Tribu Grill

It was my first time to dine at this restaurant and I was certainly not disappointed. The interior was clean, comfortable, spacious and nicely designed. Staff was friendly, but not as attentive and would only check up on us only when called. The food was awesome! I think my favorites were the binagoong fried rice and liempo. Of course we didn’t leave without dessert, turon with ice cream and puto-​bumbong. We had plenty of food and had two meals left, mind you there were only three of us. I would definitely come back and bring more peeps!

Went to pick up some BBQ chicken and rice to go. Smelled good. First couple bites I can tell chicken was old. Chicken is part of my daily diet and I can tell when chicken has been cooked and stored for a day or more. Did not taste fresh.
I will not be coming back to this place again

This place is up and down. Sometimes good/​decent while other times somewhat regretful. Service is always nice but they don’t really monitor/​touch the tables. Food is crazy up and down. I think they need a solid, consistent person in the kitchen who is accountable for quality. I’ll share on this later.
This space is huge. Good for large groups, much like Isla. But I like the vibe here better than Isla. I like the modern space and furnishings but still rocks wall art and tapestry from the old world. I’ve only been on slower nights where there is no live music, thus crowds. I do that on purpose.
Food: The Good
Sinigang is legit here. It is a soup made tart usually by tamarind and it is no joke sour. Many Filipinos like it that way, but I found it a bit much (it puckers the inside of the cheeks). I suppose it is better strong than weak. I would get this again, especially with the milk fish.
Grilled Pompano — Good fresh fish, nicely grilled. Could of tasted more grill flavor but still not bad.
Pork Sisig — This is a hard core dish. It is chopped up pork meat (usually from the cheeks and head) cooked with onions, peppers and spices. It usually comes sizzling on a metal platter much like fajitas. I know grease is part of the equation since it is pork, but it is really strong. I just wished someone could make a version where the grease wasn’t so in your face. Still a lot better than Gerry’s version just down the way, which is disgustingly greasy.
Sauteed Garlic Spinach — Real basic but solid. The only veggie dish that is not heavily sauced, which is why I usually get it.
Tribu Iced Tea — Refreshing with a fruity sweetness. Maybe mixed with melon purée.
Unfortunately The Bad:
Sizzling Bangus Belly — Good fish meat but the sauce (soy/​lemon) is way too strong. Either scale the intensity of the sauce or scale back the amount. There is nothing wrong with being able to taste the milk fish.
Chicken Inasal — On paper this is a good dish. Chicken is marinaded in vinaigrette with lemon grass, ginger and achiote, then grilled over charcoal. Here the flavor is somewhat there, but how they got chicken legs and thighs so dry, is beyond me. Dark meat is so moist and flavorful that it would require some work to mess it up. Unfortunately they succeeded in that dubious feat.
Pinakbet — Veggie dish that is braised in garlic-​shrimp paste sauce. Usually good when done right. But here some of the veggies seemed pre-​cooked and thrown together last minute. Some of the veggies were so off and mushy that it messed everything up. This is where I felt if a quality control were in place, this could of been remedied.
Come onTribu, tighten this ship. You can do much better than this.
3 stars because in what is good here, is worth checking out. But I’d be real hesitant in getting burnt twice.

I love everything on the menu. I miss them sooo much when they were located in San Bruno California.

The food is real good, but the Friday night music is too loud. I practically have to scream at my boyfriend for him to hear my conversation. I wasn’t trying to go to a night club, just trying to get some good filipino food. Please lower down the music. My ears are gonna explode :(

I used to love coming to this place but I don’t think I will ever come back. Whoever was the chef sunday night made the sinigang WAAY to salty and the lechon kawali was over cooked and dry. The male server was very rude, had no manners, not even a smile, and no respect when giving us our food. It used to be a good place to eat when it was under the old management and the chefs were way better than now. Most definitely not coming back. Sorry Tribu.

Food is just ok. Service folks need training; it’s terrible. They also don’t come around and check on you; not even to pay the bill, you have to ask for refills, etc. Management should pay attention to these reviews and do something.

Don’t eat here. Awful awful food. Everything was served just above room temperature. The kare-​kare tasted like it was left on the stove all day. Meat was all fat and the oxtail was like leather. The bangus sisig was cold and shredded. No texture at all. Like someone had chewed it and then served it. It’s no wonder that the staff ordered drinks and dessert from another nearby Filipino restaurant (Jolibee). It was delivered while we were waiting for our food. Service was bad too. Waitress never came by unless called. The guy serving the food was curt and unfriendly. The heater was «broken» so it was freezing in there. Restaurants like this is the main reason Filipino restaurants haven’t gone mainstream.

Love coming here. Family atmosphere live band and really good food for the money.
I would always recommend their chicken inasal or adobo rice dish. Of all the filipino restaurants in the area, those 2 dishes are unmatched.

Dang, these reviews are pretty rough and mostly focus around service. I guess I didn’t think the service was noticeably bad so maybe they’re getting faster?
Anyways I thought the food was actually quite tasty, but a bit too expensive. My friend and I split the binagoong fried rice, kare kare, and pork sisig and the portions are enormous. We both took home full to-​go boxes home and I pretty much ate the leftovers for another 3 meals. So maybe some of the sticker shock is unwarranted given the amount.
The fried rice was good, but probably a little to salty. The sisig could have used more gnarly chewy bits but it was still quite good. I’ve always been a fan of kare kare and I liked theirs. It was a good mix of fishy and peanut-​y.

