Being greeted by a carving station of a whole lechon upon entry into a Filipino restaurant is impressive even by my standards. The place isn't that big, just a few tables but at the far end of the restaurant is a glorious display of a glistening, roasted pig hand carved and sold by the 1/2 pound. I have not tried it but every table or take-out order contained lechon. I ordered the silog deluxe which was a trough of longanisa, tapa, tocino and fried rice with achara; kare kare which was so tasty I didn't need the bagoong; crispy pork binagoongan and pancit miki-bihon. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and the portions were more than generous. I was disappointed to read others' reviews that seem to reflect a lack of integrity on Tastebuds' handling of the lechon. I imagine roasting a pig on a spit in the middle of El Camino Real would be difficult so my understanding is that they only offer fresh lechon during week-ends. It's probably cost-prohibitive to roast pig daily. And as for the guy who got the holy grail lechon after claiming his pilgrimage from San Jose, I'm not sure what that's about. We're only reading an anonymous reviewer's perspective and there isn't much context offered. I'm also wondering why s/he didn't put up an argument like "I was here first and if I don't get my lechon, I'll put *you* on a spit." I know if anyone tried to strong arm me out of some fried pork product, I would get street and/or Serena Williams on the spot to procure me some pork. read more

Lechon was amazing!!! Good price Bulalo was good as well however too much patis on it.. other than that it was good read more

Tastebuds - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

After picking up my better half from SFO I suggested Filipino food, SFO is right next to San Bruno and I was correct on assuming there would be some Filipino restuarants close by. Thanks to Yelp I found 4 within the 1 mile radius of El Camino Real in San Bruno. Tastebuds is a block away from the main Strip. The first thing I noticed were the 2 suckling pigs on the tables that were cut up with the special sauce that goes with it. We decided to ordered the Pancit Bihon ($12.75) clear thin noodles with chicken and vegatables, one of my favorites. Tastebuds makes a great dish. Second choice was the Chicken Adobo ($12,75) flavorful with great tasting sauce, you could see the bay leafs. Some adobo has more vinegar taste then the others, this was neutral. A side dish of garlic rice and I was set to dig in. My wife says where is the knife? I said use the spoon, this is Filipino food. We don't use no stinking knives to eat our pood. The two dishes was more then enough for two, we had some take home food, Tastebuds has a large selection of Filipino entrees, I didn't see any dishes there were unfamiliar. Good service, I will be back for the lechon (pig with the crispy skin). read more

Tastebuds - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

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Very cute Filipino establishment! Making the drive from San Jose to celebrate my Aunt and my birthdays, the fam and I enjoyed the all you can eat brunch with choices from the champorado, arrozcaldo, ginataan and mongo to lechon sisig, lecho paksiw, danggit, tocino and other dishes. They had self serve drinks from juice, water, and coffee. The reason for the 3 stars was I wish there were more choices in comparison to other Filipino brunches like Kalesa in Milpitas, such as cornbeef, tuyo (to go with the champorado), longonissa, etc. Also if they served juices like calamansi and/or mango juice and rid of that tea or juice that they had, which was overly sweet. Even though the Lechon may be the star for this restaurant, I wish they were comparable or much more to other Filipino brunch spots in the Bay Area. read more

Tastebuds - Some of the breakfast items - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

Let me say that I came here on a busier day, so maybe that's why my experience wasn't so great. But anyways here I go ... When we first walked in, there were so many people standing that we had no idea where to put our names down for a table, or anything. Until finally a larger group moved out of the way to reveal a counter, that looked like a pick-up area for to-go orders. We made our way over and let them know we had a party of 5. They squished us into a table that looked as though it could only fit 3 people comfortably, and went on their way. Not to mention that the table was right next to the lechon area, which meant our backs would get VERY VERY hot throughout dinner. We got our menus, and I saw right away that this was a high priced Filipino restaurant ... which is totally fine with me, and actually preferred since that usually meant that the quality, service, decor and etc would match -- needless to say, it didn't. We ordered about 6-7 different things off the menu and even dessert. Everything came out at once except for the sigsig, that came out about 15 minutes after we were 75% done with the rest of our order. Very disappointing. In the end the service felt rushed, and the food was great but just wasn't enough to give this place more then 2 stars. BUT it is enough to make me want to give it another shot. I have to admit that it was the service that mainly discouraged me during my visit., and I hope it's better the next time around. Otherwise there are plenty of other places with just as great quality, sometimes even for cheaper, with a whole lot better service. read more

