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Brought my non-filipino friends here (I'm pinay). The decor is a trip but fun.
We had the shanghai lumpia for appetizers. We could not stop eating it. Very yummy.
I don't cook much but this place is a good substitute for going-out without having to cook yourself. We had the crispy pata (TO DIE FOR!), kare kare (very tasty, good pieces of meat), and the pancit bihon. SO SO SO GOOD. Try this place! You won't be disappointed.
We'll be back to try other 'standard' fiiipino dished.. but so far, they've passed with flying colors! YUM!
My boyfriend and I were walking around the neighborhood looking for a place to eat and decided to try this place, what a bad bad choice we made.
The lighting here is kind of dark (& the restaurant was kind of creepy for me).
We ordered Chicken Adobo & Kare Kare which is supposed to be some of their best dishes? The chicken adobo was wayyyy too salty for my taste. The Kare Kare was plain and flavor-less. The color of the soup was very promising and I was excited when it came out but what a disappointment when I put it in my mouth.
Will not be coming back to this place.
A meal for 3 1/2 was $80...We got rice, crispy pata, kare kare, lumpiang shanghai, sinigang, dinuguan and a serving of special halo halo. All that greasy food sent me to the porcelain throne...
Minus 1 star for price
Minus 1 star for the staff and menu.
Sundays are crowded, and depending who you get, the person helping us was a bit rude. She didn't want to leave the menu as we were still trying to order...Then every time I go here (I've been coming to this spot since 1995), they NEVER have the buko salad...I don't understand why they still keep it in the menu...They should totally change the menu...
Three stars for the ambiance...which is what you really pay for when you come here...
....Man...I'm still having heartburn for the greasy lunch...I don't know if I can still eat dinner...
i guess this place has a buffet lunch following but when we've come during the weekend the food was juts lackluster.
crisp pata wasn't too terrible but could have been more flavorful and less oily. the bangus was dry. the adobo was thin and watery, and the pancit had no flavor.
the fried lumpia tasted like the crispy pata- oil, oil, oil.
won't be coming back.
Given that my Bay Area visits are few and far between, my family and I try to decide where to eat the best food. Because of our previous experiences with Barrio Fiesta (I concluded that their food was slightly better than Kalesa), we decided to go there.
Man, was that a mistake. Apparently we could not order some items that were listed on their menu. I wanted to eat the pork BBQ sticks. Unfortunately, the servers told me that they could not cook the BBQ sticks because (and I am not making this up) "it's too hot outside." What kind of lame excuse is that? They then explained that the ventilation was low and that the cooks would faint from the heat created from the BBQ. Say WHAT?! If anyone else said that in any other restaurant (i.e. we can't cook "x" item for you because of "z" even though it's on the menu), I'd most likely walk out and not go there again because "x" item is not always available.
OK then, I tried ordering something else (there's more to Filipino cuisine than BBQ sticks). This time I went for a small crispy pata (which easily feeds 2-3 people). Again, the servers said only two sizes were available -- large and extra large. If those are the only sizes that can be ordered, then why is small and medium pata listed on their menu?! ARRGH! I ended up ordering pusit (extra crispy), garlic fried rice (single order), kare-kare, lumpia sariwa (fresh rolls), and lumpia shanghai. While all tasted pretty good, the kare-kare still had lots of tripe (but at least the meat easily fell off from the bones). And my family was charged for a DOUBLE order of rice because they gave us a lot. I thought it was a single order, but apparently they added a lot more than what we wanted.
So, based on the very lame-o excuses I got when I tried to order what I wanted, and the fact that we unknowingly got more rice than what we ordered, I have to knock out a star. Apparently it's luck of the draw when it comes to which menu items are available on a particular day. If you want pork BBQ sticks, it's most likely either sold out or they don't want to cook it at all. If you want a small or medium crispy pata, you may be out of luck. And if you order rice, beware...they might give you more than what you really want or need and charge you more to reflect the difference. I don't know of any other restaurant that operates like this.
