Josephine’s Cerritos

I’m giving Josephine’s Cerritos a 5
I have been craving some Filipino food and my boyfriend and I came on a Thursday night at about 7 pm. It was a quiet and empty to begin with. We ordered the pancit mix, rice and chicken BBQ skewers. We don’t salt our food so I told the waiter to ease up on the salt for the pancit (they use oyster sauce)! Everything was excellently prepared according to my request (the halo halo for dessert was delicious), the service was great and efficient, and the karaōke was a blast! Most of the (professionals?) singers sang very well, especially Jaime Bacani (singer with the DJ entertainment team)! By the time we left 3 hours later, there was a good crowd and the place was really rockin’!!!

I can say I am a regular at Josephine’s. Why? Because the food is excellent, authentic Filipino food, and management and staff makes you feel at home anytime and any day of the week. No matter if they are tired and have been on their feet all day long, there is always a smile and a hello for you. Music genre is contemporary as in Jazz, Rock, Dance, Soul… The Filipino bands that play regularly can put other bands to shame. These bands are versatile and can play music anywhere from top 40’s to 1940s, so dancing is a must! Most importantly, this venue is not just for Filipinos. Anyone is welcome to enjoy the food and the fun! This is what entertainment is about!

we had a reception for a memorial service of approx 120 guests. Sandy (the manager) made this process for us very easy. He and his staff were very accommodating and took care of everything so we didn’t have anything to worry about. We had 10 dishes and all of the food was great. Our guest were very impressed with the food and the service. Thanks again to the staff of Josephine’s !!!

I came here for a company party, so this review might be different.
I gave it 5* because:
— service was nice
— they had a vegan dish that I could eat
— they splurged and kept it warm for us inside
— no internet connection though because of the heavy electronics (dj, soundboard, etc)
The last time I was inside this place was 15 so years ago and it was definitely under a different name, but the atmosphere and moving around was nice and easy. I doubt I will be back unless there are more plant based dishes past steamed vegetables and garlic rice/​white rice.

Was not happy with the two platter dishes for my Christmas Eve party. All the items were over cooked and very dry… can u say «rush job». Paid $ 80 that I wasted on burnt food!!! Be careful everyone…

The food is good but not great. I got the Inihaw Pusit (grilled squid) and Bicol Express (pork belly, shrimp, and mussels). The presentation of the food came out pretty, but I thought the food itself lack flavor. The only thing I like alot was the pork belly on the Bicol Express. When I was there, the atmosphere seemed to be for an older generation. They have a dancefloor and a lot of older people were ballroom dancing. Service was good.

BAD BAD BAD SERVICE!!! i was at my friends catering party yesterday and i saw this guy was eating the shanghai using his finger instead of using the serving thong. i asked my friend who was that guy and she said he’s the OWNER of the restaurant. because for me he shouldn’t do things like that especially if the foods are already served and you’re the OWNER of the restaurant. what if his fingers are dirty. if he was just tasting it don’t taste it in front of your customer taste it before you serve the foods. i was planing on doing my party here but i changed my mind after that happened.
JUST TIP FOR THE OWNER:
Please be PROFESSIONAL, be aware on SAFETY for your customers HEALTHY.
Thank You!

I’ve been here 4 times already. 1^st time I liked it. Chicken BBQ/​halo halo is good. 3^rd time i was here was my niece’s 18^th Bday, lumpia wasn’t so good.
On a really busy weekend night, parking can be terrible considering the other businesses in the plaza still open late Dairy queen/​thai resturant. If you get there early you can find good parking. It seems most of the people that go here are just there to listen to a particular band playing on particular night. They have a ballroom dancing floor for dancing, its pretty small.

Their servings are huge.

We were waiting in line at a bbq restaurant just near by which would have taken us 30 minutes to get in because of the long wait. We saw Josephine restaurant and decide to try it out. I was a bit skeptical at first but after our first dinner, I’m glad to say that we definitely will be coming back. Great service and food, we had the pork on the stick which was one of the best that I have ever had, we had the vegetable lumpia and also the fried chicken which was also delicious.
Restaurant seems empty inside with only a couple of people which may scare off some folks because of the lack of foot traffic/​popularity. My recommendation is to expand on the menu, make it a authentic filipino family restaurant for the day and then turn it into a music venue/​bar at night. Invest in some marketing advertisement that will attract the customers. I haven’t been or know any other filipino restaurants but this place seems has great potential. Great service and great food will certainly bring in the customers.
Restaurant owners of Josephine, start reading these Unilocal reviews, the poor and positive reviews and take notes! This is free marketing survey for you!

Came here for the first time. Didn’t know this place existed. Maybe because the restaurant’s name does not indicate whether it’s a Filipino place.
We came on a Thursday evening around 6:30 and this place was dead. We were seated right away and because it was slow, our food came right away.
The food was very good. We ordered the beef caldareta and the pancit. It was very good and authentic. We will certainly return.

I’m pretty sure it’s under new ownership. I can taste the difference in the food. I’m not saying it’s bad tasting but they don’t offer some of the old menu stuff I enjoyed so much. The old Stuff they had was the only reason for coming back. Disappointed the menu is so small now and I probably won’t be coming back. :(

Service was nice. Owner claire was very accomodating. We ordered crispy pata and would rate it 7/​10, I would still go to the cripsy house inc which is better, Lomi 9/​10, pork sisig ⁵⁄₁₀ because its not really the typical sisig that we are looking for. Doesnt taste good lack of parts of pork and its doesnt taste like a sisig. Grilled pusit was good ⁸⁄₁₀ and their house fried rice is ⁸⁄₁₀. 10 is the highest for the ratings.