Came here on Sunday with the family to get dinner. We got in around 7:00 pm which was perfect because this place wasn't too busy. The parking could be a bit tricky here because it is off to the side and limited. You can't miss this place because there is a big marquee in front of the restaurant with the name on it. The seating inside is small. I would say that there are roughly 13 to 15 tables available inside. From my understanding this place typically gets busy during lunch hours because of the buffet that they serve. Unfortunately, when I came it was only the menu options which was fine as well. Just like other Filipino restaurants they have a lot of the same items on their menu. I primarily look for consistency in taste as opposed to new unfamiliar items that I can try. I prefer to go with items that I am familiar with rather than going into uncharted territory for the sake of saying I tried and didn't like it, at least when it comes to Filipino food. I have tried every dish there is anyway and when I go out and try it these same food it is either a huge disappointment or just terrible. Hence, picking the safe choices at least guarantees me I know that a lot Filipino restaurants in the Bay Area want to proclaim themselves as being authentic but lets get real. The only authentic food I have had has always been cooked at home by either ma, tita, or lola. AM I RIGHT!! Sorry to digress but this just needed to be stated. Anyway, I come to find out that the Bangus Sisig is one of the few selection dishes that this place is known for. So, of course a plate had to be ordered for me to further assess this point. It turned out to be alright. No one of the greatest of OK. The service and the food was good. The wait for the food was average and all the dishes came out around the same time. I would compare Tastebuds to Max's in that the service and food menu are almost identical but I would say that Max's may have the edge just based on popularity. Coming back in the future is definitely an option, especially for the buffet! I mean it is a BUFFET. It was a cool Sunday dinner out with the family and everyone enjoyed their meal, can't beat that. #salamat read more

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1 star Sorry to say I didnt like the food here at all, been to alot of the filipino restaurants and this place didnt have alot of taste you really can't mess up silog but somehow they did, it is one of the easiest plates to make whether it be tocino, spam, bangus, longinisa, or even adobo silog... really it is not that hard, the rice was old and crunchy so if your filipino you know that means it is day old rice it was garlic rice at that and no it did not taste like garlic rice, longinisa flavor was not there I dont know how you can take the taste out of longinisa unless you are purchasing the very cheap brand, and the tocino was so rubbery and hard it was unedible, even the eggs fried eggs at that sunny side up how do u mess up sunny side up unless u have never cooked before seriously wow... I really wanted to come back and try some of there lechon plates they have I think 4 different kinds but if they are unable to make basic filipino breakfast plates what makes you think they can make there lechon any better. sorry I mite go back if I am forced too with a group but if it is for lunch or for dinner with my wife I would not go back to this place. food - negative stars probably 5 negative stars ambiance **** it is modern design inside which I like but the food stops me from going back service **** helpful nice, maybe they need to change the cook. price $$ read more

First off let me just say the service is a atrocious! The only thing that was worth trying was the calamari and crispy dinuguan. The guy working the register is an ass, and would not even give change to tip the servers. My cousin tells him I can't tip your servers because you won't give me change. He looks around to see if any of the servers were around and tells my cousin it's ok. While this is happening my other cousin was running to the liquor store next door to get change. Not that the servers did that great of a job in the first place because we had to keep asking 5 times for soy sauce. The place was not busy and there were 5 servers on the floor. That's a lot of servers for a small place; therefore, should be no reason for the horrible service. Whatever next time I will just order to go. PS kare kare not all that. The peanut sauce does not have that much flavor and neither does the meat. Lucky chances stands a better chance with their Kare Kare. Their crispy tadyang is all bones! Dude we are not paying for bones! read more

