Kawayan

Crispy pata is superb, kare– kare was so tasty, and the seafood bicol express was awesome! Difinitely we are going to be back and dine in ir maybe just call for pick up orders. And the costumer service is also 5 stars.

The food is really good. We ordered crispy pata, daing na bangus and kare-​kare. Thr price is comparable to other Filipino restaurants. We went during our lunch hour so not much people eating. Im sure it could have a little wait time during dinner because the place is really small. Their tables are really small too so for the table for 4 and the food we ordered, it could barely fit. I would recommend this restaurant if you’re in Chicago area. Easy access to public transportation too. — cta blue line

The food is DELICIOUS!!! I have had a craving for Filipino food… and I decided to google a Filipino resturarant near me… well Kawayan came up! I ordered Bihon/​Canton Combo, Lumpia Shanghai and Kakanin… it is the BEST food I have enjoyed lately.
Great size portions and well worth my $!!!
I would recommend this place over and over again!!!
Thank you Kawayan!

Work close to this place. A Filipino friend recommended it. I have made the habit of making a meal out of lumpia! I can’t complain about this place.

We came across the place since it’s near from my old college. I’m Filipino so I’ve tried so many Filipino resto, but nothing can compare to authentic Filipino food cooked by mom.
We actually didn’t eat in we had it to go since we came from a trip and didn’t want to cook at home. We came to get our order and I was actually shocked to hear that the order came out to $ 85+. We only ordered 2 daing na bangus (marinated milkfish), two sisig (fried prok on a hot skillet) and two large white rice and a halohalo. All of this came out to a freaking $ 85 plus tax. I asked the server why it came out that much and he just said you ordered just 30mins ago. I didn’t want to argue coz I’m already tired and hungry I didn’t want to go crazy on the server since the server was already old.
When we got home my dad asked how much was the total I told him the price and he was like we are never going back to that place. We’ll stick to the place that we know where $ 85+ is a freaking party tray that can feed 20+ people. The food was mediocre and the portions were really small for a very pricey order.

Went here for the firs time w my ma for lunch at 11. Easy free parking (warning, same lot as the social security office. So, parking can be tough sometimes, I can imagine)
We ordered the lumpiang shanghai. Yum!
Next up, boneless daing bangus and kare kare.
Bought the palitaw for my ma to take home w her. She was very pleased and said it was good (she is from Pampanga, where good sweets reside, now THAT is a compliment if my ma likes it!)
GREAT friendly service, very clean (employees walk around constantly straightening and cleaning tables)
Open kitchen (LOVE that!)
Main cook is right there, so compliment him after your amazing meal
Nice friendly faces, fast service, great portions for the prices, & most importantly, great authentic Filipino food!
Your restaurant definitely has a future regular right here

