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Boneless chicken thighs glazed in sweet soy sauce and topped with crushed peanuts go into a takeout bowl filled with bok choy and a poached egg.
A bowl of boneless chicken thighs glazed in sweet soy sauce features bok choy and an adobo-brined poached egg at Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly.
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Where to Find Fantastic Filipino Food Around D.C.

From turo turos with basic adobo and pancit to fancier options for lechon, lumpia, sisig, and all the ube pastries

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A bowl of boneless chicken thighs glazed in sweet soy sauce features bok choy and an adobo-brined poached egg at Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly.
| Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

The District, Maryland, and Virginia have long fostered a thriving Filipino community who could get their fix of lumpia (skinny egg rolls) and lechon kawali (crispy pork belly) from diners and turo turos — steam table buffets where customers order by pointing at hot trays of noodle-based pancit and chicken adobo.

Today around D.C. there’s a bigger variety of sit-down or takeaway Filipino fare than ever before, thanks to more pop-ups turning into long-term fixtures. That includes Filipino chef Paolo Dungca’s extended collaboration with Supreme Barbeque in Annandale and Balangay out of Bullfrog Bagels on H Street NE. And Filipino chef Jerome Grant’s roving, American-style Mahal BBQ is currently taking catering orders for the holidays.

For great grab-and-go options, turn to reliable grocers like Filipino Global Supermarket in Falls Church and Manila Oriental Market in Springfield.

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Gwenie's Pastries

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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.

Stella Fernandez shows off a big smile while putting fresh pastries into a display case
Stella Fernandez shows off a big smile while putting fresh pastries into a display case
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Kuya Ja's Lechon Belly

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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.

A cross section of rolled pork belly lechon complete with bronze, crispy skin, juicy pale meat, and a lemongrass and garlic stuffing at Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly.
A cross section of rolled pork belly lechon from Kuya Ja’s
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Manila Mart

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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.

A turo turo table at Manila Mart
A turo turo table at Manila Mart
Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Jollibee

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The worldwide fast-food chain from the Philippines with a hyper-loyal fanbase opened its first area outpost during the pandemic in Wheaton, Maryland’s Westfield mall. Hit orders include buckets of fried “chickenjoy” with brown gravy, “yumburgers,” sweet cheesy spaghetti loaded with hot dogs and ham, and peach mango handpies. This summer, some 2,500 guests showed up for opening day of its second area location in Alexandria, Virginia.

Egg Karne

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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.

Purple Patch

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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.

Sisig from Purple Patch.
Sisig from Purple Patch
Goran Kosanovic for The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Game Sports Pub/Tiki on 18th

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The below-ground spot in Adams Morgan is more than a sports bar. Its Filipino chef/owner Jo-Jo Valenzuela serves fried chicken and gravy, pig ear and pork belly sisig, and a plate of chicken or pork sliders on pan de sal rolls that he calls the Grilla in Manila. Popular pansit and an expanded list of lumpia spring rolls join new Filipino dish drops. Valenzuela’s spin on crispy dinuguan features crispy pork belly, pork shoulder, pork blood, vinegar, fish sauce, long pepper, and spices with rice. The Game is open for delivery, takeout, and indoor dining. Valenzuela sends the same menu to upstairs sibling Tiki on 18th, with $5 deals from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

PogiBoy

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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.

Casual Dining Column on Pogiboy
The To-Chinno burger on an ube bun at Pogiboy.
Photo by Scott Suchman for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Rose Ave Bakery

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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.

Ensaymada, or Filipino cheese rolls, from Rose Ave.
Ensaymada, or Filipino cheese rolls, from Rose Ave.
Rose Ave [official]

Balangay

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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.

Philippine Oriental Market & Deli

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This turo turo and grocery store serves standard fare like adobo and pancit. It’s open for takeout only.

Kamayan Fiesta Filipino Asian American Cuisine - Falls Church

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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.

First Bite - Kaliwa
Lumpia from Kaliwa
Washington Post via Getty Images

Fairfax Inn Restaurant

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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.

