Zarlitos Family Restaurant

I ordered pinakbet, chicharon bulaklak, and menudo for pick-up from Carlitos Family Restaurant, and everything was delicious! The flavors brought me right back to home-cooked meals from my childhood. When I walked in, I was welcomed by a warm, family-style setting—and even karaoke was happening! It felt nostalgic and comforting, like stepping into a family gathering. Although I only grabbed takeout this time, I’m definitely planning to dine in next time to soak in more of that vibe. Highly recommend for anyone craving authentic Filipino food with a side of good energy. 🍽️🎤🇵🇭 Side note: we had the food when we got home, and fyi, best chicharon bulaklak that we’ve ever had. 😍 the menudo and pinakbet was so good too!

Good selection of Filipino food. We tried the Sisig, Lomi, Silogs and everything was delicious . Good-sized portions and the service is great waiters are attentive to our needs and were polite. We will definitely be back to try more of their great selection.

Whilst the time I'm waiting for our order, there's someone singing live music on the stage. I ordered beef Bulalo, pinakbet, and bihon guisado. All of them are really good. Bulalo came with lots of vegetables (potatoes, bochoy & cabbage). Bihon guisado had some meat slices on it too.

Delicious Filipino food open late! This place is the spot for traditional Filipino comfort food. They have the usual choices but the quality and flavor is awesome. We normally order crispy lechon and kare kare here but there are so many other good options on the menu as well. We recommend getting whatever dish you want as the combination plate so it comes with fried rice, pancit noodles and lumpia. Would give it 5 stars but the waiting time for the food is kinda on the slower side. Otherwise, great food and friendly service!

I was CRAVING Filipino food, but the family and friends always wants to eat somewhere else...yay!!! My wish came true. I love it when I don't have to pay the bill, too!! U want amazing authentic food? The meat was made so deliciously in my book. Beef was tender and flavorful! The vegetables, yeah...so good. The pork (lichon) had such delicious, crunchy skin. Mmmmmm. The pancit and lumpia, yes this is how you make it!!! OMG the turon (fried banana in lumpia wrapper) was incredibly fresh! I wish my family were here to enjoy it. We love karaoke 🎤 😍 music 🎶 It was such fun! There's lots of room! I'M GONNA EAT HERE AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!

Authentic Filipino food. I used to live in Cali and the Filipino food I remember eating would blast with flavor. I was expecting my taste buds to sizzle! Was flatly disappointed. Idk, maybe my memory played tricks on me or my palate changed. Probably the latter. Anyhow,,, Squid rings. They were fried and shriveled up, kinda tasted like fried chicken skin...now I like fried chicken skin, so don't get me wrong...they tasted great but was not what I expected. Expected crispy tender rings. Chicken adobo. My sister makes it better! Garlic fried rice. Now THAT was delicious! Never had it and loved loved loved it!! I'd come here just for the rice. Pancit. Well, again disappointed as the flavor fell flat for me. One thing that brighten up the night was the live karaoke. If you feel like you want to let go and don't care about embarrassing yourself, don't worry, everyone else will be embarrassed for you. But you'll have loads of fun !! 😆😆😆

If you’re looking for authentic, homemade Filipino food, Zarlitos is it. My friend and I ordered takeout, and eating this reminded me of going to a friend’s house and trying their parent’s delicious food. Disclaimer: if you are health conscious and do not like to eat pork, this review may not be for you, but don’t worry, as they have other options available! I always get the lechon combo from Zarlitos. You get pancit bihon, garlic fried rice, lumpia, and a generous serving of lechon kuwali. The lechon is crispy, melts in your mouth, and tastes great with the garlic fried rice and mang tomas sauce. This is Filipino soul food at its very finest, and I never leave Zarlitos feeling dissatisfied. The sisig plate is crispy, juicy, and has the right amount of zest and spice that makes this sisig great. This is a lot of pork to eat in one sitting, so I definitely recommend eating a portion of the meal and saving the rest for the next day. Zarlito’s generous servings, tasty food, and homey customer service always bring me back for more.

