From the moment we walked in I knew we were in for a nice afternoon-- the vibe is absolutely right, and the greeting was immensely warm, like old friends coming to sit down for a meal. The food was beautifully displayed and flavors were authentic and rich. There's a lot of pride taken in the creation of these dishes, you can tell from one bite! Beware the cute little coconut rice bowls-- easy to tip so dont rest your spoon in them! My favorite part was the ongoing karaoke. Especially when the waiters begun to sing. OMG some of them are professionals!! The bathroom has a marble system. If something is wrong, just hand a marble to a waiter and they will fix it! read more

Makilala - Filipino Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Food 4/5 Service 5/5 Ambiance 4/5 Food I'm Filipino & I'd heard of this restaurant from a co-worker so hubby & I decided to try it. We ordered the lumpiang shanghai, lumpiang sariwa, pork belly sliders, & pork belly adobo with garlic fried rice. For dessert we had the casava cake. We enjoyed all of the food. My personal favourite was the lumpiang sariwa. As for the adobo it was nice to try it as pork belly. Usually the protein with adobo is chicken & not pork. I liked that the food wasn't overly seasoned. Everything was cooked in authentic Filipino cuisine style. We ordered some takeout to share with the family. We ordered the Kare Kare oxtail, Ensaladang Talong, & Lumping Shanghai. The portions for takeout seem a lot smaller than dining in so I was disappointed with that. Service We had a couple of different ladies serving us the food. Both were young ladies & they were both very nice. They also checked on us to see if we were enjoying the food. I was surprised that the restaurant wasn't busy on a Friday at 12pm. I hope they get busier in the evenings! Ambiance The decor is a bit kitschy. It's like they tried to cram everything filipino into the restaurant. LOL. It is colourful though, & interesting.There is a small market at the front of the restaurant where they sell various things. Unfortunately they didn't have my fave candies: polvoron & pastillas. One of the waitstaff said they rotate those. I found it very cold in the restaurant. I might have been sitting near a vent or maybe it was where were sitting, near the front of the restaurant. After a while I put my coat on. But the other people in the restaurant didn't seem cold so maybe it was just me. Washrooms are 5 separate small washrooms equipped with a sink, toilet & hand dryer. The whole restaurant is cute. I would come back to try more of their dishes. When we were leaving there was more people in the restaurant so that was nice to see. Almost forgot to mention they have karaoke in the evenings! LOL read more

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Makilala is a colourful Filipino restaurant in downtown Toronto that beautifully showcases comforting and common Filipino dishes. Their lunch special is a great value, generous portions, well-seasoned dishes. I tried the chicken silog (loved the garlic rice) and the noodle sir fry. It's the kind of meal that leaves you full and happy. This is a spot where you want to stay longer as you are paying for the ambience The clamansi tea is a lovely complement to the food. Light and refreshing, it balances the richness of the dishes and adds a calming touch to the overall experience. I loved the tribute to Filipino culture with the option to buy snacks. Makilala is a great spot for a relaxed, flavourful lunch. The prices are a bit high and it's hard to compare to eating Filipino food growing up in Scarborough. It is worth going here for occasions as I saw people celebrating birthdays. read more

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Food: Sisig - best thing on the menu. Very well done and goes really well with the rice. Oxtail Kare kare - not bad but not incredible. Sauce could use a stronger peanut butter flavour. Chicken skewer silog - chicken BBQ chunks with egg and rice. Chicken was really tender but the flavour could have been stronger. Not my order so I didn't get to taste the atchara. Pandesal - came with durian butter and caramel butter. Was really fresh and really good. Paired well with the butters. Durian flavour was not too overpowering. Went here 1 time before. Most of the food was not that great. The adobo was not good. The Liempo was good though. Service: Service was pretty good. Attentive and quick. Ambiance: Super Filipino. Sari sari store front facade for the bar. Filipino memorabilia. Staff came out with a guitar for someones bday and someone sung harmony. Someone also sang karaoke in front of everyone at 2:30pm. read more