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This was the first time I have eaten real Filipino food at a Filipino restaurant recommended by my Filipino coworkers. We went as a party of 12 for lunch yesterday and ordered a lot of dishes: Garlic calamari - calamari breaded and deep fried with garlic: good and not too oily. Chopsuey - Rice noodles pan fried with lots of veggies, some chicken and quail eggs. I smiled when I saw this dish, as it looked just like those Taiwanese rice noodle dishes I grew up eating in Taiwan. Well the flavor may be a little different as we use sesame oil in Taiwan, without the quail eggs, whereas this dish was without sesame oil. Both use the soy sauce, which is common in Asian cuisine. I guess Filipino cuisine can also be considered part of Asian cuisine. Also they use brocclis, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to see this dish there. Pork Sisig - chopped pork grilled with soy sauce, vinegar, etc. I learned from my Filipino coworkers that it is very common to see vinegar used in the sauce in different meat dishes. It sort of makes sense to me as they seem to stress eating a lot of meat and relatively smaller amount of veggies. And vinegar is acid and it helps tenderizing the meat, as well as making the protein more easily digestable. Si-log Royale - it's the Filipino breakfast with steamed rice, fried egg, sausage, etc. Fish Fillet Escabeche - breaded and deep fried bass served with sweet and sour sauce. Also fried perfectly and not too oily. Barbecue chicken: grilled chicken served with sweet and sour sauce/ Pacit Bihon - this seems to be the same dish as the Chopsuey but without the quail eggs? It also tasted good nonetheless. Lechon Kawali - the famous Filipino crispy pan-friend roasted pork belly. It was so crispy and dry, I had to dip in the sauce so I did not choke. Not sure what the sauce was made of, but it has a tartness and sweetness to it and looks kind of like applesauce. This is different than the western style crispy bacon, which is normally very salty. Lechon Kawali is not very salty. Bistek - beef steak braised in soy sauce and other ingredients. It was cooked very tender, but too salty to my taste. According to my Filipino coworkers their meat dishes tend to be very salty. Kara Kara (oxtail on the bones braised in peanut sauce) - my favorite dish of the meal. It not only looked very appetizing due to the golden color, but the meat was cooked so tender it fell off the bones. I liked the slightly sweet and nutty peanut sauce, which could easily be mistaken for curry, but it is not spicy at all and does not taste like curry. There were also plenty of beef intestines in the sauce too, which I loved. This also came with a shrimp paste on the side, which you can dip your meat into and gave it a kick in flavor. Crispy Pata - 2 huge pieces of deep fried pork legs with knuckles served with a soy-vinegar dip. (See my photo). I did not try it but it probably tastes just like the Lechon Kawali. Beef Mechado - also stewed, big chucks of beef (see my photo). Meat was also very tender but a bit too salty to my taste. Mixed Adobo - chucks of porks braised in garlic-vinegar seasoning. Again, very tender meat but too salty to my taste. Eggplant Relleno - Filipino version of omelette with eggplants. Also very salty. Total tab came up to $244.08, which included a 15% gratuity and sales tax. That is a lot of meat and rice to feed 12 people, with lots of leftover! My Chinese coworkers and I were surprised at how much meat they eat. We kind of missed our vegetable dishes as veggies seem to be missing in most of the dishes here, but that's just the way Filipino food is. They LOVE their meat!! They have a very small parking lot adjacent to the restaurant so it could fill up quickly. We were lucky to find a parking spot by the street near the restaurant. The whole place is a very clean-looking and service was prompt and good too. read more

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Tastebuds - Filipino Flavors and "Lechon" at it's Best. This family own restraurant hasn't been open to the public yet. It is the first catering restaurant in the area and I believe they will serve lunch buffet daily. I came her for my nephew's baptism reception. The food was served buffet style and it was delicious. They had the full size Lechon (lechon carving station so you didn't have to do the work)...it was very moist and cooked perfect. Love the SKIN!! I was like, give me more please! The buffet included Pancit Palabok, shanghia lumpia, bbq chicken, Sisig (lots of flavor with a lil' kick), Kare Kare, Fish Fillet, and desserts. Very authentic Filipino cuisine. If you need filipino catering, you might want to check out Tastebuds. You can see if they cater to other bay area locations. They had 3 Buffet Packages to choose from with a min of 50 guests: The "Flavors" Buffet - $19.95 pp + tax The " Tastebuds" Buffet - $21.95pp + tax The "Sophisticated Palate" Buffet - $23.95pp + tax read more

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I only ordered take-out here, so I can't really comment on service. However, with the little interaction I had, the workers were really friendly. All of the food I had was really good! I tried the pork sinigang, chicken adobo, pancit bihon, lechon kawali, and garlic rice. The lechon kawali was so perfectly crispy! The portion sizes are pretty big, so I had yummy leftovers the next day. I would say that this place is good value. read more