Ordered to-go (beef fried rice) $15 food and it took way too long. Didn’t even look that busy.. but finally got my food and they didn’t even give me utensils. Luckily I had my camping spoon, so always come prepared folks. It smelled good but when i ate some, it didn’t really taste good at all. Maybe its better to dine in… portion was good. I will give them that..

always good! love the Dasilog! Everything seasoned well and with a cup of coffee and good company it's a perfect breakfast!

I went on a Sunday, May 5th I believe.. I was probably one of the first ones to come in... I am familiar with the food and used to come here often when I used to live closer and this place had the best (probably the only place) that had chicharon bulaklak... it just tasted off (you know when you know).. makes you think too when the food doesn't come out hot. Staff were really nice though.. I'm sorry to leave a bad review but I'm sure it will get better. There's a reason why this place had been here from beginning of time :)

Would NOT recommend. It was my first time coming here, definitely will be my last. The food was edible but nothing to get excited for. The worst part is, after we got seated we didn't even get served water until 40 min later. We were asked 3 different occasions if we put our order in, which we did when we arrived. It wasn't until after 45 min of waiting did they realize they never put our order in. The service was subpar. When it comes to restaurant service, I am very understanding as I have worked in the food industry and know the everyday struggles but to treat your guests as if WE were the one in the wrong for not saying anything sooner is wild.

Yum, Yum, Yum!!! I don't understand the complaints about serving size, but I can't help but make assumptions about who is making these complaints. The serving sizes are very substantial, as in, if I were to try to eat an entire platter I would become obese. Not to mention that most dishes are meant for sharing. Food is delicious, portions are great, price is absolutely reasonable! My whole family loves the food, and if we lived closer would eat there all the time! Have eaten there 3 times and haven't been disappointed!

Came for breakfast. We were welcomed and seated right away. Tables were clean and not sticky, it's always nice to sit down and start a meal on clean tables. Ordered Cornsilog, which came with garlic fried rice and eggs. The garlic fried rice had good flavor. The corn-beef was good and not too salty. Chicken Mami was very good. The broth was flavorful and the vegetables were fresh and not mushy. Overall, it was a delicious breakfast and service was great. Chac was friendly and attentive. Just too bad they do not do separate checks and are only able to split the check at the end, which forces people to pay part of other's meals.

This place is definitely not what it used to be. I think the last time we were here was about a year or 2 ago. My hubs and I used to always come here back I the days. Now, I'm not sure if we'll ever come back. The portions shrunk a whole lot, and the quality itself is so bad. If you're going to downsize, at least make it worth it... They did state on the menu due to an egg storage, and the meals will come with just 1 egg instead of 2. The pork in the sinigang tasted bad, like it was spoiled or wasn't cleaned properly. It's a distinctive taste that you'd know what I mean when you eat it. The spam with the spamsilog was sliced extra thin. It was like a chip at that point. Lol. But my baby finished her plate! The topsilog was dry& too crunchy. Extra sparse, too. We also ordered an extra side of eggs and longanisas. Also, I asked for steamed rice for my daughter's spamsilog &, they gave us all rice instead of fried rice for ours. Almost $90, and we weren't at all satisfied. Plus, they forgot my Calamansi juice because they were catering to a bigger table next to us and just forgot about us.. B for effort, but at this moment, just throw the whole experience away...