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Most authentic Filipino restaurants in the city seem to be concentrated in the Wilson & Bathurst area, so I was delighted to learn that a new Filipino restaurant finally opened right in downtown (without being fusion). Better yet, one of the founders and owners is the co-owner of Pai restaurants - one of my favourite Thai restaurants in the city. So we came to Makilala with high expectation, and it did not disappoint! The word "makilala" (in Tagalog) means "to get to know" or "to meet" - meant to introduce people to get to know Filipino cuisine. The interior décor was reminiscent of traditional markets in the Philippines. It was designed like a Filipino community gathering spot, with elements including a sari-sari (convenience) store bar and a stage for karaoke and performances. Signs on the tables show that they hold karaoke nights from time to time. As soon as you walk in, you're greeted with a "mabuhay" sign and small market (shelves) at the front showcasing local Filipino artists and vendors for handmade goods and art. The goods sold include bar soaps, lip balms, cute keychains of mini Filipino snacks, greeting cards, artwork, and various gift items. There is also a retro Coca-Cola machine and another shelf selling Makilala-branded apparel. I really liked the ambiance (communal, lively, albeit a bit loud) and music playing in the background. Service was prompt and very friendly (really embodying the Filipino culture and friendliness). Food was excellent!! 1) Pancit (mix of rice vermicelli (bihon) and wheat noodles (canton), bell peppers, snow peas, cabbage, celery, carrot, green onion, garlic, calamansi) with shrimps - I loved the mixture of 2 types of noodles (thin rice vermicelli and thick wheat noodles). They put a good amount of vegetables in the mix, and the dish was very flavourful. This was easily one of my favourite dishes. We had the option of choosing shrimps or tofu for the protein, and we chose shrimps this time around. 2) Chop Suey (stir-fried mixed vegetables of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, red and green bell peppers, snow peas, baby corn, mushrooms, onions, quail eggs) with shrimps and garlic rice - The vegetables were still crisp and overall the dish wasn't too saucy (yet flavourful). Good variety of vegetables too (and lots of them!). 10/10 - one of the best chop sueys I've had, comparing it to the ones at other restaurants. It came with rice, and we upgraded it to garlic rice. I liked that it came with actual pieces of roasted garlic on top. 3) Ensaladang Talong (grilled eggplant, hard-boiled salted egg, tomato, mango, red & green onions, garlic, calamansi juice, soy garlic vinegar sauce) - They originally had Tortang Talong on the menu, which I wanted to get, but when we came, it had been taken off the menu. So I settled for the Ensaladang Talong. It came with a good amount of the grilled eggplant. I asked if they could make it without the shrimp paste (which would make it very salty), and I was glad that they were able to omit it. This dish was refreshing - a good mixture of all the ingredients. We'd come again for sure! read more

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We ordered several Filipino dishes to try a variety of flavors. The Lumpiang Shanghai was crisp and flavorful, and the Laing with shrimp was the standout of the night: rich, aromatic, and very crave-worthy. I would absolutely order the laing again. The Grilled Pork Belly was boldly seasoned, but the combination of sauces left a noticeable lingering metallic aftertaste that took away from the overall enjoyment. The Kare-Kare was very peanut-forward and tasted more like warm peanut butter than a balanced stew, which may come down to personal preference. The Sisig had good flavor, but the pork ears/snout were overcooked and quite tough to the point those pieces were inedible and placed to the side. Due to this it didn't fare well in comparison to other versions I've had. Dessert was unfortunately sold out. Overall, a mixed but pleasant experience with a few highlights and room for improvement. read more

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Amazing Filipino food at downtown. The interior is very traditional and looks like. Marketplace with many Filipino items. They also have a karaoke stage at the front I think they have karaoke nights. I went for a birthday celebration and orderedany items like kare kare, kaldereta, fried pork belly and grilled pork belly.nitbwas served with garlic fried rice which was very garlicy. All dishes were really great. Very flavourful. The service was a bit slow. The waiter wasn't coming at our table in the beginning aside from that everything is great. read more

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As a filipino, I thought I'd have a pretty critical take on Makilala... but their food really blew me away. All the filipino dishes tasted authentic - that is to say, they were rich, flavourful, and soooo yummy. I tried the pandesal (warm and sweet, paired with durian and salted caramel spreads), grilled chicken skewers (perfectly cooked), shrimp laing, kaldereta, and kare kare. The laing surprised me, it had a spicy kick and such a unique taste. I also tried the ube spritz - this is the only item I wouldn't get again as it was pretty pricy for what it was (essentially ube flavour with sprite). The servers are super attentive and happy to help with the menu, and the vibe of this restaurant feels like home with filipino memorabilia and decorations galore. This is a spot I'd be happy to take my filipino parents to, which says a lot! read more

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Came here on a Thursday night reservations for 7 PM and it was super busy inside. However, everybody who worked there was really happy and accommodating when our table was uneasy, they switched it out. It was great. Their drinks were good - not enough for me to do karaoke but still good nonetheless. We wanted to order a little bit of everything and we were told that the lumpia was sold out. A little sad considering it's the only thing that's on Instagram that is posted (literally everywhere) but all good we ordered a bunch of other stuff. Halfway through our meal, the waiter came back and told us that it was available so we definitely obtain an order. Over all the food was good nothing was outstanding. I'll be honest. Nothing is really sticking out as memorable. Would I come here with friends because the vibes are good ?probably. read more

