Leo’s Barbecue

I am new to Filipino food, but this restaurant was recommended by trusted friends. Great variety of delicious foods. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Reasonably priced. Masarap na pagkain.

Great food for Great Pricing. Typical Filipino Turo-​Turo/​cafeteria style food.

My favorite place to get Filipino food. Very nice service and delicious food. Bico express is my favorite there’s. Very affordable prices as well.

One of my Filipino coworkers introduced me to Filipino food by taking me to Leo’s Barbecue, which is a turo turo type establishment similar to pointing at foods you want on your plate like a mall court Chinese spot. I tried a wide array of items including the chicken adobo, pork asado, pancit, pork adobo, BBQ chicken and BBQ pork kabobs. I enjoyed everything that I tried and found the food to be flavorful, especially the BBQ items. Highly recommend!

I work in the area and go to Leo’s frequently when I need my Filipino food fix. Can’t complain. It hits the spot. When I am too lazy to make dinner or need to add on to dinner meal, I will pick up some bbq sticks and whatever dish they have that day.
My husband LOVES their sinuglaw dish. A few of my coworkers also asked me to pick it up for them whenever I go there and they have it. We’re always excited when someone from work stops by Leo’s and picks up their bbq sticks to bring back to the office.
We are also a fan of their bikol express, bbq sticks, and their rice.

Just okay. We went on a Sunday around 1 pm and the selection was slim pickings, quite disappointed. Food is overpriced and small portions. They give you a lot of rice to try to distract you from the fact that you are barely getting any of the main entrees — this seems to be typical of the Filipino places in the area. I was still hungry. The only positive thing is that the food did taste good.

$ 6 for two mains and rice or noodle option ain’t bad. Unfortunately this place ain’t great either.
In need of a quick bite that is cheap. Filipino came up on the olé Unilocal-​0-​meter. This place is almost impossible to find in a alcove of an outside strip mall so be prepared to drive by more then once. An air of Chinese takeout will over take you upon approach. Nothing in regards to atmosphere of any sort. 6 or 7 small tables with limited refreshments and no hot tea, boo.
There are about 16 nameless prepared dishes to gaze upon through a cafeteria glass. Dried fish, squid, multiple pork, chicken, beef & vegetable dishes varying from mild to hot, but not too hot or in my case spicy enough, boo. Being a dog of spice I vied for the spicy gelatinous pork and squid with a mixture of thin rice noodles and cabbage. Hmm well for the price it’s OK. The squid was inconsistently dry, small chunks of pork was mehhh kinda sorta spicy, the noodle dish delicate & tasty. There are several sauce options in the cafeteria area to choose from to add additional flavor. The portion was average at best, well in regards to a large male that normally eats the kitchen sink to reach a point of tum tum satisfaction, hmm in other words the portions were too damn small. And I won’t even pontificate about the entirely uncalled for sodium overload.
Hey, I don’t mean to hate so much. It hit the spot for a total of $ 8 with a cold Lipton ice tea a good value lunch for an average sized homosapien. I couldn’t imagine making a destination or wouldn’t go out of my way unless of course I tripped and fell head over heels through the door way.

What a gem!!! Authentic Filipino cuisine that has daily specials. Their BBQ is amazing.
I cannot wait to go back and try different dishes.

As a fan, I have only a poem to offer.
Turo turo, point point.
Word so nice, they say it twice.
Here are my now it all tips:
1. Come in noon– because food is fresh. filipinos eat breakfast and lunches very heavily, while dinner is light.
2. Catering with them is easy. Just be specific and make sure you ordered the food ahead.
3. Some people complain of the quality. For those who are well versed with turo turos, allow me to expand and free your mind. When you buy turo turo, ideally one buys as take out. Then when at home, you can save it for a few days. That’s right a few days. why? we all know good food holds well and tastes better the next day. Add your fave ingredients, slick off the oil (old timeys use oil to preserve food in the ceramic pots, kids!) and tweak the food a tad bit if you like (add olives in caldereta.)– viola. semi homemade filipino food instead of slaving away :) (by the way, don’t tell my fiancé bout this trick. he thinks i’m amazing in cooking!)
4. true, old timey, filipino food do have vegetarian recipes (think poor farm people food to give you a better idea,) but it is not available in restos, only in households. if you want to learn about vegan flip food you gotta travel to mindanao. or google. which ever you prefer. most restos htat offer flip food are either from cebu or luzon areas. :P where i am getting at is this– if you have a meal restriction like vegetarian diet, i hope you can at least try the laing. :)