Our first option for lunch was closed so decided to try Zarlitos. I've been checking reviews and they keep mentioning how dishes quality is not as good as is used to be. And after today's meal, I agree with them. All combination meals comes with Pancit Bihon, 2 pcs Lumpiang Shanghai and 2 Fried Rice. (You can switch it to regular rice) Beef Steak with Onions Combo - beef was 50 % fat and it's not good. Also lacks citrus and soy sauce. For the Pancit Bihon, I am okay with missing veggies with everything grocery prices are up but please add soy or salt at least, it's so bland. Dishes should be tasted/prepared in the kitchen but if we're adding soy sauce on our table, it means it need QA inside the kitchen. BTW there's only 5 chopped green onions and one (1) slice of carrots on the Pancit. Lumpia was crispy delicious. Manila Fried Chicken - it's overcooked. It's okay to cut slits chicken if we are cooking in a different method for seasoning to get through the meat but if we're frying them and cut nine (9) slits, expect the chicken to be dry like the one we ordered. Large Crispy Pata - it was overcooked and dry as well. The sauce was great though! They run out of Tortang Alimango so we ordered Tortang Hipon. Nice amount of shrimp with fresh vegetables and great presentation BUT please season the dishes. It was bland. Only ate quarter of the dish and will add salt/seasoning when I eat this for dinner at home. Service staff was great!

Was craving Filipino food and I haven't had Zarlitos in years. I ended up ordering take out and staff was very welcoming and responsive. It was about 10am in the morning and the restaurant wasn't crowded at all. I ordered the Longsilog breakfast plate and the #5 Lechon Kawali combo plate. I waited maybe 10min and the food was ready. As I returned home, the food was very fresh and delicious. Everything hit the spot and I ended up saving some garlic fried rice for breakfast the follow morning. I'll definitely return to try other food items.

I've been going to this Filipino Denny's since the 90s. They specialize in pinoy breakfast, which is any of the silog plates. It's your choice of meat and includes an over easy egg (one due to shortage) with two mounds of garlic fried rice. But the entire menu is available during their business hours. Calamari ($14.95): pieces are now bigger but still tender with a crisp and light exterior, 8/10. But the portion isn't worth the price. Lechon paksiw combination platter ($15.95): I was craving lechon kuwali (deep fried pork belly), but inadvertently ordered by number and got their lechon paksiw (simmered in vinegar and finished with sarsa [sweet liver sauce]) instead. Sauce was good, but it created soggy lechon. Another negative is that each piece of lechon was about 75% of fat. The pancit is dry, bland, and lacked veggies. At least the lumpia and garlic fried rice were delish. Still a fail overall... 4/10. Bangus combination platter ($14.95): flavorful (vinegar, salt, and garlic) & crispy fish... 8/10. Service was friendly and fast. Overall, the food was ok; but I'd recommend you stick with the breakfast items - silog plates. Otherwise, for the lunch and dinner prices here, I'd rather get Goldilocks or even Filipino fast food.

Growing up in San Diego and being a part of St. Mary's, this joint was my every Sunday brunch or lunch. I loved coming here! 2016 came around and I left San Diego because of the military and returned in 2021. It was the same as I left it. On this day (14JUNE2023), I had ordered one "Tapsilog" which has always been my usual. The price had skyrocketed and the portion went down by ALOT! Idk if it's new management, but whatever it is, it needs to change back to the old ways. I always loved this spot but whoever is running it now needs to fix things and go back to bigger portion at the least. I may come back in the future but I miss the old owners who use pride themselves on giving giving big portions at decent price, I hope the current owners can find it to do the same. The picture shows maybe 1/3 of the portion difference of the TAPA. It use to be so full that the sauce was t able to fit in the container.

This is probably my favorite Filipino joint in San Diego. It's old school, affordable, the portions are good, and the dishes are classically delicious. The service is always good. You just have to make sure you speak clearly and concisely, the titas don't have time to hear all your stories, they're busy! Lol for reals though, just do some research on Filipino food prior to coming and you'll be fine. My go to is anything with longaniza or any of the pork dishes. Always a hit! If you want no compromise Filipino food come to Zarlitos!

The best Filipino restaurant in San Diego!!! The best Tapsilog, aroz caldo, sisig fries :) ,pancit... the best of everything... Fast and courteous service.. I keep coming back!

