Avenida

Tommy Pak

Located in the heart of downtown San Mateo, this spot is surrounded by great shops, making it a perfect destination for a date night or a gathering with friends. Walking in, you’re welcomed by a modern yet casual dining space, with a beautifully designed bar framed by greenery and wood—giving you that island vibe. We celebrated my son’s birthday here with the whole family and took full advantage of the generous Filipino family-style portions. This was for 9 people. Our Feast Included: Crispy Pata 🐷 Bangus Sisig 🐟 Beef Kare Kare 🥜 Salmon Singing 🍣 Pancit bihon 🍜 Sugba Kilaw (Tuna & Pork Ceviche) 🐖🐟 Lumpia 🍤 Inihaw na Pusit (Grilled Jumbo Squid) 🦑 Plenty of Rice 🍚 Flan 🍮 – A sweet ending for the birthday celebration Everything here was top-tier Filipino food. We've tried many Filipino spots, but this is by far the best we’ve had. The Kare Kare paired with the Crispy Pata is an unbeatable combo, but the real surprise was the grilled squid—I could eat it every day! If you love Filipino food or want to try it for the first time, this is the best spot in the Bay. Make a reservation because it gets busy! 🌟

S Chin

This is my second time here. This is Filipino restaurant with a little twist. We ordered a lot of dishes considering we were a party of 4. The highlights were the drink Tokyo Sour and the Jeju. I loved their lumpia, pork and chicken adobo, pinakbet, grilled octopus,beef Kare Kare and garlic rice. Update: 06/03/2025 This location is becoming one of my favorite location to hang out and eat. We ordered: lumpia, pork and chicken adobo, beef kare kare, lechon kawali, beef shank, and pinakbet. For drinks: Tokyo sour, Pandan Daiquiri, and Johnny walker black. For dessert: Halo Halo , Buco Pandan and Turon. Everything was so good and wait staff was super friendly. I would definitely come back.

Prince Villanueva

This review is based on multiple visits for different occasions—whether it was lunch or dinner with friends and family, networking, celebrations, or even announcing my wedding! Since its opening, this place has improved significantly. Both the food and service have gotten better, and you can see it in the way the team interacts with customers. Keep up the great work!

First time eating here, dinner, and had an amazing first impression. Service was awesome, fast and attentive. Tropical mule, was great, boozey and balanced. All the food was delicious. Banana lumpia with Ube ice cream was a perfect way to finish off an amazing dining experience. 10 outta 10 would recommend would eat again.

Had an amazing experience dining here with my wife! We ordered everything in tapas-style portions (you can choose between tapas or full entrée sizes), which let us try a little bit of everything. The chicken skewers, beef adobo, and adobo rice were absolute standouts- packed with flavor and perfectly done. Hands down, this is the best Filipino restaurant we’ve been to. It’s refreshing to see Filipino cuisine presented in such an upscale, modern way while still staying true to its roots. A special shoutout to Ken Altman, the manager, for being so warm and hospitable. Thank you, Ken, for making the experience even better!

We held our daughter’s baptism reception here, and the food and service were absolutely amazing. My family’s diverse dietary restrictions (pescatarians, vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free) were all gracefully accommodated. Everyone had nothing but praise for how delicious the food was! I highly recommend this place for any event. A huge thank you to Sophia, Chef Herbert, Ken, and the Saturday squad for your outstanding service and hospitality. Keep up the great work!

Engrahm

Service is warm and on point. The staff are friendly, attentive, and they keep things moving without making you feel rushed. No confusion, just clear communication and solid follow through. The food hits Big. Big comfort, big flavor, ans generous portions. If you want Filipino food that’s legit and a place that’s run well, Avenida is it.

Noah Cerezo

Had an amazing experience dining here with my wife! We ordered everything in tapas-style portions (you can choose between tapas or full entrée sizes), which let us try a little bit of everything. The chicken skewers, beef adobo, and adobo rice were absolute standouts- packed with flavor and perfectly done. Hands down, this is the best Filipino restaurant we’ve been to. It’s refreshing to see Filipino cuisine presented in such an upscale, modern way while still staying true to its roots. A special shoutout to Ken Altman, the manager, for being so warm and hospitable. Thank you, Ken, for making the experience even better!

