Maharlika

I was wondering what ube waffle was. I was happy to finally got a chance to tried it. It was very interesting to taste the purple yam with waffle. It was definitely filling.

Came here for brunch. Ordered a few appetisers and entrees. The arroz Caldo porridge was so salty that I couldn’t bring myself to eat it. Let my friend tried it. Nope. Service was slow and indifferent. Disappointed as I expected more. Or maybe it was just that one bad time?
Doesn’t live up the good hype/​reviews

Love this place for brunch. So cute and cozy with awesome Filipino dishes.
The lumpia was decent, a little on the saltier side but definitely very smoky and meaty. Dip it in the vinegar! They say it’s spicy but it’s not too bad and goes really well.
I looooved the arroz caldo or Filipino congee! I was not feeling well last night but the confer really hit the spot. The rice is boiled til the rice «flies» as Asians will say. This is when the rice is cooked for such a long time that the rice is soft, fluffy, and soaks in all the delicious congee flavors. And my was this flavorful — without being too salty either! The ginger and chicken added such a nice touch as well, making it a clean breakfast option.
The chicken and waffles were really good too. I found the ube waffles to have an interesting texture. The chicken was juicy and tender, covered in a crispy delicious light batter with wonderful flavors. Would definitely be back to try more fun brunch dishes!

Was visiting New York and staying in East Village. This restaurant was not too far from where I was staying and was referred by a friend who decided to take me and my gf to go try it out!
It was freezing when I was visiting, so Arroz Caldo sounded delicious, and I was a little familiar with the dish already.
Service was very attentive, and welcomed us with open arms. Had a Spanish beer and Arroz Caldo came out delicious! The Arroz Caldo was Ginger & Garlic scented rice porridge, garnished shredded bbq chicken, achuete oil, and saffron with an egg on top. Love this Filipino dish! Thank you!

Maharlika has some seriously good food. Filipino food is always… interesting. There are some dishes (balut for example) that I cannot get on board with, and most of their flavor combinations are somewhat bizarre. But, the dishes they’re slingin here are fantastic! The wait is usually pretty long, so aim to arrive on the earlier side if you don’t want to deal with your hunger pangs for too long.

An AMAZING filipino spot!
The restaurant prides itself on creating 100% Pinoy dishes with meticulous attention to detail, presentation, and ingredients. I’m not Filipino, but my friend is; he was in love with the food and agrees that the restaurant exemplifies true filipino food with a unique twist that is hard to find elsewhere in the city!
Everything from the décor, the casual ambiance, and the friendly service was impeccable. Upon walking in, you immediately notice the cute and classy decorations that represent filipino culture. The restaurant is small but the seating arrangements are strategically organized in a way that allows for optimal seating. The service… was extremely accommodating, fast, attentive, and friendly. My group of 7 and I made reservations but a few of us were late and the restaurant was still willing to seat all of us during their busy time. For that, we are extremely grateful!
I got to try the mango stuffed french toast and the flip’d chicken and ube waffles (basically a filipino version of the chicken and waffles). The french toast was made with fresh fruit and homemade young coconut jam. The chicken and waffle was the most popular item on the menu. The waffle is made with purple yams, a popular filipino ingredient which tastes amazing. Everything was delicious up to the little sauces they handed out that came with the chicken and waffles!
All in all, I really recommend this spot for brunch! It’s really astounding to see such a great Filipino restaurant pushing Filipino food forward in the culinary scene. We need more awareness for Filipino food!
I haven’t tried their lunch or dinner options but I’m now dying to come back for that very reason.

If I end up overdosing on meaty, buttery deliciousness, I’d hope it would be on Filipino food. We wandered in for dinner and it was packed. Definitely a tiny place so be prepared to wait for a table if you don’t have a reservation. The bone marrow was decadent, and of course, the sisig. Pretty good cocktails, though the service was slow.

One of my best dinners in NYC. It may have to do with the following:
Cozy atmosphere
The rum cocktails were great, pacquiao punch was delicious. They had a tequila cocktail that was quite string
Meat…meat and some more. The goat shank is excellent. Pork belly special they had was great as well.
I have to give a shoutout to our server Hubert… He was awesome and kept us entertained over his story… Ask him if he is your waiter!
Didnt have dessert as I was stuffed. They take reservations but pretty small place, not good for groups larger than 6+.
Overall… Great dinner. Will have to come back.

I am so happy to write this review. We love filipino food, having bought in to the Leah Cohen LES restaurant. Having said that — we have our GO TO place for filipino now. We wanted to grab a quick lunch, and most places were only offering brunch as it is a holiday today. I looked at my Unilocal list and noticed that there was a filipino restaurant pretty close to where we were, and that even their brunch menu offered non traditional brunch items. Maharlika was excellent — everything from the service, to the music, and most of all — the food. Ordered the sisig (my fav), the lumpiang barquillos, and the head on prawn. Everything was perfectly executed, and we will most definitely be back for their dinner menu.

