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1st Ave-14th St (L)
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If you have not yet downloaded the YELP mobile app for your cell phone stop reading this and do it now. It is the most useful tool when visiting an unfamiliar city to find what ever you need nearby. Because without that application I never could have found this place.
I was doing the tourist rounds near Ground Zero and had lunch plans to meet my cousin who lives near 20th and 1st. I searched restaurants in the Gramercy neighborhood and scrolled down. When I saw Filipino and 4-stars I said "that's where we're going!" It turns out this place is a half block from my cousin's pad and he never even noticed it. You might not either.
So we met there around 2:30 on a Saturday afternoon and the place was empty. We took seats and I was searching the menu for familiar foods we would both like. They have an extensive menu with all my favorites like Crispy Pata and Bicol Express. But we settled on sharing the pork sisig and pinakbet. What a great meal!
The sisig was served with an egg which I never had before. It was crispy and sizzling when the waitress brought it to the table, covered with a napkin to stop the splattering grease from going all over the place.
Pinkbet is sauteed vegetables and shrimp in a broth including bitter melon. Soooo good. We took the Garlic Rice option and got a little dish of bagoong to eat with. I love that fried shrimp paste but was really surprised my cousin loved it too.
By the time we left, the place was packed with brunchers as this place offers some Pinoy specialties with eggs. I will definitely make this a spot to hit every time I'm in the city as there are only a few good Filipino places in LA too.
3.5 stars. Grill 21 is easily the best Filipino restaurant outside of Queens. Like Bamboo Grill in dirty jerz, I know the owner, ok, my parents know the owner. So on the first experience, not only was the food free, it was legitimately scrumptious! Almost all of the dishes were done nicely, with the exception of the BBQ which I had better elsewhere.
Like most Filipino restaurants, you will find the same items on the menu. Some of the things I've ordered: ~ if i butcher any of the spellings on the dishes.......deal with it.
Bicol Express (very good) although I prefer the Southern Philippine version - spicy.
Arroz Caldo (very good)
Kilawin (Excellent)
Inihaw na Baboy (Excellent)
Caldereta (very good)
Kare Kare (good)
BBQ (good)
Halo Halo (very good) - that means "mix mix" in-case you were wondering ;-)
The space is small but nice. Probably can accommodate 25 max. The room had exposed brick (which I love) & a couple of paintings - not really sure what the hell they were of.
Service was struggling since they only had 1 person working the whole room. Probably the owner's nephew who just arrived from the Philippines & getting sweatshop wages or working for food.
One last thing. What surprised me the most about this place is that they actually have presentation with the food! Yes, they "plate" their dishes! If you are Filipino then you know why this is a nice surprise. Typically, we like to just pile the food on the plate. "Refined-Filipino Cuisine" is almost unheard of. However, there is a downside to plating a dish....less portions my friend. So in the big scheme of things, yes, the place comes out pricier than expected.
The only other place I knew of which came close to this place was Cendrillon, which is now closed (shitty).
I've been looking for a decent filipino restaurant closer than Queens, so I we decided to try this place out.
The place is very small, but very cute. Nice, homey feel and the owners/staff are really nice and accommodating.
We ordered the lechon kawali (fried pork belly) and the beef kaldereta (Beef-tomato stew) The lechon wasn't as crispy as it could have been...I love eating the crisp, oily skin, and it sort of fell flat. I enjoyed the Kaldereta, not as spicy as I usually like it, but the beef was tender. We had the halo-halo for dessert and it was really good and affordable for the price. The leche flan in is was delicious.
Overall, good place. 3.5 because the people were so nice :-)
Brought my friend here who has never tried filipino food. We both got breakfast platters. I had the tosilog which is like their form of bacon but its thicker and juicier kinda. which comes with fried garlic rice. and eggs any way you want it. My friend had the tapsilog which were beef slices and came with the rice and egg too. The portion was big. It was so good that when we were full. we lingered and just talked for about 30 mins, and then finished the rest of our plate which then led to the itis and going to bed right after!
Food was good, authentic. Average if you compare it to your mom or grandma's cooking. Reasonably priced, good and REALLY fast service. I was happy about the latter.
Now let's talk about two of their desserts. We got a halo-halo and the leche flan (which i have to admit is a bit embarrassing, but wth). Though generous, the halo-halo wasnt anything special. The flan though, on the other hand, is another story. Great consistency and texture, which i think are two key things that you have to get right if you're serving leche flan. It was really, really good! I say, when in doubt, just get it. It's worth it.