My bf and I like this place. I love the babinka and service is good. Portions are big and the music is great.

Sad to say it but I hate this restaurant… The service is beyond slow and half the staff and the lady owner don’t know what the hell they’re doing. They all walk around looking confused as hell. We went here on two separate occasions and the second time we weren’t even seated. Please explain to me why it takes an hour for 4 dishes? Or how we need to flag numerous staff for water refills? Or why it will take the kitchen an additional 30 minutes for some adobo rice?
The second time we tried to eat there we stood for 5 minutes trying to get someone’s attention, even after 2 employees saw us. Then we get told it’s an hour wait for 4 people even though there was plenty of empty tables. We even overheard them telling a separate customer they were «sold out» of x, y, and z.
I wish the East Bay had better choices of Filipino food because this one clearly sucks.

Service is super slow, food is forgettable, they burnt the lechon kawali, the sinigang was lukewarm. Not coming back. Prices are inflated. You have been warned.

Food is good but service is terrible. Waited for more than 30mins and there’s no server attending.
Hopefully they will hire more people so they can accommodate their customers.

I am here in Union City for business for 2-​weeks, and I have been dying to get some Filipino food since I stepped off the plane. My Mom’s side of the family is from Cebu City, where I visit every year and have since I was born, so I know good Filipino food. Although I can cook it, I don’t often, and living in Upstate NY, we have ZERO options for restaurants. This was around the corner from the hotel where I am staying not, and after walking by a few times over the past few days and being unsuccessful in my attempts at convincing my colleagues to go in with me, I finally went myself and got take-​out. I’m pretty simple in my Filipino cuisine tastes, though I love it all. However, I kept it simple today and tried the Chicken BBQ and the Pancit Bihon. The Chicken BBQ was very well flavored and cooked perfectly, just as you’d find on the streets of Cebu, using the open flame or charcoal grills. The Pancit was equally delicious and even though the portions were family-​style, I enjoyed it enough to put a decent dent in both. My cravings are satisfied for now, but I will surely be back within the remainder of my trip. Next stop, however, is to find a really good Filipino Bakery! Friendly staff!

If there was an option for no stars, I would definitely rate this place that.
Came in with my family and we were all starving.
There was barely anyone inside.
We ordered our food and it took them 45 mins!
Some people came in after us and they served them first.
And after such a long wait, our food did not even taste good at all.
It tasted like old food. Even after leaving the restaurant, it left an old food lingering taste.
Customer service was just as bad as the food. They took forever to take our orders.
One of our orders still was not received and we had to cancel it.
They also added an item on our check that we didn’t even order.
I definitely would not recommend this place to anyone. And I will not be coming back.

Came here because a friend said they preferred their halo halo amongst other locations…
We ordered just desserts and ended up leaving the place an hour + later…
A band plays on the weekends, up to what we measured as 100 dBs. Our server couldn’t even hear us… We were all on our phones because it was no place for conversation. Service was bad, we were ignored for 15 minutes before I flagged someone down.
Seems as if the crew is also distracted by the band.
Can’t tell you how the halo halo was because of everything that was going on…
Definitely will not be coming back.

A bit expensive and i haven’t tried some of the delicacies they have but nilagang oxtail, bangus sisig and oh, halo halo definitely my favorite because of how fine they crushed the ice in it and how they included pinipig in it too, compared to chowking or jollibee.

I rated here three stars before but I have to remove one due to my experience with our friends from across the bay. I guess this place has been busier on the weekends due to bands playing there during the summer. We got there yesterday night about 8:15p before the band is to start at 8:30p and we were the first to wait for a table and put our name down. They said only a few moments as a group was leaving. We could see there were several tables empty and one big table that had dirty dishes. We waited a good thirty minutes and several people came in. The lady owner kept smiling and said to hold on we’re busy? No duh… We could see others customers coming in and go in front of us asking about the tables empty to get seated. The lady owner looked overwhelmed and looked like she would give that table instead of us. The band already played and the small wait area was getting super crowded and warm with many customers waiting and looking confused. I have to say the band was not very good and their equipment sucked as the speakers blew up screaming while playing. They closed at 9:30p and we could tell even if we got a table, it would be awhile before we got served. There was only three unhappy looking servers. There was a table in front of us by the front where the family was done but no one went to their table the whole time we were there! Bad service and bad management. I will have to think twice about coming back…

Finally tried out Tribu Grill near the Century 25 theaters. I don’t really like Filipino food, but my other 2 places were closed on Mon 5÷18÷15.
We had the place almost to ourselves at 5pm. They have 4 TVs so just watched TV while waiting for our food. Food takes Forever here. They know so they give you popcorn so you don’t starve.
Unilocal Check-​In you can get 1 FREE Fountain drink. B. got Diet Coke.
We got:
1 scoop of Garlic Rice — tasted fine
Pork Sisig — sizzling pork brought to the table and egg — tasted really salty! Lots of onions, some pork meat, and fat pieces.
Pancit w/​cabbage, onions, chinese hot dog — tasted fine
Some peanut sauce with long beans, giant shrimp, squash — I hated this dish. Squash still had skin on them, not tender enough, beans kinda tough, didn’t try the shrimp. Sauce was ok.
We had lots of leftovers of the squash and some pork sisig and pancit left. Mixed it all up in the container.
Chocolate pieces I got tasted old.
Bathrooms in the back through a door.