After trying this place out in 2005, my family and I said to ourselves that the food was horrible… Read more »
I've had just about everything on their menu and don't have one bad thing to say. You enter the doors and are warmly greeted by the hostess. Soon after (I've never had to wait for more than 10 minutes for a table), you get escorted to your super clean, windex'ed table. The waitstaff is super friendly and, no matter how old or young you look, they refer to you as "sir" and "ma'am"!
As I'm sure most natives would prefer their mom's, tita's or lola's home cooking over restaurant-made cuisine, Barrio Fiesta comes quite close. I must admit that I would much rather slave over the stone for hours to produce the "meat practically falling off of the bone" kare kare than have their bit too too soupy version. BUT on days where you just don't feel like breaking a sweat, this would be the place to go to suffice your filipino, fish-tasting craving.
I do agree with the other yelpers. If you do happen to trust our judgments and make your way to Barrio Fiesta, you MUST get their crispy pata.
Side note: Has anyone else noticed that the baguong that comes with their kare kare is totally different than the Barrio Fiesta labeled ones at the supermarket? Totally sucks because the bottled ones at the store are SO much better!
Tuloy po kayo!!!
Meaing 'Please, come in.'
Yes, its relatively expensive. Yes it is a relatively small venue. The decor is kitchy pilipino. Yes, it's a drive for me to get there in fremont. Yes, I don't really care for their sometimes uppity clientele.
on the other hand...
the food tastes good (don't eat the bland stuff.... figuring out the which is the bland stuff is half the fun)... the staff is cool with me... it's nice to get away from my 'hood... it's nice during the slower times of the day.... if it were cheaper then it might resemble other places *cough*greatmall*cough*....
and last but not least....
i love my pilipinos!!!
Home cooked comfort food when you're too lazy cook it yourself!
;D
Very filipino type of ambience... ppol are so friendly and polite. Frequently come here with my boyfriend. Also, one time my sisters and cousins came by to visit me fr Napa and we went here for dinner. We had a great time! They enjoy eating Litson kawali, kare- kare, crispy pata, and pinakbet! ummm ang sarap! Last month i came here to celebrate my friends bday n she made a reservation for 20 people, but guess wat, 40 ppol showed up for d dinner. Good thing the owner and the servers were very nice they still accomodated us. They always serve good here.
I suppose its time to break out of my Yelping hiatus, and I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet. I'll have you know that its only 5 stars because this is a staple for my family when we don't feel like cooking, yet we still crave Filipino food. Before places like Gerry's, Toppings too, and Kalesa were established, Barrio was one of the few (and delicious) Filipino restaurants close to the East Bay. After many visits, the owner recognizes us every time we go here and always swings by our table to say hello. The service here has always been great and the food still tastes as good as it was when I first came here many years ago.
OK, so I came here last night with my parents to celebrate Father's day early. Every time we come here we always order miki bihon, crispy pata, and crispy pusit. Within the last couple visits, we have also ordered the sisig, which is by far probably the most authentic sisig I have tasted stateside. I kid you not, this cholesterol-packed goodness of a dish is made of the real stuff. Pork fat, pork ears, pig's face, etc. None of this grilled pork masked with the chopped onion and peppers. If my memory serves me right, its not on the menu, so don't hesitate to order it. It just puzzles me as to why they don't put it on there.
Apparently the crispy pata comes in 3 sizes, but if you order crispy pata and don't specify what size, they'll charge you for a large one. It doesn't matter because its delicious and it'll clog your arteries for the time being. Morbid.
I highly suggest the crispy pusit (their version of fried calamari) for starters. Its in the batter that makes the taste, without it being overcooked. The miki bihon is full of flavor and the noodles are just cooked right. The give a generous serving of pancit as well. Squeeze the lemon over it to bring out more flavor. Other dishes we've ordered in the past are kare kare, laing, lechon kawali, and pork bbq on a stick.
For an overall experience, I highly recommend this place because of the consistently good food and the ambiance, because it brings a very authentic touch of the motherland with the decorations. Yup.