I really like the place. The grilled pork belly is to die for. Another favorite is the spring rolls (lumpia shanghai). There really isn't much I have to complain about except for the owner. I guess I am anti-social when I eat but he can seem a bit intrusive at times. I am sure he means well but I go there to hang out with my friends.
The food keeps me coming back though.
My favorite NYC Filipino restaurant. Not as DELICIOUS as my Kapampangan Lola's food or my native San Francisco spots but I rate it number 1 amongst the NYC Pinoy joints as my standards are set very high.
The service is great and the staff is friendly.
The halo-halo is on point and the Kare-kare I tried was very tasty :).
3.5 to 4 stars.
The real star here is that this is probably the only authentic, Filipino restaurant in the Gramercy area, which is great for me since i dread making the trek out to Queens or some remote suburb to get my Adobo and Lechon.
Small and clean restaurant, which isn't shabby at all. I think you could squeeze about 15 people into this space comfortably.
The menu has extensive varieties of Filipino dishes for decent prices (about 8 to 10 dollars for a dish). Portions are a little small for usual American-sizes, but this works out well because you can order 3 dishes to share between two.
For those unfamiliar with Filipino cuisine, their Adobo (chicken in vinegar/soy sauce) and La'ing (Taro leaves in coconut cream sauce) are crowd pleasers.
Finally, their Leche Flan is a winning dessert. I am normally not a fan of Flan, but the owner (old white guy in his 60's) insisted that it's their specialty and true enough...this is hands down the BEST Leche Flan i've ever had.
This is definitely going to be my go-to restaurant for homey Filipino food now.
Really flavorful food. I'm a fan of spice in the "flavor" sense, not in the "I can't feel my tongue and therefore cannot taste/enjoy my food" sense.
So this is a great place for creams and sauces. There are 4 tables outside and not much traffic, so pleasant enough.
Ask the waiter what is popular and you won't go wrong. Great place for people who don't like vegetables since they're downed out by the tasty sauces ;)
I'm pretty sure that no Filipino is going to think that any restaurant's food will be able to compare to that of their mom/grandmother/family in general (& Jillian R is my cousin so I agree with her on that point). That said, though, if you're like me and you're 550 miles (at least) from any relatives willing to cook you great Filipino food and want a place closer than Queens, Grill 21 will suit you just fine.
We ordered a ton of food, of course, for three people: four orders of rice, sinigang with shrimp (we wanted bangus but they didn't have it, which is kind of weird), sisig, lechon... and THEN halo-halo and leche flan. Dear god, I still can't believe we managed to polish off most of it, and neither can our very nice and prompt waitress (she tried to bring us the bill after we'd spent a good portion of the afternoon finishing off our main course and looked shocked when we said we were ordering more food. She really shouldn't have been surprised; we're Filipino after all). Seriously, though, this place is excellent and like my cousin said, the leche flan is to die for.
The food is affordable and well portioned. I wasn't too impressed with how everything tasted, but I had no big issues. halo-halo was pretty good, the leche flan looked realllyy good but I didn't order it. 3.5 for good service and clean space. food factors in a lot for me, otherwise a 4 easily.
I'm Filipino and since I moved to NYC I've been trying to find a good Filipino place. Lucky for me I found one a few blocks from where I live! Very good Filipino food. The pork adobo, tocino, pancit, crispy pata, shanghai rolls, and halo-halo is good. The pork adobo wasn't greasy like some places make it and they give a good amount of meat. The sinigang could be better. And the service isn't that great, except for the owner who is very nice and sociable. I think it's great that he can speak Tagalog haha.
the thing i miss most about my dating my flip ex is his mom's cooking. oh snap. but seriously, if youd tasted her cooking, youd understand.
my filipina friend and i came here in the morning so she could grub on some tosilog, but no worries if youre not a morning person - they serve filipino brunch all day! her tosilog was so good that she finished the whole thing, even though she was full halfway through and had planned on packing the remaining food to go. the chicken adobo i ordered had nothing on my tita rose's, but i savored every bite of each lumpiang shanghai that i ate. i know - kinda intense. but dont judge me, it's been 4 years since i last devoured the stuff.
ive heard the really good flip food is way out in queens, but ill return to this more local, small, and cheap (the lunch menu offers a bunch of good deals) place for a quick fix.
