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I LOVE THIS PLACE!! Im 1/2 Filipina and this food tastes just like my own Titas home cooking. There really isn't a set menu, some days they have one thing, and the next they dont, so don't expect to get consistency. Expect to get really great food in large portions for a great price.
There really isn't too much bad about Titas that would make me not go. Well, the place looks terrible inside and out. And yeah, its really hard to find a clean place to sit, and same goes for the parking lot. Also, the lines are always really long and slow moving. But if you are willing to go through all of that for some great, authentic Filipino food, you will not be disappointed.
Its definitely a "hole in the wall" type of place, but definitely worth going out of your way for.
Chicken BBQ on a stick - YES please!!!
Combination plates - Definitely!
Long lunch lines - You's got to go!! =(
Hands-down the best sinigang ive ever had. The place isnt very inviting though and the lines can be pretty long but the sinigang is worth it.
Another plus, the bakery net door has the best "cheese-balls" ive ever had. Head to Titas and grab some sinigang to-go, then stop next door for the desserts. That right there is a combo that'll even put Pacman in a coma.
If you're looking for value with quantity it has to be Tita's!
$6.50 for a combination plate and they really give you heaping amounts of food! For a student on a budget, it's amazing!
One thing I LOVE the most here is: Sisig-it's so, so good and made well.
I'm so stuffed, I can barely move. Their BBQ put me in a food coma. Just can't stand the long line but I guess that if there's a line, the food must be worth the wait (and the drive!). I'm going to sleep now, and I'll be dreaming of Tita's damn good Filipino food!
I visited Tita's to try their Combination Plate and their Halo-Halo. I ordered Kare-Kare and their famous BBQ. Using the TLC3 evaluation, I offer the following observations:
TASTE:
The Combination Plate consist of two food items and a complimentary heaping scoop of fresh rice and warm soup. For my two items, I chose the Kare-Kare and BBQ stick (the meat was pork).
Since I told the staff my order was "To Go," they took additional care in wrapping my soup with plastic wrap and carefully bagged my food, which eased any concern of spilling food in the car while traveling on the road.
The Kare-Kare came with a side of "alamang" (shrimp paste), which is a type of sauce that enhances Kare-Kare's flavor . If you are a traveler like me, its important to note that the plasic utensils are next to the cash register.
When I got back to my hotel, I was sufficiently pleased with the authentic Kare-Kare flavor: the balanced taste of peanut, spices, crunchy-fresh vegetables, and a generous amount of properly cooked and fresh meats.
When I tasted the BBQ pork, I was comforted with the sweet, smoky, fresh taste of traditional Filipino BBQ. I now understand what other Yelp Reviewers are positively saying about Tita's famous BBQ-on-a-stick. It is mouth-watering and dangerously addictive.
I ordered their Halo-Halo because I wanted to compare it with Conching's Halo-Halo. Some differences are:
1. Tita's Halo-Halo is 50 cents cheaper than Conshing's.
2. The ingredients of Tita's Halo-Halo are fresh and appear to have an equal amount of beans, jello, coconut, and a generous scoop of ice cream; I was partial to ube.
3. Conching's Halo-Halo had leche flan and Tita's did NOT.
LOCATION:
Tita's is just 1/2 mile east of the 805 freeway. Parking can quickly become congested at the front of Tita's, but there are plenty of parking on the side of the building (on the west side).
CONSISTENCY:
This is my first visit, so I will have to follow up on this topic the next time I visit.
COST:
The two-item Combination Plate was just $6.50, and had generous helpings of rice and Kare-Kare, along with one stick of BBQ good for two people "on a diet." Tita's Halo-Halo was $3.26.
CLEANLINES:
I give Tita's a C-, which is partly why I have rated Tita's 3 stars. As with any restaurant I visit, I pay attention to cleanliness because it is my only way of judging if the food is being prepared with my health in mind. I noted that the windows/doors had greasy hand prints. Although the floor was not sticky during my visit, it could use the caresses of a damp mop dipped in clorox and water.
