Kalesa

Everytime I eat here with my family, we enjoy the dishes we order. Fresh, tasty, and the portions are good. The servers always pleasant and polite.

Came here for a late Mother's day lunch with my in-laws. Very delicious. We ordered kare kare and the shrimp pastebwasnt enough. Service wasn't up to par and only came once. Didn't come to refill our water or if we needed anything else. Other than that, it was good.

I was invited by my uncle and his wife to this restaurant for my grandmother's 83rd birthday. This restaurant is quite fancy for a place that serves ordinary Filipino food. I love how most items from the menu are displayed to see how they look like though they won't exactly replicate them being served to us, which is why I decided to take pictures of them. The food is good though, but some food needs to be a bit warmed up like the pancit. Some tastes alright but they don't really stand out. Most of them taste like home since I grew up in a Filipino household. The portions of the entrees are appropriate for hosting a party. Desserts are amazing though! I recommend going to this restaurant for friends and family if you're willing to try Filipino food in the Bay Area.

Huge portions, great price, the Pansit Palabok tasted so great, very flavorful. Would recommend this.

Two weeks ago I met this lovely girl, she told me she worked here at Kalesa. I went in for lunch today Saturday hoping to see her again and enjoy some lunch. I want to say that the food was delicious. I ordered calamari as an appetizer and pancit palabok for main course. The food was delicious and the portions more than enough for a single person, yes I took some home. Overall the service was excellent, great atmosphere, I'm an 80s child so I appreciated the 80s ambience music playing. Will definitely return! 👍

Our go-to Filipino restaurant when we visit the Bay Area! We’re a party of four & ordered 6 delicious meals! Maybe they can do better on the sizzling pork sisig? I mean let’s Google Filipino original sisigs ingredients? Also, be aware of the gratuity already added on the bill for party of four. Anyways, highly recommended!

$27....for a BOWL OF SOUP. $7.50....for STEAMED RICE. not even the worst of it.... 5% TARRIFF RECOVERY FEE ......and...... 15% automatic gratuity included. By definition, GRATUITY is something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service. 15% automatically added to my bill is not voluntary. I'm not given the opportunity to tip or not tip how I deem necessary based upon the quality of food, service, or establishment. I will NEVER eat at this place again and I highly suggest anybody reading these reviews look elsewhere, where shady business practices are not afoot.

I absolutely love this restaurant. I've been a handful of times now. The portions are large, the dishes are delicious (they are the same from home!), the location is fairly safe, the restaurant is clean and the service is impeccable. I love eating here. My favorite is lechon kawali, the Turon and the halo halo! I've had several of their other dishes and have been quite satisfied. The pancit bihon I thought could use some extra flavor, but it was still pretty good. It is a little bit expensive, so I only come in when celebrating something. Pretty good still!

It is located on the corner of a quiet parking plaza with ample parking and clean front area. The waiter greeted us and checked for a table right as soon as we arrived. Heres the verdict: Service (4/5) - we were seated and order quickly, moving tables to accommodate our order, but we waited a bit to pay and leave. Calamari (4/5)-flavor was good slightly hard to chew but still really good Crispy pata (5/5)- just wow and they serve two pieces, our order was amazing Tokwa't baboy (4/5)-this dish was amazing, also on happy hour, they did not miss Sisig (5/5)- my personal fave Beef nilaga (5/5)-flavor, texture portions, all yum Bangus sisig (5/5)-i havent had this dish before and we were pleasantly surprised with the flavor profile and happy with it Halo halo (4/5)-not pictured- really good and everything, plating could be a little better since the halo halo over flowed but could have been human error. Would highly recommend this place!!!!

What stands out: 1. Mandatory 5% Tariff: wondering if they remit this to the US federal treasury fund, or does Kalesa keep this 5% - needs to explain if they import materials and pass on to consumer. 2. Mandatory Gratuity/Service Charge: 1-5 guests: 15% 6 and above: 20% 3. Tip is required. 4. Tax is required. Expect to add around 30-35% on actual cost of dining at Kalesa. Btw, they also increased the price of all items in the menu by minimum of 30% (pork sisig used to be $19, now about $25.) Food - salty, lukewarm, and tastes ordinary (nothing special). Service - so so, nothing that stands out... Ambiance - nothing to see... cleanliness is okay. Clean silverware, dishes, table... NOT COMING BACK. THERE ARE SEVERAL RESTAURANTS in the area THAT ARE BETTER (Like the famous filipino chicken restaurant at Landes).