Finally had the chance to check this place out!
A cute little spot. I love all the little decorations they have that reminds of the Phililpines. But back to the good stuff, the food.
We ordered the brunch specials. We both ordered the Tocilog and Arroz Caldo. We felt a little daring, so, we tried the balut as well. Everything was delicious. The arroz Caldo was perfect for the cold weather. The food, in my opinion, took a little too long to cook. Only because we were the only ones there. But besides that, food was delicious and customer service was great.
Need some Filipino food while in the big apple, check this place out.

Quaint and comfortable place they have a small seated bar too that you can sit at
Loved that they were playing old school Michael Jackson, really has that big welcoming family vibe. Waitress was very knowledgeable about the menu and happy to break it down for you.
Bloody Mary made with nice balance of spice and kick, wasn’t the best I had by certainly not the worst.
I had the Ube Waffle & chicken combo. The waffle was a big tough to chew through but the fried chicken was outstanding!!! Surprisingly liked the chicken more than the waffle itself.
Gotta try the sweet bun appetizers here, they bring out different sauces to try it with.
Open on New Year’s Day, pretty good overall!

If you are ever in New York and you want fine Filipino food (or want to try something different), this is a MUST EAT place.
I made a reservation (do this if you can!) via Unilocal.We were seated right when our party was complete. Waited at the bar, looked at the menu while waiting. Hubert (the bartender for the night) was great, informative, entertaining.
Nikki (the host/​server) was also very informative about the menu! Since it was a Sunday night, they had the Chef’s Special (they only do it for 2 – 4 people, you will get 1 appetizer for each person in your party; we had three so we got three appetizers, then four entrees (party size + 1), then two desserts, AND UNLIMITED RICE). For $ 30, this was a steal!!! It’s a lot of food, but you get to taste most of their menu (as they don’t have a huge selection anyway).
Starter:
*chicken skin chicharon — so yummy!
Appetizers:
**Lumpiang barquillos — if you’ve had lumpia before, this is probably gonna be the longest lumpia you’ve had
***Inihaw na pugita (grilled octopus) served with pickled mangoes and jicama — I’ve never had octopus and this was an awesome first time… and the pickled mangoes and jicama was AMAZING
****SPAM FRIES (with San Miguel Beer batter)! — they’re literally that, spam fried like fries with SMB batter, served with banana ketchup of course ;)
They give you enough so that everyone in your party could taste it!
Entrees:
****Kare-​kare — the oxtail was soooo good, the veggies were good too, everything was actually
****Pork Adobo — extremely tender fall-​off-​the-​bone pork spare ribs adobo
****Kapampangan style SIZZLING pork sisig — they serve it still sizzling; they would show you once it comes out from the kitchen with an egg on top and they mix it for you
****FLIP’D CHICKEN + UBE WAFFLES (amazing macapuno syrup!!!) — take your basic chicken and waffles and «flip’d» it and voila! We were so full when we got to this dish, but we still ate it and it was still good. The chicken was greatly dressed. and c’mon… ube waffles?!! love the macapuno reduction/​syrup.
To finish it off, we enjoyed some biko and maja blanca.
Their drinks are creatively named too – like Pacquiao’s Punch and Lea Salonga. They’re $ 10/​11, worth it to have a drink with your meal.
Lastly, amazing servers/​staff + throwback music + great overall vibe. I really enjoyed this place and would make it a point to come back every visit to NYC!
tl;dr Make a reservation if you can. Go on Sunday night if you can for their Chef’s Special and enjoy it!
I still need to go back to try their Uni Palabok! YUM

Been here twice and both time were good times!
Service:
Very attentive, and really accomodating. We went here during lunch time and not realize that they close at 3:30 to get ready for dinner service. The server was very accomodating and let us pick our seat.
Food:
Please order sisig, it’s so rich and i think it’s a good epitome of gluttony filipino style.
Fried chicken and waffle is a true definition of partay in your mouth. Talking about different flavor profile in one dish.
Drink:
My favorite is pacquiao punch… really good and strong!
Happy hour is 11a-​7p…

After getting 2 days violently ill from competitor Grill 21 & mildly liking Café Banyan’s so-​so quality, I was iffy about Filipino food, but a group dinner here last November with 15 friends brought me back in good favor with the island vibe.
The hosts were so so very courteous & considerate in seating our whole party on time & gave us a great warm hearty welcome. The staff’s camaraderie was obvious & made us feel better, too. I don’t recall all the dozen plus dishes we ordered other than that the flounder steamed in banana leaves was of particularly difficult making yet delicious outcome. Its desserts were also very likeable even if their details elude my memory.

