Avenida Restaurant

Authentic Filipino food with an upscale vibe. Great cocktails too! Definitely going to come back and try the other items on the menu!

Wonderful and accommodating staff! I made a reservation for 8 people, and an hour before the reservation, my party of 8 turned into a party of 18. Called to explain, and they were quick to make room for us, though we did have to sit at 2 separate tables nearby.Food is great. I've never had Filipino food before, but there's a large selection and everything is meant to be shared family style. Everyone loved their meals.My favorite was the ceviche. Large chunks of tuna, super light and refreshing, and then it's topped with grilled pork!Also do not worry if you don't eat pork! We had several people in our group who don't eat pork and there was still plenty on the menu they were able to eat.

I don't know about this place. Every time I've been here the prices just keep getting higher. Usually, when a Filipino restaurant opens up, it can be trusted to serve its community and to be a place of gathering and celebration. Avenida feels like it's doing the opposite and fleecing Filipinos for their hard earned dollar. There is absolutely no way sinigang should be priced at $27-$44. Not when they're just using seasoning packets. That's like going out for Ramen and getting Maruchan Instant Ramen. Let me know when they put real effort into their food and make sinigang with real tamarind but don't charge me an arm and a leg for something I have often at home. I asked our server what the preparation for the wings were and they said, "Honestly, I think we just get them from Costco." Strike 2. Then when it was time for dessert, I asked for coffee and surprise! They were using a Keurig! Not even a Bunn-o-matic. I would have been content with French press at the table. At least it's a little artisan. But they were like, 'Here's your coffee that you totally could make at home at the push of a button.' Tantamount to microwaving my meal. Seriously, where is the effort?Speaking of effort, servers here are green and move without purpose. Our server was nice enough but a bit too casual with the verbiage saying things like, "I gotchu!" and "F'sho". I'm your guest, not your boy. Lolas have lived too long and through too much crap to be spoken to without due deference. I also had to check them on their carriage of our soup bowls and drinks with their thumb deep in the parabola and fingers near the rim of the glass. This isn't representative of Filipino hospitality. Most folks here know, if you come to a Filipino home, you will be blown away by the generosity and warmth. None of which you'll find in this soulless cash-grab of a place. Stick to Daly City where you can get authentic flavors at a better value as well as a real sense of intentionality and concern over your experience.

I went here on a Saturday night and was able to get seated pretty quick! I usually don't get filipino food much, but this restaurant made me love filipino food more :') The beef kare kare was amazing!! The beef itself was super tender and the kare kare went so well together. It was on the pricier side though for around $40. But I wanted to give it a one time try and it was worth it for me. The pork sisig got salty at times. But i liked how it came with a lotttt of pork. Like the value was great, and otherwise it tasted good!The garlic rice sides were a nice touch. One annoying thing was the table being wobbly where we were seated. But we got used to it over time.

Had a great "eat and yap" session with the girls! We came in as a party of four and were surprised by how quiet the restaurant was. We had a reservation for 6:30PM, which seemed unnecessary since there was still plenty of seating even after we left two hours later.The ambiance is modern and well put together. Definitely not your typical Filipino restaurant. Everything was spotless, including the bathroom which, thankfully, didn't have any unpleasant odors lol. Service was excellent; our food arrived in a timely manner, and the servers consistently refilled our water container without us having to ask.As for the food, it was amazing! The portions were generous, perfect for family-style dining. We only ordered two dishes which were the Crispy Pata and Beef Kare Kare along with three bowls of garlic rice to share, and we ALMOST finished everything. The flavors were well balanced, and I especially appreciated that the Kare Kare wasn't overwhelmingly peanut buttery or watered down.Given the portion sizes, food quality, and overall cleanliness of the restaurant, the pricing felt absolutely worth it. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be back! It's a great spot for larger gatherings like birthdays or celebrations, where you can try a wider variety of dishes in one sitting.