I've come here a number of times with my boyfriend's family. Some of the dishes are really good (shanghai egg rolls!) but other I really think taste better coming from home. This is the only filipino restaurant that I have been to so I don't have much to compare it to but I have eaten a lot of it coming from different homes and I just don't think barrio fiesta is that great compared to it. I guess if you don't want to slave in the kitchen then sure, come here for some filipino food but I would rather have the stuff made from home. They have a cool lunch buffet here that I like though. I think this is better lunch than dinner spot.
Yumm! The decor is a bit over the top, but I love it! The food is very authentic (enough so that you smell like ulam even when you get home) and extremely good. The sinigang is just like Lola used to make it and the adobo is off the hook! The tapa was a little more like tocino, but still very enticing. Overall a great Filipino restaurant when you're used to just Goldilocks and Jollibee which are more convenient. I would definitely recommend Barrio Fiesta to kababayans and newbies alike!
I'm Filipino, and I hate to say that a lot of the older Filipino servers have such bad service etiquette. Idk.. it could have been because they were closing and wanted to get out already, but it's still no excuse to walk around serving us with a stick up your ass. Decor is a little over the top, but I give em A for effort.
Dishes ordered:
Avocado shake: light; not as sweet as I like it but well prepared; small portion for price =(
Daing na Bangus: really good; cooked just right; meat is crispy and juicy =)
Kare-Kare: sauce is bland, bland, bland =(
Vinegar/Bagoong: watered-down, watered-down, watered-down =(
I came to visit with two filipino friends (wait I'm filipino too), two vietnamese friends and we decided to check out the buffet for a lunctime get together. I heard about this place and decided to check it out. The decoration is a lively rattan style which gives this place an authentic filipino look. Say Nipa Hut!!
The buffet consisted of the following for $8.99:
Pork Sinagong (pork ribs in a sweet & sour soup)
Pancit (white noodles with shrimp, pork and vegatables)
Shaghai Lumpia (small rolls filled with meat)
Piknutbit (Bitter melon...bere bitter, an acquired taste)
Beef steak brown sauce (I thought this was dinaguan aka brown meat with pig's blood)
Overall not bad for the price, the beef was a little salty. I think I will come back again and see what the menu has to offer. Let see if the menu can take them up to the four stars.....
I went here today for lunch with about 10 of my Filipino coworkers. I know there is a buffet there, but we opted for family style dining, ordering a la cart from the menu.
The place was actually a lot nicer than what I expected, with white linen tablecloths (but paper napkins). It was clean for an Asian restaurant. :)
The service was FAST. We walked in, got our menus, ordered, and had the first item come out, all under 5 minutes. Water was always refilled, and they were always around to bring more rice, bowls, etc.
We ordered:
1. Crispy Pata (deep fried pork legs). OMFG, this was the best I ever had. The skin was bubbly crispy, with a layer of chewy/crispy under that, and then another layer of just straight soft gooey fat. It was crispy and chewy, and stuck to my teeth as I was eating it. So good. I would come back for that alone.
2. Sinegong (sour soup). I'm not a fan of the sour soup, because I don't like sour foods, so I can't pass judgement on this.
3. Chicken adobo. This was pretty good. The meat was tender and juicy. The flavors were subtle and easy on the palate.
4. Dineguan (tendon, meat, blood soup). This was delicious. Not too sour, like it sometimes is at home. It was really moist, and was great on top of my rice. There was no weird stuff in there, although I think I did taste a few pieces of liver...but it wasn't that bad.
5. Kare Kare (oxtail in peanut sauce/soup/stew thing): It was a bit bland. The oxtail was tender, but the tripe had a distinct smell to it that it should not have had.
6. Milk Fish: I'm not a big fan of fish, but this fish was beautiful when it came out. It is folded in 1/2. When you open it, there's stuff inside!