For a little less than $10 of Pinoy Breakfast Buffet, this is..are you ready?? ..,A.Maze.Balls. THIS IS THE BEST FILIPINO BRUNCH IN THE BAY AREA!! Champorado..halller.,thru the roof!! Tuyo and daing na bangus? Check and check! Lechon? Yes please! Dinakdakan? More please... (Burp) Arroz Carldo..very comforting! Fried rice with extra garlic on the side. BAM! Bopis...can I say a very pleasant surprise? By the way, the menu changes any given day but i think the lechon, champorado, arroz caldo & tuyo are mainstays. See you there soon!! read more

Tastebuds - Tuyo, fried rice & daing na bangus! Oh champorado too! - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

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First, I have to confess, I am one of those who are super picky when it comes to eating Filipino restaurant food. I've always been disappointed regardless of price or ambiance (turo turo or fine dining). I cook so I tend to have high expectations. In rare occasions I get cravings and I don't have time or too tired to cook. I drive by Tastebuds almost everyday. I finally decided to try it and pick up some food for dinner take-out. I ordered: dinuguan, eggplant torta, crispy calamari, pansit canton, monggo, liempo, and since they're serving it, decided to get 1 lb of lechon. Haven't yet eaten the monggo, eggplant torta. Dinuguan is one of my top 5 favorite dishes, and Tastebuds didn't disappoint. It was perfect! Not salty and not bland. Didn't need to add patis! I only wish I got the sili so it would be spicy. Pork liempo was very good. Lechon and the sauce was just like how it is back home. Pancit bihon was very delicious, had a lot of toppings. My kids loved the calamari! I have tried their lumpia a year ago and recall enjoying that. This is now my go-to Filipino food! I can't comment on service but I don't get why people expect great service. I have no plans of eating here. Not a fan of eat all you can buffet. Parking sucks but that doesn't change my rating. Parking on street is fine. read more

Tastebuds - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

Best Filipino Food so far - Quality! Have you ever felt your tongue CLIMAX? Your tongue will get hard eating all the rich flavorful food and don't forget WET from quality and preparation of the food! MMMM sarap.... oh my mouth is getting watery thinking of the food! read more

Tastebuds - Lumpia, Pancit Bihon, Sinigang Bangus, and Lechon Bagona (OMG did I spell any of these right)? - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

It was my first time here with my husband . We live really closed by and walked on over. We picked a good night to come . They only serve Lechon on Tue And Thurs. we orders bangus siding, halo halo, adobo Fried rice, bulalong soup. Everything was authentic and delicious! Their bangus was very flavorful and you have to try it. I highly recommend this place. You have to check it out! read more

Filipino food gets the harshest critique from me because it has to at least be up to par with my Lola's (grandma for the non-Filipino folks) cooking. This being said, Tastebuds is about the same, but definitely not better. I mostly come here for the bangus sisig since it's a hard dish to make. Who wants to de-bone a milkfish? Not me cuz it has way too many little bones. I'd rather spend my time and my money buying the dish! Came here with my friend and the kids after another horrible experience at Patio Filipino down the street. (We waited there for 20 minutes and never got menus or drinks). We ordered the bistek (beef steak), bangus sisig, crispy binagoongan, and laing. YUMMMM. I have no complaints about the food at all. Beef steak was perfectly flavored with the right amount of calamansi and soy sauce, bangus sisig could have had a lot more jalapeños, crispy binagoongan was crisp and the little pieces of tomatoes and mangoes were really fresh, and the laing just plain melted in my mouth. I'm hungry just thinking about the food! Not too salty or greasy, which is usually the case with Filipino food, and the portions were actually big. I couldn't give this place 5 stars though cuz they lied to me twice. First, when I called, I asked if they were busy and they said yes they were filling up fast. We rushed over and there were only 3 other smaller parties seated. Second lie was the calamansi juice. I asked if it was fresh and the server said yes. Tell me why he walks over to me with a can of calamansi juice? Yeah, ok. Maybe it was a miscommunication? Lol. Their parking lot is really small, only 5 spaces. Good luck finding parking in the neighborhood especially since this restaurant is located on a really busy street. read more

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I love the fried Bangus ,sinigang na lechon, kare kare oxtail with bagoong alamang malamang , so yummy. And delivery is very very good on time in your door step ! First time ko din mag pa deliver sa Yelp! So expect more ! Thanks sa free lechon paksiw! Pang breakfast namin tomorrow, winner! ! Todo na to! Many hah ang Filipino dish ! read more