I've been wanting to try this place since they opened in downtown San Mateo and my first experience wasn't a pleasant one. Back in 2023, I had emailed them to reserve a table for 12 people for a celebration reunion with my classmates from the Philippines. Thought this restaurant it would be ideal (for obvious reasons), but nobody ever got back to me. Even calls to speak with the manager went nowhere. I had to reserve another venue, and I finally received a response from them after the planned reunion. In a nutshell, the excuse given was they were busy and will use it as a learning experience.Water under the bridge so moving on, I decided to take the Wifey here for dinner back in November of last year with the two dogs in tow. We didn't have reservations, so the only option was to dine on their parklet. We didn't mind the cold, as long as we had a nice heater to keep us warm. We ordered the following:Pork Sisig ($27 with egg +$2) Seasoned pork, chopped and sauteed with spices on a sizzling plate. Looking at the picture, let me state the obvious: the egg yolk was already broken, and it was already cooked. They didn't even allow us the experience of mixing the egg with the rest of the dish, and the taste was mid at best. The texture of the pork was also flossy as it wasn't the typical sisig that I'm used to. Crispy Pata ($39.50) They describe it as crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside. All true, but at this price point, I wanted it to wow me. It was lacking in flavor, and it was cooked inconsistently with some chunks of meat being too hard. Nothing too special, and you can get a similar dish at other Filipino restaurants at half the price. Sinigang ($11) Veggies and broth only. This hits the spot as the sourness of the broth was just right and it warmed us on a cold, chilly night. Pinakbet ($23) Stir-fried string beans, eggplant, bittermelon, okra, squash, shrimp, pork, shrimp paste and topped with chicharrones. This was the best-tasting food among the dishes that we ordered. All the ingredients complemented each other as it was well-balanced. As far as service goes, it was also inconsistent as we were initially told that we could sit at a table near the door but then changed it to the parklet as that table was reserved. Our server also changed (understandable) that caused us to wait on a request that we had to repeat. All in all, there were hits and misses and a mix bag of everything else from my very first experience to the most recent one. I'm still giving them 3 stars, and that's being generous since I want them to improve, be more consistent and be better. Hopefully on our next visit.

I never eat Filipino food because I am Filipino & I rather cook it myself but this place did NOT disappoint. Usually Filipino restaurants have a TON of salt & oil, but this place doesn't make their food like that. The service was great, and the ambiance reminds me of the Philippines. We ate at the bar since it was booked on a Friday night. Drink 5/5:SPICED TRADE SANGRIA- delicious drink & it was beautiful too!Food 5/5:-Chicken skewers: great seasoning, not dry at all & tons of flavor!-Garlic rice: great amount of garlic-Beef kare kare: soft beef, great mix of veggies, and very tasty!-Tortang tolang: egg plant omelette cooked to perfection!Definitely coming back again. I'm Bisaya, so dahang salamat, mobisita mi puhon :)

Came here for a Christmas dinner with the family! Everything was so delicious, some notable favorites of mine were the jumbo squid, lumpia, crispy pata (pork knuckle), and milky ice buko pandan. The jumbo squid and pork knuckle were cooked perfectly, so the texture was amazing. The pandan dessert had such a nice pandan flavor and was a great way to end the meal. All the servers were super kind and helpful during our dinner. The interior was quite nice and had a cozy feeling to it. Would definitely recommend and come again!

Located centrally in downtown. Parking is a hit or miss, it's either metered parking or the parking garage.This place is easy to do walk in, but do recommend reservations for the weekend. Service is always amazing. I have eaten here multiple times being seated outside, in the dining area, and at the bar. The restaurant is really nice inside, the bar area is tastefully done. 5/5 - for the lumpia and garlic rice. The pandan old fashion is the best alcoholic dish there. Get the halo halo, it's done really well here. 3.5/5 - for the pancit and pork belly/tofu appetizer.Everything I have eaten here in the past has been relatively good. Recommend the pork knuckles. It's super crispy and the portion size is easily shared amongst 3-4 people.

Made a reservation for a Friday night at 7pm for 2 though it seems like there were plenty of spots open! I've walked by a few times and they were packed in the past so I was truly surprised! This is my second time here and I ordered the crispy pork knuckle again. I remember it to be better the first time - this time, it felt like it was too crispy and it made it hard to bite. I also noticed that our portion was smaller than 2 other parties that ordered it... not sure if this is a quality assurance issue but we were eyeing everybody else's because they had more meat on theirs!! The pork/chicken adobo is a pass, it's simple and homey but not my usual cup of tea. The garlic rice was very flavorful thought! The pork belly was nice and juicy and the pandan dessert wasn't too sweet and was the perfect way to end the meal. I would get those two again!