I've brought a group of 15 here once and another group of five. The place no matter how busy accomodated us, moved tables around. Service was great, food was very good. I had sariwang lumpia. If you are on a diet, don't go here because you'll be tempted to quit it, like I was. The owner is very friendly. We were on a scavenger hunt and he
helped us out. It's almost as good as my mom's kitchen.
Since the number of Filipino restaurants in Manhattan is ever dwindling, I had to bump Grill 21 up to 4 stars by default. In the couple of years it has been open, I have to say the food has improved. Some dishes are still a bit hit or miss (ex. the tinola is not nearly as gingery as I like it), but they make pretty good crispy pata (deep fried pork knuckle) and lechon kawali (deep fried pork belly). Yes, Filipinos are great at deep frying food!
They also serve Filipino brunch all day, which is always a generous portion. The dasilog (fried milkfish w/rice and two eggs) is actually my fave. They also do catering - just ask for their catering menu.
The space is very, very small. It tends to get crowded at night, and there's very little waiting room. Not a great situation when it's freezing out. Lunch/brunch time is always more manageable - I've never had trouble getting a table during the day. Service is always friendly and attentive.
Oh, and if you happen to see a white guy in the kitchen or taking orders, don't fret. He and his Filipina wife own the joint.
I've only had take-out from Grill 21, so I've never actually eaten here. It's typical of the other… Read more »
I always feel silly judging Filipino restaurants because... look, they serve Lechon Kawali, which is deep fried pork belly. DEEP FRIED PORK BELLY! It's not even fair! It's like, I imagine that all girls have to do to snag a straight guy is to be blonde and have big boobs. Lechon Kawali is a blonde with big boobs.
That said, Grill 21's Lechon Kawali is somewhere between a Santa Monica Boulevard hooker and a Hooters waitress - definitely nowhere near Anna Nicole/Pamela Anderson/Denise Richards greatness. Of the four places in Manhattan that I've tried - Cendrillon, Grill 21, Bayan Cafe, and Kuma Inn - Grill 21 has the worst Lechon Kawali. The meat part is dry, the skin is chewy, not crunchy, and the sauce was goopy and one-note. But hey, does it mean I didn't smear every last piece all over myself?
Pretty decent Flip food.
I always love the calamansi juice (key lime lemonade). Chicken adobo - classic goodness.
Better prices here than Bayan cafe, but I still think Bayan's food tastes slightly better.
Awesome service. Our waitress was sweet and helpful.
Restaurant was clean with very cute decor.
I only ordered the halo halo (because I ate my dinner at Elvie's - BTW, no good. That's why I went to Grill 21 for dessert because I did not want to waste any more time or money on Elvie's).
Halo halo was a huge serving and delicious. From what I saw of the food being ordered by other tables, it looked delicious! Nice presentation and all...
I'll be back for more dinners at Grill 21.
Food and service has always been so truly Filipino. :) They're very accommodating of special requests and service is very prompt. We brought over our Laos/Thai friends who loved it as well.
Grill 21- can you start offering delivery to other parts of Manhattan too?
The food is good but I swear the portions have shrunk from when I first discovered this place. It's become expensive and the food is good. Not great. But good. I will say their halo halo is excellent. The puti "owner" is creepy and talks too much when you're just trying to enjoy a meal with friends.
Grill 21 Brings Back Memories Of my Teenage Boyfriends Mothers House....
Being that I had many Filipino Boyfriends in my High School years (ok, not many like TONS but a couple) I am very use to eating Filipino Food. I found out about this place through a handsome Filipino (Pinoy) friend of mine who's parents are best friends with the owners. Being that it is in my work delivery zone, I only eat lunch here & by delivery.
So far, So good! I really did enjoy their Adobo, Pork Chops, Meat Kabobs & Lumpia Rolls. They also have pretty decent TURON! Turon is like an egg roll but with fruit inside instead, a fried filipino dessert roll.
The food tastes like good home made cooking, I just wish their portions were a bit larger. All n All a great spot for Filipino food in the Flat-Iron area! ;o)
So there aren't that many filipino food places left in Manhattan.
That said, Grill 21 has been open for over a year now, and they make filipino food accessible to the masses.
I tried the ginitang sitaw (first time), adobong pusit, and their crispy pata. Yum!
I need to try breakfast, but I know I probably be a repeat offender. This will be saving me several trips to Queens to satisfy cravings!