3.5 Every Filipino restaurant I come across, it revives this undying desire I have to find a spot that will forever replicate my Filipino soul food growing up. I’ve been begging my parents to just simply live forever, so I can have monggo, dinuguan, and sinigang at request. We regularly pick up from nearby Filipino marts for dinner, and to pack leftovers for our «baon» in the morning.
But to find a nearby restaurant?! oh, this was heaven.
Grazing the money with my starving eyes, every item, save for one, seemed familiar. I was salivating and marinating in dreams of planning a trip for every meal, for every day of the week. bicol express. pancit bihon. cassava cake. adobo. sisig. sinigang. kare kare. kaldereta. EHRMAGERRRRD!!!
For one fleeting moment, I thought, «maybe i can finally skip out on socializing at Filipino parties… cuz let’s face it. I’m really only there for the food, and not for the ‘so who is your boyfriend?’ jokes, and prying eyes, and the glares at my empty ring finger.» i really only commit to my Filipino roots to feed my Filipino-​food-​fed-​soul. Aside from that, I’m really a nomad.
I was in love. I was in love with the dreams of breakfast. Sweet meats. garlic fried rice. and fluffy fried eggs. pancit in all forms. bihon, canton, and bihon/​canton. i love me some mulatto pancit. i’m all about the pancit, one love. desserts included halo halo, cassava cake, and some others. lumpia shanghai. i mean… lumpia shanghai!!! *sigh* and then I woke up.
my origins with food are the very reason why i’ll never be American-​skinny. i’ll forever be more-​to-​love.
i digress.
we dined, in merely for breakfast. I had the combo of tocino with longanisa, over garlic fried rice, married with two fluffballs of fried egg. my sister got the tapsilog, and a side of tocino. My meat was tasty. slight on salt, leaned more sweet, and heavy hand with the fatty. All the makings of good filipino breakfast, and every reason why my cholesterol should always be monitored closely. It was tasty, with just a slight bit of char on the longanisa. my tocino was sweet, had hints of sour vinegar, and could have been a slight bit more juicy, but its integrity was kept by the layers of fat that snuggled the meat with love. My sister’s tapsilog was drier than I liked, with good flavor, but every chew had this small sinister whisper of «beefsteak» in my mind… my palate looked for onions that weren’t there. My mouth was having tapsilog, while my heart wanted bistec.
The food overall? good. fairly priced.
Now service. oooooh, the service. The cook was friendly, but the server, linda, was not quite to my liking. There were a few instances of uncomfortable hovering. We were given menus. After a minute, she asked our order, and we needed more time. She left to play on her phone, and never came back until we waved her down. We asked for boxes for our leftover, and she left us for her phone again, not anticipating we would also be ready for our bill. My sister had gotten coconut juice, served in a can. My sister got hers… no acknowledgement of my calamansi juice (and oh, i’d recommend that for anyone who wants to indulge in a little filipino lemonade kinda lovin). I assumed she forgot mine. She really wasn’t too friendly… Not the best multitasker, and just moves at her own pace.
I’d recommend ordering to go, if you don’t have the patience for this. The interior suits a quick bite, or lunch… but not so nice that I’d recommend it as a comfortable dinner sit-​down. They’ve also got a few dessert items pre-​packaged to go, including kutsinta and sapin sapin. Absolutely worth a try, though. I love supporting Filipino spots, and encourage more awareness on our awesome cuisine. Although not the prettiest, or healthiest, we do throw down.
I will be coming back, for more, and more, and more. I’m hoping this can be a close contestant to my parents’ home cooking. But since it’s so close to home, I can only see myself ordering to-​go from now on. I just don’t have the patience… it might really be only my voracious appetite when it comes to Filipino food. It’s always a food I must murder, and can’t be bothered to taste delicately.
I’ve heard the crispy pata is good, too. I will definitely update later on.

Accidentally came across this place. Just ordered the Kare-​Kare. Delicious! The meet was tender and good sauce. Not too thin/​watery. What I found most interesting is that the portion of meet to vegetables was perfect. Most places that I’ve been to has more vegetables than beef. Which is annoying because who wants to eat an eggplant Kare Kare? Will definitely be back to try more dishes. Also very friendly staff!

Dined in today after getting off the Blue Line on my way to relax at King Spa. All Filipino patrons in an unassuming strip mall location next to Jefferson Park transit center.
Ordered lumpia shanghai and one piece of inasal. Lumpia were crispy and tasty — a deep fried guilty pleasure. The chicken was moist and juicy on the inside but char-​crispy on the outside. The dipping sauce seemed to be made with lemongrass, coconut, vinegar and soy sauce — super delish. Served with white rice, it was a LOT of food for under $ 15.
There will definitely be leftovers tomorrow — way better deal than the café at the spa. The people who own and run the restaurant were very sweet and appropriately attentive (not invasive). The service bumped my rating up from four to five stars. I will have to try kare kare next time!

So I kinda accidentally found this place and I am very happy about it. I already had a dinner plan so couldn’t get much food this time. But I still bought some lumpia Shanghai and veggie lumpia frito with tofu in it. They were both very tasty. I enjoyed a veggie lumpia since it was little different and the texture of jicama (?) was lil crunchy like a water chestnut, which I like. The young lady who took my order was very polite and I am looking forward to come back and try some different food Hee.

never in my life had i left a restaurant that hungry after ordering a bunch of dishes with friends…
why? well because the food was horrible and we only ate a little bit out of each dish! i mean we tried to like it because we love filipino food a lot. but it was just bad.
we ordered 2 combos (tocilog and longsilog with eggs over garlic rice), chicken adobo, lumpia, and pancit.
the tocilog was tough to chew. the longsilog was nothing but fat. omg and the garlic rice was hard like its under cooked or not enough water.
the chicken adobo was ewww. it has a weird flavor and taste a little funny. it was not like any adobo ive tried.
lumpia was decent. had better.
the pancit was bad… oh and i meant bad… everyone literally just had 1 bite of it and was disgusted. it smelled horrible. tasted like rubber/​plastic. hard to explain it but yuck… really didnt taste like food.
we also ordered a halo halo and shared it… it was good. only thing we actually enjoyed .
after we left. we went else where to eat… sigh

I had diner there last week, I never tried Filipino cuisine amd was curious about it.
We ordered a Bistec Taglog (sliced and marinated beef) and a Kare Kare (peanut butter flavored stew). Both meals were very tasty, subtly flavored, and portions were large enough.
However the beef quality wasn’t excellent… it’s a pity. This is why I give it ³⁄₅ and not ⁴⁄₅.
Also, service was very good, the waiter was extremely considerate and nice.
I will go there again to try other meals.