Tried Filipino food for the first time--not really my thing. Sizzling Sisig (2/5): First impression? Salty. Second impression? Dry and tough. Some fatty bits were a little better in texture, but overall it was just too salty and dry for me. Crispy Pata (3/5): The portion was huge--two giant pork knuckles. The skin was crispy, but in a super hard way that made it tough to bite into. Not the kind of crispy I was expecting. Sizzling Bangus Sisig (3/5): The fish was minced and cooked with onions and chili, and the crispy skin was laid on the bottom. The seasoning was quite sour--okay at first, but it got overwhelming after a few bites. There was also a half-cooked egg on the side... not really sure how I was supposed to eat it. Overall, the food wasn't really my style, but the vibe in the restaurant was great. A few tables were celebrating birthdays while we were there, and the staff really brought the energy and made it fun. If you're into rich, meaty, and bold flavors, it might be worth a try!

We came out on a busy Sunday evening for dinner. We were calling to see how long the wait was but nobody answered . By the time we got there, they said it would be a 35 minute wait . I'm sure we got seated even quicker than that, maybe only about 15 minutes of waiting . It's situated in a little strip plaza so parking was kind of hard, there was plenty of it but it was a busy Sunday and there's a ton of other restaurants using the same lot, so we had to circle around a bit until we got lucky. Ambiance 4/5: Clean, spacious looking restaurant with large dining tables, evenly spaced out, perfect for dining with families or large crowds. Moderately noisey. Tableware was also already set out for family style serving. Service 3/5: It looked like there were several different parties going on at a time so I feel like we may have been forgotten because after about 15 minutes of waiting we did have to flag somebody down because other diners that had sat down after us were getting their orders in before us. Our waitress was very apologetic and she did seem flustered at how busy it was. After we got our food , our water never came so we had to get up and ask the hostess if we could have water. It was an entire battle the rest of the evening to try and flag somebody down for a container to go, the bill, where the restrooms were, LOL forget even asking for more water. Food 5/5: We ordered the garlic rice, fish sigsig, pork sisig, and pancit palabok. Everything was delicious! Portions were huge! Food reminded me of home style cooking like if it was prepared by my Mom or Tita. The pork sigsig was sizzling and had that unctuous bite. I loved all the flavor that went into the fish sigsig, it was tangy, savory and fresh! Overall, it was a good experience! We would love to come here again to try all the other items on the menu, perhaps at a different day or time of the week when it's not peak hours!

Really so famished so this hit the spot!! Very elegant looking spacious dining area. Tables covered with dainty cream linen and place setting of white ceramic dinner plate and utensils kept inside a small brown bag on top of paper white disposable table napkins. Amiable server gave a stellar service! Ordered TOCILOG breakfast served with pieces of pork tocino , 2 fried eggs and a cup shaped garlic fried rice ! Meat was tender and savory ! Gotta have veggies so the SITAW and Squash with shrimps in the coconut milk gravy was very creamy and delicious!! Now can't skip the LECHON KAWALI...pork belly slap with crunchy skin !! For 3 people with the large servings there were still leftovers to go!! Will definitely be back to try other dishes like SISIG, KARE KARE and DINUGUAN !

Big dinning area. Can accommodate about 70 people. This place do catering. Ok reception. Great service. Good flavorful grand ma kitchen food. Lechon kawali was super crispy yet not burned. Squash/string beans with coconut milk was my favorite. Tocino/sunny side up egg and garlic rice (Tapsilog breakfast plate) was good.,Came in at 11:00 am when they opened and still served. Sago (tapioca) on the gulaman drink was hard and not fully cooked. Colorful presentation but disappointing taste. Not sweet enough. Overall, it's still worth coming back.

This place is good if you're looking to try Filipino food for the first time and if you want the milder Filipino cuisine flavor. Good fried lumpiang Shanghai (mini egg rolls) and lechon kawali (fried pork belly). They don't have the Lomi on the menu but they can make it if you ask. Very tasty broth with lots of garlic flavor. Their pancit (noodles) are ok. I'd recommend the bihon over the moki bihon. Somehow the bihon has more flavor. Kare Kare was ok. The gravy needs the shrimp paste for flavor. They cook the really well; was pretty tender. They use green beans instead of the traditional long string beans. Sisig was good but the meat was a bit hard. Tocino was good, without too much fat. Best of paired with the garlic rice which was also good. They were generous with the Halo halo. It has both mango and ube ice cream and a big chunk of yummy leche flan. Similar price with other Filipino restaurants in the area. Good place for celebrations as they make the food pretty fast.