If you are in the East Village and want to try something new, this place is for you!
Cold from the walk from the 6 train, hungry because I am a pig, this place rocked me with some damn good eatin.
My wifey had the dasilog, I had the sausage-ilog, some laing and what was described as pork belly. The belly was sweet and juicy with the tang of being firegrilled, and a bit fatty. Ahem, it is PORK BELLY, self, wtf did you expect? But oh so yummy.
Because I was so hungry I had to ask my wife if the food was really that good, and she confirmed it was. The others in our party had arrived before us and were chowing down on various desserts that looked quite delicious, esp the leche flan. Servings were ample.
As the others mentioned, the place is a bit small, but has a cozy feel. But beware if you have a chair near the door on a cold night.... brrrr I better warm up my belly with some more of that pork belly!
I view this on a spectrum as I've practically tried all the pinoy restaurants in NYC and the boroughs.
On one hand you have your Cendrillon: tries to be fancy, nice interior, nice location (soho) - but in the process completely looses its authenticity - basically non-filipino dishes with filipino names.
On the other, you have the likes of Ihawan way out in Queens, that dirty litty strip on Roosevelt ave - unappealing on the inside (or even outside for that matter) with its glaring flourescents and bare white walls --- but tastes pretty much like what you expect (and miss so much).
Grill 21 is the middle of the two. The food is good, as "authentic" as you can hope a thousand miles away from home, and in a decent, almost cute little setting. I enjoyed in particular the bicol express (but that's just me - I like greasy stuff) but I haven't been disappointed with any of the selections.
As people have said, it is a small place but that's forgivable. If I were to take someone unfamiliar with Pinoy food somewhere, Grill 21 would probably be my first choice before hauling them out to Queens where the real stuff is at. But overall, definitely a great place to get your fix for all the usual pinoy fare.
first let me just say why i was attracted to grill 21.
Jason A and I were feeling quite adventurous and decided to stroll down a random street and go to the first restaurant that was moderately priced and piqued our interest on the way to the gym (haha i know right, i worked out on a friday night. thank goodness i have a bf who insists on gym time)....we had already passed about three places when what do i see? beautiful pink neon lights glowing in the distance. i was like a moth to a flame. so pretty. must eat there. so pretty. can't look away.
needless to say, i insisted we try whatever it was that had the pink lights in the front window. thus, grill21 entered our lives.
for a friday, the petite Filipino cafe was raging. the great thing about spring is we can eat outside and not die like the little match girl. nice energy. nice waitress (poor woman was working alone i think). she should have filled our water glasses more, but unless there is a pitcher of water right next to me, my water glass will never be filled fast enough.
funny thing about grill 21: they have an entire section labeled "vegetables" but no vegetarian options. after pretty much rearranging one of the dishes to be what i wanted (yes i am one of those people that makes five hundred changes) i was very excited about my meal. there is really no point in telling what my original plate was called because by the time i finished modifying it, it was a completely different dish. needless to say, it was perfect. they do have tofu, and they do accommodate free of charge**. the jayster got curried chicken and really liked it.* i can tell you it was delish with full confidence because i have a super rad habit of tasting his food without asking. what? i totally have manners.
we enjoyed our meals (although i think it would have tasted even better had we been able to mix it with the rice that came with it--gotta love passover) and left ready for the gym with full stomachs but not overwhelmed by a massive portion or too much grease (which is good considering Filipino food loves to be deep fried)
i support this place. and give it 3.5 stars of approval.
**unlike some diners who charge for changes. boo they suck.
*make sure to ask for light sauce otherwise you'll get soup.
I was craving Lechon Kawali one day and decided that I must fufill that craving asap. I remember a couple months back that the New York Times had an article about the lesser known Asian cuisines in NYC. I remember this restaurant being featured and I decided why not try this place out.
So the next day, I came here with my bf. The restaurant itself is small but it's pretty cozy inside. We were greeted by a nice and friendly waitress. We looked over the menu to decided what we were going to get. I was drawn to their platters (price at $12 each.) Mainly because they had a platter with Lechon Kawali and pork bbq. Mmm, two of my favorite Filipino dishes. We both decided to get the same thing. When we were ordering, the waitress informed us that we'd have to wait a little bit as they had to make the pork bbq. I was totally game because that would mean we'd get nice, hot, delicious pork bbq.