Unfortunately, based on my travels throughout California, it is rare that I visit a Filipino restaurant that equally match the cleanliness you often find in most Japanese or Korean restaurants.
Nevertheless, if you do not mind Tita's weathered ambiance, the food will certainly make up for it. As an out -of -town traveler, visiting Tita's Kitchenette provides a degree of comfort found in the authentic and traditional Filipino food they serve. Indeed, I will return to try out the other dishes.
To your health !
This is the place where I go to whenever I get the chance to visit San Diego. The line maybe long but it's worth the wait. I just wish the owner expands the place for much better service. I gave three star rating because this place is the best place for filipino food so far in the San Diego area. Tried other filipino joints but not worth the money I pay for when it comes to taste and portion wise. And in regards to their customer service, I cut them the slacks since they don't work for tips. MORE POWER!!!
We almost got mobbed in the parking lot for buying the last batch of BBQ sticks for a pancit party we were going to, leaving an empty tray for the rest of the people behind us---if looks could kill we'd be dead 0_o
Anyways, the bbq here is always bomb, palabok, not bad (a little greasy), yummy adobo plus they serve up huge portions. Parking's a bitch anytime of the day so plan to wait a bit to find a spot.
Afterwards, get your hot pandesal at Valerios next door. Masarap!
One word, 3 syllables...BAR-B-QUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hands down, the best BBQ (Other than Phil's obviously) in this part of San Diego, and it just happens to be at a Filipino food restaurant! Way better than Conchings if you ask me (Unless it's late night...TLT mMmm mMm bitch!!! and Halo-Halo, Conchings wins)
I haven't really tried anything else here but the BBQ and Sinigang, and still I have yet to be disappointed. They have Pork, Beef, and Chicken BBQ, and each one is equally delicious!! I just love it when my mom comes home from work and brings me some of this stuff. I LOVE YOU MOM!! I HOPE YOURE READING THIS!! Theyve got everything else that you would expect at a Filipino food joint too, so don't think thats all they serve...
The service is here is of course friendly as with any Filipino food place...Shout out to the Vietnamese people too because you guys are hella nice as well!!! Everytime I come in here, I see a whole bunch of different colored people in here, so that just goes to show you how many lives the BBQ here has touched!! YUM!!!
Simply put, one of THE best Filipino food joints in all of Southern California. If youre feenin for some good ol fashioned BBQ, come over here and try it for yourself. Even if youre not from this area, make the drive and come on down. Reasonable prices, great good, friendly service, BBQ, BBQ, BBQ!!!! MASARAP!!! Or as my mom would say..."DELISHOES!!!!"
This place has the best Filipino food in SD! The sisig, sinigang and BBQ sticks are top notch! They always load your plate up! I usually get a two item combo and my plate literally feels like it's 5+ lbs! Then to top it off when you ask for the free soup / sabow (spelling?)...it's like an order of sinigang! They throw in meat, spinach...everything! All their portions are BIG and the prices are very good!
The only knock on this place is the environment surrounding it and the long lines...but the long lines speak for itself! The food is good and worth the wait! You know it's good when people of other ethnicities flock there as well! Usually at Filipino restaurants I just see Filipino's...not this one! It's a big hit w/ the military community also...when I used to serve (in the military) we used to make lunch runs to this place and orders would be crazy!?
I came here to pick up chicken and pork* skewers for a Filipino club event. They were ready to be picked up when I got there even after I was was 30 minutes late from waiting forever at Royal Mandarin for their salt pepper chicken wings.
I had to go from National City to Linda Vista, so the drive was torture. It sucked to have two huge trays of meat skewers in my back seat that I couldn't eat. However, once I tried them....they were delicious! Nothing better than meat on a stick.
The only down side (on my behalf) is that there was a pool of meat juice on the backseat of my car. An obvious result of my own crazy fast driving. The smell lingered in my car for about a week too. So for a week, every time I stepped inside my car, I instantly got hungry.
*I originally wrote "porn" instead of "pork".....Freudian slip, much?
It's really 3.75 stars.