7. Pancit (noodles): This was pretty good. It had huge prawns, and large pieces of meat in it. The noodles stayed together, instead of being all broken up, like at family bbq's sometimes.
8. Mango ice cream, halo halo: The ice cream was good. It had chunks of real mango in it. The halo halo...was mostly beans...it had a bit of jackfruit, but no coconut jelly or tapioca.
9. Flan: it was really hard. Not smooth, silky, or creamy.
10. Taro Root ice cream with halo halo. The taro root ice cream wasn't that great. Same with the halo halo. Nothing special. I wouldn't order it again.
Total price, including tax/tip for 10 people was $221. We hella over ordered, and everyone took food home. We had 2 pancits, 2 LARGE crispy patas, 2 sinegong, 1 dineguan, 1 milk fish, 2 chicken adobo, 2 kare kare, and about 6 desserts....so it was actually pretty reasonable. The portions were a lot bigger than expected.
I would come back for the CRISPY PATA and DINEGUAN The chicken adobo is easy to make at home, so not worth going out to order that. :) (oh, and please excuse my spelling on the flip foods. :)
This is so far one of my favorite flip restaurants. The owner lady is very friendly along with her staff. The food is very flavorful, although pricey is a bit higher than Gerry's Grill, but better quality & taste. The wait is about 20 minutes during busy lunch time. The best time to arrive for lunch is before noon and before 6:30pm for dinner.
The garlic fried rice, chicken/pork adobo, fish soup, kare kare (I usually don't like peanut sauce) are some of my favorite dishes.
Great place for a client meeting, a date, or just bring anyone you adore :-)
We had 8 family and friends and ate there yesterday for dinner. The food was good, we had their speciality (Krispy Pata), very yummy and Kare kare and more, the only thing I wasn't too crazy about was the Pancit. I think my mom and aunts make this better, but all the other dishes were good. It's hard to judge good Filipino food when you grow up with a mom, tita and lola's that love to cook and cook very good, but this place is somewhere I would come again to bring my American friends to introduce them to Filipino cuisine.
Milpitas better do a Filipino restaurant right, especially with expert locals around, and behold, they do with Barrio Fiesta.
Tucked away near a new-ish residential area off of 880, Barrio Fiesta's immediate surroundings are nothing special, only heightening its atmosphere. The decor inside is warm and cozy, and for some more Americanized Filipinos (such as myself), does a good job of mixing my scant memories of home while not being overwhelmingly Filipino. The staff is always willing to help you make a choice, should you not be sure of what you'd like. For those that are new to Filipino food, pancit bihon and the crispy pata are always dead-on. Filipinos looking for real authentic food won't be disappointed with the dinuguan.
Barrio Fiesta is one of the Bay Area's best sit-down Filipino restaurants!
two words: CRISPY PAPA!...yummo!!
the other dishes weren't stellar
I totally dig this place for its filipino food. I love the decor in here and it has a cute eclectic chandelier made out of conch shells. Kinda unique and interesting and all the other stuff that they hung on the wall gave this place such a great character. I loved the lechon kawali - crispy fried pork, totally yummy and bursting with flavor but not the health conscious though. The peanut buttery kare kare was divine over rice and the oxtail was cooked till it was nice and tender. Caldereta was yummy too and the beef was cooked tender in a flavorful thick tomatoey broth. We had ordered pancit too to share and the rice noodles/yellow noodle combo was awesome and somehow it was cooked so light and fluffy. I need to know how to cook it that way, my rice noodles often clump into a lump. The finale to wrap up this awesome meal was the halo halo. This was sooo good and I loved the crispy rice inside the dessert - it added some texture and dimension and it was full of yummy treasures - ube, flan and coco de nato. Ooooo I love it! Gotta come back for sure
Another quality Filipino restaurant in Milpitas. The food was delicious, and probably more authentic than other Filipino restaurants. The sizzling sisig is definitely what it should be - odd-end pork parts, pork fat, pork ears, all delicious stuff. I'm not too keen on the flavor though, but it was delicious nonetheless. The crispy pata was perfect, not oily at all, like my mom makes it. We also had pancit (I forgot what version), dinuguan, and the baked mussel appetizer. The pancit was delicious. It had just the right amount of veggies and meat for my liking. The dinuguan was a little bland. A little salt or maybe some lime would've made it pop a little more. The baked mussel was overcooked, so it was nice and rubbery. Once again, for $1.75, you get the world's most expensive soda can. It seems like Filipino restaurants like charging an arm and a leg for a can of Coke when I can just buy one before coming into the restaurant for 50 cents.