The food came out a little later but man it was totally worth the wait. The lechon was crispy and delicious. The rice was pipping hot (we got plain rice but you can also opt for garlic rice too.) Man, oh man. The pork bbq was delicious! Just as how I had envisioned it - warm and succulent with the right amount of flavor! Needless to say I can't eat this platter too often as delicious as it is because of the rich fatty goodness.
After we had finished, we decided to get some dessert. We decided on the Turon - which I never had before. Turon consists of really ripe plantain and jackfruit that is wrapped with a lumpia wrapper. It is then deep fried. The turon that we got was decent. My bf said that the plantain should have been a ripen a little longer, but I thought that it was still pretty delish. All in all we spent a little over $30 with tax and tip. We were both really stuffed but it was totally worth every calorie. I will definitely be returning to try more delicious food.
The best Filipino food I've tasted in Manhattan. After going to Elvie's longer than I would care to remember, this place was a blessing. The food was exceptional and generous with their portions. The waitress from Cebu was beyond friendly.
Americanized Filapino food, but delicious. The Pork Adobo with rice is really really good!!! They serve basic sodas with your meal, which you'll need plenty cause some of the food is hot. Sevice is just okay, but the food is great.
It's hard to live up to home-cooked or "family party" Filipino food and this place proves it. The food was okay, but didn't really stand out to me. However, the dish we came there to get (sisig) was sold out so that must be a testament of how good it was.
The owner also took over the service to our table which ended up with some awkward conversation and a bit forced interaction. It was hard for me to hear the owner butting into our conversations to tell me how to live my own culture. He was trying to be nice, it just seemed like he was trying to showcase that he knew parts of the language and the little quirks of filipino culture rather than just having a normal conversation.
I would try it again to see if their sisig is good, but overall not really a fan.
Comfort food at reasonable prices. Decent chicken adobo, gargantuan pig's knuckle. Ox tail was in a soupy mixture and scant. The leafy greens served here taste almost like Chinese food. Mango drink is straight from a 3rd party metal can. They give a big bowl of trapezoid shaped rice with each dish. Filipino staff is courteous and friendly.
Decor: very casual
I liked this place because it was convenient. They also had chicharron manok (crispy fried chicken skin) which is always a welcome snack!
The rest of the food was decent--I appreciated the fact that their adobo was appropriately salty and tart, which many Filipino restaurants mess up by adding some sort of sweetening agent.
Although I'm not a fan of pork, I'd recommend getting their pork adobo over their chicken. Kare-kare (peanut-based oxtail curry with long beans) was OK. Lumpiang shanghai were also good, but that's something that's really hard *not* to do right. The curry chicken was WEAK, and I have no idea what was up with their lumpiang sariwa (fresh egg roll, similar to Vietnamese banh cuon). It was like someone tried to interpret it as a savory crepe dish. BAH!
It took me more than a year to find this place, even though I'd walk by it daily. Classmates had told me about the Filipino restaurant right around the corner on 21st, and, well, there was never an indication that this was a Filipino restaurant. For a time, even, the sign out front announcing their lunch specials didn't have a single Filipino dish featured. They'd do well to divest themselves of their non-Filipino offerings.
FOB in da HOUSE!
okay here's my story...
I just moved from Daly City, CA (basically Little Manila) to New York and have been having a little culture shock. See I've been spoiled with having my adobo place across the street from my job in SF. Since then they have closed down due to high lease prices and that ridiculous Westfield Shopping center that nobody in their right minds could purchase from that was built directly across the street from my Adobo heaven......anyway back to the point... oh AND I moved across the country to New York. Recently I have been craving some Pork Adobo, either home cooked (and I wasn't feeling like cooking it myself) OR from a straight up Filipino restaurant/take out joint.
I was a little suspicous about the name of this place my sister took me to...Grill 21? how can they make Pinoy food if they don't even reference it in their name? Couldn't it be called 21 Pinoys on the Grill? or Pinoy Grill? Needless to say I went in....and LOVED IT! Let me just say I was in Pork Adobo Heaven for about most of the meal, until they brought us out the Lechon (fried pork belly with yummy dipping sauce). You could say that I was just about 2 bites from a heart attack...but I was okay with that b/c at least I would die happy and satisfied :0) This place went straight up to my favorite NY restaurant because they have...wait for it......Halo Halo, Toron (fried banana & jack fruit) with ube ice cream on top, AND Flan.....and I'm not talking about the custard-y flan that you find every where else. This is a lot more firm and PERFECT. Me and my sis had flashbacks of the good old days when our family parties had all the wonderful home-cooked dishes. Nowadays not so much BUT now we know we can go to Grill 21 and reminisce.
