I've tried to root for this place but they haven't made it easy. I want them to do better. I'm writing this so it reaches them and as a heads up for anyone who might be considering ordering from their catering menu. First: the current number and email on the site aren't the way to go (tried these first and there was an email exchange with choppy answers and no follow through). Calling the specific restaurant did get me through to finally order one week ahead, but generally: poor communication. I went over each request carefully. I even called them the day before the 10am pickup to make sure I could come at 10am for everything and they voluntarily went over the slicing of the desserts (I was like wow, that's thorough). I had a time sensitive schedule to receive deliveries elsewhere by 11am. When I arrived, only a third of the order was ready. Part of it had to be delivered from another location so I sat there waiting, and 2 full trays of lumpia were either still being cooked or they started when they realized I'd arrived. By the time I left the restaurant it was almost a half hour later. They forgot one of the dishes entirely—the puto which would have taken another 30 mins from another location (they took it off the bill)—my family was super disappointed about that special kid request unfulfilled—and in the end the cassava and flan weren't even sliced after all that talk. I guess the lesson is: don't count on it being on time or accurate. The main staffer who rung me up and packaged everything seemed visibly stressed about it and I was nice and left a decent tip for a pickup because it was probably not her fault, but the experience was enough for me to order elsewhere next time. It was probably not in that staffer's power to offer some compensation—a discount? An apology? That kind of effort to alleviate or correct the situation, from a customer service standpoint, would at least have kept me from posting this review. Sorry you lost a customer (and her extended family), Kabayan. The lumpia was decent though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Maria F
Staple Filipino restaurant. Food and service is always good. Never fails to hit the spot.
My group and I came here for a dinner. We were not notified about the service fee charge for the live music until we started to order. They Tried to charge us $10 for the loud live music but when we said we were thinking about leaving they agreed to $5 per person. We stayed and ordered our dishes. The garlic fried rice we got was cold. The rice clumped together and it was lukewarm at best. We got two sizzling pork and one was overly sour than the other. There seems to be inconsistency in their food…… The kare kare came with two pieces of oxtail only. You can find better Filipino food elsewhere. Save your money. This is not the vibe either. The live music was good but just loud. If you want to talk or socialize during your dinner do not go here. Go somewhere else where they won’t charge you for music
Charles Marlow Stanfield
Been here twice. First time was forgettable. Second time was meh. It's absolutely fine, but nothing more than that. I will say, though, that both times I was there, there were massive parties with huge portions of food being served. Someone clearly likes the place even if it's not really for me. Go check it out. Maybe I'm wrong.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Alvin Wu
My first actual Kamayan experience! Great food, great companies and the bone marrow soup sent me. As a Cantonese we are super picky about our soup. This one is hands down my best one in NYC.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kamayan, Bulalo Soup Beef Bone Marrow
Christi Ella
Went with friends to share the Filipino cultural food experience! They all loved it and enjoyed the very delicious food. Everything was served hot, and service was fast and friendly! Eunice, Val and Micah had given us our most favored kamayan experience we’ve had in NYC. I loved that they prepared the tables when we got there so it was fresh for us to dig in.
At only $40pp you get enough food to feed ur party and have tons of leftovers. The spread includes seafood, bbq pork, lumpia, spare ribs and a comforting soup. This was such a fun + warm meal for my friend’s birthday and I would do it again in a heartbeat!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kamayan
Inocencio Roman
Food was delicious and authentic. Service was great!
The food was tasty and service was nice! A little bright for my tastes. Everything was great but surprised with the $20 service fee. Maybe it was to pack our food to go? We still tipped 20% but won't be back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lumpiang Shanghai
Cartoon G.
This restaurant was exceptionally delightful. They offered live music, and the singer was incredibly talented. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the affordability of the food made me eager to return. The only downside was its location inside Queens, which was quite far from me since I live in Manhattan. While I'm not Filipino, my friends who are said that the food was outstanding, and they considered it one of the best Filipino restaurants in the area. I'd rate this place at a solid 5 stars.
Erwin X
We went to Kabayan to order their now famous "Bulalo". Our family of five could not even finish the soup as it is a large serving.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bulalo Soup Beef Bone Marrow, Laing
Tommy T
Me and my friend had a traditional Filipino food where you use your hand to eat. It was about $60/person. All the foods were great. The service was kind. We didn’t finish all the food and everyone packed some to go.