I think what saved this meal for me is the decor and friendly service. You can't get more authentic decor than the one in this restaurant. Reminds me of being back in the Philippines when I was a kid. The servers were also very nice and friendly.
I went here to eat last summer with a sizable party of people. Included in our party were two native Filipinos and one who was partial to Filipino food so they did all the ordering.
OMG we had SOOOOOO MUCH FOOD that i can't even remember the names of everything... well that and they were all named in tagalog.
everything.... i mean EVERYTHING was sooooo good. we had some of the sausages, a seafood soup, cig cig?, fried rice (garlic rice i want to say), sinagong, lumpia... and a few more things... yes we ate ALOT. the banana ketchup was the BEST! why are we starved of banana ketchup growing up? i resent that.
it was all very delicious. the service was great! the servers were all very pleasant and accomodating (my friend's 4 year old daughter came and got restless towards the end). If one of us had a question about the food they were more than happy to give us an indepth description.
OH and at the end we had dessert which was so crazy good... i think i was supposed to share but i ate the majority of it, that and my friend was too full to finish.
the decor is very cozy and kind of gives the full experience of eating at a non-american restaurant. everything is very clean and the lighting wasn't bad... i liked it kind of dimmed because the decor was more accented.
i will go back again this summer!
The food here is really good. It tastes about as good as the food I've eaten at a Filipino party. My favorite was the ox tail. I don't recall the other dishes I ate but it tastes authentic, which I appreciate. I can't stand when they put too much of anything to add flair to the food, unless it is being called a house special recipe.
I was really ticked off with the customer service. The server wasn't very polite, plus he gave us 2 dishes we didn't order. We ate them because we thought it was what we ordered (they gave us some beef dish, NOT the one we originally ordered) and a big bowl of rice (which we didn't order). They later brought out the correct beef dish. Why I was upset about it was because we were charged for the wrong dish, even though they knew they gave us the wrong one first, but had to charge us for it since they served it to us. They also charged for rice which we didn't order. The food was still good, so I'm not complaining about the quality of the food.
For the food I give 4 stars, but I docked a star for the customer service.
This is one of my favorite Pilipino restaurants to eat in this area. I've tried all the other ones, but for some reason I like the way their food tastes. You can't go wrong with their crispy pata and kare kare!
Awww man ... now I'm craving!! Gotta make stop at this place soon ...
I am such a Filipino for reviewing this place, but I think I have grounds to! This is one of my favorite Filipino restaurants in the Bay Area, and for a reason. While it's not owned by the original Barrio Fiesta owners from the Philippines, I think overall it's a well-managed restaurant with authentic Filipino food.
They have one special that everyone and their Nanay knows about-- the Crispy Pata. This stuff is enough to kill any diet, and clogs your arteries just by looking at it, but it's a complete food orgasm. Their kare kare is all right as well (I think homemade is always best in that department) but we absolutely loved the string beans dish with the bits of shrimp and chicken.
They lose a star because there's not one in the City for when I'm feeling homesick!
I have never had a bad meal here. I have been going for years and the quality has always been consistently good. I enjoy the cripy pata and often bring my non filipino friends as an introduction to good filipino food.
My Ratings:
Quality of Food - 4 Stars
Quantity of Food - 4 Stars
Price - 3 Stars
Location - 4 Stars
Parking - 3 Stars
Service - 4 Stars
Speed - 3 Stars
My Opinion/Story:
Barrio Fiesta was the place to eat for all filipinos in the area. Before it was the only place where you can celebrate parties in a very nice setting. Other filipino restaurants are kind of un-kept but Barrio Fiesta is a nice place to take foreign friends without feeling like filipino places are slobs.