Unless you know, you better be quick. Talking about what they food on they're "point-point" menu are. For $7 you get a TON of food. Steamed rice included. They do platters too! Some friendly service, some not, but you gotta have a bad day sometime, right? They got other staples of Filipino "point" joints like: kare-kare, hamonado, giniling, sinigang, nilaga, pork & chicken adobo, bistek (beef steak stew), menudo, kaldereta, mechado, dinuguan, etc. Their bbq is good. But I've had better. Like the one's from Manila Sunset or Karihan.
The only bad part is...you don't really know what they are going to have until you have parked and walked to check out the items in the point-point case. Most of the time the regular Filipino food staples are there. But I'm looking for the one's that no other Fillipino joint has that has that Tita's exclusive flavor. So if they don't have anything of that kind...I roll out and roll on to Conching's or Karihan or Manila Sunset. All of which is lined up in street of Plaza Blvd.
Now that they have the ice cream joint connected...even better! Halo-Halo too! You can even order lechon there. The lines are long during the "peak" hours. Either that or the word is definitely getting out on how this place gives a grip of food. Great hamonado, when they have it. Come in and get some great inexpensive Filipino food! Pssst, kain na!
MMMMMMMMMM!!
My family and I freakin LOVE this place!!! One day, en-route to the outlets, we decided to stop for some lunch. Thanks to my handy iphone & the yelp app, we found this place and fell in love! It's cash only. But for the $7, they give you hellllaaaaaaaa food! they really pile it on! I loved the mechado. mmmmm! The bistek was really good too. It's a good thing they give you hella rice, goes perfect with all the sauce/oil lol. The BBQ.. was not as good as other places in the bay or momma's. Go for the other entrees.
My family loved the sinigang so much, we freakin came back for dinner after shopping! HAHAHA! A bit moded, but i don't think anyone noticed!
The kids loved the ice cream they sell! $1 for a biiig cup of ice cream. They have magnolia & thrifty brand ice cream. I of course got ube.. mmm! the perfect end to a satisfying meal! Needless to say, I slept the whole way back to OC.
If you're in SD and you need your filipino fix, THIS is the place! Don't forget to bring cash cus it's cash only!
We got two combos here. I read the Yelp reviews, which praised the BBQ chicken but was bummed when we got to our 'picnic spot' and found they had forgot to give us the BBQ Chicken!
The adobo was VERY good. I will be coming back for this. The meat was juicy, tender, and the sauce was very tasty.
The Kare kare was poor. I have never had this dish before and it was desribed as being made with a "peanut butter-type" sauce. I never imagined peanut butter tasting so poor. As well, the meat Tita's used for the Kare Kare was nothing but fat and bone for the most part.
The ponsit was tasty with a hint of some type of hot flavor (I thought of a light jalapeno flavor). It was only OK.
The portions were large and the food was cheap but outside of the adobo, I wasn't impressed. I'll need to try some other dishes.
Titas is great food on a budget!
I always get sisig, sour soup fish, and BBQ (if you like that sour flavor)
Prices are very reasonable. There's no room to complain. Make sure you bring cash tho because they do not accept cards.
and a little advice:
GOOD LUCK ON FINDING PARKING ...TRY GOING BEHIND FAMILY LOOPYA
Living 8 hours away from home, and having a limited ability to cook Filipino foods (love to eat dinuguan, can't stomach cooking it) whenever I need a fix, I make my way down to this little spot.
Their combo meals are HUGE! For under $7 you get two entrees, tons of rice and some "sabaw" (soup). The Filipino style chicken bbq is the best I've ever had and their dinuguan is delicious. I have quite the appetite but even I usually can't finish all of the food I order at Tita's (a case of my eyes being greedier than my stomach can handle) . After eating what I can, I make sure to leave some room for ice cream!
In the ice cream section of Tita's, they have all my favorite flavors: ube (sweet purple yam), mais con queso (corn and cheese), avocado (self explanatory) and macapuno (young coconut). Don't knock the flavors until you try it! At $1 a scoop, be brave, give it a shot, it's worth it.
Not a fancy place, it's a "turo-turo" (point point) cafeteria style place, cheap, great food, not the best customer service if you don't speak Tagalog, and cash only, but well worth it!
