Kalesa

A lot of my filo friends come to Kalesa so I was excited to dine here! My friend made a reservation for the four of us but we were running late, however they were super accommodating! The atmosphere itself was inviting and bustling, expect a lot of conversations! We ordered Sisig, Lumpiang Shanghai, Chicken Inasal, Pancit Bihon, & Shrimp Sinigang! The Sisig and Sinigang for me in particular was memorably delicious, I loved the tenderness of the meat and pairing the sour soup with rice was amazing. The Pancit fell a little flat for me, it tasted a bit bland and not as flavorful. Chicken Inasal and Lumpia you can never go wrong with ordering! We absolutely ADORED getting the Turon ala mode for dessert, the fried banana rolls just compliments the mango and ube ice cream so well! Personally it was the perfect dessert to share after a hearty meal.

When I go to Filipino restaurants I really only care about the crispy pata (4/5) and kalesa makes them really well! For sure will come back here just for that alone :)The pancit bihon (2.5/5) in my opinion wasn't very good but it depends on the person. I thought it lacked flavor. Halo-halo (4/5) was very good though. So my recs would be crispy pata and halo-halo :)

A great place to eat with the family. The interior feels homely and familiar. Staff are personable. We didn't know they were closing at 7 and we came in at 6:30 with a big party. They were still willing to serve us. The pork sisig was okay. It didn't have a fried egg, so it felt like something was missing from the dish. I did appreciate the portion size as it is one of the bigger portions I've seen of sisig from a restaurant. The pork and bangus sinigang was salty and sour. The meat was tender and the medley of vegetables were great. As a soup lover, I also loved how much soup the dish had. It paired so well with rice and the other fatty dishes we ordered. The lechon kawali was delightful. It was rich and had a light crunch. The crispy pata was hefty and the meat wasn't dry. The soy sauce based dipping sauce paired great with the fatty pork. The chopsuey was great assortment of vegetables and meat. They did not hold back on the shrimp and pork either. My favorite dish was the chicken inasaal. It was tender and cooked so well. Each piece had the perfect amount of char and the meat was flavored all the way through. It didn't need any sauces. I know good Filipino food and this was good Filipino food. Definitely bring your family and friends here if you have a big group. We ordered so much food and we paid around $30 per person, we were stuffed!

I have a huge update! I came here yesterday for an early dinner with my wife and we had an amazing experience. This is my first time dining inside and the place is pretty spacious with lots of tables dripped in white linen and silverware. I automatically smelled the sizzling smoke from the fried fish and pork in the air which was welcoming. There were a lot of people eating inside as well as celebrating a special birthday or get together. It was pretty festive yesterday. We thoroughly enjoyed their pork sinigang with white rice. The pork belly meat was cooked perfectly and soaked the soup. The vegetable are crisp and has it's vibrant color on them. At first glance, the sinigang looked bland with it's pale and half-cooked look to it. But after eating and sipping the soup, the balance of salt & pepper and seasoning was just right.The ukoy is thick and cakey with huge chunks of meaty shrimps. The texture was perfect with it's fried coating having a nice crisp. I love dipping it into vinegar and chowing down. This is a must with rice. Their pork sizzling sisig was so great tasting. The loud sizzle from the meat did it for me. The taste reminded me of thinly sliced Vietnamese lemongrass pork chop which by any means, is so delicious and worth it. There is a lot meat in this dish and works perfect with the blend of freshly diced jalapenos and onions. I do however, like my sisig with squeezed lemon juice to give it that kick. I also like my sisig a bit saucier BUT that's ok. For dessert, we shared a halo-halo which was served in this goblet glass cup, and topped with ice, condensed milk, ice cream, jellies and flan. This is also delicious and one of the best I've have. They serve large portions of food here which is all worth the while. I am a huge fan of this place and will love to come back again. To me, this is the best in the area for Filipino food.

I was invited by my uncle and his wife to this restaurant for my grandmother's 83rd birthday. This restaurant is quite fancy for a place that serves ordinary Filipino food. I love how most items from the menu are displayed to see how they look like though they won't exactly replicate them being served to us, which is why I decided to take pictures of them.The food is good though, but some food needs to be a bit warmed up like the pancit. Some tastes alright but they don't really stand out. Most of them taste like home since I grew up in a Filipino household. The portions of the entrees are appropriate for hosting a party. Desserts are amazing though!I recommend going to this restaurant for friends and family if you're willing to try Filipino food in the Bay Area.

A great spot to have some good Filipino food. We like coming here with our family. The portions are good and deliciously made. The service is quick and the staff is kind. They do sweet things for birthdays. We ordered our favorites, pancit, Kare kare, crispy pata, bulalo, bulaklak and halo halo. The bulaklak is my all time favorite. Great crunch and flavor! Kare Kare is very creamy and has a lot of meat and veggies. We had to take some food Togo cause we couldn't finish it all since we saved room for halo halo.

We went here for a quick bite and our server was really nice. I wish I remembered his name. He was attentive and anticipated we needed to go containers. He brought them out before we asked. The lumpia was good, crispy and flavorful. The ukoy was large for appetizers. The halo halo was delicious. You have the option of choosing two scoops of ice cream: ube, avocado, mango or jackfruit. The restaurant was clean and got busy after 6:30 pm.

Service was excellent. Gigi was very personable and attentive to our needs making sure our drinks were always toped off!! Ambiance was nice. Tables were not too close to each other and noise level was tolerable.Food:1) Crispy Dinuguan - very tasty and pork was not fatty. 5 of 52) Pancit Miki Bihon - flavor was slightly bland 3 of 5. Seemed like it was missing something but could not figure it out3) Pinakbet - kind of soupy and we liked as it was not too salty. 4 of 54) Chicken Inasal - flavor was spot on so 5 of 55) Crispy pata - excellent 5 of 56) lumpia shanghai was slightly over cooked 3 of 57) calamari was also spot on so 5 of 5We know what to order at the next visit and we look forward to having Gigi service us. She is great and we really enjoyed interacting with her!!

I had a reservation 8 and we ordered quite a bit of food and shared family style. Everyone loved the kare kare with Crispy pata and the bagoong. The lumpia Shanghai and the pancit were delicious with fresh ingredients and veggies. The sinagang soup was so comforting. Most of us ordered the halo halo for dessert. The food came out super fast and service was ok. We had to ask for water multiple times tho. I will say the prices here are quite high compared to other restaurants in general. The kare kare was almost $30 and most of the items on the menu are $20 and above. Even the halo halo was $8+. It's a great place to go if you're craving good quality Filipino food but if you want a less expensive option go to another spot

Kalesa has been a great spot for catering and large parties for our family. The food is traditional like homemade and tasty! The staff was helpful w/ our group of 30 on a Sat night. Previous they catered for us for 75 people. Parking is easy w/ a lot outside.