A lot of my filo friends come to Kalesa so I was excited to dine here! My friend made a reservation for the four of us but we were running late, however they were super accommodating! The atmosphere itself was inviting and bustling, expect a lot of conversations! We ordered Sisig, Lumpiang Shanghai, Chicken Inasal, Pancit Bihon, & Shrimp Sinigang! The Sisig and Sinigang for me in particular was memorably delicious, I loved the tenderness of the meat and pairing the sour soup with rice was amazing. The Pancit fell a little flat for me, it tasted a bit bland and not as flavorful. Chicken Inasal and Lumpia you can never go wrong with ordering! We absolutely ADORED getting the Turon ala mode for dessert, the fried banana rolls just compliments the mango and ube ice cream so well! Personally it was the perfect dessert to share after a hearty meal.

When I go to Filipino restaurants I really only care about the crispy pata (4/5) and kalesa makes them really well! For sure will come back here just for that alone :) The pancit bihon (2.5/5) in my opinion wasn't very good but it depends on the person. I thought it lacked flavor. Halo-halo (4/5) was very good though. So my recs would be crispy pata and halo-halo :)

We visited on a Saturday night and found parking quickly in the plaza parking. We ordered the sagot gulaman and it was too sweet. The calamari was good as always with vinegar-y soy sauce and a creamy tartar sauce. We ordered the pata, crispy pork, which was good with the sauce, the squid was good really chewy and I liked the char flavor, bangus sisig was really good very flavorful definitely recommend. I also really like the Chop suey vegetable mix and the grilled chicken both flavorful as well! The staff was helpful and the food came out fast. The ambiance was aesthetic.

I've been a long time customer and probably would try not to go there or order anymore. Adding 5% Tariff Recovery doesn't make sense! Tariffs are already charged when goods came in from out of the country. They have to explain what this "5% Tariff Recovery" represents. They've already increased the price and a mandatory 15% tip if you dine in. So that would be 20% additional to the total when you dine in. Whoever thought of that adding the tariff % is the person responsible for the decline of customers.

Amazing food and good customer service!. Haven't had good filipino in awhile and they did it!

I have a huge update! I came here yesterday for an early dinner with my wife and we had an amazing experience. This is my first time dining inside and the place is pretty spacious with lots of tables dripped in white linen and silverware. I automatically smelled the sizzling smoke from the fried fish and pork in the air which was welcoming. There were a lot of people eating inside as well as celebrating a special birthday or get together. It was pretty festive yesterday. We thoroughly enjoyed their pork sinigang with white rice. The pork belly meat was cooked perfectly and soaked the soup. The vegetable are crisp and has it's vibrant color on them. At first glance, the sinigang looked bland with it's pale and half-cooked look to it. But after eating and sipping the soup, the balance of salt & pepper and seasoning was just right. The ukoy is thick and cakey with huge chunks of meaty shrimps. The texture was perfect with it's fried coating having a nice crisp. I love dipping it into vinegar and chowing down. This is a must with rice. Their pork sizzling sisig was so great tasting. The loud sizzle from the meat did it for me. The taste reminded me of thinly sliced Vietnamese lemongrass pork chop which by any means, is so delicious and worth it. There is a lot meat in this dish and works perfect with the blend of freshly diced jalapenos and onions. I do however, like my sisig with squeezed lemon juice to give it that kick. I also like my sisig a bit saucier BUT that's ok. For dessert, we shared a halo-halo which was served in this goblet glass cup, and topped with ice, condensed milk, ice cream, jellies and flan. This is also delicious and one of the best I've have. They serve large portions of food here which is all worth the while. I am a huge fan of this place and will love to come back again. To me, this is the best in the area for Filipino food.

We recently had a luncheon here and staff were amazing. I placed a reservation earlier in the week and preordered two days before. The staff was also able to accommodate more people and additional orders of food. When we arrived, the lumpia were on the table. The entrees arrived before the rice. The pancit and bangus sisig came last. Everything was delicious and not too greasy. The pork sinigang had more fat than meat. The kare kare had subtle peanut flavor. Tables were set up nicely. There was a birthday celebrant for another customer. It was fun and lively. We didn't know they celebrated birthday celebrants. We also happened to have had two birthday celebrants and asked one of our servers if they can also do it for them. It was so fun and made our lunch even greater.

I was invited by my uncle and his wife to this restaurant for my grandmother's 83rd birthday. This restaurant is quite fancy for a place that serves ordinary Filipino food. I love how most items from the menu are displayed to see how they look like though they won't exactly replicate them being served to us, which is why I decided to take pictures of them. The food is good though, but some food needs to be a bit warmed up like the pancit. Some tastes alright but they don't really stand out. Most of them taste like home since I grew up in a Filipino household. The portions of the entrees are appropriate for hosting a party. Desserts are amazing though! I recommend going to this restaurant for friends and family if you're willing to try Filipino food in the Bay Area.

