Tabares Phillippine Market

The grocery section has a lot of little finds that are great for folks looking to make Asian/​Pacific Island dishes or wanting some island snacks. The restaurant portion is ok. We ordered bistek and adobo from the restaurant and they were both very tart, like they used a lot (too much?) vinegar. The dishes weren’t bad, they just weren’t very tasty. I was sad about that. The TURON (banana lumpia) though WAS INCREDIBLE!!! As sad as I was about our entrees, I had nothing but love for the turon. I believe we got two orders for just a few dollars and we got A LOT of turon. The banana/​jackfruit in the thin lumpia wrapper was sweet fried crispy perfection.

This is my first time here so I’m just checking out the place. I ordered Palabok which I think they made from scratch do that was nice. And halo-​halo. The tastes are ok, not something to celebrate about. It’s a place where you’d go if you don’t want to cook the dishes and you’re nostalgic and craving for the Pilipino delicacies.

It’s OK here. Not super awesome. They have a pretty small selection of groceries. They could probably expand their grocery department into the dining area a little to add more products to chose from. Staff was nice :-)

I just moved into the San Antonio area about a month ago and been looking for a place like this. Really enjoyed the food here. My little boys did as we’ll. The food taste great it was like eating comfort food. Not overly seasoned nor to spicey. My favorite was the adobo chicken. The price is cheap and I enjoyed that’s it’s a fairly small buffet but each dish is made with love. The staff was average and fairly clean. Overall I will be eating here a few times a month. This is my kind of food.

I had the pancit bihon with chicken and shrimp. It needed more flavor. The previously frozen shrimp was very little with the shell still on tail. The chicken tasted like old left over chicken. The The lady at the register didn’t speak nor understand English which was frustrating. I will not be going back

Cute little market! and they have Filipino ice cream!
Also the Halo Halo is more authentic than the jollibee ones so don’t be surprised, it’s very different!

Meh, I’ve had better. I had Longsilog with extra longanisa ($ 6.99), La Paz Batchoy, Pork Asado Siopao, and Suman. I asked for extra longanisa, because the Longsilog only came with three. The La Paz Batchoy was overly salty, like the broth had been simmering down for days.
If I’m in the area, I’ll probably stop in and give it another try, but it’s definitely not worth the 30 minute drive I took to get there.

Well, who knew Universal City had two Filipino grocery stores and buffets? MY Chockdee is my go to place for Asian products, and now I’ve found this one about a block away. The grocery portion of the building is small and has the standard items: sardines, shrimp chips, soups, tamarind candy, dried mangoes – you get the picture. The prices were about the same as the other store.
The other half of the building has the buffet; there was only one guy in there, and it was poorly lit. My Chockdee always has like 10 people in there for the buffet. In 4 years of lingering and looking like the stereotype I am, I have still yet to try one of these Filipino buffets. I know I will like the pork, pancit, lumpia, rice, and fish in a sour/​soy soup (singsang). What’s not to like?
Tabares also sells bubble tea (boba) $ 3.99; the nice, young girl at the counter said she would make me one, which is made with Tara root. I’ll try it next time. Having not tried bubble teas before, I will probably try that next here; other than that, this will be my fall back place, if Chockdee ever closes.

They have everything here! This is a one good place to send some balikbayan boxes shop for Filipino vegetable, eat Buffet. There’s so much things I want to say about this place but for sure this is one of those places that makes me feel home.

The food was good in the buffet and the place was really clean, but when I go eat someplace I want to feel welcome. The old gentleman on the store side was very polite and greeted us when we arrived but the lady on the restaurant side acted as if we weren’t there. We had the buffet. The food was really good, but her customer service skill is lacking. If you don’t speak much English it’s fine. I don’t need a conversation but some simple greeting is fine. Even a smile and nod would suffice but who likes to be ignored. I would definitely go back for the food, but don’t expect much hospitality on the restaurant side of this business.

Authentic!!! Just like I remember growing up in the SF bay area! The crew there is very polite, I love the expansion with the dining area. There is no other place I need to go for Shanghai Lumpia (just needs to be a lil bigger), Pancit and Chicken or Pork Asado Siopao!!!

Ate here w/​my best friend Bob. We were very excited to try it, as we enjoy every opportunity to have good Pancit, Lumpia and Adobo.
He had take-​out here before, so we were ready for a good meal.
Unfortunately, it took over 25 minutes to get served, and we were the only ones there. Having eaten Lumpia on several continents, I was ready. This Lumpia had good flavor internally, but was not special, and the outside was soft and greasy. To sum it up, they were disappointing.
The Pork Adobo was very good and so was the Seafood Pancit.
I will probably go back. Again to give it another shot.

Went here one time with a friend and her mom. The first time I tried it, they actually brought some leftover soup that I loved, loved, LOVED! It was so good, that when we were planning to go out to eat again, I said we should go there so I could get the soup again.
Well, sadly it didn’t turn out as good as the first time… Maybe the 2^nd recipe was for a similar soup… Anyway, the other things I ordered were delicious, some fried eggplant and some chicken with pineapple and white rice. I would like to return again… In hopes of finding that soup or another delectable item…

Not bad, this market had all the items I needed, including Sago which I want to make to ease myself into the heat here :). They had fresh Pan De Sal and the cheese bread was decent.
I’ll definitely come here for basics and for the convenience, there’s even a restaurant on the other side, I’ve yet to try the food, but so far so good!

A small Filipino grocery with small restaurant in the back. I have not eaten at the restaurant, but the gorcery store has most things you would need from Asian/​Filipino grocer.

Food is great!!!