Richard De Guzman

We held our daughter’s baptism reception here, and the food and service were absolutely amazing. My family’s diverse dietary restrictions (pescatarians, vegetarians, vegans, and gluten-free) were all gracefully accommodated. Everyone had nothing but praise for how delicious the food was! I highly recommend this place for any event. A huge thank you to Sophia, Chef Herbert, Ken, and the Saturday squad for your outstanding service and hospitality. Keep up the great work!

If you’re looking for authentic Filipino delicacies, Avenida San Mateo is a must-visit. The portions are huge—definitely come hungry or bring a group to share! Just a heads-up: this place is always packed, so I highly suggest booking a table in advance. I’d even recommend ordering your food ahead of time if possible; otherwise, you might be waiting 30–45 minutes for your dishes during the peak lunch or dinner rush. Everything was great, but for me, the Tuna Ceviche, Crispy Pata, and the Sisig are the absolute bomb.

It was really fun to go check this out with my Filipino cousins! We all thought the food was excellent and they appreciated that chicken insal and crispy pata were on the menu. I appreciated the vegetarian options including the chop suey and the pancit. My best advice is do not sit in the front window space on a sunny day. It was so so so hot. The milky ice drinks at the end were refreshing given we were all baking in an oven and scrunching up into the tiny amount of shade at the end of our table.

The host was nice enough to seat us earlier than our reservation time for 8 people. He was very grateful that we made a reservation. The food was generally good. The crispy pasta, lumpia, garlic fried rice, and salmon sinagang were good. The halo halo was very good too. Other items were a bit hit or miss. The kare kare needed a bit more peanut flavor. The pancit bihon was good. The server was super nice. The restaurant was nicely decorated with Christmas trees and Christmas carols on the playlist. You can get the same quality of food for less at a turo turo place, but this is a good restaurant for a large group with very good service.

This place surprised me! Came here on a Friday night with 13 other people and everything went well without a hitch. (we made a reservation ahead of time - if you have a larger group you can book a private area for 3 hours with a $1250 minimum charge for up to 32 people). The servers were very accommodating and friendly. The portions of the foods are quite deceiving all of the dishes are very shareable between 3-4 people. We tried just about everything. The standouts were the pancit, the crispy Pata, the garlic rice, the sisig, and the lechon. The most disappointing dishes were the lumpia/chicken wings/fried chicken and fries - skip those and get something else. Also tried two of the desserts. The halo halo and pandan ice dessert. Definitely go for the pandan dessert if you like that flavor.

Great place for a group of people even though it was just the two of us tonight. But it’s so you can try out more dishes as the portions are huge. We had the pork knuckle and short ribs, which we ended up taking home because we needed to have room for dessert. Yes, they have halo halo!!

Left a huge positive impression on me! Little on the expensive side, but would do it again! The food was great and well served, the service was good and location is nice. If you get 2 dishes it is easily a big meal for 2 people. Highly recommend the Beef Shank Kaldereta, if you like red meat. If you are more of a seafood, the Inihaw na Pusit (squid) was also very flavorful, deliciously grilled. The desserts seemed to be a big selling point for this restaurant, but I'll be honest and say I wasn't particularly impressed by it at all. Maybe just not my kind of dessert.

The food here is pretty clean and good quality, like definitely upscale Filipino food, but idk, the fried tofu was okay, lacked flavor imo. Lumpias were super good, super light and crispy. Sinigang was a bit too sour for my taste, the kari kari was also lacking in flavor, almost too watery. Grilled squid was super fire, soft, juicy, flavorful, perfectly cooked. So a mixed review for sure, some items were a bit too pricey for the flavor, others were more deserving.