Looking forward to starting our weekend with a Filipino dinner on Friday evening. We picked Kalesa in Milpitas on a recommendation. I have to say that we were disappointed in the food quality. Rice was undercooked Kare Kare was not hot Lechon was not as crunchy. We were looking forward to a good filipino dinner and top it off with a halo halo but the disappointment of the food led us to not ordering dessert. Not sure if they were understaffed or had equipment issues but it left an questionable impression on our dining experience

A great place to eat with the family. The interior feels homely and familiar. Staff are personable. We didn't know they were closing at 7 and we came in at 6:30 with a big party. They were still willing to serve us. The pork sisig was okay. It didn't have a fried egg, so it felt like something was missing from the dish. I did appreciate the portion size as it is one of the bigger portions I've seen of sisig from a restaurant. The pork and bangus sinigang was salty and sour. The meat was tender and the medley of vegetables were great. As a soup lover, I also loved how much soup the dish had. It paired so well with rice and the other fatty dishes we ordered. The lechon kawali was delightful. It was rich and had a light crunch. The crispy pata was hefty and the meat wasn't dry. The soy sauce based dipping sauce paired great with the fatty pork. The chopsuey was great assortment of vegetables and meat. They did not hold back on the shrimp and pork either. My favorite dish was the chicken inasaal. It was tender and cooked so well. Each piece had the perfect amount of char and the meat was flavored all the way through. It didn't need any sauces. I know good Filipino food and this was good Filipino food. Definitely bring your family and friends here if you have a big group. We ordered so much food and we paid around $30 per person, we were stuffed!

A great spot to have some good Filipino food. We like coming here with our family. The portions are good and deliciously made. The service is quick and the staff is kind. They do sweet things for birthdays. We ordered our favorites, pancit, Kare kare, crispy pata, bulalo, bulaklak and halo halo. The bulaklak is my all time favorite. Great crunch and flavor! Kare Kare is very creamy and has a lot of meat and veggies. We had to take some food Togo cause we couldn't finish it all since we saved room for halo halo.

My parents often seek the comfort of Filipino food, whether for takeout or dining in. This restaurant holds a special place in their hearts, especially for my dad, who passionately recommends it whenever we plan to eat out. Their fish sisig is a delight, and the beef mechado and beef nilaga, along with all the soups on the menu, are truly exceptional. You can always count on their lumpiang Shanghai, which is my son's favorite!

I ordered party trays for a bday celebration. All of the food are salt laden except Kare Kare. I threw the left over Pancit Bihon- super salty. 2-3 guests had swollen ankles when they got home lol.

Service was excellent. Gigi was very personable and attentive to our needs making sure our drinks were always toped off!! Ambiance was nice. Tables were not too close to each other and noise level was tolerable. Food: 1) Crispy Dinuguan - very tasty and pork was not fatty. 5 of 5 2) Pancit Miki Bihon - flavor was slightly bland 3 of 5. Seemed like it was missing something but could not figure it out 3) Pinakbet - kind of soupy and we liked as it was not too salty. 4 of 5 4) Chicken Inasal - flavor was spot on so 5 of 5 5) Crispy pata - excellent 5 of 5 6) lumpia shanghai was slightly over cooked 3 of 5 7) calamari was also spot on so 5 of 5 We know what to order at the next visit and we look forward to having Gigi service us. She is great and we really enjoyed interacting with her!!

I had a reservation 8 and we ordered quite a bit of food and shared family style. Everyone loved the kare kare with Crispy pata and the bagoong. The lumpia Shanghai and the pancit were delicious with fresh ingredients and veggies. The sinagang soup was so comforting. Most of us ordered the halo halo for dessert. The food came out super fast and service was ok. We had to ask for water multiple times tho. I will say the prices here are quite high compared to other restaurants in general. The kare kare was almost $30 and most of the items on the menu are $20 and above. Even the halo halo was $8+. It's a great place to go if you're craving good quality Filipino food but if you want a less expensive option go to another spot

just ordered today june 19 recd delivery at 12:10. it's guisado and lumpia shanghai. sad to say we're sooooo disappointed the pancit taste weird like burnt and smell burnt . lumpia is soggy . I hope you won't serve this kind of cooking. oo

Kalesa has been a great spot for catering and large parties for our family. The food is traditional like homemade and tasty! The staff was helpful w/ our group of 30 on a Sat night. Previous they catered for us for 75 people. Parking is easy w/ a lot outside.

