Milkfish

Obsessed. I’ve been coming here since they had heir soft open. I’m from a Filipino family and always crave adobo. They do a nice one here. The tosilog is my absolute favorite dish here. This place is truly a gem and I’m thrilled that they are getting the hype they deserve. Mabuhay!

Oh Milkfish, how I love you so.
Really can’t say enough good things about this place! From the handful of times I’ve dined here and the rather many times I’ve ordered takeout/​delivery over the past year, I’ve always been so impressed with the incredible staff. They really want you to have the best dining experience you can have, and are excited to explain and answer any questions you have or offer suggestions.
Great dining space, staff, drinks, and of course, appetizers, entrees, and deserts. And did you know they deliver? Because they deliver.

I can only take so much Cajun food, so I was excited to go here. Only to find out they share the place with Burmese kitchen called «LAHPET». I was so disappointed not to satisfy my munchies… The place is self served, service was poor. Curry fish was bland, Barely any Papaya in the papaya salad. They should have named the place «LAHYOH» po kayo. I am just probably just being a DIVA and need a snicker bar.

Mlikfish is one of those quiet gems of our city. The one you often drive past (I mean it is right on the corner of Canal and Carrollton), but when the mood strikes you — you can’t deny it. Having eaten there at least 7 times, I have never been disappointed. Here are 5 of my favorite things about Milkfish.
1. They make gluten free dishes — and are willing to break down any dish to ensure I don’t get sick eating it.
2. Their flavors are always dancing — I mean literally dancing with the textures in my mouth resulting in a smile.
3. Spam fried rice. I know… I know… Spam? But seriously take a chance and try it.
4. Delicious cocktails! The bartenders never dissapoint with some creative cocktails with just the right balance of liquor and mixers.
5. Laughter. No matter who I go with or when I go — the staff and my group always end up enjoying the meal, conversation and some good laughs.
Oh — and a bonus —
6. This is a sweet little date spot as well — especially if you want to add some more adventure to your pallette.

I’ll be honest and admit that I had no idea what Filipino food was, until I had Milkfish. But needless to say, anytime I’m nearby, I crave it. It’s hard to describe, but if you’re familiar with it at all, I hear this is authentic as it gets. Crazy good flavors, and lots of love in the dishes they make. Never an issue with preparation or presentation.
Shoot for the chicken adobo your first time, then get adventurous.

Unfortunately you shouldn’t come here if you’ve had Filipino food in the past. Not surprsingly the food tasted like the flavors were toned down and created to fit a non-​ethnic palate. I would not come here again. I had high hopes for this place based on the reviews and pictures.

A waitress in a Vietnamese restaurant told me about Milkfish, recently.
I went about 2 pm on a Saturday, and all but 3 tables were occupied, which was surprising. I and the couple behind me waited about 5 minutes at the end of the long hallway that leads to the dining area before anyone appeared. Apparently the only waiter, was talking to customers near the front window and didn’t see me. When he walked back to the kitchen he walked right past us without acknowledgement. A few minutes
Later some other waiter appeared from somewhere and pointed me to a table and the couple behind me to a booth. After another wait I saw him give the couple menus, but he seemed to forget about me.
The point is the service was not good, and they ignored a single female while serving the couple first. If I’m by myself I usually get several dishes and take the excess for meals later, so I guarantee my order (and the waiters tip) will be more than what a 2 person couple will order.
Another waiter finally brought me a menu — total, About 15 minutes after arriving.
I ordered the veggie lumpia rolls ($ 7), the tamarind soup ($ 10), the crab fried rice ($ 10), and the veggie sisig ($ 12). Half an hour later all four dishes arrived at once. The waiter asked me if that was ok as he set the lumpia and sisig down. What was I supposed to say? No, take two dishes away I want to wait another half hour?
I picked up one of the lumpia pieces and grease ran down my fingers and dripped onto the table. Later when he removed the dish, there was a 2×3 inch circle of hardened fat on the table. Not having had Filipino food before I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be so greasy or sparsely filled with vegetables?
The tamarind soup was very tasty and full of okra, and other vegetables, but $ 10 for a bowl of vegetable soup seems a little high. It’s served with a half cup of white rice.
The crab fried rice is about 4 cups– it’s huge, but still $ 10? For rice? I didn’t see any crab in it– only a few pieces of scallion and some brownish spice which is what I think was what was crunchy in the dish. I could taste garlic and a lot of salt, and flavor that I assume was crab flavor– it tasted just a bit iodine-​y.
The sisig was very tasty, but again, all the sauteed vegetables were swimming in grease. It came with a small dish of soy sauce and a thin Thai pepper, and a cup of garlic fried rice. I love garlic, so that was a hit.
After another 10 – 15 minutes (I’d finished eating) the waiter came by and asked if I wanted condiments. Really.
Another 10 minutes later I flagged him down and asked about the halo halo dessert which is shaved ice topped with avocado ice cream and übe (a sweet Japanese yam paste) and some crunchy sweet things. I said it sounded like a lot, so he said he’d check to see if they could give me a scoop of avocado ice cream. A while later he brought that out with a scoop of übe ice cream ($ 4). The avocado was very good– not as sweet as Americans are used to. The übe icecream was delicious– sweet with an unusual but tasty flavor– not fruity, not bean-​y (like mochi), but good.
Overall, this was underwhelming, and the indifferent and slow service was not overcome by the greasy food. So many of the other reviews seem to say this is what Filipino food is, so without any other experience to judge from, I have to conclude its not worth recommending going to again.