Sooooooooo happy to find a place to order some Pancit Bihon!!! And it ended up being a neighborhood gem. I ordered Pancit Bihon, Lumpia Shanghai, Crispy Pata and a large White Rice for carry out.
Had to bring it home (fought the urge to be greedy and eat here… had a belly waiting at home), but definitely amazed, pleased and happy I made I visit.
BEST LUMPIA I’VE EVER HAD (Lumpia Shanghai).

We came here because of a recommendation of their Inasal chicken. We ordered it and it did not disappoint! Tender and moist with a unique side sauce. The pancit palabok was very tasty. Kare Kare had one of the best sauces around. Boneless beef chunks and lots of veggies rounded out this dish nicely. The breakfast combo was good, but next time we will skip the fatty longanisa and get all tocino. The staff was friendly. We saw lots of carry out orders, so we might opt for that next time.

Wonderful! Ordered lumpia for the Christmas party my husband and I were having before our wedding, and even my parents loved them; they were the first dish to finish! Pricing is reasonable, and they are very friendly. When I ordered some desserts to go (I had kutsinta with the coconut flakes to go), they were fresh and the restaurant was very clean and tidy. I have yet to try their other dishes but it’s been great to be able to find an authentic Filipino restaurant close to me. Parking is a little hard in the center it is located, but it is free, and they also take orders for pick up.

I am sorry to say that Unilocal has let me down big time with this place. I don’t get the good reviews because we came with a group of people and we all left barely eating anything. I have ate at many Filipino spots in the city and they all taste so good, but this place definitely let me down big time. Us being the only table there during dinner time should be a dead giveaway. The only thing decent here was the lumpia shanghai egg rolls and the halo halo. The tocilog and longsilog combo with garlic rice was also pretty decent. The garlic rice didn’t even taste right to us, which is sad because this should be simple to make. Also, the longsilog had so much fat in it that I threw it away after the first bite. We also got the beef with garlic rice and the beef was okay, but pretty dry and chewy. The chicken adobo didn’t fit our taste bud as well as we barely finish this also. Lastly, we got the pancit and this was very awful. It was inedible and had a very discrete plastic taste to it. We barely touched it and the server asked us how it was and we told him the truth. We left disappointed and hungry that we honestly went to the McDonalds down the block after. On top of that… it was freezing inside when we ate, but the server was nice enough to put a portable heater out for us, but it wasn’t working. I don’t think I will be coming back here.

I really enjoyed this place and thanks to a Unilocal review hit a home run in the ordering. The service was also great, they really cared about pleasing us and were proud of their food.
We started with two appetizers. First was the Lumpia Shanghai, which was a huge portion (maybe 10) Filipino springrolls and a good dipping sauce. I love spring rolls and these were great, crispy and the dipping sauce was good (and there were a lot). Also had the pork skewers, which were tasty with a lot of good pork.
The entrees were also good. We had the Kare Kare, which is sort of like a pot roast in a peanut sauce (probably totally butchering what it is but just try it). It was really good and a very hefty portion.
Our other entrée was the crispy pata. I really loved this and am dying to go back for it. It was a full pork knuckle or shank, a huge piece of meat. The pork is very tender and the skin is crisp, just like pork rinds if you have had them.
Both portions were tremendous so no room for dessert but anxious to go back.

My wife and I have been here three times in the past month, and will probably be back again this weekend because we love it so much.
Beef caldereta — so tender it practically melts in your mouth. Geez, it feels like I am eating it right now.
Sinigang — they use real tamarind and not just powdered packet so it gives the authentic flavor to it that I grew up on. Actually it might be a little better than the stuff I grew up on. (Don’t tell my mom)
Bistec Tagalog — again, very tender and again very good.
Pork Belly Sisig — ok, this is NOT the sisig that you are used to eating. It isn’t the crispy lean sisig that you might expect. It isn’t as lean, and it’s cooked in a white sauce that tastes real good. In all honesty, I think mayonnaise is involved with it, but trust me it is good.
Pancit — Any good Filipino restaurant HAS to have good pancit… and yes Kawayan does as well! I could’ve easily taken down the entire plate by myself, but we also had the sisig that day… I didn’t want to fill up on my month’s worth of calories in just one meal.
Service is great, very friendly… if you see the owner Chris, he is very engaging and helpful.
One of my favorite non-​food things about this restaurant is the open kitchen. It reminds me of big Filipino parties at my mom’s or relatives’ house seeing all the cooks in the kitchen.
As I said we’ll be back again possibly tomorrow… so yes, we do like it there.