I ordered halo-halo since it's warm today, but I was really disappointed. The ube and avocado ice cream tasted old and had an icy texture. This version of halo-halo was very different from what I expected--it only had gulaman and only a few strips of macapuno. The leche flan wasn't creamy at all. Service was also poor. The staff didn't smile and came across as very unapproachable. I wouldn't recommend this place if you're craving authentic Filipino cuisine.

Kalesa occupies a commercial strip with 3 boba shops And a Taiwanese chicken shop. Inside dining area is vast. walls decorated with Xmas items, other pics. Not uber fancy, more upscale than most Filipino eateries. Was greeted by host upon entering, assigned a table. Got a menu. Ordered soon after. Offerings: drinks, desserts, sides, vegetables, noodles, soup, seafood, chicken, pork, beef, all day breakfast, appetizers, "what's good"...individual dishes are of different cooking styles... Eats: crispy pata (24.50)-deep fried pig trotters/knuckle -seldom see this, choose this over lechon kawaii -very crispy skin. Tender, juicy meat with thin layer of melted fat. Some Fats are monosaturated good fat. -pata doesn't taste marinated, natural flavor. All flavoring comes from the soy-vinegar dip. * decadently deliz. For health reasons, once a week is enough. Garlic rice (4) one scoop -had nuanced flavor like the others. Wouldn't re-order. Halo halo espesyal (7.50) -2 scoops of ice cream on top, shaved ice in middle. Beans, fruits, gelatin on bottom. Deliz. -ate it along with crispy pata. Didn't wait till after. -nice mix of rich creaminess with the rest. Shaved ice an annoyance. Should have scoop it out sooner. *prices dining in is lower than online ordering.. October is Filipino American History Month -commemorates the lst Filipino appearance (via Spanish Navy) in the U.S. on 10/18/1587 at what is now Morro Bay, Ca.

Came here for dinner because we had a positive experience before. This time around, the food was good but we waited more than half an hour for our food. Everyone around us were getting their food and we were seeing take out orders coming out. It was not busy. The appetizer and the other dishes arrived at the same time. Our server was a tall mid 30s? guy and he was chatting with the guy at the front and never checked on us. We were planning on ordering takeout and he came back and asked if we still want to order. I started asking how long will it take? But before I can even finish talking, he answers, okay I'll get the check for you bad walked away. I still gave them 18% tip because I know that's shared with others. But we always tip 20% and above if service was excellent. I hope this is a one off.

I don't usually eat filipino food so I was super excited to try this place out. The prices are great and portions are huge. Busy for a Friday night but my group was able to get seated right away. Fast service. Garlic rice is a must. I could just swallow it all. I love garlic rice. The sisig silog is probably the best I've had! Big portion and had the grill taste to it. Pancit was not so much, but too lemony. Not enough shrimp for what you're paying. Crispy pata was just a no.... Smelt like pig and I was not about that. Too fatty but not the restaurants fault. Just a fatty foot. Halo Halo - Expensive for lots of ice. Some of the best flan I've had. The workers here are sweet. Even after they closed and I was in the parking, I knocked asking if I could use the bathroom and they let me back in.

Today is Mother's Day so we called an order for pick up exactly at 12pm since we have been craving some Filipino food. Some lady answered and asked us if we can hold to take our order. We were on hold for the longest time until we eventually got through the door to ask what happened, how come no one took our order. Come to see that the lady had the phone hanging and actually taking other people's order through another phone line. We understand that it's a busy holiday but it's not right to keep your loyal customers ( or any customers) hanging. We will never support this place again. I hope Kalesa staff go through a class for customer service. They badly need it

First time trying a Filipino restaurant! The interior is nice and kind of homey and the servers were great. Will do a quick breakdown of all the food ordered but favorites were definitely the Pork Adobo and Halo Halo for dessert. Kare Kare (6/10): The peanuty flavor was good but I think I'm a little biased against this dish because I didn't think the oxtail and choice of veggies were that palatable. Thankfully my girlfriend seemed to enjoy it a bit more for the oxtail but I wouldn't order it again. Pork Adobo (8/10): I loved this as my main entree, so juicy and flavorful, but the only downside was it's super salty. Portions are huge though and I would order again. Large Garlic Rice (9/10): I didn't realize "large" would really mean this enormous plate of rice. The closeup picture really doesn't do it justice as I tend to devour 2 cups of rice on my own, but this would have easily fed 4-5 people. The flavor was delicious, it's not just rice! Halo Halo (9/10): We savored this dessert for sure, you get a touch of flan, Ube ice cream, and some jelly-like ingredients that im ignorant on. It's a really nice blend of different textures and flavors, definitely get it! Overall, Kalesa has got me craving Filipino food again after writing this!