Hmmm... Been coming here for at least 20 years. Finally....finally making this review. Many changes but for the good. Some may disagree but others may agree with me. My experience here have not change since. Great customer service from one of the servers named Ces today. Very joyful and hospitable. Thank you Ces. What we ordered? 1. Tapsilog with extra Tapa. - marinated beef, garlic rice and 2 sunny wide up eggs. What more can you ask for. So goooood!! Its my first choice. 2. Adsilog - my wifey favorite. Hard to wrong with this. Plus, its her favorite. I cant complain lol. Service is prestine...today. At times, then the younger group of servers are here, its less pleasing. I appreciate it regardless. Overall, its clean and hospitable here. Love the food here. It brings back memories of me in the Philippines. I love and appreciate this place very much. Thank you for everything. - Marc

If you are looking for traditional filipino food this place is a must stop. Every time we are in San Diego Zorlitos is a must for our family

My place to go when craving for goto and tokwa't baboy, seafood and fresh veggies. The kare kare and beef steak are also great.

Went to eat an amazing Filipino food today. The food were super good and I recommended you to try them out. This restaurant been open since 1991. Give it a try if you are a fan of Filipino food. Yummy in my tummy

Found my new Filipino food sit down restaurant! Very nice inside, clean and authentic Filipino food! If your in a hunt.... Come check This place out!

I love the new Zarlitos!!! Food was Delicious and owner & staff very hospitable I will definitely come back! Especially for the Food! They even have dessert!! Aaand Halo Halo!

Sometimes I get lucky.  Not today.  Seems a huge party arrived just before we did.  Took over an hour after arrival for our food to show up.  I ordered a combo with lechon kawali, double pancit, and lumpia. Lumpia was hot and crunchy on the outside with delicious pork filling.  Best part of the meal. Pancit had rice noodles and a few pieces of carrots and celery.  Nice mild flavor.  Wish they would have added some chicken.  I usually get this dish at R & B Filipino Cuisine and they add a few pieces of chicken so you get a more exciting tasting dish. Lechon kawali is hard to make right.  Many places give it too much time in the fryer.  About half the lechon kawali was dried out and crunchy.  Skin was too hard and crunchy to eat.  Pieces that were not dried out had a nice fried flavor. Staff was apologetic about the long wait.

This Filipino spot is now good looking !!! New management the place is fully renovated nicely!!! It is now my go to Filipino foodie!!! They serve breakfast all day !!! Yummy!!! We ordered Bangsilog (milkfish) And longganisa (Filipino sausage) they comes with garlic rice n eggs however you want it. And dipped it with vinegar. Stellar Customer service they're so sweet n kind. They all speak Tagalog of course ! Homie feeling!!! Overall it was good food I'm stuffed ! Busog ! And masarap (delish) I can't wait to come back and try their entree's! Filipino style Veggies n Meat !!! The bathroom is super clean and sanitized. You guys check em out!!! Try Filipino food. Ciao!!! Happy Saturday!!! Happy Summer laid back San Diego.

A recent unexpected stop has led me to update my review of this restaurant. Gotta give credit to the mom and pop shops that keep the locals happy with good food. Zarlitos is just that. I've stopped in a couple times since my previous review. Food quality is solid while prompt service with a smile is all you can ask for during these Covid times. New management has made some small but meaningful changes. Interior decor is new along with some menu items. This visit, I opted for tapsilog (steak and eggs with garlic fried rice). The steak was prepared crispy while the eggs were perfectly over easy. You could see, smell and taste the finely minced garlic in the rice. Wonderful flavors. Currently offering outdoor dining or togo only. If you're in the area looking for some quality Flip food, stop in at Zarlitos. Keep on Yelp'n!

A good buddy (Filipino) of mine took me to an old friend of his who recently retired from the city of Chula Vista and bought and reopened Zatlitos. Living in the South Bay you have almost as many Filipino restaurants as Mexican (LOL almost). It's rare to find a nice casual sit down Filipino restaurant, but Zarlitos is that exception. Zarlitos serves a well portion plate that will not let you go home hungry. I enjoyed their chicken adobo although the first time I ordered it, it was a little more tangy (which I like), but it still was delicious! Two side dishes that helps me determine a good Filipino restaurant from a bad one is their pancit and lumpias. Neither one disappointed! I've been eating Filipino food for along time, but I wouldn't call myself an expert, so I asked my Filipino friends and they all give Zarlitos two thumbs up! I highly recommend Zarlitos for a good authentic Filipino meal.