Tastebuds I am Really Really Disappointed with the Order Today Especially With the Lechon I had Ordered.Despite waiting for almost half an hour,the lechon was on the well done side.Mostly got the Darker Portions and Way too less of the Crunchy Skin. I've been coming here for the Past 3 Months just for the Lechon.This is Disappointing.Please follow up Mr.Tastebuds.Call first before you go here. read more

I ordered medium Lechon precuts and to be delivered. The Lechon was over cooked. I was embarrassed to my visitors. The delivery and precuts has an additional fee. When they delivered it the presentation was nice and when my visitors were starting eating they can't even bite it because it was over toasted. read more

Tastebuds is awesome. Most of the people who went here and didn't like it, seem to have either no conception of what Filipino food is or simply ordered the wrong thing. I grew up in Filipino restaurants, as my parents used to own two in the bay area. I have to say that Tastebuds is the only place that comes close to being as good as what I used to experience as a little kid. In terms of the food, you come here for the pork. The lechon on Saturdays and Sundays is ridiculously awesome. Crispy skin, not too fatty, really tasty meat. On other days, I come in for the Lechon Kawali, which is basically fried pork belly. The bangus sisig, although unlike the sisig you'll get in the Philippines is delectable. I also enjoyed their adobo, Sinigang na Hipon, and their Laing. This is my favorite Filipino restaurant in the bay! I strongly recommend it. If you've come before and missed the lechon, well come back and order some! You won't be disappointed. read more

We ordered take-out here for family visiting and it was ready for pick up in 15 minutes. The food: Pork Sisig: very good. The meat was very tender and not fatty which is important for good sisig. We got two orders of this stuff. It's rare to eat this homemade at a Filipino household because it's hard to make because you have to chop everything very small. It was a little bit salty, but let's call that very flavorful instead. Shrimp Sinigang: tasted okay, a little bit salty. It is better at my house. Kare kare: very good, very rich. Chop suey: was okay, we just wanted to add some type of vegetables to our dinner. Rice- On the phone, I asked how many orders of rice would be good for 10 people. She gave two big cartons of rice. That's a very Filipino portion of rice! I have also been here for a wedding rehearsal dinner. You have the opportunity to shut down the whole place just for your entire party! They did a whole lechon for us and set up party trays. I highly recommend Tastebuds for anyone wanting to try Filipino food. read more

Lechon was extremely dry. The rice was really old and just looked like it was re-heated. The empanada was good so that's 1 star for that. I wouldn't come here for a meal. The appetizers look like they can hang but who would go to a restaurant for appetizers when you can't even have drinks? Needless to say, these were just one of those "one-try stands" for me... read more

I'm one of this yelpers that also grades a business based on different communication options. So I'm having visitors come into the area and my guests wanted to try a Filipino style pork roast. Through Yelp talk, I was told this place offers it. They are actually super foodies and are curious on different pork dishes in the SF area. But I have emailed them several times. I know email addy is valid, because my friend received a short response, but replying back to TB resulted in no response back. This leaves a bad taste so I don't think I want to call again. So don't plan to support this restaurant, based on lack of guest service. read more

I'm hesitant to tryout this place at first, so I decided to give it a try, after trying their lechon sisig I am very disappointed It doesn't taste anything like sisig at all! WILL NEVER COME BACK!!! read more

Tastebuds - Lechon Sisig - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

I'm not Filipino, so I'm not sure I'm technically allowed to make this claim - but this is THE best Filipino food! Disclaimer: I'm pescotarian and will only personally review on the pescotarian dishes. Also, I have Filipino family members who are in agreement, so let's go with it. Came here yesterday with my mom and aunt around 1:30PM and it was pretty dead (it was a good thing - I hate waiting during peak lunch hours here). I used to work across the street several years back and would come here for take out all the time. Service - extremely attentive (more than usual). Likely because there was only one other table there. Still, the service has been pretty poor in the past, so I was pretty impressed. Honestly, I was ready to apologize to my mom and aunt ahead of time, but no need! Food - Bangus Sisig is my FAV Filipino dish and Tastebuds is THE best at making it. I came back from the Philippines two weeks ago and couldn't even get Bangus Sisig this legit over there. Add in the Garlic Rice to go with it - amazing. The perfect combo (you'll need the rice since the sisig alone is pretty salty). Bonus: my aunts a little judgey when it comes to trying new dishes because she's a chef but she really liked the Lechon and Pork Sisig dishes I helped them order as well! She agreed that everything was a bit saltier than her usual liking, but with the rice, it mellowed it out. With everyone's stamp of approval across the board, Tastebuds gets 5 stars! Glad the dishes are just as good as I remember. read more