Met up with a friend that really likes this restaurant. We had lunch and order a few items. what we ordered and rating: - young coconut water 5/5 really good. felt like i was in vacay for a min -pancit 3.5/5 it was pretty good but, a bit salty -lumpia 3/5 good, tiny -fish fillets 3/5 definately didnt expect it to be good -halo-halo 4/5 was really good and shareable overall, the food is good and i had a good experience!

*this review is based solely on the food since I ordered through doordash* I was feeling super sick and found myself craving sinigang. I ordered from Kalesa on doordash and I was very happy with the food I received. Firstly, I was surprised with how big the portion was. I got two big sized containers filled with soup, vegetables, and pork belly. They were very generous with the vegetables and the meat as well. Secondly, it was delicious! I like my sinigang to be very sour and they didn't disappoint. It paired really with rice and was the perfect comfort food. I definitely recommend and will definitely be trying more items on their menu!

We made a reservation for a family event. The first server was good, a gentleman who constantly checking what we needed. And then a woman took over to bring our food on the table. She got an attitude when we asked for rice. We had to get up and find our server since she didn't come back and checked on our table if we needed napkins, water or anything else, whatever. I don't think she's happy with her job either. She just disappear, we're suppose to order more food but lost appetite how she treated us. The worst thing is they just automatically add 20% tip when the server doesn't even deserved to get tip with the bad service. Ambiance was okay, since we had early dinner reservation it wasn't that loud. Food was okay, the pancit needed more flavor, the kare kare is all bone and watery. The buco pandan is missing flavor. Flan is just okay.

We came for dinner at 6:45 pm on Thursday 3/07/24 and were turned away. The posted hours on Yelp are 11 am to 8 pm (see photo), but we were told they close at 7 pm, and their kitchen closes at 6. Who TF closes their kitchen at 6 pm? We truly believe the front desk lady lied to us as the couple ahead of us had just placed a takeout order. To close a kitchen at 6 is ridiculous. Some people are just getting off work at 6 or stuck in traffic. This is Bay Area. This is the real reason why some restaurants don't make it. They don't want the business. Kalesa clearly made it known they didn't want ours.

I met a couple of friends here for dinner, and we decided to split everything family style: - dinuguan (5/5) - pork sisig (5/5) - pancit bihon (5/5) - Lechon kawali (I did not taste this dish myself, but by the looks of it, it was really good and everyone else enjoyed) - pandan iced tea (5/5 especially if you enjoy four seasons drinks) - garlic rice Our server was extremely attentive and made sure we had everything we needed. The food was absolutely delicious and came in huge portions so we had plenty of leftovers. The restaurant was clean, parking was easy, and I loved the family friendly atmosphere. We'll be back!

Kalesa is one of my favorite Filipino restaurants. The place has a nice decor and very well spaced. The food here is delicious, too. I recommend their pork inihaw and chicharon bulaklak.

3.5 stars. This restaurant has been around for years. Parking can be challenging because it is a small lot supporting all the restaurants and businesses in that strip mall. Most of the time, the service is friendly and attentive. Tocilog: Tocino + SInangag + itLOG (sweet cured pork + garlic rice + fried eggs). Sweet, savory, and addicting pork. The garlic rice was good. The fried egg had nice crispy edges. Longsilog: LONGanisa+ SInangag + itLOG (Filipino breakfast pork sausage + garlic rice + fried eggs). Similar to the above, but will a sweet pork sausage that you savored to the end. Kare Kare: Ox tail chops & vegetables in peanut sauce. Bagoong on the side. The ox tail was meaty and plentiful. But, the peanut sauce was not what I was expecting. I am glad I tried it, but it was not a flavor profile for me. Beef Bistek: Tender slices of sirloin beef sauteed in lemon soy sauce and topped with sweet onions. Honestly, I really can't remember. I was having so much fun with our friends. I know the waitstaff recommended it. Crispy Pata (2 Pcs): Deep fried pork hock with their own vinegar based sauce. Crispy, crunchy skin. Some parts of the meat were dry while other parts were good. The sauce was a delicious dipping sauce; tangy, tart, and garlicky. Sisig: Their Signature Dish. Diced grilled pork with special sauce, onions, and jalapenos on the side. Just put it all together, mix and enjoy. This was good but a tad salty for my taste. Halo Halo: Medley of fruits and beans with shaved ice & topped with choice of mango, ube, avocado & langka ice cream. The first time I had this here, it started my appreciation of it. Now, whenever I see it at other places, it makes me want to get it! Such a delicious and rich treat! Reminds me of Vietnamese che but with more sweet goodies in it.