This restaurant is really solid - my family has been coming there and enjoying the food for a while now. I personally like the breakfast options as well as the sisig, definitely would recommend.

I have been searching for MONTHS for a place that sold bangus sisig! Moving away from my family really had me missing my mom's home cooked Filipino food and I can definitely say that Zarlito's satisfied a craving I was having! If there is anything I can recommend when you come here, it's the bangus sisig. It has really nice big pieces of milkfish mixed in with the various veggies in it. The kare kare was delicious as well, and if you love peanut butter, I would highly recommend getting it. This restaurant is definitely a place where you bring all your friends and family because the portions are huge and meant for sharing!

Always having lunch here after church, but maybe it will be our last, .we always take pictures of the food before we eat it like anywhere we go .. and after taking photos.. and saw the crispy pata that we ordered to be chopped.. it was mostly bones no meat or skin .. as you can see in the pictures. It was large because they said it's the only available.. we requested it be cancelled, or to change it but do not chop it as our first requested before so we can see. manager came talked to us like we we're at fault. . And she said she saw how it was chopped but after taking the crispy pata out.asked where are the meat . We said that we haven't eaten any yet. And then after we finished eating our lunch with the remaining foods we ordered. She came in nicely with newly cooked crispy pata , and her voice change very nicely .. we had a bad experience . . We didn't finished the food. The pancit was too salty. The fried chicken was overcooked or old because there we're 3 drumsticks but we ordered whole chicken. So the chicken has 3 legs .. we will never comeback here.. but you can try to see for yourself ..just sharing our experience ..hope this post will make them better..thanks

Zarlitos Family Restaurant is hands down the best Filipino restaurant in San Diego. This is my family's go to when we are craving papaitan, adobo, lumpia, and all the good stuff. Turon with langa and taro ice cream is my personal favorite. The food was delicious, the staff was attentive and friendly, and the environment is always welcoming and fun. Every time we have been, all the guests are enjoying themselves and thoroughly enjoying their food. The location is great, right off the freeway. I highly recommend Zarlitos for anyone craving authentic Filipino food.

Friendly staff. Came here for the longsilog. Comes with garlic rice and eggs the way you want them. Dont forget the vinegar sauce. Parking spots right outside restaurant. Lots of seats inside, can handle big groups of people.

Food exceptional very good service and not too pricey clean and menu was expansive coming back

It's a hit or a miss with this place. Sometimes you have a good day coming in here, and sometimes it's bad. There are two things that are always consistent, though and that is the "meh" service and "meh" food. It has never made me feel like saying, "Wow! I'm loving this!" I guess if you are craving Filipino food and want to come in for some table service dining, then come at your own risk. It's a gamble. Came in for breakfast a few days ago and was met by some very friendly ladies who seated us right away. Unfortunately, at some point we became invisible and were not tended to. Our water came in literal plastic cups you use at the dentist to spit out in a bowl. Hubby ordered orange juice, but our server came back with an Orange Crush. It's 9:00 in the morning. Who has soda at this time?! We thought she had made a mistake so we clarified to her that we wanted orange juice (which was listed on the menu). She said, "This is our orange juice." Huh?! SMH We had ordered two breakfast rice plates and a side of vegetable lumpia - which we never received. She must have forgotten to jot it down when she repeated our order - SMH again. Don't get me wrong. The ladies that work here are very friendly, but they do need work on being more attentive. Now the food situation. The presentation was surprisingly nice. We were enjoying it in the beginning, until the hubby bit into a very bitter piece of tocino. He knew it was bad and it smelled bad, too. And believe-you-me, he paid for it afterwards. Also, their pancit that comes with the combination plate had absolutely no vegetables or protein in it. Just noodles. Just sad. We took a gamble that day at Zarlitos, and unfortunately, we didn't win. We might take another gamble in the future and hopefully the day will come when we do win.