This place disappoints me sometimes… you would think because they serve such a big Filipino community that they would serve good quality food consistently. They don’t unfortunately. The dishes can be overly salted or undercooked, like the pinakbet with a heap load of bright pink shrimp paste, the salty-​ness was so overwhelming that it overpowered the vegetables. Sometimes the meat in the adobo or caldereta is tough. The part that disappoints me the most is that they try to pass of the meat in the caldereta as goat (which is the type of meat that this dish is suppose to have) but most of the time the meat is lamb and you can tell too cause lamb has a specific funk that it gives off when you don’t cook it with the proper spices. I guess they don’t really care as long as they get money… quantity over quality like most turo-​turo places here in jersey.

Best Filipino barbecue I’ve ever tasted. I always order from this place whenever I get invited to Filipino parties because their barbecues are a sure hit.

This is your typical filipino half-​assed «turo-​turo» eatery. Nothing special combo-​this-​combo-​that stuff. Nothing’s fresh here since the food were cooked hours before and only heated again and again and again.
I think the only thing «fresh» here is the steamed rice.
Like I said, nothing special.

typical filipino restaurant.. their BBQ is ok. I do love the korean beef dish. and the Lechon Kawali (Pan-​Roasted Pork) is always spot on.

I’m Filipino so I despise eating Filipino food that is 1. not cooked in a Filipino house 2. not directly from the Philippines or made there 3. not from a restaurant in NYC. But if i had to eat it, Leo’s would be categorized as JUST OKAY.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — -
For the NEWBIES, here’s low down on Filipino food.
1. It’s a fusion between Spanish food and Chinese food.
2. There’s no such thing as a PURE vegetarian Filipino dish. So if you’re a true vegan don’t eat Filipino food unless its from an honest source. (That includes this place)
3. 80% of their desserts are rice flour based, just in different colors and added flavors.
4. Most stews are oily (So if you eat anywhere else, make sure they skim the oil off your food and actually give you stew sauce)
— — — — — — — — — — — —
Leo’s Barbecue is your ordinary Filipino restaurant slash catering service. They have all your regulars. You name it they have it (not consistently everyday of course, but mostly all of them if you order catering). Compared to the other Filipino restaurants in the area (like in Edison), Leo’s is a lot better. The meat is lean (even though Filipinos know that the shitty cuts of meat are what make a Filipino dish good), the presentation is good and they disregard the excess oil sometimes. My family orders party platters from this place once in while too and I have to say even their preparation for trays (bumpy rides home) are good.
4 out of 5:
1. MANGO dessert
2. BUKO PANDAN (the green jello dessert)
3. SISIG — it’s not bad, definitely not the best out there
4. PINAKBET
5. CHICKEN TERRIYAKI — its BBQ’d chicken chopped coated with Terriyaki sauce (they skimp on filling their party trays all the way to the rim nowadays)
3 out of 5:
1. BBQ on a stick — they give you chunky, lean pieces on one stick but that’s not how real BBQ is made. Marinate is just okay too.
2. DINIGUAN — not enough meat, but at least the sauce is thick.
DON’T EVEN TRY IT:
1. LUMPIA Shanghai — it’s not that tasty or crunchy like it should be
2. ADOBO (chicken or pork) — oily and pathetic
3. KARE KARE — my mom makes the best kare kare in NJ hands down! (so if you’re ever in the area message me first!)