This place was one that I have been wanting to try for awhile, we went in and the restaurant itself was beautiful, perfect for a date night or night out with friends. The food itself was really good, the highlights for me were the pancit bihon and the adobo (which had a thick and flavorful sauce). Crispy pata was okay but such a small portion for the price. The calamansi juice was enjoyable but lacked a necessary tartness for me. It felt slightly diluted and maybe too much added sugar. My lola approved of the lumpia as well. My main take aways from this place were the very high price point(which isn’t too awful considering atmosphere and food quality but still), and the overall service. The service was okay enough to be acceptable but our waiter in short took our order and we never saw her again. The food was brought out by kitchen and our water was refilled by the bartender. The bartender also got our check and boxes. It was pretty slow but I don’t know if our waiter went on break or something but there was a period of time where we wanted to ask for things but we had no waiter and weren’t sure if we were supposed to ask the bartender. Overall a good spot, would recommend for smaller parties but maybe not the best for accommodating big families with higher maintenance tables.

Avenida was an elusive restaurant for us to visit since the wait times are so long ! We got lucky and got seated with no reservations within 5 minutes on a saturday evening. Truly lucky. It was with much anticipation that we got to finally taste the food here. The food didn’t quite meet expectations but it was still very good. My favorite dish was the Shrimp Gambas. There was happy hour on the weeknd’s, so we got the dish for a great price ! Overall, the staff was great. I had a fun time here. The inside was very beautiful, and the underrated it for the holidays.

Enzo Tan

If you’re looking for authentic Filipino delicacies, Avenida San Mateo is a must-visit. The portions are huge—definitely come hungry or bring a group to share! Just a heads-up: this place is always packed, so I highly suggest booking a table in advance. I’d even recommend ordering your food ahead of time if possible; otherwise, you might be waiting 30–45 minutes for your dishes during the peak lunch or dinner rush. Everything was great, but for me, the Tuna Ceviche, Crispy Pata, and the Sisig are the absolute bomb.

Joe Maravillas

The host was nice enough to seat us earlier than our reservation time for 8 people. He was very grateful that we made a reservation. The food was generally good. The crispy pasta, lumpia, garlic fried rice, and salmon sinagang were good. The halo halo was very good too. Other items were a bit hit or miss. The kare kare needed a bit more peanut flavor. The pancit bihon was good. The server was super nice. The restaurant was nicely decorated with Christmas trees and Christmas carols on the playlist. You can get the same quality of food for less at a turo turo place, but this is a good restaurant for a large group with very good service.

Alicia DiGiammarino

It was really fun to go check this out with my Filipino cousins! We all thought the food was excellent and they appreciated that chicken insal and crispy pata were on the menu. I appreciated the vegetarian options including the chop suey and the pancit. My best advice is do not sit in the front window space on a sunny day. It was so so so hot. The milky ice drinks at the end were refreshing given we were all baking in an oven and scrunching up into the tiny amount of shade at the end of our table.

Colin Huang

This place surprised me! Came here on a Friday night with 13 other people and everything went well without a hitch. (we made a reservation ahead of time - if you have a larger group you can book a private area for 3 hours with a $1250 minimum charge for up to 32 people). The servers were very accommodating and friendly. The portions of the foods are quite deceiving all of the dishes are very shareable between 3-4 people. We tried just about everything. The standouts were the pancit, the crispy Pata, the garlic rice, the sisig, and the lechon. The most disappointing dishes were the lumpia/chicken wings/fried chicken and fries - skip those and get something else. Also tried two of the desserts. The halo halo and pandan ice dessert. Definitely go for the pandan dessert if you like that flavor.

Khanh Nguyen

Great place for a group of people even though it was just the two of us tonight. But it’s so you can try out more dishes as the portions are huge. We had the pork knuckle and short ribs, which we ended up taking home because we needed to have room for dessert. Yes, they have halo halo!!

Wolf Fivousix

Left a huge positive impression on me! Little on the expensive side, but would do it again! The food was great and well served, the service was good and location is nice. If you get 2 dishes it is easily a big meal for 2 people. Highly recommend the Beef Shank Kaldereta, if you like red meat. If you are more of a seafood, the Inihaw na Pusit (squid) was also very flavorful, deliciously grilled. The desserts seemed to be a big selling point for this restaurant, but I'll be honest and say I wasn't particularly impressed by it at all. Maybe just not my kind of dessert.