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Cute vibrant spot with lots of seating. We went on a Thursday night and they have a karaoke setup. We were told that the first person to sing would get a discount, but my friend and I chose not to. It did get very loud and it's hard to have a conversation. It's also a little uncomfortable to have people taking videos when you're eating - just something to be aware of. The service was great and food came out pretty quick. We got the chop suey and kare kare oxtail. The chop suey was lacking flavor and it might be worth upgrading to garlic fried rice with it for some added flavor. The kare kare oxtail was amazing though. There's a lot of oxtail pieces in the dish but the pieces don't have the most meat. It's a very rich peanutty curry and was very delicious. I'd go back and try more dishes. read more

Makilala - Oxtail kare kare - Filipino Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

We went there for a birthday celebration and our first time there. Excited to see a new Filipino restaurant in Toronto. Knowing the owners and their family of restaurants it has to be a good thing. It's located right at corner of church and Richmond. And open daily from 5-9pm. It's got the perfect aesthetics of Capturing the phillipines and their culture in their decor. My friends said the food is from their region of Pampanga in the Philippines. My favourite dishes were the bbq pork belly. Super tender melt in your mouth. Ox tail kare kare was amazing. Beef kaldereta was good. Wish the portion was bigger. I could've eaten it all by myself. And palabok was ok. The halo halo I was Looking forward to I was disappointed. Not as good as I had hoped. But overall I would come back to try more dishes and if they have new menu items. read more

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This is a Filipino restaurant, owned by the owners of the famed Thai chef and co-owner, Chef Nonglak Regular. The owner married to co-owner Jeff Regular, a Filipino, 20 years ago, and learned to cook Filipino food from his family. Makilala means "to get to know" in Filipino. So they would like their customers to be introduced to Filipino food, the street scenes, etc. The vibe is a casual restaurant, with exposed brick and wooden tables. At one end is a huge TV showing Filipino street scenes. You might think they are focused on street food, but they serve family-style food, including brunch. There is a large indoor seating area. There is a private dining room, which may not be in use for a while. There is a long bar where they serve very nice cocktails. They open a few hours for brunch and then a few hours for dinner. Customer service was really good. Chef and co-owner, Nonglak Regular, is a chef and/owner at the following Thai restaurants: Pai, Kiin, Tha Phae Tavern, ChaiYo by Pai, and SukhoThai. Their menu is extensive: Sweet Breads with Durian Butter, Pork Lumpia Shanghai, Ginger Rice, Laing, Chicken Adobo, Pork Adobo, Ginataang Lanka (with or without shrimp), Chicken Pancit, Pinkbet (with pork or shrimp), Tortang Talong, Loaded Palabok, Beef Kare-Kare, Grilled Pork Belly, and of course, Halo Halo. Some of the cocktails are: Kanlaon Drift, Milo-Tini, Pac Man Punch, Ube Fizz (mocktail). The restaurant is not wheelchair accessible (there is one step at the entrance. There are 5 gender-neutral washrooms, one of which is wheelchair accessible. There is paid neighbourhood street parking and paid parking lots. There are three high chairs for little children. Review 2025-151 read more

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The vibes here are absolutely amazing; the attention to detail is truly impressive, from the basketball jerseys to the vintage movie posters to the sari-sari store bar to the local Fil-Can merch and music! I've never seen a Filipino restaurant go this hard with the interior design. While honestly, the food doesn't give us any big surprises (I was looking for a dish that would be tantamount to Pai's Khao Soi), many of the dishes are similar to what you'd find in a Filipino house (just with fattier meat and smaller portions, of course). My favourite dishes were the Grilled Pork Belly appetizer (truly, if you ordered this with rice, it would be an entree), and the House-Baked Pandesal (try both the salted caramel butter and the durian butter-- they have an icing-like consistency and are truly special). I just wish that their menu had more than one dessert; just giving us halo-halo isn't enough! I'd love to see them add sapin-sapin, kutsinta, or even an egg pie. That would be worth a five-star review! Looking forward to coming back in the future, when they expand the menu... read more

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Hospitality was great from one of the owners. One of the owners is the owner for Pai. Food was delicious. Drinks were also delicious. Great space and lovely interior to match the culture. I will definitely go back there again read more