Tastebuds - Bangus Sisig - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

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This place is garbage with garbage customer service. Ordered veggies and looked like scraps. If you want lechon don't get it from here. They act hella shady. A friend preordered lechon and got Asian lechon scraps. read more

Delicious Philippino food. Good prices and great selection. Great to for take out and catering. Crispy pata didn't make it home to be enjoyed with rice. Lumpia Shanghai crispy, filled to bursting and yummy. Empanadas were delicate and filled with a creamy chicken filling. Definitely a place to go read more

The prices are in the higher side. It was shocking to see a baby/mini bangus for $11.00! They can charge whatever they want but make it worth it. read more

Ordered from Tastebuds for a company lunch...admittedly the food was excellent when we were eating it. But not long after, everyone was incredibly thirsty...high salt content? MSG? Who knows...still worth a consideration before we order from here again. But for the price point and the amount of food we got, it was a pretty good value compared to other places we've ordered from in the area. read more

Damn... we woke up late and missed the weekend breakfast buffet for $8.95 (ended at 11a). We came here on a friend's recommendation. It's cozy inside and limited parking, but the service was nice and prompt. (Except for 1 chick that totally does not want to be there. It says so on her face) Silog-Royale: Tocino, langanisa (sp??), beef tapa with fried egg, salted egg $8.95 - yummy classic flavors, and lots of food Pancit Palabok Enough to serve 2-4 and they give you extra sauce! Lechon Sisig Omg. I did not know you can make lechon sisig. Yum! Definitely a solid 4 stars! Maybe I'll give the 5th when I try the buffet :D read more

Tastebuds - Pancit Palabok - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

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"The Best Lechon In the Bay Area!" ...just as they had labeled their pride and joy in their menu. Been eating here for a while, both take out and dine in. The small intimate setting recreates a Filipino family house party setting. The aroma definitely brings you in. The American cover song classics in the background makes it seem like TFC is playing really loud. They don't lie about their Lechon! The crunchy skin and tender meat, drizzled with sauce is de-lish! Seeing the whole roasted pig in front your eyes when you walk-in, you can't help yourself but to order it. Simply broiling your take-home Lechon in your oven for a few minutes can revive the crisp crunch of the skin. Beware of coming too late during dinner time, the skin may not be available. For a party of two, I ordered a 1lb Lechon to go along with the a Binagoong Rice (diced pork, tomatoes, mangoes, shrimp paste). It was so good, yet so much for two. It seemed perfect for three people. Good service, nice calm environment, delicious food! read more

Tastebuds - Binagoong Rice - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

I ordered their pork sisig and chicken adobo. It was tasty but a little on the fatty side. I want to come back to try the whole pig which you can order by the pound and you can also specify which part of the pig you want. They did an excellent job of packing my carry out order. I know this sounds like nothing but usually everything is spilling out of containers or soggy by the time i get home. read more

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The Sunday Lechon was convenient but just alright. Best to pick up and eat at home. I like the Lechon station I. The corner but the flavor itself was not that great. read more

Tastebuds - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

Second time coming here. First time was when it was fairly new and my sis-in-law had her wedding reception here. Small parking lot. Small place, tables can be pretty close. karekare - meat was not tender bistek - love the thick sauce, but the meat was not tender lechon sisig - good idea, but with all the sisig seasoning, it kinda took out the lechon taste fresh lumpia - satisfied my craving, this was good. coco cha cha - needed more yams. Service was okay. Took a while to fill up our water. Not as attentive. read more

I like that when we arrived here at 11:30, we were still allowed to eat from their lunch buffet which was supposed to be only until 11. But the thing I didn't like, is that staffs are so slow to come and serve us our drinks besides, they did not even come to our table and ask if we would want something to drink. read more

Tastebuds - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

This is the place to go if you want to buy the best of Filipino style Lechon (whole roast pig). You can buy the whole roasted pig with different choices of sizes and weight, from small to large. They can also sell by the pound, as many pounds as you would want. They serve all the traditional Filipino foods commonly served in Filipino restaurants. Friendly, quick service, and good tasting food is why customers keep on coming back to this place. read more