Im feeling a little greedy and not really wanting to share the wealth of Adobo Heaven knowledge but since obviously I'm late to the game on this place considering all the other reviews.....I'm putting in my 2 cents and saying YOU NEED TO TRY THIS PLACE!
Hey Henry, could I get a discount the next time I come in for writing this review? (hey its worth a shot in asking right?....duh I'm Filipino) I'm bringing my boyfriend who, like me, will totally enjoy this place.
Anna-bo-banna- I'm so taking us here when you come and visit :0) You might just consider moving your family out this way!
And I'm out.
It's kind of an odd Filipino Restaurant. They call themselves "Pan Asian" but really, they're Filipino with an occasional tuna melt and burgers, so obviously, you can take anyone here.
The Filipino food is flavorful, but mediocre. I can't really think of anything memorable there. Don't count it out yet! It's a great place to introduce someone to Filipino food, it may not be the best of the best... but it's a good place o build up the palette. The place is on a quiet block, quaint decor, and they take pride in presentation of their food (square plates and everything, fancy for Filipino food).
Great stylized for foreigners Filipino food. The taro leaves cooked in spicy cocunut milk, 'laing' was authentic in flavor with a good portion of shrimp and jalapenos (stylized) makes its price reasonable. Altho' it had a bit too much coconut milk compared to what I am used to from home. Their pork bacon, 'tocino' was well flavored, well portioned. The fried spring rolls @ $8 for an appetizer, I thought is a bit overpriced until I tasted it, yummy! For dessert, I had their fried bananas, 'turon' was good enough...The portions, flavor and presentation make high marks. The service, my waitress was Hannah along with another charming lady, was very pleasant, attentive without being oppressive. The restrooms were kept clean, the surroundings and kitchen visible from the outside were generally clean, as well. Overall, I would go back to Grill 21 and bring non-Filipino friends! I can't wait to have their pork barbecue in skewers, I would order the 'laing' again, and go for their custard, 'leche flan'! I had all my leftovers, including the rice, taken to-go. All were very well wrapped and packaged. I was impressed by how they run their business very professionally. Actually, I'm thinking of going back now!!!
i went here yesterday and i was blown away by the high price. i think the food DEFINITELY DON'T equal that price. i know the restaurant is in manhattan and rent there is high but i think they need to give more food with that high price. i ordered eggplant & pansit. if you have $$$ and you don't mind less food, then, you are welcome to experience it. NOT REALLY WORTH IT!
No doubt this is slightly Americanized Filipino cuisine, but given my personal experience in the Philippines, I'd say the authentic cuisine is probably a little to "standard fare" for a Gramercy Park restaurant to serve and stay in business. Still, the pork pancit I had was very much what I remember eating on a balmy evening in Cebu. I went with a group of 7 and they accommodated us surprisingly well in their rather diminutive dining room (call ahead for reservations!). All of the dishes are served family style so you have an opportunity to try various flavors, which is nice. The manager is very friendly and explained most of the menu items to us and gave numerous recommendations. One of our party had never eaten Filipino food before and now he's a convert!
This is the best filipino food I've tasted in North America. This is a must-have whenever I am in New York!
since my mom's home-cooked filipino food goodness is, oh... about 3,000 miles away, i am stoked that grill 21 is in my neighborhood. the people here are friendly and welcoming. they let my hubby and i eat on the tables outside with our puppy... i think one server fed her some lechon once :)
the food is pretty good although i've only had a handful of items since i'm sorta "stuck" and just love what we usually order... hubby's requisite lumpiang shanghai and tosilog; for me: pork adobo, chicken adobo, sinigang na baboy, bistek (beefsteak)... those are my staples. oh and tinola or lugaw in the winter.
also, there are two desserts on the menu that are delightful and pretty different from what traditional filipino restaurants would offer. they have leche flan, halo halo, etc... but when their mango float and lychee cream are available, i'm in a happy, happy mood.
as a fil-am manhattanite, i have to say this is one of the best surviving filipino spots in the city and i'm glad it's around ... plus, my favorite thing is that they deliver ;)
I'm Filipino and admit to being extremely particular about the Filipino foods I eat. Why eat Filipino food when I can very well make it at home, right?! Well, I'm lazy and my kitchen is the size of most shoe closets, so finding home cooked Filipino food is essential to my survival. That's where Pistahan came in. Unfortunately, they have since closed up shop, so I had to get my tosilog (tocino, eggs, and rice) fix elsewhere. So, after reading a few reviews, I decided to bring my little foodie group to Grill 21 and savor their Filipino tasty delights. I had raved about tosilog to them previously, so they were dying to try some out. Our entourage of 9 went on a cold, Sunday afternoon.