I am not very familiar with Filipino cuisine but Leo’s Barbecue is great. It is kind of hidden in the strip mall and the restaurant is quite simple.
They have many dishes to choose from and I love their combo. You get to pick two entrees and rice or noodles. First of all, I have to say that everything I have tried here is tasty. The entrees are mostly beef, pork or lamb stews cooked with different spices.
They also have their own skewers which are great too. The only thing I kind of wish for is more vegetable dishes and less grease in the stew. Otherwise, Leo’s is amazing!

Tasty inexpensive food, thats not greasy, and done very well.
There kaldereta kambing/​adobo (Goat Kaldereta), is the best in my opinion, not heavy on oil like most other restaurants I’ve eaten it at.
I’ve love the way they do it so much I’ve order their trays.
There Laing is a must have, creamy & just right !
The food variety is not as extensive as East West in Bloomfield but done better than any of the other Filipino restaurant in the area. Their weekend hours could be longer but there friendly service is a plus.

Tasty, cheap. If you know the area but have never seen it, that’s because it’s in a little alcove of the shopping center. They’ve got about ~12 options setup in a cafeteria style. They call it the «point point combo» — point at the two things you want and get rice or noodles on the side.
The barbecue stick was delicious — flavorful, moist, incredible. Pork with «tomato sauce» was great as well. It’s
Overall very tasty, really cheap, fast food. Great place for a quick lunch. It is a hole in the wall, but clean and neat. They also do catering (party trays).

Wifey and I try to come here once a week. It reminds her of home, which makes her happy. In turn, when we get home, she makes *me* happy. Win-​win situation up in this turo-​turo!

I used to live near a Filipino restaurant that had an awesome buffet, and a few friends of mine who play airsoft turned me on to Leo’s. I went when I was done at Kohl’s one day and grabbed lunch to go. For five bucks you get rice or pancit canton and two side dishes. Holy crap, it can’t be this cheap, this good, and not be mobbed. Leo’s is awesome; I will drive the 20ish minutes from Iselin to get lunch from them from here on out.
It’s tough to find, but it’s in the big shopping center on Stelton Rd. with Kohl’s, Pathmark, and other stores.

Don’t let the name fool you. Although Leo’s Barbecue does serve some killer BBQ fair, it is possibly one of the most authentic and best tasting filipino food joints one can find in the central Jersey area.
«Huh? What is this filipino food you speak of anyway?», says you.
It is the soul food of the orient; the deep fried pork fat missing from your spirulina shake; the culinary tradition held responsible for fertilized and nearly-​developed duck eggs eaten out the shell (called balut) a la Andrew Zimmerman.
Whatever your disposition is on this commercially underdeveloped cuisine, it is my opinion that Leo’s is as close as it gets to the real deal; proper filipino food.
Leo’s Barbecue’s main attraction is their pork shish kabob. One word; bangin’. Equally bangin’ is their BBQ chicken which is served in bite-​sized strips of plump, juicy white chicken.
Other dishes are presented cafeteria style and are changed up on a daily basis. For first timers, a sampling of pancit (the filipino equivalent to chinese lo mein), shanghai egg rolls and pork asado should provide for a nice introduction to filipino fair. For more adventurous types, stewed tripe with chic peas and dinuguan (a filipino savory stew of blood and meat simmered in a rich, spicy gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili and vinegar) are often on the daily-​changing selection of stews.
This place loses stars because of it’s ambience. Not quite the place you want to bring a first date, but certainly a solid choice for take-​out. More or less it is a hole-​in-​the-​wall, but I tend to favor these types of joints when it comes to finding authentic, home-​made flavors.
MUST HAVES:
–BBQ (pork shish kabob or chicken)
–pork asado
PROS:
–authentic filipino cuisine
–fresh ingredients (comparative to other filipino joints I’ve tried)
–fair prices
CONS:
–ambiance
–volatile menu (changes day to day)