I heard about this place through a friend so we tried Tastebuds tonight for the first time! We arrived just before 8pm and the place was pretty full but we were able to get a table for four. The place was clean in appearance and the tables were filled with customers enjoying themselves. The first thing that caught my eye coming in was the lechon that was presented on a carving table at the back end of the restaurant. Seeing that got my mouth watering as I had heard that they cook a mean lechon. Their menu was full dishes that I grow up eating, I wanted to try it all but had to limit ourselves to a few things. We ordered the lechon, Pancit palabok, sinigang pork, tortang talong, pork sisig, garlic rice and fresh lumpia. This was a feast and we did pretty good damage to the platters of food that came out. The lechon we ordered was carved from the whole pig that was presented at the back. our table was right in front so we actually got a chance to see them cut the pork fresh off the pig. It was awesome! The sinigang, torta, sisig and pancit were all just as good. I didn't try the fresh lumpia but my family all loved it as well! Service was awesome! They were very attentive to us and constantly refilled our drinks and made sure we were happy with our meal. The place is small but ample for about 50+ seated comfortably. Will definitely have to come back and try the other dishes. Can't wait! 5 stars all around!!! read more

Tastebuds - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

We arrived a little after 1pm on a Saturday, excited to try the lechon. They were out of lechon! So sad, esp if the whole idea of this restaurant is their lechon. So can't really judge them on the lechon. Still, very disappointing. Maybe we'll come earlier next time (they close at 3 then open again at 5 for dinner.. I'm guessing with a brand new lechon) The food we ordered were just average. The dinuguan was mostly sauce and the meat was really fatty (traditional). We looked over to other tables and their dinuguan looked different than ours. Maybe theirs was made of lechon? That's why we ordered the dinuguan in the first place.. but got the traditional version. At least use less fatty meat. For $11 not worth it, even though the sauce was pretty good (it's blood y'all). The pork sisig was also ok.. it was not sizzling when brought to our table (unlike the one brought out before us.. maybe we ordered a different version??). At least the meat was better and less fatty. Our favorite was the Bicol Express full of yummy vegetables, and prob the best sauce on Bicol Express I've ever had. Service was ok, at times a little slow but not bad. The place seemed popular, lots of people taking pics.. so maybe lots of out-of-towners. My partner was the only white person in the whole place LOL, so it's very Filipino! We'll be back however to try the lechon and also their weekend brunch/breakfast buffet until 11am! Very excited, and will return to Yelp with additional comments and maybe an upgrade on the rating? Fingers crossed. read more

Tastebuds - Lechon cebuano - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

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There crispy binagoongan is good but Patio gives good bigger portion. Ordered pancit & lechon kawali today. Lechon had too much fat. Had lechon kawali from other Pinoy resto but these has the fattest Pork. Not in my top 5 for lechon kawali. read more

Tastebuds - This lechon kawali got too much fat - Filipino Near Me - San Bruno, California

Seems cramped. I came here one time before Church, since the mass I was trying to go to ended up to be Spanish. lol. Breakfas/brunch buffet for $10? Why not. Kids are hungry and it's right across the street from church. Great place to eat if you like the traditional type of Filipino food. There were dishes there that I have never even heard of. I can't remember the names since I haven't been back and the time I did go was like a month ago or so. Their longanisa (sweet Filipino sausage) had a lot... I cannot emphasize on A LOT of fat in it, it made me sick. Their sisig is lechon sisig, I was expecting it to be the BBQ'd pork belly stuff. I was a little disappointed. I asked for a coffee and that mess was REALLY BITTER! I must have dumped 10 packets of sugar and creamer and it still didn't mask the bitterness. Gross, but I guess some people like it that way. Parking: VERY tiny parking lot. You'll have to find street parking in very narrow neighborhood streets around the restaurant. Service: Kind of weak. I believe it's due to them being understaffed? Not really sure. They don't check in on you as much to see if you need anything. My family and I did come here one night before my dine in experience after we ate at Korean BBQ on El Camino for dessert. Their halo-halo was the best I've tasted so far compared to the other Filipino restaurants in the area. I think I would try this place again, but not the brunch buffet. Definitely would come back for their halo-halo or possibly try their other desserts. read more