AGHHHH words cannot express how much I LOVE this place. I had never eaten Filipino food before, but this place does not disappoint! The first time I went, I tried the Kare Kare, oxtail stewed in peanut butter with shrimp paste, eggplant, bok choy, beans, and garlic fried rice. Wowowow so awesome. The oxtail was tender, the sauce was delicious, unlike anything I’ve ever had before, and the garlic fried rice added depth to the dish without being overpowering. The second time, I ordered the Bistek, which is beef seared in a sweet soy sauce with caramelized onions and, again, garlic fried rice. Yum! The menu is unapologetically bold – unless you’re Filipino, you probably have no idea what you’re ordering or what any of the words on the menu mean, but it’s what I love most about this restaurant. I live for blind ordering.
Lastly, dessert! Try the Halo Halo (shaved ice, fruit, and condensed milk); it’s a super refreshing end to a meal. My friend once said «the Halo Halo is so good they named it twice.»

Lahpet Pop-​up Review: Had the House Curried Fish Rice Plate and Ginger Fried Rice. Out of the two I’d recommend the Curried Fish full of flavor. Def stop by for quick lunch.

I’ve been here a few times, and the food is always amazing. I had the lumpia, the dinuguan, and the flan on my last trip. The flan was the best I’ve ever had, and I grew up in Florida surrounded by flan. Very dense and creamy. I also really recommend their bistek.
The service has always been on point, and the staff is great at recommendations (although they have an easy job, since I’ve never had a bad, or even mediocre meal here).
I used to eat Filipino food a lot when I lived in North Carolina, and this restaurant puts the places I used to love to shame. Also, the prices compared to food quality make this an even better deal.

great Filipino restaurant! was visiting NOLA for NYE and heard about Milkfish through some food blogs and had to add it to our list! i always look for filipino restaurants while traveling and try to support local spots as much as possible. happy to say this place was a great experience all around, you can feel that it’s a family run place as soon as you step in. the service and hospitality are top notch! the food was delicious!
as some other reviewers noted, filipino food is regional and every family has their own take on national dishes. milkfish provides authentic tastes, it felt like my tita (auntie) was in the kitchen.
we decided to book a kamayan dinner (no plates or utensils, you eat with your hands) which is traditional/​native filipino style and were served chicken adobo, bistec, lumpia (spring rolls), string beans, bicol (stew) and several types of rice (spam fried rice was our fave!), each bite was delectable. hailey (our lovely waitress) was so warm and friendly and gave us some history on the restaurant and her family, it was wonderful to hear about their story.
this is a must visit! please do support and come by if you’re in town or a local. filipino food doesn’t get as much love as other asian cuisines which is unfortunate as it’s a great mixture of several types of cuisine (chinese, spanish) and milkflish does it right!

