Mama Fina’s

"What It Is: A counter-service Filipino restaurant in the East Village Perfect For: Group Dinner, Casual Weeknight Dinner Mama Fina’s is a new Filipino restaurant on Avenue A between 10th and 11th streets in the East Village. The main draw here is the very filling and very good Filipino food like pork sisig, taro leaves with coconut milk (called Laing), and steak with garlic rice. We went ahead with many of the items marked “must-try” on the menu, and we can confirm that those dishes are indeed the things you should be trying - they were great. That said, the atmosphere doesn’t make as much sense - it’s counter service, but also looks like a place where highly-regarded knights would eat during the Renaissance period. The Verdict: The Filipino food makes Mama Fina’s worth knowing about for a casual group dinner in the East Village, but you don’t need to go out of your way for a meal here." - hannah albertine, bryan kim, katherine lewin, hillary reinsberg, chris stang, matt tervooren

"Mama Fina’s is officially named Mama Fina’s House of Sisig. And that’s probably because the sisig here is what you should prioritize. The pork version is our favorite, but we like the chicken and milkfish options as well. The setup here is casual: You order at a counter and then go sit in a dining room that looks like a place where knights would eat during the medieval period. At least no one in your family is dragging everyone out to do this." - hannah albertine, kenny yang

"A lot has changed since the first caveperson made fire. For starters, we call our caves “apartments” now, and “friction and twig” sounds more like the name of a digital branding agency than basic survival necessities. But innovations aside, coming together for big meaty dinner is still just as satisfying in our modern lives as we imagine it was back in the caves. There are fancy steakhouses to fulfill this primal need, but there’s also Mama Fina’s. It’s a casual Filipino restaurant in the East Village where you should have a communal meat experience involving some excellent pork sisig. The real charm of Mama Fina’s lies in the delicious Filipino food. So the fact that you order your dinner at a counter, and that the all-wooden dining room feels a little bit like a Renaissance Faire cafeteria and plays the song “Footloose” every hour, is beside the point. Show up with a few people who like each other as well as the idea of spending a couple of hours eating skillets of meat and drinking beer in a garlic steam room, and you’ll have a great time. This is the kind of place where you could probably stand up to give a toast after more than a few San Miguels, and absolutely no one would care. photo credit: Noah Devereaux And like choosing curtains to go with your bedding, ordering at Mama Fina’s is an exercise in complementing the sisig - a Filipino dish that’s a hash of chopped-up meat, crispy skin, and fat, all served in a sizzling skillet. The classic pork is by far our favorite. It’s sort of like pork potpourri, with pieces of meat that are crispy and crunchy, along with chopped red onions and more garlic than is acceptable in most social situations. If you don’t eat pork, they have a really great milkfish option (called bangus) that tastes creamy and remarkably meaty. Order a couple of different types of the sisig, along with the fried lumpia shanghai, bistek marinated in onions, and the halo-halo for dessert. photo credit: Noah Devereaux At Mama Fina’s, you’ll get to experience the same kind of fundamental joy humans have historically felt while sharing meat. Only with bottles of San Miguel, chopped-up pork, and the ability to take the subway home to your climate-controlled cave. Food Rundown photo credit: Noah Devereaux Pork Sisig The sisig skillets at Mama Fina’s are so hot that each one comes on top of a corkboard so it doesn’t ruin the table. These are filled with chopped-up meat mixed with red onions, garlic, and a lot of fat. The middle of the pork sisig is especially soft, and contrasts nicely with the crispy-crunchy outer edges. photo credit: Noah Devereaux Bangus Sisig This version is made with milkfish and it’s tangy and creamy at the same time. If we didn’t know we were eating fish, we’d probably assume it was chicken. It’s meaty-tasting and excellent, and we like the spicy version better than the mild one. Garlic Rice This garlic rice is absolutely necessary. And you should upgrade every sisig to make sure it comes on the side. photo credit: Noah Devereaux Lumpia Shanghai Crispy little pork-filled rolls. These could be the star of any cocktail party and they’d be gone way before any of those sad sliders or lettuce wraps. Laing Meet one of the few vegetables in the House of Sisig. Say hello. Order these taro leaves and dig through the coconut-milk to find the hidden pieces of shrimp - they’re great. photo credit: Noah Devereaux Bistek Ordering the bistek is a nice break from all the pork (should you need it). This thinly cut beef is nicely charred and sautéed with onions. It would work well as a solo entree if someone doesn’t want to share. Palabok Our favorite non-sisig entree. Chewy, semi-sweet rice noodles in a shrimp-based sauce with tiny pieces of crispy pork, fried garlic, and hard-boiled eggs on top. We really like this, and the portion is huge. Spaghetti With Fried Chicken Wings This a plate of spaghetti covered in a very sweet tomato sauce with a few pieces of fried chicken wings on the side. It’s a bit too sweet for us, and the chicken is on the dry side. Skip this in favor of other dishes. photo credit: Noah Devereaux Dessert Aside from the sisig, the desserts at Mama Fina’s are probably the next most exciting thing here. The halo-halo is stacked nice and tall, with shaved ice, evaporated milk, pieces of green and red jelly, ube, and red beans. We also love the leche flan which is firm and sweet, and you’ll want to read it stories and tuck it in before bed." - Hannah Albertine

"An offshoot of an Elmwood Park, New Jersey, restaurant of the same name, Mama Fina’s has a casual counter service set-up. Chef and co-founder Aming Sta Maria and her husband Samuel Sta Maria run both locations, where the focus is on sisig served sizzling on a cast iron platter in multiple iterations (pork, chicken, squid, tuna, and milkfish). Other highlights include breakfasts like longsilog — a sweet and spicy sausage — served with fried eggs and garlic fried rice." - Robert Sietsema, Eater Staff

"The Filipino food at Mama Fina’s is ideal for a group of friends who want to drink beer and enjoy steaming heaps of meat together. There’s something extremely relaxed and communal about this place - so whether you know exactly how many people are going to show or you’re secretly hoping your friend brings his very attractive coworker, just order a ton of garlicky things and don’t worry so much. This East Village spot is known for their sisig (we like the pork and milkfish versions the best) so get a few of those as well as the lumpia shanghai spring rolls and some halo halo for dessert. And since you order everything at the counter, it’s easy for people to trickle in late without causing any anxiety." - hannah albertine, nikko duren