Great service,food is delicious and w/bonus pack of lumpia amount up to $50 order is worth the price,,Filipino foods credit to Choco"who served us

Delicious food. Great service. Delivered catered food to a party and the food was a hit. Adobo is amazing. Turon too. And leche flan and Shanghai and veggie lumpia. Thank you!!

Finally made it to Zarlitos as it's another I have had on the wish to visit list for some time now. Good to see it's open for seating inside, no masks necessary, but six-feet distance rule is still enforced. I do like that they have hand sanitizer available at the counter too. This area is in a big shift back to normal and it's starting to feel like Cali once again. I have to say I a had true feeling of Filipino authenticity at Zarlitos because the interior, the food, and customers were Filipino across the board during my visit. This was good because if the locals are here, it's certainly because they find it authentic too. I will say the service was sort of slow, but at the same time was very courteous. I had time to pass, it that didn't affect me at all. In looking at the menu, there were some meals there that I did not recognize, so I went with chicken adobo that came with pancit, lumpia, and garlic rice. Overall, I wanted to score this restaurant somewhat outside my own expectations from what I've experienced with Asian food in the past. The garlic rice was pretty powerful! I do not mind garlic in my meals but when it's the main additive - that's a little too heavy for me. Nevertheless, I don't take away anything for that from the restaurant because it was better for me when I mixed it with the adobo gravy. The pancit had very good taste to it - just wish it had a few more veggies added to it. As for the chicken itself, most anyone knows the bones come with the meal in chicken adobo. Mine had plenty - almost say too plenty on the bones side of things. More importantly, do be careful while you eat the adobo because oftentimes you'll find small bone fragments that are small enough to get stuck in your throat. If I could warn Zariltos of one thing, I'd say be a little more careful on how you're cutting up the chicken for this plate. In the end, I score this restaurant on its scoring average. There are many plusses for it - nice parking lot, solid interior with good space for seating, nice service overall, among other things. If and when I do eat here again, I will ask the server what some of the favorites are here - that I didn't this time is on me. Recommend: a strong MEDIUM

Expensive and portion had been ration. Upchare and upcharge. Lack of Customer service

Where do we start, how the mouse than ran across the floor. Then one server and cleaner for everyone and the whole restaurant. Asked for the owner/manager and he wasn't in. Talked to his son and he said we have a mice problem and have set traps. Didn't apologize for the situation or nothing like it was normal. Well thanks to yelp it's not normal and it's trifling. It won't be long until there will be new ownership. They picked it up in 2020. Cheap ass buffer plates, Menu selection is limited and what they cook you can do better at your house. Straight up pathetic. Fried chicken, no batter and all dark meat the cheap part of the chicken. Damn shame to serving people like that.

Worst customer service. Came in and I asked if I can remove something from what I ordered and was given the worst attitude. Asked her if she was mad, and she said yes, because "it's too early for this". Food sucked too. Lol

All I remember was I ordered some calamari appetizer and the big kid (5'9") puts it on the table and 2 big pieces fall off and acted like it was nothing. Knowing that the portions became smaller and the prices higher, it really annoyed me. They never check on you again or refill the waters.

This place was good.... but small portion in a 2 go...disappointed tosilog and dasilog..not worth the trip..good food but not giving...sad last time I'm going there...