I arrived first to scope the place out and get seating for my crew. Man is this place tiny! There's room for about 20 people total and it was already full when I arrived. The place was cute and seemed fairly pleasant with their colorful walls and mildly amusing decor. I was greeted by a cute lil old Filipina lady who reminded me of my auntie who would always make me eat something whenever we visited her house. I think she's the wife of the owner, who is this funny old white guy that speaks more Tagalog than me. She told me some folks were about to leave and that she would move some tables around to accommodate by party. I glanced over the Filipino-food eating patrons and immediately spied what we came for: tosilog! My mouth immediately began to water and my tummy started preparing itself for the culinary onslaught. Those of us that arrived early finally sat down and ordered some appetizers to begin our Filipino feast. I didn't want to scare my friends and order dinaguan or balut right away, so we went with something safe and tried their pork bbq on a stick and lumpia shanghai. The bbq on a stick had a slight chemically taste to it that kinda ruined it for me. My friends loved it, so maybe it might've been me. Lumpia shanghai is the Filipino equivalent of an eggroll, but with mostly meat (screw that veggie filler crap eggroll crap!), which was pretty darn tasty. My mom still makes better ones, thou. The majority of us ordered tosilog, which prompted the owner to encourage us to try something else. One person was adventurous and ordered kare-kare (ox-tail with peanut sauce) and another ordered the Filipino staple, chicken adobo. I didn't eat them, so I won't comment on whether or not they were good. I was feenin for the marinated, fried, fatty-fat pork that is tocino to fill my mouth, so I was already set. I always get mine with overeasy eggs, so I can sop up the yolk with my tocino and eat it with my garlic-infused fried rice. If I could, I would've made it even more Filipino-authentic and squatted on my chair and eaten with my hands, but again, I didn't want to scare my friends. While we waited for our food to come, the owner entertained us with free Tagalog lessons, quips about Filipino culture, and showed us how much more he knew about Filipinos than me. Once our food arrived, I immediately dug in and was pleasantly greeted with the sweet, tangy goodness of the tocino that I was familiar with. I was easily transported to my youth when my mom would fry up some tocino and fill our kitchen with smoke, because the sugary marinade would burn easily. Overall, the tocino was ok. It was a little on the lean side, which we all know fatty fat makes everything taste better. I also prefer mine with the crispy/kinda burnt edges, which mine didn't have. The garlic fried rice, while tasty, could have used more garlic. For drinks, the majority of us ordered kalimansi juice (Filipino lemonade). Unfortunately, it wasn't freshly made and came in a can. We finished up with some tasty desserts: halo halo, turon, and buko pandan. The halo halo was a tasty shaved ice experience with fruit jellies, sweet condensed milk, sweet beans, young coconut bits, with a scoop of ube (purple yam aka taro) ice cream. Turon is banana and jackfruit wrapped in an eggroll wrapper, fried, with honey topping. Ours had some crispy rice on it as well. Buko pandan is baby coconut pieces with coconut jellies. The frozen, neon green jelly things made the dish look like a radioactive, nuclear dessert of tastiness. Overall, the food and the experience was good. My friends can now put Filipino food on their list of things they've eaten and enjoyed. We'll see how they feel after I have them try balut and tell them what dinaguan is after they gobble it down.
This restaurant is right around the corner of my brother in laws apt. And that's good for him becuase at least it gets close to home cooked meal from your mother.
I liked what I got the thing I remember the most is the kare kare ... yeah yeah i mentioned it before. But anyway if it has trype then its actually close to home cooked for me.
I was able to bring my daughter in here and a we had a big group even though its small. All in all I liked the food and it was a pleasant place.
Plus I know my brother in law eats there all the time ...
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Filipino
Neighborhood: Midtown East
Category: Filipino
Jersey City, NJ
Category: Grocery
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Category: Filipino
Neighborhood: East Village
Category: Filipino
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