Delicious food! We had a family style dinner and I tried the kare kare, pancit palabok, crispy pata, sisig, lechon, and the garlic fried rice. All very delicious food and very authentic. Service was good. This place is VERY CROWDED, so make a reservation. Even with the reservation, you will still have to wait a bit. Would love to return again for more someday.

Yummy authentic Filipino food. We enjoyed our dinner here and service was great as they seated our large family of 20+ The kids enjoyed the special music when the waitstaff delivered our birthday dessert. Love the halo halo!! The staff was also patient with us as we rearranged furniture as we took some family pics right before the restaurant closed. Definitely will be back!!

0 stars if anything, truly almost ruined a celebration that I was almost late for, thank goodness for my cousin being helpful and picking up my order since it couldnt be ready in time when I had to pick it up Long story short, I had placed an order for April 5 (Sat) for 3 food tray items, and the lady at the front Sonia I believe was her name was very rude to me and said "you were supposed to pick it up yesterday! we had it scheduled for April 4th" Like what? NO we placed the order for the 5th, She then proceeded to say you will have to wait 20 minutes for your order, in which case I couldnt, the event I had to show up to is time sensitive, luckily my cousin was available to pickup my order in time for the party at the cost of them missing a chunk of my celebration Tip for her: verify the date with your customers so you avoid this discrepancy

Many mixed feelings, but I also have the sense that on their good days it's a solid pick for legit filipino food. That also being said, they don't really give much guidance on what their food even includes so for newcomers like myself it's a bit opaque (and our server wasn't helpful in sussing things out). Willing to give it another try, but the experience definitely could be improved on. Parking is at the very least a ready thing as the lot is quite wide open so it shouldn't be hard to drop by and try things out. Service is something of a mixed bag and it's sometimes a bit confusing as to what to listen to. We were told by one server to just sit tight for a second, then told by another to write our details down (with phone number), then get told by a third we could sit immediately. Talk about whiplash. Our server that took our order didn't seem interested in helping us figure out the menu and which ones had (shell)fish due to my brother's allergies...so we just eyeballed our dishes. When I asked them later about the unidentified paste with the Kare Kare, they didn't seem too apologetic for not telling us ahead of time it was shrimp-based. ==Kare Kare - 2.5/5* If you eat it with their shrimp paste it's probably closer to a 3.5, but without it it's honestly a pretty underwhelming dish. The shrimp paste seems to have *all* the salt you need, and probably a few heapings more. It was honestly kind of tricky figuring out how much to put in cause it's so strong. But if you can't eat shrimp and assumed it was only beef it's extremely bland and the peanut flavor is really muted. Veggies were fresh, but felt rather undercooked for a stew, especially the eggplant. The stew texture was reasonably thick, but didn't really help when the flavor was just not there. ==Sizzling Sisig - 3.5/5 Reasonably good juicy pork bites, albeit with a few minuses that didn't sit great with me. The platter, while hot to touch, wasn't sizzling anything and yet the meat was generally half burnt on the bottom. A bit of charring is fine, but burnt bits messes up meat a lot. This next thing might be a cultural differenec, but it was also served with diced raw onion and green pepper, the former of which gave a really strong bite I wasn't too fond of. Definitely would prefer it just to have been cooked and it'd be so much better...which might've been more likely to happen if it was more sizzling, but it was also served on top rather than on the bottom. Pretty solid value either way, since it's a positively massive serving. ==Garlic Rice - 3/5 It was perfectly fine to eat, but just didn't seem all that special for a cup of rice with fried garlic bits tossed into the mix. Portion size + price is up so my brother and I split a single 'cup'. ==Halo Halo - 5/5 Honestly the meal's saving grace. Undeniably good, despite being rather different from our typical dessert fare. The ube ice cream melting around the shaved ice and flavoring the beans and jellies made for a wonderful blend as we munched through.

Have been coming over here for many years either to dine or order to go food and in the past they were consistent to catering to delicious flavorful food but lately my family and relatives have noticed unsatisfactory greatness in the flavor and cooking of their food. For example, we ordered to go food last June 15 ( Fathers Day ) and noticed the crispy pata was overcooked, darkened and skin not crispy but hard to chew, Bokchoy with garlic was watery and less flavorful, regular dinuguan was also less flavorful and kind of watery consistency. The only ones we enjoyed having was the sago't gulaman and halo halo that was still good. We feel that the quality of food decreases when quantity of orders are high. I hope they take this review as a constructive criticism to further keep their loyal patrons spread great reviews to others instead of disappointments and dissatisfaction.