This place has gone so downhill after changing owners. Came in just to order pancit bihon and garlic fried rice to go and it took 35 minutes. During that time there was one large table and 4 smaller tables sat. Another group came in and ordered and got their food before one of the tables that was already in there for 30 minutes. He complained and suddenly the food magically appeared, so of course the guy got even more mad and left saying the food was cold. A lady also placed a to go order 20 minutes after me and got her food before mine. I also wasn't given my change after paying! I could see through the small opening in the window they just had plates sitting randomly on counters. It's no wonder the guy's food was cold. I could've sworn they reused the plates from the couple that left. The pancit bihon itself was the blandest I've ever had. Zero flavor. They didn't even use bihon noodles, they used the thicker sotanghon glass noodles. You order one thing and get something different. If bihon is on the menu, then make bihon. The garlic fried rice was also subpar, bad quality rice used. It wasn't even fried, just soggy as if they just used fresh cooked rice and tossed some cheap minced garlic over it. I don't get how something so simple could be messed up. People were constantly coming to the front asking for service or to get drinks. There was a runner but he had no idea what was going on. He kept coming out with plates and going back into the kitchen over and over. No one was being checked on. No sense of urgency at all. I used to come here all the time and the quality of the food from the old owners to now is night and day. This was the last time unfortunately. If a restaurant can't handle 4 tables they probably shouldn't be running a restaurant.

Great filipino food restaurant. We especially enjoyed the chicharon bulaklak. Calamansi juice- I was expecting a 'real' calamansi juice just like the majority of filipino restaurants back in the Philippines. Clean and relax environment. One suggestion, could you add more exhaust hood in your kitchen so that customers won't be smelling like they went to a BBQ grill once they get out of the restaurant

They were closed when their profile on yelp said they were opened. Been there before. The layout of the restaurant is terrible.

Came here and got the lechon kawali plate, it came with pieces of crispy pork belly pancit, garlic fried rice and a lumpia canton (egg roll). The pork was very crispy including the skin. I ate around the fatty sections of the belly which is to be expected, i think some people actually eat the fat but it's not for me and i don't judge if you do. =) The pancit was good and so was the lumpia, i didn't think the garlic fried rice was anything special, i actually think they could have just served white rice i would not have missed anything. My friend ordered the beef steak fried rice, with sunny side up eggs on top. Now that fried rice was delicious! The pieces of beef were well seasoned and very tender from being braised for a long time. The fried rice was very tasty and had some of the braising liquid from the beef cooked into it. It was a little on the salty side but just on the edge of flavorful and too salty, I liked it, but can see how some people might say it was too salty. I think i'd order this next time. Service was good, they greeted us and sat us in a timely manner, but they are a little understaffed there were at least 7 tables that were covered in plates and food from people who had left earlier, non of them were cleared the whole time we were there. As people came in they sat them at clean tables, and would only clear a table if there was not room for a party to be seated. Quite odd. Im not sure if they were supposed to bring us the check but we just walked up to the register and told them what we had and paid and left. There is a small parking lot out front but we parked along the street in the residential area. The food is good and the portions are large, but the place is just a bit messy, so if you're a germaphobe then probably not your type of place.

I've been going here since the early 2000s, and it has always been delicious until today. I don't know what happened after the management change, but the food is terrible now. We ordered the tapsilog and added spam. We spent $2.25 on a single slice of spam. The tapa was basically just fat. The Kaldereta was so tough I choked, trying to swallow it after chewing the meat for 10 minutes. The lechon kawali and bulaklak tasted like they were made earlier that day, sat in grease, then were reheated and brought to our table. That's not even the worst part, the lumpia was raw, and my poor daughter is suffering from diarrhea now after eating it. No one asked how things were, when we advised that the Kaldereta was inedible, and after one bite we could eat it anymore, they laughed. We paid our bill and will never go here again. STAY FAR FAR AWAY FROM THIS PLACE

I really enjoy dishes like kare-kare, sisig, dinuguan, and halo-halo, as well as having fun with karaoke. The new owner, Anne, is incredibly kind and friendly, and the establishment is impressively clean. I'll definitely be returning!

I'm from out of town and I had a wedding luncheon here. The customer service was very accommodating to me and my family. Auntie Evelyn and her staff were super nice and helpful. I planned the entire two hour event through the phone and talking with her son DJ. They helped make the experience feel like our Filipino house parties with their awesome food, karaoke, and good vibes. My wife's guest and my family loved the sisig bangus, lechon, and halo halo. I could have booked at a few other places in National City, but I'm glad I didn't. I'd question any review that has anything negative to say about this place, DJ, Auntie Evelyn, or any of the staff.