Their food is really good!!! Tasty yet just the right flavor. Next to my mom's home made filipino food, I'd say Barrio Fiesta is yummy. See, not to brag but my mom really cooks good so eating filipino food made by other people, it's hard not to compare their taste to my mom's cooking. So far, Barrio Fiesta hasn't disappointed me in the taste department. I haven't had a dish there that I didn't like. My favorite is their Bulalo ofcourse but I like their pansit (all types) as well. Service is always great and they really take care of you.
The only thing I dislike about Barrio Fiesta is the small room which gets really crowded and hard to be seated at most times. I usually end up waiting more than an hour during dinner time and their price is a bit too much for the portion they serve. I guess that's coz I know another place that serves more for less.. equally good taste. So I can't give them 5 star because of their price and portions. If they put more in the plate, I think I'll keep coming back to this place rather than going here only during special occasions.
I wish Yelp had a "Ninja Mode" because God forbid my parents ever find me on here, discover I've reviewed a Filipino restaurant, and subject me to a harsh scolding for spending money on food I probably could have eaten at their place for free.
I can just see it now.
(between broom thrashes) "It was work-expensed, Mom! (thwack) I SWEAR!"
That said... the squid adobo and crispy pata here is definitely worth the potential parental ass-whooping involved in paying for and eating Filipino food cooked by someone that's not my mom.
That's 1 star (I'll give them half-a-star if there was one!). Food: WAYYY overprized. I ate here at 1 time...2 measly ulams, 1 cup of steamed rice, 1 diet coke & a dessert =$32.00!?. WTF!?. I soon got the feeling that i got ripped-off from eating at this place...BUT NEVER AGAIN!!! See that's the big problem w/ most Filipino Restaurants...They rob their fellow kababayans by giving you very little BUT charging you a lot! On top of this, most of the food they serve are usually left-overs from the previous day w/c they only heat on a microwave. They think they are still in PI where this event usually takes place a lot. You will better-off eating at Ongpin Restaurant in South San Francisco Or Gerry's grill In Union City, CA. Avoid this place to eat if you can...unless of course you don't mind being taken out of your hard-earned money!
Just look at Tetsu N's review for the specific food items consumed.
It was 3 hungry guys going into this place, and for all of us, we're not very well-versed in Filipino cuisine.
So this all started when I introduced Tetsu N. to my friend's blog site, The Traveling Hungryboy, and Tetsu N. started salivating after seeing this blog entry: http://eatbma.blogspot...
So we searched yelp for different filipino restaurants nearby, and came across Barrio Fiesta because the person who got me started in yelping, Jeannette S. has the FTR and gave it 4 stars, and because out of 50+ reviews, it had a solid 4 star rating.
So Tetsu N., in his classic Tetsu N. way, asked the waitress to suggest something for us, but without telling us what it is. Moreover, Tetsu N. was pretty funny in looking at the plates of our neighbor table, and seeing that they look like they are of Filipino descent, and therefore, probably know what they are doing, he asked them what they were eating. I'm not sure if they were joking, or making a play on words, but they told us it was called "Sitting Chicken" because the chicken was sitting on the plate. They were kind enough to give us a small sample, and definitely the next time we go there, we'll have to get this.
So of our food selection, I chose the lumpia and the chicken adobo. For my one visit ever to the PI, I remember loving just about anything adobo, and lumpia was always good too...
So overall, Barrio's is a pretty cozy little place, and it looks like they put a lot of work into the decor, which kinda made me think that if Chili's or Friday's started in the PI, this is what it would look like, with all the kitschy decorations, Filipino-style.
The waitresses were especially nice to us, but then again, it might have also been because we were 3 customers who ordered enough for 6 people, but they got a kick out of watching us put food in our mouths, and watching our eyes light up in delight from trying new food.