My expectations were pretty high when my sister told me of a Filipino restaurant in New Orleans, especially when I perused the online menu and saw that they served my all time favorite dish of peanut butter oxtail stew (kare-​kare to us natives.)
So we made the trek to Carrollton, not a bad ride from New Orleans proper, and headed to Milkfish on our last night in the city. We ordered the spring rolls (lumpia shanghai) and crispy pork belly (lechon kawali) appetizers, and both were excellent. Sister excitedly ordered the shrimp paste fried rice and I ordered the peanut butter stew.
This I think is where the problem (for us) came in. The Philippines has different types of shrimp paste (one dark red, a little bit sweeter, and another which is bright pink, which is definitely brinier and more on the salty side.) The shrimp paste fried rice my sister had was made with the sweeter bagoong mixed into it (we preferred the salty shrimp paste) and so was the kare kare. I was disappointed to discover that the shrimp paste was already mixed into my dish (it’s traditionally served as a condiment on the side, to add as much or as little as you want with each bite.) Ordering some shrimp paste on the side to be able to eat it the way I like to added a small fee (not a problem) but it was also the dark red shrimp paste (which is a problem, for me.) That is a personal preference though so some people may be okay with that.
That being said, I had ordered some fried rice with tocino (cured sweetened pork) and egg for my flight the next day, and I enjoyed that thoroughly. The fried rice was great, and the tocino sweet, though not lacquered overly much (this could be because I was eating it the next day, though.)
The dining area was small but cozy. The décor was simple and I especially appreciated the explanation on the menu about the Philippines and its dishes. I wasn’t quite sure if the server was just new or completely clueless about Filipino food, but she was not good. Forgetting one thing is understandable during busy hours, but when we got there we were the only diners there for quite a bit, and she forgot a lot of things. We were constantly having to remind her of the condiments that we were missing, etc.
Would I come back here again? Absolutely. I have never once missed the chance to eat at any Filipino restaurant and seeing one anywhere fills me with more joy than I could express. Will I be ordering any of their shrimp paste based dishes? Probably not. I will continue to hope that aforementioned server would be a little bit better when we go back.

Better than yo mama cookin’!
If you see anyone holding a spoon in their right hand, and fork in their left hand; they were raised by a Filipina. Feel free to ask them anything regarding the food. We are friendly people that love to brag about our food! I always order the Lumpia as an appetizer. These are how eggrolls are supposed to be! Not the tiny Shanghai teasers, I’m talking full size baby! It would be a sin not to try Lechon! That is our unique way of eating pig! The meat is juicy and tender, with a crisp layer of skin on the outside. I prefer it just the way it is, in its own natural juices. But feel free to dip in in our own «brown» sauce, meant for Lechon! I also have to recommend the Sinagang! Its our tarty savory soup with pork rib and veggies. Cristina makes her own tamarind paste from scratch!!! Can’t find this flavor anywhere folks!
Lastly, desserts are the best! Save room in your tummy for dessert! I prefer Halo Halo (shaved ice with fruit, jello, condensed milk) with a scoop of Ube (purple yam) ice cream and a slice of Lecheflan (custard cake). This is my preference since its the way I was brought up to eat it. I usually order 2 desserts to create this perfection. So worth it!!!

If you love trying new things and going out of your comfort zone, this is your place. Lots of interesting items on the menu, with a staff that does a great job of explaining and making recommendations. I would go here again. The veggie lumpia & shrimp/​fish dishes were excellent.

This is our first time to try Filipino cuisine, and everything is awesome. Great foods, beautiful atmosphere and nice service with Karen. My boyfriend and I love to come back again for sure.

This is tough because I’ve been here three times now and had some things here that I’ve loved but too many dishes that were not good at all.
I’ve tried pretty much all the appetizers. The regular eggrolls tasted watery to me, kinda gross. But the Shanghai eggrolls, long and skinny, are very good. Pork belly is always delicious but this version paled in comparison to the awesome pig tails. Crispy skin, fatty meat, dipped in a vinegar sauce, OMG. The ceviche is also great. Don’t knock Spam til you try it, I scoffed when my friend ordered it but it was fantastic.
I thought I’d love the Kare Kare because 1) oxtail and 2) peanut butter. Sounds great, right? So underwhelming. The blood stew, although super tasty, had really tough meat. Those little puto muffins served with it are everything though. The dish billed as a Filipino breakfast was good, nice to see the vinegar salad on the side because this food is HEAVY y’all. Tamarind soup with bok choy and okra was delightfully sour. I was really excited about my entrée, milkfish in coconut milk with fermented shrimp paste and spicy cabbage. The first bite made me actually angry, that’s how bad it was. Tasted more like coconut cream than milk, it was sweet and had zero seasoning. If you like sweet, creamy, bland as hell food, you might like this. I had to order another pig tail to make up for that travesty.
For dessert, we had an ultra creamy and dense flan, which I loved. We also got the Halo Halo. There’s a lot going on in that and some was good (the ube ice cream!!) and some did not speak to me (the icy coconut milk, which had the consistency of freezer-​burned ice cream) but it’s an interesting dessert and worth trying. If you’re not a dessert person, you should order their condensed milk iced coffee with Kahlua and coffee gummies for a real treat. I’ll definitely be back, but I’ll be very careful about what I order.
Love the staff!