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Checked out this new Filipino restaurant from the same owners of Pai and really enjoyed it! Firstly, the atmosphere is very reminiscent of the Philippines and the staff were 10/10. Our waiter was very attentive and the owner was really helpful in describing the menu to us. We got the grilled pork belly, pork laing, pan de leche with durian butter (get the durian butter!! 10/10) and Kaldereta. I'm not a huge pork fan but my boyfriend loved all the dishes. I thought the Kaldereta was just okay in my opinion, wish it was more tender and flavourful but overall still enjoyed everything and looking forward to trying more things on the menu next time! read more

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We ordered puto, lumpiang sariwa, sisig and Mechado. The food overall was good we loved the sisig and puto but the mechado came to us room temperature and the potatoes was not fork tender. The rice was wrapped in banana leaf but was not cooked in banana leaf. Service was great. read more

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Makilala nails the atmosphere. Bonus points for all the fun IYKYK items they have littered around, like the Jawo jersey, the Darna and Pakners posters, the Boy Bawang sari sari packs, the cassette tapes, and of course the hardcore karaoke setup. If this is your first getting-to-know-you glimpse of the Philippines, you're getting a carefully curated, polished and manicured version of a simple barrio setting. The food tries to capture that same down-to-earth vibe but doesn't quite capture the warmth and welcome embrace of a great homecooked meal. Got a bunch of stuff and there were hits and misses throughout: - Grilled Pork Belly: The star of the meal for me. The pork was tender and grilled perfectly, and it had that distinct soda-infused sweetness of the classic Filipino barbeque. Great classic side sauce with the calamansi. - Shrimp Laing: Great portion size. The laing had a pretty tasty kick to it, but the shrimps were weirdly bland. - Kare Kare: Big disappointment. The oxtail was a tad tough, the serving size was a bit small, but the sauce was the biggest letdown. I love mine thick and peanut buttery, and this wasn't that. - Pandesal: Pretty standard, with the side durian butter being the star. - Halo Halo: A bit ordinary, almost like this was the beginner's version of the classic Filipino dessert. Service was friendly. Kitchen was fairly quick. Prices are what prices are these days. And again, the vibe was great. While I'm not overly glowing with my take on their food, I do think this is a good introduction, albeit much tamer flavour wise, to the Filipino dining experience because of the great atmosphere. read more

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My family and I were visiting Toronto, Canada from Hawaii and Vegas, and for our last night in the city my mom requested Filipino food. We came here on a Tuesday night and there was a live performance which was nice! As soon as you walk in, you'll see Filipino inspired decor which brings me back to the Philippines. If you ever visited the Philippines you know what I mean. I felt like I was in the middle of a Filipino party which was nothing but good vibes! We ordered pork adobo, Bicol Express, lechon kawali, kare-kare, Shanghai lumpia, and garlic rice with some drinks. It's supposed to be "family style" however we felt like the portion was too small so we ended up ordering another order of each item. We also came during prime time but were seated within 10 minutes for a party of 6 and service was great! read more

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On the corner of Richmond and Church, we swung by this Filipino restaurant-bar after a Jays game to grab dinner and some drinks. We did not have a reservation and waited about 15 minutes before we go a seat. Inside there is a lot of Filipino decor displaying their culture, as well as a little shop to support small businesses. Also at the back there is karaoke (and the wait staff sings too)! We ordered the following: - Pacman Punch: We got a pitcher of this. It was basically jungle juice, but I'm not complaining. I would get it again! Good value for the table. 8/10 - Lumpia Shanghai: This is one of my favourite Filipino foods. It's like a very long spring roll and the sweet and sour sauce was great too. I wished they were shorter rolls so it would be easier to share and not have to double dip. 8/10 - Sinigang Baboy: Tangy tamarind soup with eggplant, beans, bokchoy, ribs, and pork belly. This was delicious and just as I expected for a sinigang. Would definitely get this again, and it was a good portion with lots of meat. 8/10 - Pork Adobo: This was disappointing in both portion and taste. There were only like 6 pieces and it was very tough, not sour or salty enough. I really wanted to like this but I've had far better pork adobo. 4/10 - Kare Kare: Yum! I like this one. The oxtail was slow cooked and the peanut butter flavour really came through. 7/10 - Lechon Kawali: A bit dry but really crispy skin and it gave the crunch factor I so desired. 7/10 Overall, this is a great place to go for the vibes and karaoke. The food could have some improvement based on my experience eating other Filipino cuisine, but great to grab drinks and chit chat! read more

Makilala - Pork Adobo - Filipino Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Amazing restaurant! Comfortable atmosphere, excellent food and too notch service from the staff! A special thank you to Joel Regular, one of the co-owners, for making this a wonderful overall experience! read more