I went to eat here with my family for lunch. Even though I always hear about this place, Ive only eaten there twice. We ordered about 6 dishes including: fried pusit, kare-kare, beef bolalo, adobo fried rice, crispy fried chicken, and fried bangus. It was another successful filipino mean for me. The food was excellent! The only problem was the wait. Coming in as a family of 7 is not so easy when you are waiting for a couple tables to finish up eating. But the good thing was that we were given menus so they could take our orders and start making our food. By the time we were seated, our food was delivered within minutes! If you're looking for good quality filipino food, this place is one of them. Enjoy!
i retried their adobo pusit and it is heavenly! i don't know what happened to it the first time i tried it to cause me to say i wasn't a fan. i could eat platefuls of rice with just that dish. yumm. just thinking about it makes me drool.
on the side note: the last time i went there, their kare kare wasn't at par to what i remembered.
i like their kare-kare and garlic chicken a lot. the only other place that can match their kare-kare… Read more »
This place is just around the corner from my Dad's work and I must tell you it is an amazing piece of artwork.
First, the ambiance of the restaurant is if you are sitting in the Philippines (minus the heat and humidity). One wall is adorned with wood carvings and everything else is decorated with ornate Philippine hand crafted pieces.
Since, I no longer live at home, I often crave a home-cooked meal. The pinakbet is a vegetable medley with pork and shrimp. It was prepared just how my mom would make it: slight bitterness with the saltiness of shrimp paste. The lechon kawali was great as well.
Anytime I am craving a home-cooked meal, I will be sure to stop by this place for a bite to eat.
So good and fattening, your sure to get a heart attack! Yummy, yummy, yummy......this place beats out Goldilocks, Red Ribbon and Jollibee for Filipino food. Some of my favorites are Lechon Kawali, Guinitaang Sitaw with Shrimp, Kare Kare, Pancit Bihon and for dessert Halayang Ube!!!
OMG! I'm freaking hungry now....for this place! Thats what I get for writing food reviews after the gym!! Ok.....bye : )
Woot for yummy, artery clogging Filipino food at Barrio Fiesta!!!
I went here for the first time with my sister, and at first, we weren't too impressed. Some food you gotta wait till it cools off to really taste what it's like. Once we could taste the flavors in the kare kare and pancit, we were racing each other for the last bit of rice, hahaha. I'm big on kare kare.. It doesn't beat mine or my mama's, but it was pretty good..
We also had some baked mussels that were really delish! The prices were a little high, but not so much that you feel the sting in your pocket once you see the bill. We got really huge servings of those 3 dishes, and only paid 36.00, tip already included.
I'll definitely come back to try everything else. Oh, and our server was super friendly, and called everyone "Boss"/"Bossing" even when my sister harassed him asking why they didn't serve certain dishes like Igado, LOL..
This is definitely the place to bring your snobby ass Nurse-Auntie or Postal-Service -Uncle who's visiting from out of town. The detail in decorations are crazy.. Bamboo carvings and straw hats everywhere!
You know when an ethnic place has got their shit together when the natives come to eat there when they're tired of cooking, and thats what you see in Barrio Fiesta. My mom loves this place and she's a stickler for good filipino food.
My taste is a little less discerning, but Barrio Fiesta is in my top 3 in filipino restaurants in the bay area.
Can't go wrong here with the crispy pata and halo halo...oh and I randomly came here a week ago and found out about their Thurs & Fri buffets so you know I'm taking full advantage of that.
After having lived in the bay area for most of my life I have been here for the first time. I wanted a sit down restaurant and she wanted filipino food, so i thought why not barrio fiesta. I have always wante dto go here. On a sunday 5pm it was fairly slow and quiet we and another small party was there. i order Kare Kare and she orders Sinigang.