Came here for my birthday and they never disappoint! The atmosphere was great thanks to the live singer and the staff are the nicest! Food was so good and my Colombian family enjoyed all of
I've tried to root for this place but they haven't made it easy. I want them to do better. I'm writing this so it reaches them and as a heads up for anyone who might be considering ordering from their catering menu. First: the current number and email on the site aren't the way to go (tried these first and there was an email exchange with choppy answers and no follow through). Calling the specific restaurant did get me through to finally order one week ahead, but generally: poor communication. I went over each request carefully. I even called them the day before the 10am pickup to make sure I could come at 10am for everything and they voluntarily went over the slicing of the desserts (I was like wow, that's thorough). I had a time sensitive schedule to receive deliveries elsewhere by 11am. When I arrived, only a third of the order was ready. Part of it had to be delivered from another location so I sat there waiting, and 2 full trays of lumpia were either still being cooked or they started when they realized I'd arrived. By the time I left the restaurant it was almost a half hour later. They forgot one of the dishes entirely—the puto which would have taken another 30 mins from another location (they took it off the bill)—my family was super disappointed about that special kid request unfulfilled—and in the end the cassava and flan weren't even sliced after all that talk. I guess the lesson is: don't count on it being on time or accurate. The main staffer who rung me up and packaged everything seemed visibly stressed about it and I was nice and left a decent tip for a pickup because it was probably not her fault, but the experience was enough for me to order elsewhere next time. It was probably not in that staffer's power to offer some compensation—a discount? An apology? That kind of effort to alleviate or correct the situation, from a customer service standpoint, would at least have kept me from posting this review. Sorry you lost a customer (and her extended family), Kabayan. The lumpia was decent though.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Staple Filipino restaurant. Food and service is always good. Never fails to hit the spot.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tokwa't Baboy, Turon with Ice Cream, Lechon Kawali, Lumpiang Shanghai
My group and I came here for a dinner. We were not notified about the service fee charge for the live music until we started to order. They Tried to charge us $10 for the loud live music but when we said we were thinking about leaving they agreed to $5 per person. We stayed and ordered our dishes. The garlic fried rice we got was cold. The rice clumped together and it was lukewarm at best. We got two sizzling pork and one was overly sour than the other. There seems to be inconsistency in their food…… The kare kare came with two pieces of oxtail only. You can find better Filipino food elsewhere. Save your money. This is not the vibe either. The live music was good but just loud. If you want to talk or socialize during your dinner do not go here. Go somewhere else where they won’t charge you for music
Been here twice. First time was forgettable. Second time was meh. It's absolutely fine, but nothing more than that. I will say, though, that both times I was there, there were massive parties with huge portions of food being served. Someone clearly likes the place even if it's not really for me. Go check it out. Maybe I'm wrong.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
My first actual Kamayan experience! Great food, great companies and the bone marrow soup sent me. As a Cantonese we are super picky about our soup. This one is hands down my best one in NYC.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kamayan, Bulalo Soup Beef Bone Marrow
Went with friends to share the Filipino cultural food experience! They all loved it and enjoyed the very delicious food. Everything was served hot, and service was fast and friendly! Eunice, Val and Micah had given us our most favored kamayan experience we’ve had in NYC. I loved that they prepared the tables when we got there so it was fresh for us to dig in.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kamayan, Lechon Kawali, Beef Tapa, Lumpiang Shanghai, Pinakbet
Excellent food and service!! :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food! Just hard to order by phone.
At only $40pp you get enough food to feed ur party and have tons of leftovers. The spread includes seafood, bbq pork, lumpia, spare ribs and a comforting soup. This was such a fun + warm meal for my friend’s birthday and I would do it again in a heartbeat!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kamayan
Food was delicious and authentic. Service was great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kare Kare
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was tasty and service was nice! A little bright for my tastes. Everything was great but surprised with the $20 service fee. Maybe it was to pack our food to go? We still tipped 20% but won't be back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lumpiang Shanghai
This restaurant was exceptionally delightful. They offered live music, and the singer was incredibly talented. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the affordability of the food made me eager to return. The only downside was its location inside Queens, which was quite far from me since I live in Manhattan. While I'm not Filipino, my friends who are said that the food was outstanding, and they considered it one of the best Filipino restaurants in the area. I'd rate this place at a solid 5 stars.
We went to Kabayan to order their now famous "Bulalo". Our family of five could not even finish the soup as it is a large serving.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Bulalo Soup Beef Bone Marrow, Laing
Me and my friend had a traditional Filipino food where you use your hand to eat. It was about $60/person. All the foods were great. The service was kind. We didn’t finish all the food and everyone packed some to go.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bulalo Soup Beef Bone Marrow, Lumpiang Shanghai, Chicken BBQ
Came here for my birthday and they never disappoint! The atmosphere was great thanks to the live singer and the staff are the nicest! Food was so good and my Colombian family enjoyed all of
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5