Since ownership, this place has been horrible. Had to revised my review again to 1 star.

I've been to Zarlito's plenty of times, but I've never reviewed it. My family has been going here for years and years, and the people know us. Nowadays, a lot of the waiters/waitresses are millennials, but back in the day, it was older folk. I tend to eat here with my family for lunch, and we always order the calamari, chicharon bulaklak, Manila fried chicken, fried tilapia, and I ~think~ tinolang manok, because we use the broth to pour onto our rice. The food is always flavorful! I recently went here with my friends, and the service wasn't very up to par. We ordered lumpia as an appetizer when we ordered the drinks, but we didn't even get it to our table until after some of the main dishes came. Then once the food came, we didn't even have utensils. We just grabbed knives that were freshly washed at the table behind us, also. Despite the service being lackluster, the food didn't disappoint. We went during brunch, which is something I've been wanting to experience, and it was a little busy, but not unbearable. Their brunch menu comes with a big portion of food, I had to take some home because I got full so fast, oddly enough.

I was craving Filipino food for a week now because I'm a Filipina American. I came here a long time ago and had a review here but I guess they deleted it. Anyway, as we entered we were greeted by the nice ladies here. We got to sit anywhere. It wasn't busy and yes people complain about the wait but that didn't happen to us tonight. They have combination plates so I got menudo which came with garlic rice, pancit and two Shanghai lumpias. Everything was good! Just like mom's cooking. I definitely enjoyed the lumpias but looked liked they were almost burnt. Overall everything was good. Food came out quickly. The rice has pieces of garlic in it. The menudo is made out of pork pieces, potatoes, carrots, and raisins. So good. Pancit was good as well. I had a Diet Coke to drink. They only have canned drinks. The only thing that took long was the check. The lady came by and dropped the check off. Not too bad but it got more busy after we left. I would definitely come back if I ever have a Filipino food craving.

So I learned this joint got new ownership. I think this did them pretty good. Quality of the food got higher than I remembered. First time trying their Tokwat Baboy and dug it immediately. Their Langgonisa ain't greasy either like in other spots. Lumpia's solid. They got this crispy pork... love it! Now if they and a bunch of Filipino joints would just start offering brown rice... that would be nice.

I finally got a chance to try Zarlitos last night after hearing about their awesome Filipino food. I had the tosilog, garlic fried rice with an egg over top. Also had the lumpia on the side. The tosilog was so tender and had great flavor. I missed having that dish so I am glad I have found my go to spot. The lumpia was perfectly fried and came with the dipping sauce/vinegar. I heard they have amazing poke, but I was so stuffed by the end of the meal I couldn't eat any more. The portions are plenty, the staff is so helpful and the prices are great! Make sure you go check this place out.

If you'd like to waste your time, this is the best place to come for that. Can't even speak on the food but the service or lack of, made us walk out. I NEVER walk out of restaurants like this, but my husband was starting to get annoyed and didn't even want to eat anymore. We got seated right away, but were never acknowledged after that. Didn't even get asked drinks, was never offered water. We sat there waiting for a good 20mins. My husband even got the attention of the older lady who seemed to be the only one working the front of the house and asked if we could order. She just said "hold on". I understand that they seemed to be understaffed. We weren't even in a rush, but It was the fact that she couldn't even acknowledge our existence after being seated. There were about 3 other parties dining in at the time. One was waiting to order, one was waiting for food, the other had just finished eating. People were coming in to order take out, and calling the phone for takeout. She would take everyone's order, but ours. They need to learn how to prioritize the work. Maybe take care of the customers who are currently sitting in your dinning room before tending to people calling and who just walked in? Several people told us that Zarlitos is not the same anymore, I guess we just had to experience It ourselves.