My first foray into Fiipino food and it was a success!
Very casual eating, cafeteria style serving in gigantic amounts (reviews don't lie), all served into and eaten out of styrofoam take-home boxes with plasticware.
No frills, no chills, and no credit/debit accepted.
Three of us had their $6 mega-meal combo--two meat entrees with a giant serving of delicious rice. Two of split between the BBQ chicken and the pork--pork was a hands down taste test winter. The third got the BBQ chicken and the chicken adobo--good, but the latter was a bit gristly.
I would have assumed a combo plate comes with a vegetable of some sort but this was just half a box of rice and half a box of meat. I ate past the point of fullness and have enough left for at least two lunches this week.
I'd happily go back and try some of the other dishes. The staff wasn't particularly friendly or un-friendly--it would be nice to have some more guidance as to what the dishes are and how the combos work, but I guess that means I need more Filipino friends!
Yes the BBQ chicken is very scrumptous and yes the rest of the food is very cheap and tasty BUT I cannot stand the workers. It's like if I don't speak Tagalog then they all want me to hurry up and get the hell out of there.
I swear its sad but true. This lady started speaking Tagalog to me and I told her I didn't understand and she rolled her eyes at me and started to speak to me in a louder tone. WTF?!?! Really?!? They're always rude to me but if I bring my Filipino looking mom, they'll kiss our asses.
The parking is limited and seating inside is limited at well. One random plus for soda drinkers is Tita's Kitchenette has the best Coke. Weird right?? But I'm serious... There's straight magic in their syrup.
This place has potential which is why I'm giving it 3 stars. The entire place including the workers can use a makeover. The food is delicious but it's a pain to get it. If you decide to hit this place up have patience, don't look at the floors, if it looks good try it and get a soda... You'll be fine
I have been coming here often in between most of my home visits because most of my clients live down here. I have noticed that they are so much nicer to filipinos than americans, but if you are at least half filipino and they think you are pretty, they hook you up.
The pork BBQ is the best here. The chicken is alright, but they are also out of it. I love that you get free sinigang, sometimes all you get is one vegetable and some pork fat, but when you get the good stuff, it sure is tasty. It's not the nicest of all places, but it's cheap and good.
Gotta try the pancit, yummmmmmy! And loompia when they have any :) The BBQ is pretty good too. Great price, huge servings, usually a long wait though so be patient
Whenever I'm craving some Filipino food this place never disappoints me. I use to go to Leocynn's Lumpia because it was closer to my house, but the food and portion sizes are soooo much better at Tita's, that I'll drive twice as far. As everyone already mentioned, the portion are outrageous. I can literally buy two combo plates (rice + 2 items) and can feed my family of 4 and still have leftovers. I typically just go for the pansit, and pork adobo (they have crazy looking stuff there; e.g. some noodle dish covered in a pepto-bismol looking sauce)
I would have gave this place 5 stars, but Tita's operations really needs refining. I came here around lunch time and the line coiled out of the door. I thought "fuck me...I'll wait it out". So after spending 25+ minutes, I get my food. I've noticed every time I go there, that the same person who starts your order finishes it. Instead, of walking back and forth, they should just be passing the items down the line, which would move the lines 2x faster during peak times.
Another thing to be mindful of is that they only accept cash, so make sure you have some, otherwise you'll be buying some shit you don't need from the market next door to get cash back.
Bang for ur buck is as philipino as manny pacquiao. This place delivers like a left hook from the champ himself. Good food, large portions, at a good price. Did I mention dey hab dee ahh turon, and daa halo halo? (freshly baked pan de sal a couple doors down)
Parking is surely the worst thing about coming to Tita's, but it's sometimes worth the effort when craving some good Filipino cuisine. I've had a bias that Conching's was my go-to spot since my parents and I would always go there for years and years. But my sisters converted to Tita's and I started to like this place after all.
