Overseen by Stella Fernandez, whose brother Javier runs Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly, this storefront supplies other local Filipino restaurants and markets with sweets developed by their mother, Gwendolyn. Try the ube cupcakes, with a vibrant color coming from the purple yam that’s a staple of Filipino desserts.

Chef Javier Fernandez has amassed a massive Maryland following for his signature lechon. With its crispy skin and moist, well-seasoned meat, the roasted pork belly tastes as good out of a to-go container as it does in the store. One could subsist on lechon alone, but don’t miss out on the crispy adobo fried chicken sandwich, lumpia, and bowls full of pancit or grilled adobo chicken on takeout or delivery. This summer, the team debuted Lapu Lapu in Gaithersburg with pan de sal breakfast sandwiches and ube soft serve. Stay tuned for Fernandez’s forthcoming Extra Rice DMV at Chevy Chase’s new food hall.

Since 1996, this Beltsville storefront has operated as a grocery store and turo turo serving Filipino staples like lumpia, adobo, and pancit. After a long renovation, Manila Mart opened its expanded grocery and cafe space in the summer of 2020. Order delivery and pickup here.

This Filipino food stand that got its start in Asian supermarket chain 99 Ranch has a new home in the cafe at Herndon Centennial Golf Course. Along with generous bowls with garlic rice, a lumpia, and a choice of sisig or adobo pork belly, there are fast-food adaptations such as an ube burger, with the buns taking on the purple hue of the yam, a breakfast sandwich with egg, cheese, garlic-heavy sausage longganisa, and pork belly fries. Order ahead online.

Owner Patrice Cleary, who was born in the Philippines, opened this Mt. Pleasant standby in 2015, making it part of the first wave of local Filipino restaurants in an upscale setting. The sizzling, spicy pork belly and pork shoulder sisig remains a favorite brunch dish, along with such staples as longanisa (sweet garlic sausage) and tocino (sweet grilled pork). Purple Patch is open for takeout, delivery, and indoor/outdoor dining. It’s also ideal for groups.

Downtown food hall the Block is home to a Filipino American fast-food menu that got cover cred on Food & Wine this summer. Tom Cunanan, the James Beard Award-winning force behind D.C.’s now-closed Bad Saint, teams up with fellow Filipino chef Paolo Dungca to make fried chicken sandwiches with a seasoning mix featuring tamarind powder and long pepper that tastes like sinigang, a sour soup. Adobo chicken nuggets with spicy banana ketchup are also a fan favorite. Dungca also runs Filipino tasting menu spot Hiraya out of the same food hall, with $95-per-person seatings on Friday and Saturday nights.

Vietnamese-American chef Rosie Nguyen offers a variety of Asian pastries at her in-demand bakery inside the Block’s downtown food hall. That includes ensaymada, a Filipino cheese roll that’s one of the cuisine’s most popular desserts, and ube cake. Nguyen just shared construction progress of Rose Ave’s future home in Woodley Park.

Filipino chef Erwin “Wing” Villarias, who hails from the island province of Palawan, opened this pop-up out of Bullfrog Bagels in 2021. Its lumpia, crispy pork belly, fried calamari with squid ink proved to be so popular, it’s now here to stay. Balangay, which means “wooden boat,” centers around vegan, meat, and seafood dishes that remind him of home. At the 2022 Embassy Chef Challenge, he picked up the the “People’s Choice Award” for his best-selling chicken inasal he marinates for 24 hours in lemongrass, coconut milk, garlic and ginger sauce. It’s served with toasted garlic rice, pickled papaya, fried enoki mushroom, and chili. Don’t sleep on the vibrant ube cocktails. Open for takeout, delivery, and dine-in via Resy.

This locally-owned Filipino restaurant from Springfield, Virginia expanded to Falls Church last fall with family-style breakfast, lunch, and dinner combos. Chicken adobo and pancit joins pork sinigang (a sour, tamarind-based soup with local vegetables) and boiled mung beans sauteed in garlic and onions with bittermelon. A newer outpost sits in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Chef Cathal Armstrong and Meshelle Armstrong, whose family ran a popular Filipino restaurant for decades, serve staples like lumpia and more creative options like adobo brisket sandwiches at their high-end restaurant for Filipino, Korean, and Thai food. Kaliwa is open for takeout, Uber Eats delivery, and dine-in seating at the Wharf development on the Southwest Waterfront.

Owner Solita Adler, who hails from the Pampanga region of the Philippines, began serving dishes from her homeland in this Seven Corners diner in 2008. Breakfast entrees like rellenong talong, an eggplant and pork omelet that’s difficult to find, are an indication of how important the meal is in Filipino cuisine. Fairfax Inn is open for breakfast and lunch daily.

Oxon Hill and Fort Washington, Maryland, have long been home to a thriving Filipino community. This strip mall turo turo offers staples like adobo, pancit, and lechon kawali for takeout.

Along with pizza and lasagna, this Fort Washington eatery serves lumpia Shanghai and baked goods such as siopao (steamed buns filled with pork or chicken) and pan de sal, a baked roll that’s filled with adobo and offered in varieties like baliwag (a small sweet roll) and pan de ube (made with purple yam). Open for delivery and takeout.