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Manila Barbeque House

4 star rating
based on 17 reviews

Category: Filipino  [Edit]

5825 Jarvis Ave
(between Cardiff St & Newark Blvd)
Newark, CA 94560
(510) 713-0700
  • Price Range: $
  • Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
  • Parking: Private Lot
  • Attire: Casual
  • Good for Groups: Yes
  • Good for Kids: Yes
  • Takes Reservations: No
  • Take-out: Yes
  • Waiter Service: No
  • Wheelchair Accessible: No
  • Outdoor Seating: No
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17 Reviews for Manila Barbeque House

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Photo of Drea C.

 

13

13

Drea C.

Fremont, CA

5 star rating
05/30/2008

Not really anything I can complain about. It's simple, it's yummy, it's not too expensive. The breakfast is really good and they give you pretty big portions. I usually always get the tocilog. Yum! The rest of the food that I've tried has always been good, too. My bf tells me the fried chicken is hella good, so I have yet to try it. Everytime that I've gone there's usually just a few other families there so it's kinda relaxing to eat there and be away from a big crowd. And if you enjoy watching TFC, it'll be playing for you while you eat your food. =)

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14

49

Jason R.

Hayward, CA

4 star rating
01/18/2008

I give this place a 4 stars.  I've been here to eat a couple times and gotten take-out.  If you're getting take-out, don't get the crispy pata... it won't be crispy anymore.  Crispy pata is an eat-in dish.  That's where I went wrong one time, but I'm not docking a star for my mistake.

I'm taking off a star for the sisig.  It was a good attempt.  All the components were there, the marinade, the peppers, onions, even the liver, and I'm not a fan of liver, but it was good.  To me, they went wrong with the execution.  The pork was chopped up too much, almost had a ground pork consistency.  I like it better with larger pieces of meat, not big, but not grounded.  

Everything else I've had there was good.  The sinigang, longsilog, tapsilog... all good.  It was the sisig that surprised me.  It just flat out lacked execution.

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Elite '08

93

607

shannon l.

Fremont, CA

4 star rating
08/19/2007

This place was yummy!  Compared to Tipanan, a Filipino eatery in the plaza right across the street, Manila Barbeque House looks a little more ghetto.  The prices of the meals are about the same but I give Tipanan major props for their excellent service & decor.

Same process though: order food, sit down, they call you to get it.

My bf & I ordered Tocilog (sweet pork served with garlic rice, two over easy eggs, bits of pineapple & a slice of cucumber - $5.45) and Chicken BBQ ($6.25).  This places gives you a lot of food... lots of rice and lots of meat.  I actually ended up liking the chicken more. It was so  charred... just how I like it.  Tocilog is normally very fatty but I think they cut off all the fat which was good because you actually got more meat.  Still though, it didn't taste as good as it does at other places... it resembles sweet and sour pork a little too closely.  

If I was in this area and had to choose between Tipanan (moderate portion size, very flavorful, good presentation, great service) and Manila BBQ House (huge portions, slightly cheaper, less wait time)... it would depend on how hungry I was and how long I was willing to wait.  Tipanan gets pretty busy on weekends but the last time I went the owner gave us free dessert!

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0

1

Marvin L.

Hayward, CA

5 star rating
03/31/2008

I love eating here! The quality of their food is great! This place has the best fried porkchop and longsilog! I always order two of each so I can save one for later! =) Good garlic rice and they give you alot , not oily like most garlic rice are served!

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2

10

Grasta V - C.

San Ramon, CA

5 star rating
08/20/2007

This is what I'm talkin' about... real Filipino food cooked while you wait. Also a great place to go if you have a craving for breakfast any time of the day. The prices are reasonable and the place is clean.

"This place was horrible. Whoever said this place was good must be crazy or friends of the owners..." -- Sorry for your bad experience, but just because I like the place doesn't mean I have it "in" with the owners. We've been here twice, and both times were great. Food came out pretty fast and was never cold.

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16

136

Jovi C.

Newark, CA

1 star rating
10/16/2007

I wanted to like this place. Really I did.

The service is very nice (although very slow), and it's not like I didn't grow up spending almost every day for 16 years eating Filipino food (even when it was American food, it was still Filipino food. Don't pretend you Filipino/as don't have Mamas that put brown sugar and soy sauce in their spaghetti sauce).

I ordered the tocilog plate, awaiting my sweet pork goodness with a fried egg on top of garlic fried rice.

What I got instead was a large plate of nasty.

The egg had the consistency of a fake rubber fried egg (you know, the kind kids get in their playskool kitchen set?) slathered in about five pounds of rancid oil.

The rice had this super-bitter-disgusting aftertaste that is NOTHING like my Mama's fried rice. I'm going so far as to say that Goldilocks' rice and food is lightyears above and beyond this place.

I can't even start talking about the pork itself, otherwise I might vomit on my MacBook.

I literally took three bites of the plate, stood up, left, and started beating my steering wheel in frustration for wasting $7 on that garbage. I could of had any number of delicious things for $7. I could have wiped my rear with $7 and it still would have been a better use of the cash.

The only saving grace? The five minutes I laughed my ass off watching TFC (The Filipino Channel) in their dining area, and this one lady was singing "The Greatest Love of All" kareoke-style. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my whole life. That was awesome.

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8

7

Richard H.

San Jose, CA

5 star rating
02/22/2007

Manila BBQ was one of my favorite places for breakfast (was, as in, that I moved to San Jose and no longer close by). I remember when I first when to that location before it became Manila BBQ House, where the service was terrible and the food was presented and tasted bad, I forgot the name of the place.

