flavor wasn't quite where I would've wanted it to be. The chicken itself was again, cooked well - it had the char and the complementary soy sauce concoction was delicious - but I think it was missing the chicken oil that you drizzle over the rice that makes chicken inasal so iconic. -Sisig Bangus 4/5 My bf and I would have liked more crisp to the fish meat and fish skin itself, but we both enjoyed that it wasn't too oily or salty. We would order this again. Now at this point it was 6:10 pm and it had been 15 min since the server had told us the liempo was going to come out. I was confused because liempo is one of the easiest dishes to make - it's grilled pork cooked over the barbecue grill and as such it's usually one of the first entrees to come out when ordered. A different server went to go check on it, and the party next to us told us that they had received our liempo and had sent it back. Now imagine my confusion when a busser immediately comes by to deliver lechon kawali with liver sauce and vinegar. I told them that this was the wrong dish, but the server insisted that "this is how they serve liempo here" and that I was probably confusing the liempo with the bbq pork skewers. I think any Filipino would be have been taken aback when liempo is a grilled pork dish and kawali is pork that it is deep fried. There's really no room for confusion. Unfortunately I'm a really passive person and thought that it was possible that I was wrong. I didn't think to check the pictures here on yelp until we had already gone home AND tipped for the terrible service. Lo and behold I was right. What was really infuriating was that instead of owning up to the mistake, they gave us someone else's food!! We Filipinos pride ourselves on our food and our hospitality. The fact that our initial server forgot about us, and then a different server tried to convince us that we ordered the wrong dish really set an awful taste in my mouth. I was really looking for a taste of back home and instead this restaurant reminded me of why I'd rather just fly back and have my dad's cooking. read more

Avenida Restaurant - The liempo we ordered - Filipino Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Solid Filipino restaurant that's great for families or larger group gatherings. The ambience isn't intimate, and the table setup feels a bit odd--likely because they move tables around to accommodate big parties. Service was friendly. We tried the lumpia, adobang pusit (adobo baby squid), and pancit bihon. The dishes are on the pricier side, but the portions are very generous and definitely meant for sharing family-style. The food isn't gourmet, so adjust your expectations, but everything was hearty and satisfying. read more

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