Avenida Restaurant - San Mateo (CA)

4 /5 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.

5 /5 Tim: Filipino gf took me here to try my 2nd Filipino restaurant ever. I usually prefer hole in the walls over elevated places, but its Filipino approved (also saw many other Filipinos there). Made a reservation the day of, but it was actually not needed. Lots of empty tables when we arrived just fore 1pm on a Saturday and we were seated right away. They have both indoor and outdoor seating (with heat lamps). Parking is mostly paid (street and garage), but you can walk a few blocks west for free parking as well They started us off with some complimentary chicharrone and we ordered the sugba kilaw $20, chicken inasal $16, beef shank kaldereta $24, bangus sisig $17, garlic rice $4.75, halo halo milky ice $14. I liked how all of the food came in small or large portions, allowing you to try a variety. We ordered all small portions. All the food was good. Prices seemed fair for the quality and portions. The kaldereta and sisig were my favorites. Food came out pretty quickly. Service was decent. Clean, large sized restaurant. They have a full bar as well. I would go back and try more dishes or hit up their daily HH from 4-6:30pm

4 /5 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.

5 /5 Emily J: Really tasty Filipino food. Would highly recommend dining here. We went on a Saturday at lunch and made a reservation, but it wasn’t busy and could have been seated quickly. I’m pescatarian and they have plenty of dishes for only seafood eaters. The waiter was SUPER helpful in helping us select the best dishes, curating the menu for fish forward selections, and setting meat to the side so I could enjoy the main dishes too. I don’t eat Filipino food much but this restaurant is making me want to seek out more Filipino restaurants! I’d say my favorite dish was the coconut shrimp and the grilled squid. But all of our entrees were quite tasty. Definitely recommend Avenida for the vibes, food, and service!

4 /5 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.