As many know Kare Kare is an acquired taste and usually after you get over the fact that it is peanut butter you either love it or hate it. But I measure the quality of their cooking skills with how they make Kare Kare. Barrio Fiesta is like a 3.5 of 5 stars in the kare kare. the sinigang was well made just a little more salt and it was good. I expected to pay restaurant prcing and thats what I paid, about $40 after tip for a dinner for two. It's better to take more friends next time as most dishes will serve about 3-4 people.
I've only had Filipino food at friends' homes and parties so this was my first time at an actual Filipino restaurant. A couple friends (who've also never been to a Filipino restaurant either) and I wanted some Filipino food and resorted to here.
Upon entering the first thing I noticed was how the place was decorated. It gave a really cultural tropical feel.I liked it!
It took a little while for us to get seated though since there was a big party in there waiting in the front and so the people who worked here didn't know we were separate from them. I guess signing your name on the list doesn't really make a difference? But soon enough we were seated.
Figuring out what to order was a little difficult for us haha but we managed! It would have been nice though if we had a Filipino friend with us. Anyway, we ordered the chicken adobo, kare-kare, rice and pancit. However, there seemed to be a mixup in communication and instead of the pancit we got this crispy shrimp thing, but it was tasty so all was well. We also shared a halo halo for dessert. All of the food was really good and not too heavy.
The service was good too. They were friendly and we got our waters filled often.
We left feeling happy and full.
Took Mother in law and Brother in law (they are not Filipinos) to this place...ordered pork sinigang, shanghai fried rice, garlic chicken, pancit canton.....for dessert they had mango ice cream, flan, and ube...
They like the food and they were surprised on how the place looks so ordinary from the outside and were impressed when they got inside the restaurant. and under $70 dollars for 6 people...not bad at all!
I was extremely disappointed with my experience at Barrio Fiesta. I expected a lot more especially with prices that they charge compared to other Filipino restaurants.
For me, there was nothing that really stood out in terms of their menu as it relates to their entrees. I've been there twice and I still can't point out what their signature dish is. In one occasion, I had to ask the waitress if she can ask the chef to reheat one of the dishes that my friends and I ordered because it was still frozen. Again, for the price that they charged, I expected their dishes to be freshly made and not stored as "left overs" from the previous night.
Ending on a positive note, Barrio Fiesta has the best Halo Halo by far. In addition to the typical ingredients, they also include ube and leche flan. Especially on a hot day, this hits the spot.
I would highly recommend Barrio Fiesta more for their desserts as opposed to their entrees.
Okay, I don't know Filipino foods, other than lumpia, adobo, and pancit. So when I hear from people that are Filipino and know good Filipino food, I'm going to take their word for it.
If this was the Phillippines, you could easily find much better tasting food. But, we're here and it's supposed to be pretty darn good. Since I have nothing to compare it with, I will go purely on what my taste buds agreed upon.
We had the milk fish, mini lumpias, menudo, and vegetables with shrimp/pork in a shrimp paste sauce. I'm so embarrassed, I tried hard to memorize the names of the dishes and now I've completely forgotten. (I did remember menudo - yeah, like the group menudo?)
The milk fish was crispy and salty. The menudo was like a stew of pork, hot dogs, and potatoes in a tomato based sauce. On the menu, the liver was listed as part of the ingredients and that was why I chose that dish, but when we asked about it, they said they took it off the menu since the taste wasn't all that popular. We ordered the shrimp/pork with vegetables, only to find out that it was given to another table and we got the one without the shrimp. I was really trying to be adventurous, but I guess with no such luck tonight. (I'm talking mostly about the liver.)
The staff was pretty attentive with us, party because my friend was speaking Filipino, while I was looking pretty helpless. The menu is described in English, but when you're going with someone who knows the menu, you feel obligated to get second opinions on every decision.
I did like everything we tried and while I was forewarned about how the prices can add up, you don't have to order much to be content.
Milpitas, CA
Category: Filipino
Milpitas, CA
Category: Filipino
Milpitas, CA
Category: Barbeque
San Jose, CA
Category: Filipino
Santa Clara, CA
Category: Filipino
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