I was in the neighborhood, visiting my parents, and my dad decided to buy food from here. My favorite Filipino dish happens to be adobo and my dad knows to order adobo whenever we order to-go from any Filipino spot. And they know how to cook adobo! Their sauce was delicious. My dad and I were soaking up all the sauce with the rice. And it wasn't as greasy as adobo usually is when it's not cooked at home. I have to admit that their bbq is better than Conchings. They probably have the best bbq from any Filipino joints in this area.
They also load up on the portion size - not good for the waist, but good for the wallet!
i posted up a picture of a to-go order of chicken adobo and pork adobo - it is not visually pleasing, but taste is what matters!
Damn this place is poppin! $6ish gets you a combo with rice, 2 dishes, and some sabaw. 3 stars because of high amounts of grease and salt, but those portions never let me down. The food isn't as good as it was years back though. Eat sparingly for health's sake.
I love their sisig and menudo. And I love that bbq smell from a block away
Mmm.. I love me some s&p chicken, lumpias, chicken adobo and the skewer things. Yum. Tita's is on the poppin' with their generous servings, holla.
Holy moley, this food was way tastier than I expected! I actually haven't truly had Filipino food before (which is insane because I really like trying new cuisine.) I was kind of in a bad mood when I got to the restaurant (no fault of the restaurant...just me) and when I starting eating the food my 'tude melted away. I had a BBQ chicken skewer and another stew-like dish with beef. They were both just super TASTY!
My only complaint would be cleanliess - the floor was pretty dirty. We also tried to ask the lady behind the counter for some help choosing food because we were newbies, and she didn't understand well enough (or have patience) to assist us.
If this is one of your first times with Filipino food, be prepared to just point because the menu on the wall doesn't give you any hints as to what's in any of the dishes or what they are called.
Anyway, I weill be back... it was so good, and a HUGE portion for cheap.
went in to get some food and the selection was not as i remembered from a previous visit. the floor were a little sticky which was a little gross, my kids were hungry so we just ended ordering food there. I ask the woman behind the counter if they were bringing any more food out and she told me thats it for tonight. ok, we will deal with what they have, but when i am ready to pay more trays of food was brought out. i looked at the woman and she just stared at me. i have had better experiences in the past tat this place but this last visit will be my last
Best BBQ chicken on a stick in SD!
Big portions, great prices. Just don't expect good customer service OR ambience! Take your food to go and enjoy it at home!
BTW, the BBQ chicken usually runs out by lunch time and parking... Good luck! Oh, and bring CASH!
I love their BBQ (both kinds).
Their portions are large.
Their servers are diminutive yet intimidating.
Some days I've gone and there was no BBQ, and that made me a sad panda, er, goat, even though their other steam table items are usually good.
Having sampled a few Filipino restaurants in National City with an overall positive experience, I decided to try Tita's Kitchenette, as well.
This restaurant is thoroughly disappointing. It is positioned in a strip mall on Highland, east of I-805. During the lunch window, the parking lot was crammed full.
Inside, things were moving... but not busy. Nonetheless I was hustled impolitely through the buffet line. The server used her thumb and an upper lip snarl to indicate I should move toward the register.
As I moved toward the register, the temperature shifted from hot and stuffy to 4th level of Hades inferno. The configuration of this restaurant patrons to stand in front of the grill as they wait to pay.
Tita's Kitchenette service did not improve at the register, either.
The food itself was barely average. I don't think I'll be coming back.
Get there early, or be prepared to wait. Heck, get there early AND be prepared to wait.
This place is probably THE spot to go for lunch in National City. I mean, half the local populous is in line during the lunch rush. They have a lot to choose from. They're probably the best known for their bbq skewers. And for good reason too. They're not only tasty, but also big. All too frequently have I seen Filipino "bbq" that isn't really bbq at all. Smothering it in sauce is not bbq. Skewering pieces of meat smaller than that found in canned Hormel chili is not bbq. Red, pink, or anything but charred and brown is not bbq.
The only con I have about this place is the traffic. Parking is okay as long as you don't mind walking. Try parking over behind Family Loompya. The real challenge though is trying to go west on E. Plaza Blvd. with all of the cross traffic.
This spot lacks style and decor but it more than makes up for it in the cuisine and the extremely generous portions that they give you.