I really wanted to like/​love this place and finally find a go-​to Filipino restaurant. From the exterior, the signage reminded me of «Recipes» which is a good restaurant back in Manila (Greenbelt 3). The restaurant reminded me of a banquet hall being that there was a stage set up in the middle and rows of long tables, all of which were covered with white cloth.
My girl friend and I got the fried pompano (fish), bulalo (beef shank in soup) and bagoong (shrimp paste) rice. Food came within twenty minutes of ordering but man, what a huge disappointment. The fried pompano’s skin was not crispy/​crunchy at all and that’s one of the things I tend to look forward to when eating fried fish. The bulalo, to my dismay, was a hybrid between bulalo and nilaga — something that I wasn’t expecting at all. However, I feel the need to disclose the fact that the meat was tender but then again, if you screw up with beef shank then you really shouldn’t run or have a restaurant at all. Last but not the least, the bagoong rice was so clumpy (too much water when cooking the rice, I suppose) and lacking in bagoong flavor. It came to a point where I had to request for extra bagoong because it was so bland.
Maybe it’s my Kapampangan/​Ilocano roots that causes me to be very picky when it comes to my Filipino food but if you’re going to charge me $ 10 for a tiny pompano and not cook it right then you have to step up your fried fish game. My gut wishes that I had just gone to Seafood City and gotten fried fish there instead.
As of right now, I’d much rather settle for Salo Salo grill or a home cooked Filipino meal.

The owner/(female manager?) was really nice & accommodating. The waiter moved us to the booth which i found really nice of him to do so. The owner replaced the dirty linen on our table herself.
It took forever for the food to arrive. Almost an hour wait!
The food was great tho. We had Sisig, bulalo, Inihaw Na pusit and house special fried rice. Yummy! We were full.
There was a birthday celebration and live band. The music was too loud.
We might come back for late night Filipino food stop next time we are back in LA.

Lowest star to no star rating. It took us about an hour to wait for our order. Ambiance is simple. Although theyre having a party the other family eating there was served right on time. Poor service for me. Will not eat here anymore because of this experience.

In my opinion, the food served here is by far the best tasting Filipino food in LA and Orange County. My entire family like to go here for prime Filipino food. The nilagang bulalo Is just right; meat so tender, vegetable are cooked perfectly. The Lomi Is so delicious and authentic. The barbqued chicken and pork ON stick Is just like the ones you get in the street food vendors of Metro-​Manila. Very clean facility. I can not wait to try more items from their menu. The price of items on the menu are very affordable but the quality of taste are not compromised. The place to go! The crispy pata is so crunchy outside, yet very tender inside.

They serve really good and authentic Filipino cuisine. No fusions here. The Beef Bulalo, Beef Kaldereta and the Kare-​Kare are my family’s favorites The Chicken Barbeque tastes divine. The Savory Chicken with Jufran sauce is the bomb. The seafood/​combination meat plate is huge! They also serve really cold beers (Beer Below Zero — Pinoy ingenuity at its finest!).
What separates Josephine’s from other Pinoy restaurants in the area is that they have different live entertainment every night. There’s something for everyone, be it ballroom, karaōke or jazz on weeknights. This is my regular Thursday night hangout when they have Jazz Night. Be prepared to take selfies with famous Pinoy actors and musicians. The place seems to be a favorite among celebrities. Best of all, they have the friendliest and most courteous staff. If you experienced the contrary, it’s not them. It’s probably you.
TIP: On weekends, reservations are highly recommended as they sell out fast if the band has a good following. If they are not sold out that night, it is first come first served. Love that you can make reservations through Unilocal too!

Not ur typical pnoy resto… and most def not a kid friendly place… literally had to yell to say something… first time did not make a convo while eating.
Dont know who needs a live band during lunch time… food was good but sisig is not the same anymore… oh well all this are my opinion…

This will be long, so bear with me. or read the last sentence.
Ambiance–
Music: It’s too loud. Deafening, loud. At times, I’m literally yelling at my bf and his family who are 2 feet away from me.
Lighting: Reminds me I’m at a wedding venue. It’s not too dark, example Red Robbin/​Outback Steakhouse. Rather nice, and quite romantic. A bit more fancy.
Décor: Again, reminds me of a wedding venue, so it’s nice. Not a casual place, somewhere you’d take a date or a fancier place to take the family to.
Food–
Portions: Smaller than Gerry’s Grill.
Taste: Actually rather good, not bad, yet not amazingly awesome where you MUST try. I think Pondahan/Gerry’s Grill is a bit better. Especially for the price as this place is a bit more expensive.
Crispy Pata: Nothing special. It’s crispy, it’s pork, fried pork. Anything pork + fried is good.
Pancit bihon: I actually really like this dish.
Rice: You have to buy it as it doesn’t come with the entrees. That’s fine, BUT to give the rice dish at the end. after the crispy pata, and all 10 other dishes first?! I mean. C’MON! Rice needs to be on the table, first thing.
.I’m getting lazy, please refer to the pictures.
Expensive, a good date spot due to it being fancier but I would still rather go to Gerry’s grill/​Salo, Salo or Pondahan. Depends on how balling of a nurse you are, and just want to hang out and let loose on a night of drunken karaōke.