Anyway, Manila BBQ is a great place to eat. Most Sunday's I would head over there and order the combosilog. The plates are big and it's quite a hearty meal. Nothing really fancy, just downright 'I'm going to stuff you filipino' style, just remember to tell them how you like your eggs (sometimes, they will forget to ask).

What I also like about them is that the staff is very friendly, the place is clean, the TFC playing on the TV and the price is just right. This place has what you are looking for in a filipino breakfast. As for the other food, I've tried the lumpia shanghai, the bbq chicken and the bbq beef, which are all, very well done and hearty.

Too bad I moved to San Jose, Manila BBQ is a great place for a true filipino breakfast! I will return...

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Elite '08

128

448

bel d.

Fremont, CA

1 star rating
06/05/2007

Went here one day... there was a kid screaming/crying his head off while his parents just sat there eating. He was wailing like someone had stabbed him or something.

I literally covered my ears with my hands because it was so loud. I had no idea why the kid was was crying (whether he was bad and  being punished OR if the parents were just bad parents and didnt know how to deal with crying kids), but seriously- his parents were not doing crap nor did they care that their kid was annoying the other patrons. The employees didnt do anything either.

My food was ok, at best. But that experience just totally ruined it for me.

To parents of crying kids... please take them outside or something. You may be immune to it, but other people are not.

Go to Tipanan down the street.

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3

12

Patrick D.

Union City, CA

4 star rating
07/23/2007

their sisig (sp?) is the bomb. Hella spicy and not too greasy unlike how my uncle cooks it. I choose this place over goldlocks and red ribbon any time. It's also located near my house!

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Elite '08

108

356

Derrick V.

Newark, CA

3 star rating
01/02/2007

I had the adobo-silog and it was pretty good.  The pork was very tender.  The rice and egg spot on.  My gf didn't like the pancit canton.  Lumpia was ok.  I guess the -silog dishes are the ones to get.

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Elite '08

340

470

arnold g.

Fremont, CA

4 star rating
08/25/2006

Wow, this place is a find...thanks to Yelp!

I had the Combosilog plate with tapa and tocino which was beautifully presented, and it tasted pretty good too. My wife had the pancit palabok, which she liked, as well as the maiz con hielo, which she raved about, although I'm not a fan. We even got some siopao for breakfast tomorrow.

The menu is really diverse...from Siopao, Siomai to Mami, to the *silog plates and of course barbecue. I definitely plan on going back to try out more of the menu items.

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Elite '08

47

166

Dave S.

San Mateo, CA

3 star rating
03/18/2007

3 stars for previous hangover-curing breakfasts, minus one star for a recent bad breakfast.  We went here and ordered losilog and bangsilog.  The garlic was burnt in the garlic rice, and the longanisa were leaking Red Dye #20 all over the rice.  The longanisa were flavorless and super sweet as if they had been soaking in bad chinese red sauce overnight.  It's pretty hard to screw up sausages (mmm, 80% calories from fat), but I couldn't finish these.  The bangus was overdone and oversalted in my companion's dish and rather crunchy.  Not sure if it was an off day or the regular kitchen staff were sick, but it was definitely worse than any other time I have been there.  Normally I am fighting to not clean off my plate and pig out, but this time I had to force myself to eat.

It's usually a good place to get a filipino breakfast after a late night out.  Come back Manila BBQ, my alcohol-pickled stomach lining misses you!

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10

44

Rachelle Q.

Fremont, CA

5 star rating
08/15/2006

They have an assortment of other Filipino foods available but I definitely recommend their breakfast plates which are served all day. Also a place to catch cheesy Filipino variety shows (yes I said it, you know it was coming anyway). If you're in the East Bay, this is the place to go for Manila-style breakfast.

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12

40

Marco B.

Fremont, CA

5 star rating
03/18/2007

This is a great place for Filipino style breakfast. The customer service is good. The owner is friendly. The TV shows are funny if you can understand tagalog. But if the bay teams are playing and you become a regular, the owner will change the channel to your game. But you have to be one of the regulars. Earn your stripes SON! The price is right and the servings are big. The food is good. This is why this place rocks! Too bad a lot of Filipino places cannot follow Manila Barbeque's example. Great price, good food, healthy portions and a friendly smile.

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28

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Edwyn E.

Austin, TX

3 star rating
07/15/2005

The Crispy Pata here is great - lots of meat and not too salty. Breakfast is served all day. As most establishments here - its not airconditioned so it can get pretty hot inside during the summer. The Sago drink was okay but too sweet for my tastes.

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0

10

Kathy M.

Fremont, CA

5 star rating
05/29/2007

Filipino food is very new to me.  I had read about it, and as a person very much in favor of savory breakfasts (pancakes, danish, donuts=gross), I found the idea of meat+garlic rice topped with a fried egg mighty interesting.  My bf--very much a pancake/danish/donut boy--accompanied me for Filipino breakfast once and patently refuses to go ever again.  

So after reading about it here on Yelp, I went alone to Manila Barbeque House one Sunday morning and had the Comobosilog plate with tapa and tocino. I now find myself craving it and going to get it for lunch or even dinner.  I find I'm torn between it and the pancit palabok (yum!) and that I have to get an order of that to go for the next day's lunch (as it reheats much better than a fried egg).

What the restaurant lacks in ambiance, it makes up for in cleanliness and friendliness.  On a slow day, one of the staff talked me through the whole menu, explaining the various dishes and how they are typically eaten.  

Good find!  Thanks, Yelp!

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Elite '08

98

369

Rinne R.

Union City, CA

5 star rating
04/25/2006

one word--tosilog!

5 stars all the way!  friendly staff...their beef mami is good, too!!

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