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Service was amazing!! The waitress was super nice and helpful in helping us decide what we wanted to get. The decor and ambiance was everything as well, it felt like what I assume island life is like and they have a open mic karaoke you can just request to sing and they will set it up for you then and there! The food imo was kind of mid, great portions but I felt was a little off (maybe just not suited to my tastebuds). My fave was the grilled pork belly! The kare kare (oxtail) was strong in the peanut butter taste as well, if that is your thing read more

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Food was great! Served promptly. Staff was very friendly and atmosphere was fun, colorful and had a great vibe! Definitely would recommend this place for those that haven't tried Filipino food before! read more

I was very excited to try this new Filipino restaurant owned by the same owner of Pai. However, I wasn't impressed. Maybe it's the Filipino in me. We ordered the Lumpia Shanghai for appetizer and I was disappointed. It didn't have flavours at all other than the pork. The filling usually involves, onion, garlic, peppers, cilantro, etc but I tasted none of these. To be honest, it was bland. For the main, we ordered the Bicol Express and it's known for it's spiciness and it's distinct shrimp paste. However, this dish did not taste spciy or shrimpy at all. Rather, it tasted so bland. I've never been soo disappointed going to a Filipino restaurant expecting all the flavours. read more

Makilala - Bicol Express, Lumpia Shanghai - Filipino Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

The culture itself they are friendly people, so staff friendiless is 5 stars Professionalism is a 2.5 Our waitress is full of energy, always making sure that we're okay in the beginning but couldn't read the room that we are the friends catching up and not the office workers coming for karaoke She came over to check on us way too much in the beginning before we got to have a bite. Then didn't come over enough to bring us shared cutlery and extra bowls to share our meal & dessert. We still appreciate her work ethics, she just came a little to check on us little too often at the wrong time. The the stars got deducted when another server dropped a full beer bottle beside me and another table. Shattered glass under both of our seats. The did ask if I was okay, but I was wearing shorts so it got sticky on my leg. Luckily no shards of glass ricochet on my leg. They didn't ask me to step away for a bit to clean up the glass on the floor. They tried to sweep around it. The floor remained sticky. I don't know why I tipped them at then end. They apologized once, didn't offer more napkins to clean my leg, there were ready to leave we can see small shards remained on the sticky floor. They didin't bother to tell us to becareful walking out, what if someone had flip flops on? Nothing comp'd ... Food is a 3.5 from teh 3 dishes we had Pork Belly (one of two, it's the top one of the menu) that the server recommended. It's like their version of bbq pork that is soft and flavourful We had the oxtail that lacked in taste. Could have been cooked a little longer, but the texture also soft enough. Just lacks umami with the peanut sauce, it needed something another component to cut through the peanut soup that was not really saucy / flavourful. We loved the fact it came with veg (eggplant, string beans, bakchoy but we also don't need to order it again. It came with a paste, maybe shrimp paste? It didn't add to it. The server didn't say what it was. Halo Halo was fun to look at and fun to share! Dessert was good. We're Chinese so we're used to the mixed tecture of jelly, ice cream, pastes, shaved ice, beans .... a tad too sweet for but we enjoyed it 4 stars for atmosphere. Yes, fun atmosphere especially when they start karaoke! Glad we had did most of our talking before the customers started singing. Don't expect to get a lot of conversation done there if the singing is continuous. Yet fun to peeople watch, go hang out, and go for the singing. read more

Being a Filipino I had to try this place especially cause my favourite restaurant is PAI and wanted to support the Filipino side. Honestly the ambience is dark and intimate yet I felt like home. With the decor and space it made it feel comfortable and homey and with the Filipino touches was icing on the cake. The food was amazing!!! The taste was spot on! Unfortunately the food was cold which was disappointing but despite being cold the flavours were a burst in my mouth. The Caldertta was the my fave with soft potatoes and tender meat. The palabok was the amazing with a crunch and taste was amazing. The KARE KARE was the best I ever tasted the pork version instead of the ox tail was something I never had! The pork was crunchy and the sauce was AMAZING! I JUST WISH the food was hot:( but the service was amazing! Friendly smiling staff felt like the Philippines. Could not be a Filipino place without karaoke. Nice to have the option to sit at your table to sing. Unfortunately our table was out of range so had to get on stage;) otherwise great experience! read more

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Wow!!! First - Solana was amazing. Answered TONS of first timer questions. Then the drinks and appetizers...really nice. Most drinks were pretty sweet, but that's what I like, so all good. Got several appetizers and all were great. Now....order the Laing as a main. You truly will thank me. We got several mains and shared, but the flavors and deliciousness of that dish...wonderful!!! read more

Food is delicious and a great place to go to!! All the employees at Makilala have an awesome energy, the place is cozy and the design of the restaurant is so creative!! Highly recommended. read more