Honestly I dont even know what I ate, I just knew it was chicken in some type of curry like concoction but it was damn good. The skewers were nice also but too sweet for my taste. Too much rice !! I asked for less but they wouldnt take it back ! haha
My coworkers were always raving about Titas and they finally convinced me to give it a try and...I liked it. I will be back but next time I'll be better prepared for the portions.
I wish I could give it more stars.
BBQ and Sisig is delightful.
I love how they give you Sabao (Sinigang) with each combo plate you buy. It's like getting a 3rd entree for free.
Lumpias and Pancit are bomb too.
They hella hook it up with food. Oh and if you're Ilocano and talk to them in the language, they give you almost double. Seriously.
Talk about a grease up the ying yang though. But what do you expect? It's Filipino food.
The place looks ghetto but who cares, get it to go. You won't be paying attention to your surroundings as you scarf down the Sisig.
Ya parking sucks, if you're a lazy as$ and hate parking in the spaces all the way in the back. Big deal.
I read someone's yelp about the service here. LOL.
Obviously not Filipino and knows nothing about Filipino culture. The workers may seem rude and snappy to get you through the line but don't take it personally.
BTW, they only accept cash.
i rolled into this joint about 130 in afternoon, on tuesday. i thought the lunch rush would be over. when i got in, there was 3 people in line before me, by the time i got my food and sat down, there was 6 people in line. and when i left at 2pm, there was still a line. im of the opinion that if you go to an ethnic food joint, filipino in this case. when you walk in, if theres lots of filipinos or mexicans, chinese, whatever the case may be, eating there, your gonna get some good authentic food.
i was right.
they give you huge portions, their lunch plate combo, 2 items and rice, is enough for 2 maybe 3 people, depending on how hungry you are.
i had the nilaga and bbq chicken skewers w some sinagang soup on the side. good stuff. if your lookin for a change from the usual chinese or thai take out, you gotta try this place, wont disappoint.
Love their Filipino BBQ Chicken and Pork.
We miss SAN DIEGO!!!!! They need to have this kind of Pinoy place up here in the Bay!!!! Mmmm...I can smell the barbecue smoke right now!!! Everything is hecka good here (when my wife and I are down there, we always share the menudo and barbecue chicken...ANG SARAP!!!)
Other than having to share parking spaces with the different stores in this busy little strip mall and Family Loompya next door, for really good Pinoy food, check out Tita's!!!
Seriously, just on the BBQ alone 5 stars.
If they had a better name for this place and cleaned it up, it could be the next Panda Express. Anyone want to go in on it? I'll be taking investment checks at the next Elite event. But I digress.
The place is a Panda Express style 1-2 item combination type of place except for that it's AUTHENTIC and Filipino people eat there and not just white collar people on lunch. If you're new to Filipino food definitely ask someone in line what to order, there's some Filipino food that even I don't eat. But if you like peanut sauce and pork, order the Kare-Kare (pronounced Kah-reh - Kah-reh), definitely in the running for "Best Filipino Dish in a Starring Role."
So all in all if you don't like the food here, you won't ever like Filipino food, but that's ok, more bbq chicken for me.
I am relatively new to Filipino food and I had not tried Filipino BBQ before tonight but overall I enjoyed it. Like people said, the portions are ridiculously big, especially for the price. We spent about $8 per person and had enough for another meal. I thought the octopus was a little tough but most of the other dishes that we tried were good, including the beefsteak and the adobo. The BBQ was probably one of our favorite things that we tried.
Okay I get It! this food Is good once every 5 months, I mean I would probably go next time I feel like havin a lil' asian in me . Deff. a place you need to try. The serving are very generous. Oh and the staff is just what you would expect... OOO WEE LAVE AMERICAA :)
The pork and chicken barbecues are excellent! Everyone should try it! Just imagining it makes me want to go back. $2.75 per barbecue stick is cheap considering the taste!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
National City, CA
Category: Filipino
National City, CA
Category: Bakeries
National City, CA
Category: Filipino
National City, CA
Category: Filipino
National City, CA
Category: Restaurants
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