Michael Pay

The food here is pretty clean and good quality, like definitely upscale Filipino food, but idk, the fried tofu was okay, lacked flavor imo. Lumpias were super good, super light and crispy. Sinigang was a bit too sour for my taste, the kari kari was also lacking in flavor, almost too watery. Grilled squid was super fire, soft, juicy, flavorful, perfectly cooked. So a mixed review for sure, some items were a bit too pricey for the flavor, others were more deserving.

Kara G

This place was one that I have been wanting to try for awhile, we went in and the restaurant itself was beautiful, perfect for a date night or night out with friends. The food itself was really good, the highlights for me were the pancit bihon and the adobo (which had a thick and flavorful sauce). Crispy pata was okay but such a small portion for the price. The calamansi juice was enjoyable but lacked a necessary tartness for me. It felt slightly diluted and maybe too much added sugar. My lola approved of the lumpia as well. My main take aways from this place were the very high price point(which isn’t too awful considering atmosphere and food quality but still), and the overall service. The service was okay enough to be acceptable but our waiter in short took our order and we never saw her again. The food was brought out by kitchen and our water was refilled by the bartender. The bartender also got our check and boxes. It was pretty slow but I don’t know if our waiter went on break or something but there was a period of time where we wanted to ask for things but we had no waiter and weren’t sure if we were supposed to ask the bartender. Overall a good spot, would recommend for smaller parties but maybe not the best for accommodating big families with higher maintenance tables.

I’ve passed by this place countless times and have always been curious to try it out. Finally, I had the chance, and I was really hoping to write a glowing review. The staff is definitely one of the highlights here — super friendly, attentive, and genuinely welcoming. The atmosphere is cozy and inviting, perfect for a laid-back meal. Unfortunately, the food just didn’t do it for me. I found all the dishes I ordered to be overly salty (except the squid dish), which kind of ruined the experience for me. It’s disappointing because the restaurant has so much potential, but none of the flavors quite hit the mark for my taste buds. That said, I think everyone has different preferences when it comes to seasoning, so you might feel differently. If you're in the area, it could still be worth checking out. Taste is subjective, after all. So, give it a try and see how you like it!

This restaurant has been on my radar for awhile and decided to bring some friends along. This place is modern, I like the setting and vibe. I was disappointed because the food was not authentic Filipino food. The presentations are great, I'll give you that but the food threw my taste buds aside. We ordered Lumpia & Chicken Inasal for the appetizers and to start for the Mains, we chose Lechon Kawali & Beef Kare-Kare. Lumpia was good, Chicken Inasal was burnt and dry on the inside (yes it was soft but not delicious), Lechon Kawali was alright (I had better), and the Beef Kare-Kare did not have its thick content, it was liquid (beef was tender). I was stoke to try the desserts but we chose not to. If the food doesn't match my scale, then it won't be the same for desserts. Cocktails are alcohol, they never disappoint. Service overall was great, though busy on a Saturday night, we were not upset. This restaurant has potential, work towards the dishes and maybe I or other people who agree will understand.

Cindy N

I’ve passed by this place countless times and have always been curious to try it out. Finally, I had the chance, and I was really hoping to write a glowing review. The staff is definitely one of the highlights here — super friendly, attentive, and genuinely welcoming. The atmosphere is cozy and inviting, perfect for a laid-back meal. Unfortunately, the food just didn’t do it for me. I found all the dishes I ordered to be overly salty (except the squid dish), which kind of ruined the experience for me. It’s disappointing because the restaurant has so much potential, but none of the flavors quite hit the mark for my taste buds. That said, I think everyone has different preferences when it comes to seasoning, so you might feel differently. If you're in the area, it could still be worth checking out. Taste is subjective, after all. So, give it a try and see how you like it!

Katharine King

I ordered Sugba Kilaw and Pancit Bihon, Sugba Kilaw was kind of impressive, but Pancit Bihon, the reason I gave 3 star is: the dishes had too much MSG, the whole afternoon was really thirsty. I had seat next to the staffs entrance to kitchen, got so many in-n-out walking by, very disturbing. And service just ok, I sit and waited for 17 minutes then someone came to me to bring the water, I almost decided to leave. And it's not that busy tho.