My bf took me to Kalesa for my first time trying it as we were nearby the area. We never really get filipino food outside as we already have them at home, but this was a great time to try the place out. We went on a Monday so it was not busy at all, and the service we received was super speedy and chill. I'm super indecisive when it comes to ordering and I can say that Kalesa's menu made it even harder for me to choose since everything looked so good. If only I could order and have a little bit of every single thing on the menu. I am Filipino so I've had 90% of what the menu has, but it is definitely different seeing many of the foods introduced by the Philippines in one sitting. Makes you wanna order more than what your party can eat! We decided to order their sizzling sisig and their sitaw kalabasa sa gata, which is basically a veggie stew with string green beans and squash in coconut cream. The sisig was a 5/5 as the cut was more thick and bigger compared to how other Filipino restaurants do it, and I loved that because it felt more savory to eat. The toppings also had a great ratio with the meat and the serving size was bigger than I expected! With the veggie stew, it was a 4/5 as I love anything with coconut cream and the veggies were a perfect pair to the cream, although it could have been a little less salty. Overall, the meal was delicious and filling. We also ordered their halo halo for dessert because obvi it's mandatory before heading out! It was perfect for the hot day in Milpitas and I was impressed with the amount of jellies and toppings they put.

Me and the whole family love the food here. My kids are picky eaters but they loved everything that I ordered. Did not go into the restaurant but to go only.

We usually go here as a go-to for crispy pata and kare-kare. My parents usually like getting the pancit bihon. We had the fried lumpia (lumpiang Shanghai), which in form looked nice, but we were sorely disappointed with our takeout at home for the first time last night as there's were extremely soft (like bread), was not crunch. We tried to air fry it and my mom had to refry it (deep fry) to try to make it crunch, very disappointing since Kalesa usually serves top-notch Filipino cuisine.

We had a company lunch here to welcome a new employee. There were about 14 of us and we each ordered one item. We had had enough food left for a few days of lunch left. Everything we ordered was great tasting and included rice. There service was excellent. Only took a few photos.

My boyfriend and I had our first experience here and it was fantastic! The food was incredibly delicious and flavorful, especially the ube ice cream, which was a standout. We enjoyed the BBQ chicken, bittermelon, and curry, and everything exceeded our expectations. The ambiance was pleasant and inviting, and the service was excellent. We're looking forward to returning and exploring more of the menu. Thank you for a wonderful dining experience!

The vibe is authentic Filipino restaurant! Marie kindly greeted us. We ordered a bunch of dishes to celebrate a couple of birthdays! Bottomless Kalesa Pandan Ice Tea was fantastic! Mechado. Love the flavor! Savory! Kare kare. Creamy peanuty goodiness! Crispy Pata. This is my fave! Kalesa delivered humongous cruchy pieces of pure delish! Chicharon Bulaklak. mmhmm. Pairs perfectly w/ San Miguel! We were fighting over the pieces. Sizzling Bangus Sisig. Yes! What a perfect way to have fish. Sitaw Kalabasa Sa Gata. Masarap! Sizzling Squid. So flavorful. Grilled to perfection. Garlic Bokchoy. Fantastic on its own. Even more amazing w/ the Kare Kare sauce...shhhh. Sinagang na Bangus Belly. Ladies loved it! Dinakdakan. Yes. Yes. Yes. The men loved this! Bagoong Fried Rice. So different and amazing. The side of meat and mango were just superb! Steam Rice. Staple. Pancit Palabok. Wow. I loved the authentic flavor. Sinigang Na Baboy. The fave of one of the young ladies. San Miguel Light. Refreshing and pairs perfectly w/ Bulaklak. Such a fabulous meal. So satisfying. Such great folks for company and conversation. Fabulous service...then the super duper topper! The AMAZING sound system came on and Marie & staff brought out the tamborine and ice cream w/ a candle! Hoorah! What a Happy Birthday indeed!!! Would order everything again! Salamat, Marie! Woohoo! P.S. the food, company, & convo was soooo good I forgot to take pics!

It was my first time here and it definitely won't be my last! Kalesa has been on my list for awhile and we were finally able to give it a try! We came on a Saturday night and it was quite crowded around 7pm. There were two large parties there but they were able to seat us fairly quickly. We ordered a bunch of dishes and enjoyed! Sizzling sisig was so good and flavorful. Garlic rice was amazing! Kare kare was well seasoned. Lechon and tofu were the perfect mix with the sauce. Only dish that wasn't quite to my liking was the chicken adobo- too salty. So many other dishes to try so I'll be back. The hospitality and service was top notch!