Fil-Am

Here are 10 must-try Filipino eats in SF Peninsula

One food spot serves food the turo turo style

By: Mary Villegas - @inquirerdotnet

INQUIRER.NET U.S. Bureau / 06:15 AM January 10, 2024

Daly City is the best lead when hunting for Filipino cuisine around the Peninsula area and it will never fail you with a slew of Pinoy restaurants sprawled around the vicinity.

From pop-ups and food trucks to buffet-style food spots and even turo turo style can be found here. It’s not surprising – after all, San Francisco is home to 310,000 Filipinos, as confirmed by the Pew Research Center.

Best Filipino bakeries in the Peninsula

From señorita breads (Spanish bread as Pinoys call it) to hot pandesal, here’s where to go and pick those freshly baked Pinoy pastries.

The Bread Basket Bakery

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In Daly City, crunchy pandesal reigns in this family-owned bakery that has been around since 1977. You’ll have a nostalgic trip back home where every street is fuming with pandesal aroma in the mornings.

Dipped in your coffee or filled with scrambled eggs or spread — it’s perfect any time of the day.

Location: 7099 Mission St., Daly City
Contact: 650-994-7741

Starbread

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If you’re looking for something sweeter, Starbread’s Spanish bread or señorita bread is the way to go.

Slathered with sugar, butter and breadcrumbs served hot and fresh, these bread rolls have been winning hearts (and tummy) since 1988. It even comes in ube flavor.

Daly City Location: 980 King Drive, Daly City
Pacific Location: 1261 Linda Mar Shopping Center, Pacifica
Daly City Contact: 650-878-9524
Pacifica Contact: 650-733-7750

Valerio’s Tropical Bakeshop

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Chicken empanadas take flight in this bakeshop inside the Seafood City Supermarket in South San Francisco and other areas in the Bay Area. Another Spanish influence just like pandesal, this flaky pastry with a savory filling is a Pinoy favorite.

Location: 3535 Callan Blvd., South San Francisco
Contact: 650-878-1611

Cake Queen & Coffee Bar

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The star of their pastry ensemble? The ube tres leches — a delightful blend of Filipino ube and Mexican flair. Every slice promises a milky, deep-purple colored treat baked into perfection that you can order per slice or tray.

Location: 132 Brentwood Drive, South San Francisco
Contact: 650-593-2253

Filipino restaurants in Peninsula San Francisco

Isla

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Shareable Pinoy feasts are always a hit considering that us Filipinos are bonded by eating together especially if meals are handheld or kamayan.

Enter this Filipino restaurant in San Bruno where split bill meals turn them into momentous gatherings. Imagine this: grilled meat or fish, lumpia and sides laid out on banana leaves, a memorable experience.

Location: 448 San Mateo Ave., San Bruno
Contact: 650-872-5008

Tapsilog Bistro

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This silog haven in Campbell welcomes you to hearty all-day breakfast meals. From bacon to tapsilog, you can choose among their 20 varieties of

silog.

Location: 819 W Hamilton Ave., Campbell
Contact: 408-412-8926

Rene Rose Island Cuisine

A point-and-choose or turo turo style dining is one of the distinctions of this Filipino restaurant in the Peninsula. With the iconic adobo, crispy lechon kawali to savory pinakbet, every plate offers a taste of the Philippines.

Location: 621 Caliente Drive, Sunnyvale
Contact: 408-733-3691

Pamilya

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This Filipino restaurant in the Peninsula operates as a ghost kitchen. They offer bowls of Pinoy comfort food on-the-go. From gising gising to El Nido shrimp bowls, there’s a bowl for every choosy palate ready to be delivered on your doorstep.

Location: 426 MacArthur Ave., Redwood City
Contact: 650-374-9332

7 Mile House

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Not just a historical hangout established in 1989, the restaurant offers a fusion of Filipino, Italian and American cuisine. Indulge in the comfort food arroz caldo topped with ginger, green onions, garlic or an additional hard-boiled egg for $2.

Location: 2800 Bayshore Blvd., Brisbane
Contact: 415-467-2343

Pampaguena Cuisine

Bringing tropical Pinoy vibes to your dining experience, Pampaguena Cuisine’s kamayan-style eating is one of their selling points. Dig into their char siu-style pork, fried fish or fish but be sure to wash those hands first.

Location: 4441 Mission St., San Francisco
Contact: 415-586-8899

Chibog

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A local go-to for Pinoy comfort food, Chibog is a classic in the Bay Area’s culinary gamut. This food hub gets packed with families during the weekends enjoying their sizzling plates of bangus (milkfish) or pork sisig.