Tapsilog was terrible. Costs $ 8.00. The meat they used was the beef used in making nilaga. There was no hint of garlic, soy sauce and kalamansi at all.
Ruby’s tapsilog is way better!
The tocilog was pink. No taste as well. Please see picture.

The previous owners of the closed Filipiniana have opened up a new spot to serve that delicious food that they once served. Conveniently located across the way from the Jefferson Park in Veterans Plaza, makes getting there a breeze. There is a free parking lot, and of course, bus and train accessible. It’s a cozy place that can fit about 50 – 75 people (depending on the seating arrangement) with very friendly staff. We arrived right when they opened and the place was bustling already with people of all races enjoying their food. Luckily, we were seated right away and I decided to «take it all in». The waiter, Jerry, who was very helpful and knowledgeable assisted us to help make some decisions on what food choices to for our party soon to be arriving any moment.
For starters we ordered the Bbq pork skewers and the Lumpia Shanghai. BBQ pork cooked to perfection on a stick served with a garlic vinegar dipping sauce. We devoured it, it stood no chance. Lumpia Shanghai was fried golden and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce. I must say that I was already impressed with the service upon entrance but the appetizers made us excited about the rest of the meal we were about to have. For the rest of the meal I need to break it down because it deserves some detailed reviewing:
–Insal na Chicken (bbq chicken) — Chicken can be messed up so easily but Kawayan did it just right. Thank the Lord! Juicy bbqed chicken served with a sweet sauce.
–Bistec Taglog — Sliced and marinated beef. Cooked with a soy sauce, garlic and calamansi (small limes– but more flavorful). Cooked with sliced onions. It reminded me of my grandmother’s! It really took me back and the flavors melded so well together. It married perfectly over white rice (which it is served with).
–Crispy Pata — Deep fried pork knuckle served with vinegar or «mang tomas» which is a sweet dipping sauce. I would say it reminds me of a meaty chicharron flavor. It’s a huge serving and I suggest you get it when you have 3 or more people to help you tackle this delicious dish.
–Kare Kare — If you don’t know, you must. I am totally serious. It’s a Philippine stew flavored with peanut butter, they serve it with fork tender beef, boy choy, green beans, and eggplant. I know it sounds weird but I promise you, it is outrageously delicious. Kare kare can easily be messed up if you make it more like a soupy consistency and I am glad they made sure that the stew was thick and super flavorful. That stew had such developed flavors it was wonderful. Put that over some rice and that in itself is a meal. Just thinking of this again is making my mouth water.
–Daing na Bangus — De-​boned milkfish marinated with fresh garlic, salt, pepper, vinegar. Fried until golden brown and delicious. I am not a fish eater. I don’t know why, I am just not. This fish though, I make an exception for. It is that good. Really, try it, don’t hesitate. It tastes like chicken but with all those flavors that it was marinated in locked in by that fry but not over cooked.
The staff informed me that they serve Filipino breakfast dishes all day. Tocilog (sweet cured pork served over garlic fried rice and an egg on top), tapsilog (fried beef served over garlic fried rice and an egg on top), Longsilog (sweet cured pork sausage served over garlic fried rice and an egg), Bangsilog (deep fried milkfish served over garlic fried rice and an egg, etc.
All these dishes come with a dipping sauce of some sort and if you know me, I am the accoutrement queen! I was in dipping sauce heaven. All perfect accompaniments to their meals and not over powering.
Not only did I enjoy the food but I also enjoyed the wonderful service they gave my family. The owner’s came out to mingle with the patrons of their establishment and took some time to talk to us about their history and small chit chat. I knew they were wildly busy but took the time out to anyway. That is grade-​A service that I expect. They gave me the feeling of feeling welcomed in their home. I can see that they take a great sense of pride in their food and give it their all. I love when I see passion in a restaurateur’s eyes. I am positive that everything else on the menu is just as delicious, be adventurous and try something new because you just might like it, especially if it comes from Kawayan. One of the owner’s told me that they will be holding special events in the near future — all which sound delicious!
In all, we enjoyed our meal and we will be back time and time again. A great time and meal was had by all. I would like to apologize for not snapping a photo of everything we got since we devoured it so quickly. I captured what I could. See you soon Kawayan!