Supreme Barbeque

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A September pop-up between Filipino chef Paolo Dungca and local chain Supreme Barbeque was so popular, it’s now here to stay for the foreseeable future. Served exclusively out of Supreme’s Annandale, Virginia location, the collaboration calls for pork ribs tocino, smoked chicken insal with acharra and chili-vinegar, and cassava cornbread with macapuno butter. Supreme Barbeque owner Jeremy Canlas has experience combining Asian flavors with American barbecue at its dual D.C. locale, which serves 16-hour smoked brisket alongside brewed-to-order teas from Auntea Boba.

The long-term menu collaboration from Paolo Dungca and Supreme Barbeque in Annandale.
Supreme Barbeque

Kabayan Filipino

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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.

Gigi's Kitchen

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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.

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Gwenie's Pastries

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.

Stella Fernandez shows off a big smile while putting fresh pastries into a display case
Stella Fernandez shows off a big smile while putting fresh pastries into a display case
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Kuya Ja's Lechon Belly

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.

A cross section of rolled pork belly lechon complete with bronze, crispy skin, juicy pale meat, and a lemongrass and garlic stuffing at Kuya Ja’s Lechon Belly.
A cross section of rolled pork belly lechon from Kuya Ja’s
Rey Lopez/Eater D.C.

Manila Mart

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.

A turo turo table at Manila Mart
A turo turo table at Manila Mart
Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Jollibee

The worldwide fast-food chain from the Philippines with a hyper-loyal fanbase opened its first area outpost during the pandemic in Wheaton, Maryland’s Westfield mall. Hit orders include buckets of fried “chickenjoy” with brown gravy, “yumburgers,” sweet cheesy spaghetti loaded with hot dogs and ham, and peach mango handpies. This summer, some 2,500 guests showed up for opening day of its second area location in Alexandria, Virginia.

Egg Karne

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.

Purple Patch

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.

Sisig from Purple Patch.
Sisig from Purple Patch
Goran Kosanovic for The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Game Sports Pub/Tiki on 18th

The below-ground spot in Adams Morgan is more than a sports bar. Its Filipino chef/owner Jo-Jo Valenzuela serves fried chicken and gravy, pig ear and pork belly sisig, and a plate of chicken or pork sliders on pan de sal rolls that he calls the Grilla in Manila. Popular pansit and an expanded list of lumpia spring rolls join new Filipino dish drops. Valenzuela’s spin on crispy dinuguan features crispy pork belly, pork shoulder, pork blood, vinegar, fish sauce, long pepper, and spices with rice. The Game is open for delivery, takeout, and indoor dining. Valenzuela sends the same menu to upstairs sibling Tiki on 18th, with $5 deals from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

PogiBoy

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.

Casual Dining Column on Pogiboy
The To-Chinno burger on an ube bun at Pogiboy.
Photo by Scott Suchman for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Rose Ave Bakery

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.

Ensaymada, or Filipino cheese rolls, from Rose Ave.
Ensaymada, or Filipino cheese rolls, from Rose Ave.
Rose Ave [official]

Balangay

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.

Philippine Oriental Market & Deli

This turo turo and grocery store serves standard fare like adobo and pancit. It’s open for takeout only.

Kamayan Fiesta Filipino Asian American Cuisine - Falls Church

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.

Kaliwa

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.

First Bite - Kaliwa
Lumpia from Kaliwa
Washington Post via Getty Images

Fairfax Inn Restaurant

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.

Supreme Barbeque

A September pop-up between Filipino chef Paolo Dungca and local chain Supreme Barbeque was so popular, it’s now here to stay for the foreseeable future. Served exclusively out of Supreme’s Annandale, Virginia location, the collaboration calls for pork ribs tocino, smoked chicken insal with acharra and chili-vinegar, and cassava cornbread with macapuno butter. Supreme Barbeque owner Jeremy Canlas has experience combining Asian flavors with American barbecue at its dual D.C. locale, which serves 16-hour smoked brisket alongside brewed-to-order teas from Auntea Boba.

The long-term menu collaboration from Paolo Dungca and Supreme Barbeque in Annandale.
Supreme Barbeque

Related Maps

Kabayan Filipino

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.

Gigi's Kitchen

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.

Related Maps