If a cute cafe serving Filipino food is your style, this Encinitas eatery checks all the boxes. The food is made-to-order and includes some dishes you’ll find served in private homes in the grilled, braises and stews portion of the menu. Grilled milkfish, beef stew (caldereta) and vegetable coconut stew (ginataan) are a few entrees to explore.

Filipino bakeries like Valerio’s abound in San Diego but at Andell’s, they take pandesal, a sweet roll, and transform it into a sandwich. Fillings include spam, eggs, cheese, fried bananas, peanut butter, chicken adobo, sardines with olives and corned beef. Also try cheese ensaymada, a Filipino-style brioche bun topped with cheese, butter and sugar.

This turo-turo (point-point) spot covers all the bases with its selection of beloved Filipino dishes. Some good ones include dilis (fried anchovies), sinigang and kare-kare. But R & B excels in their lechon kawai (fried pork belly). It’s served with a potent vinegar dipping sauce to cut through the fat.

Fried chicken headlines the menu at this Filipino chain but it’s unlike the fried bird you may be familiar with. Max’s fried chicken is not breaded. Instead you get flavorful crispy skin hiding succulent meat underneath. Don’t skip out the banana ketchup dipping sauce, either. Recommended sides include garlic fried rice plus sinigang, a hearty tamarind soup served with your choice of pork or shrimp.

This mini-chain with locations in Barrio Logan and Carmel Valley tout fusion bowls but the menu is loaded with familiar Filipino dishes like adobo. The adobo bowl features braised pork belly with adobo sauce and soft boiled egg atop of rice. Or opt for the chicken longanisa bowl featuring sweet-garlicky Filipino sausage with garlic fried rice.

If you’re familiar with Chinese mooncakes, then hopia isn’t a big stretch. This National City bakery bakes theirs in-house and sells varieties filled with ube, buko pandan, mongo (mung bean), pineapple, baboy (winter melon) and langka (jackfruit). If they have it, don’t bypass the ube crinkle cookies or garlic peanuts.

Newbies to the cuisine acknowledge Tita’s Kitchenette is the place to visit for ready-made Filipino fare. Steam tables are filled with the usual suspects like lumpia and adobo, but those willing to expand their tastes should try dinuguan, affectionally called chocolate meat by many Filipinos. There’s no chocolate in the dish— instead, pork pieces are stewed in pig blood, garlic and spices.

One step inside this cozy bakery and you’ll be welcomed with colorful sweets that include coconut milk and glutinous rice. Buy small variety packs with a selection of kalamay, kutsina, pitsi-pitsi, puto and maja blanca. And don’t miss out on bibingka, an addictive sticky rice cake topped with brown sugar and coconut milk, or turon, basically banana lumpia with a caramel coating.

Just by the name alone, you can guess this is one of the many spots to grab Filipino cuisine in National City. The menu includes delicacies from three regions. For example, there’s kare-kare (peanut stew with bok choy, eggplant, oxtail, tripe and beef shank) from Luzon, ubod (crepe-style lumpia stuffed with coconut heart, carrots, celery, crab and pork) from Visayas, and kinilaw (seafood marinated in vinegar) from Mindanao. Villa Manila’s real claim to fame is their kamayan-style dining, a Filipino tradition where food is laid out on banana leaves and guests eat with their hands.

This National City spot caters to Filipino street food meaning almost everything is skewered. A few dollars can fetch hot dogs, pork, chicken, beef, quail eggs, sesame balls and more. The food extends into Filipino comfort food like lugaw or arroz caldo, a chicken rice porridge seasoned with garlic, ginger and fish sauce, available only on Fridays and Saturdays.

With more than 100 locations worldwide, the branch of this Philippines-based eatery at Westfield Plaza Bonita is one of a small handful in the U.S. Known for its large, shareable platters of food, the menu offers an array of grilled items like inihaw na pusit as well as as classic dishes including sisig and crispy pata.