Came here a couple of weeks back with my boyfriend and sister for brunch. My sister and I had been on the hunt for a good Filipino restaurant that could even come close to our dad’s Filipino cooking and this place did not disappoint!
My boyfriend and sister ordered the crab cake Benedict which I tasted and it was very good. The crab cakes were filled with a lot of crab and were creamy on the inside. I ordered the eggs Benedict made with pan de Sal and spam and hollandaise with calamansi! This was one of the most unique takes on eggs Benedict and it paid off. The three of us split a side of bangus and a side of garlic fried rice which I have to admit was the only place where I’ve tried fried rice that is actually better than my dad’s! The bangus was pretty small to share between 3 people but it was so crispy and delicious.
The service was just the cherry on top. We made reservations just a couple hours before arriving and they were able to accommodate us quickly when we arrived. Our waitress was very friendly and gave us some information on how to eat the bangus with vinegar, mostly for my boyfriend who is clearly not Filipino. If I was not familiar with how to go about eating Filipino cuisine I would feel more comfortable eating and being able to ask questions.
Would definitely come back to this place again!

Super cool and chic inside Maharlika. It’s a great place to dine for Filipino-​American food with a great location. Maharlika is also really great for brunch with well priced items and servers were really hipster. Overall, I’d come back and try more items on the menu.

Been to Maharlika a couple of times this year. It was a treat every time and loved having a Filipino restaurant in Manhattan.
This year for Christmas Eve dinner, I decided to try their Kamayan NOCHE BUENA dinner with my friend and it was magical! It’s not just enjoying amazing tasty Filipino food but WHAT A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE. Dining Filipino food in an authentic Filipino way– food served over banana leaves and eating with your hands!
It’s a must repeat for Christmas Eve 2016. To the wonderful people at Maharlika, see you guys soon!

A small Filipino restaurant located on 1^st Ave along side Ugly Kitchen. Maharlika has a homey feel to it and I felt right welcome right when I came in. The menu can be kind of overbearing but the waiter spent a great deal of time making sure we knew how to navigate through the menu and answered any question we might had.
The menu is small but extensive enough giving variety from Balut (Fertilized Duck Egg) to specials including marinated Pork Chop or Catch of the Day. We ended up settling on the Inihaw Na Pugita (Grilled Octopus) for an appetizer and was blown away by the texture and flavor implemented into it.
Besides the grilled octopus, we decided to have the special of the day which was a pork chop marinated in pineapple juice, spices, garlic, shrimp paste, and etc. The pork chop was extremely tender and when served with vegetables on the side to balance the dish. Furthermore, I had the pork shank confit which is a entire pork leg that has been fried usually in duck fat or something similar. The shank was enormous but flavor was average and it appear to be more fried skin than anything else. I enjoyed it but I would definitely order the Flip Fried Chicken and Ube Waffles next time.
For a small hole in the wall, this place definitely has a lot to offer and I would recommend checking it out.
Recommendation:
Specials of the day (Hopefully they have the pork chop)
Grilled Octopus
Garlic Rice
Flipped Fried Chicken and Ube Waffles

Fair warning: when planning to eat at this place, it may be best to make a reservation.
The location is pretty small, but the food is delicious! Whenever I go here, I always get the Flip’d chicken and Ube waffles. It just never disappoints! Although the Filipino style fried chicken isn’t as good as what you would find at a Max’s (Filipino fried chicken chain restaurant) it’s still better than other regular fried chicken places. The Ube waffle combines my favorite Filipino dessert with my favorite breakfast meal. The staff is really friendly, and the serves was pretty fast when I went, despite being packed.
Their sisig isn’t the greatest (or cheapest), so I wouldn’t order it again. Their ‘silog plates look delicious, but I haven’t tried it for myself. Maybe I’ll get it next time. Probably not because I love me some fried chicken and Ube waffles.

Although I’ve been to Maharlika a few times over the years, this was my first Sunday brunch. Jeepney was booked and referred me here. The menus are similar but unfortunately neither have the fantastic bone marrow brunch item anymore.
Maharlika is a small restaurant with a casual, fun vibe. The staff are friendly and courteous. They seem to have fun joking with each other.
I chose the Eggs iMelda for its roasted head-​on-​prawns. The plating was beautiful, but my poached eggs were a bit overcooked and not runny. That was ok but I couldn’t get past that the tasty prawns were mushy. The kamote home fries were crisp and yum. I liked the taro-​root leaves, coconut milk and taste of bagoong.
My disappointing Bloody Mary was unadorned, unpickled and plain. Although they also offered Bloody Marias and Claras, please jazz these $ 9 drinks up like your other cocktails! Bloodies = pickled accompaniments.
My friends enjoyed their entrees more, so I guess I selected wrong.
If you make a reservation, which is strongly advised, they usually only hold the table for 15 minutes so make sure friends are not on NY time.