We were the only customers for a short while when we arrived around 11:30 a.m. on a Monday for lunch. I saw my friend’s IG posts of the food here a few weeks ago and since we were traveling to NOLA for the first time, I knew this was a spot I knew I wanted to check out.
I live in San Diego where there’s a ton of Filipino restaurants all over town. I will always crave Filipino food (it’s literally in my DNA), so suggesting Milkfish to my hubby came easy. I was pleasantly surprised to learn of Milkfish since I don’t know how much of a Filipino community there is in this part of the U.S.
We opted for the tapas style options and tried the: pancit bihon, chicken adobo, sisig fried rice, tocino slider, kare-​kare slider, veggie lumpia & lechon kuwali. I loved most of the dishes, all were very flavorful and it associated me with some authentic home cooking.
However, I’m not a fan of liver, so seeing/​tasting specs of it in the sisig fried rice made me a little more cautious of each bite I took knowing liver was in it. My least favorite was the kare-​kare slider. Kare-​kare is comfort food and amongst most Filipino’s, a favorite dish to eat whenever you crave Filipino food since it’s a meal usually saved for special occasions. Sadly, the sauce wasn’t on point, it had a tangy taste to it, I caught myself making a sour face when I tried it. My hubby said the meat was really tough, so I didn’t bother trying it. Good kare-​kare is made with oxtail, but not the ideal piece when it’s offered as a slider on your tapas style menu.
Overall, we loved the food. I wanted to go back again on Wednesday for lunch before we made our way to the airport for our flight back home, but sadly, they’re closed on Wednesdays. Oh well.
If you’re ever craving Filpino food while in New Orleans, Milkfish is certainly your go to spot for some comforting goodness awaiting for you inside, except on Wednesdays. LOL!

Wow! What a great experience. We had literally no idea what to order at a Filipino restaurant so the waiter recommended several dishes. They were all home runs. The crab fat rice is phenomenal!
The staff took the time to explain each dish component and their enthusiasm for the cuisine is contagious.
The food was wonderful, see pictures.
They have a family style option that requires a day notice. They cover the tables with banana leaves and offer a 3 course dinner with dessert complete with custom implements for the dinner. It’s $ 30 a person and they as little for 4 people for that but will do less on slower week days.

So food first: it’s my first time trying Filipino cuisine! And it is great! We had Crab Fat Fried Rice and the Appetizer platter (Pulutan Plate), and I am so impressed by how fresh the food are. The roast pork belly (Lechon Kawali) is just pure amazing! I will definitely be coming back.
So service: GREAT! Our server was so patiently explaining to us each item on the plate and kept asking us how things were in the right moment. They are so kind and helpful.
At the end, he explained to us that we can try the family style menu for 4 or more people. He said that we can call a day ahead and tell them about any dietary restrictions. Then, when we arrive, they will just layout all banana leafs for everyone use as plates, and everyone is eating with their hands. There are also no set menu so we will just let them feed us! I am so looking forward to do so next time!
Yes, we will come back for sure!

Cozy little restaurant that we checked out based off of reviews and I was pleasantly surprised. The first thing you notice is the décor which is very interesting but the service was great from the second we walked in. The gentleman serving us was knowledgeable and very helpful in terms of recommendations. We shared the Lumpia and I ordered the Bistek for my entrée and I personally thought that I had the best dish out of all my friends. Would consider checking this place out again if I was in the area.

I was in the area and thought I’d check out this Filipino Restaurant in NOLA. Upon coming in nobody was in the front and we sat ourselves after asking the server whom I believed is the chef/owner’s husband.
The menu was decent. it had a good variety of traditional Filipino dishes with the end of the menu having vegetarian options. For our order we did family style and got four different plates: Lechon Kawali, Spam Fried Rice, Bistek, and Pancit Bihon. The server never brought out LUMPIA SHANGHAI which we ordered which was a disappointment. We opted to not say anything, however we clearly included it with the order. He was really good at refilling our water which was cool, but he was more on the mysterious, introverted quiet side.
Also when the chef/​owner Cristina walked by to step outside for a bit and we clearly made eye contact and said hello and she clearly blew us off and ignored us which was an awkward impression… You would think most owners/​chefs to be friendlier or have that Southern Hospitality!
LECHON KAWALI: This was tasty after drizzling lime and the sauce it comes with. however very small for the amount you pay, and little meat, mostly just fat
SPAM FRIED RICE: This was filled with lots TOMATOES vs SPAM, but seriously where was the spam at? It was super tiny bits I guess because I didn’t really see or taste it which was a bummer. It tasted good despite the missing SPAM pieces and a nice touch was the over-​easy egg.
BISTEK: The bistek was delicious and came with plenty of white rice, I didn’t really taste the garlic fried part of it though, it had decorate green onions on top. The meat was only a few pieces for how much it cost, tasty, but not enough.
PANCIT BIHON: The pancit bihon tasted decent and we ordered 2 skewers of chicken with it. The chicken tasted good although small again. The pancit bihon was turned up a notch with the lemon which I drizzled on top.
At other places you can get your money’s worth and more with generous amount and great quality. This place lacked that as it was too pricey, the taste could have been better it wasn’t authentic at all, and the was service mediocre.

Folks… I left here beyond smiling and was about to just donate everything I had on the street just to relieve my high, seriously.
I’m a big fan off my first visit to Milkfish which was originally the alternative to going to Dante’s Kitchen, because as I was heading to Dante’s I saw the name Milkfish and I’m a sucker for mangled names so I decided to look it up first via Unilocal and was convinced to pay a visit.
The décor and atmosphere felt pretty right, odd in a good way like it didn’t fit but right. Our server was Andrew who was cool as hell and understood the menu and there was another server who showed that same energy and was cool so with the fresh art that was post, and service, that’s an automatic 5 stars.
Why I gave my review 4 stars is because we waited a bit long for the drinks but understood the reason why and they were adapting but I still had to dock a star. The drinks will sneak up on you and tasted healthy so don’t be fooled folks.
Alas the food, nicely presented and although they lack on chicken dishes which is the main meat type I eat, the Chicken Adobo was a «high» seriously! I had it slightly altered with an egg and garlic rice. If I wasn’t with a girl, I would’ve killed it all in one sitting. The sauce was to die for, the chicken was juicy, and the rice was just right… mind you, I don’t rice a lot, well rarely. I’m sure to go back for the same dish soon and luckily they have a bar area.
All in all, a major thumbs up and a great introduction to Filipino food.

I finally got to have dinner here and it was such a let down:(I hate even saying that because our server was so good and passionate about the food. We ordered 2 apps, 2 entrees and the sampler dessert and sadly didn’t care for any of it. We’re still hopeful though and we are putting the blame on ourselves for possibly ordering the wrong things so we plan on returning for one more try.
Items we ordered:
pork belly app-​lacked flavor so it just ended up tasting like greasy fat with a salty sauce to dip it in
ceviche (drum fish) — very one note. It needed another texture, maybe octopus or calamari or avocado or something, anything.
Blood Stew with pork, garlic, ginger and peppers– one note flavor again. It had 2 bell pepper pieces as garnish and I guess the blood made the stew thick in a weird way. We ended up requesting a fried egg which was a nice addition but would not order again
Cant remember the name but it was very one note again and tasted like a bowl of pickled/​vinegary things
Dessert sampler– avocado ice cream sounded interesting but it tasted exactly how you would think. The others selections on the sampler plate werent very good either.
So I will certainly update this review after my follow up visit and hopefully it will be much improved.

Phenomenal. Coming from out of town and was excited to meet group of friends and colleagues for a great dinner.
Ordered the Crab Fried Rice, Lechon, and Kare Kare. I shared with a friend and it was the perfect amount of food for the both of us.
We got the opportunity to share with our friends some yummy dishes: spam fried rice, milkfish, and pancit.
Totally worth the 13 minute cab ride from my hotel. Service was excellent and the ambiance was great!

I had not tried Phillipine food before, and have been curious since I noticed this location open. I was a little off set when I walked in. It was 11:05, so very soon after they open. You walk into a hallway when you first enter, and I was kind of nervous, coming in to eat alone and it seems like nothing is happening, but just keep walking, and all will be fine.
I had the lunch special Arror Cadlo, and I was impressed. It had nice flavoring and was quite delicious and filling. It did have two pieces of baked chicken on top of rice and garlic and what tasted like chicken broth.
The interior is very cute, warm and welcoming. The waiter was very friendly and helpful.