Manila Grove

This place is no longer. IT IS CLOSED and a new owner and new name, still looks to be a Flip restaurant though.

I’d rather cook Filipino food at home.
Had tapsilog, the sinangag (garlic fried rice) tasted like oil and not garlic. The old waitress was so hard to talk to. The tapa had no taste at all, do they even know how to make tapa?
My cooking is so much better, if you are looking for good Filipino food just come to my house.

We were doing some shopping at 99 market a few steps away, and decided to go in for some lunch. What a great surprise that it turned out to be some really good food!!!
I ordered off the breakfast combo menu, and got some delicious tapsilog (beef in a dark vinegar/​sweet sauce) with rice and eggs. It was SO wonderful!!! It was a good amount of beef too, for the $ 8 I paid.
My beau ordered the fried chicken combo. He said «it was a traditional style fried chicken from the Philippines and the pansit that came along with it was very delicious just like my momma’s»
The food was authentic, hot and came to our table quickly.
The other interesting factor were the TVs. Several are set up in the restaurant showing the Filipino channel and wowowee. I don’t speak tagalog, but it really helped to give me the feel that I wasn’t in a mall in the US. The show was interesting and helped give a good atmosphere.
As a last note, we were also happy to find that they served Bangus. We will have to try that next time. (^_​^)
Key Points:
Staff: Friendly and quick
Food: hot, large portions, reasonably priced
Drinks: N /​A
Atmosphere: tropical /​relaxing
Great for: breakfast /​lunch out while shopping in the neighborhood. You could easily take a larger group here and have room to sit down and have a meal together.

We came here straight from the airport for lunch… after that 7 hour trip (from New York) and stopover at Ohare I could eat anything, I was really hungry so when Mang Johnny suggested this Filipino place I said Yes right away…
We had the Fish Sinigang (Bangus)with a lot of different kinds of vegetables and Chicharon Kawali. Everything was gone in a flash… need I say more… much as I want to go back and try more of their mouth watering dishes… I can’t, I was in Seattle only for a few days… and my agenda was full. so next time I visit I’ll not forget to drop by.
The waiter/​host/​cook .he said he was all 3 rolled into one… was very pleasant. Gave us a sort of a discount. i think Manong Johnny’s niece works there., that’s why…
Nice authentic Filipino restaurant. Very down to earth… A nice place to dine away from home…

The food sucks and the service doesn’t far behind. There’s another Filipino place across manila grove that serves better food and price.

Uhhh… huh?! What was I just eating?! We ordered this noodle dish which carried a weird after taste, then we had a beef stew with peanut sauce? That was rather bland with NO FLAVOR! I believe one of our entrees came with what I thought was chili sauce but it was actually some sort of anchovy tasting sauce! EWWW! I took a spoon full of that!
Thanks but no thanks, I think this will be my first and last time here. I can say their adobo was not bad, but then again how do you go wrong with making a chicken stir fried with vinegar and soy sauce?

I come here often with my co-​workers. Where else can you get a traditional Filipino Breakfast of Eggs, Garlic Fried rice, and a choice of differnt types of meats from Tapa, Tocina, and Longonisa :) Theres also Corned Beef!

Its a sit down style order restaurant. A nice break from the normal heat lamp /​pan ready selection style that most filipino food establishments are use to. You can enjoy your brunch/​lunch or dinner here while watching filipino tv which is fun.
Aside from the breakfast, there are plenty of traditional style filipino dishes ranging from Adobo, Calderata, Beef Steak, Sinigang and Kare Kare to an assortmants of smaller side dishes of Lumpia, Pancet, Itlog Maalit, Tortang Talong, etc… I nice variety of dishes. You should be able to find something you like here. All the food is great.
Service is fast and the hospitality is great. The price of the dishes are decent. You should be able to spend less then 10 $ per person. The breakfast dishes are I beleive less the 7 $. That alone you can call a lunch :)
I recommend this place to anyone that enjoys Filipino food. And if your Filipino who misses a home cooked meal, you should be able to find something here to meet that craving.

i went here 3x on diff occasions. The food was awful. Their karekare wasnt good at all. The bagoong they served was raw.. Sinigang was not good at all. No wonder only 2 – 3 people come over for lunch. Those people were their first. ambiance is just ok. they cud have done better. Service was very lame.
i’d rather go to DAX express even though food there was oily. at least had a lil taste than food in Manila grove.
I read all the reviews. i wonder what kind of palettes do these people have… they said it was good. well. well… goodluck! ur just wasting ur hard earned-​bucks.

i am a proud MANILA GROOVER.
Although I’ve ate here once I will continue to come here to get good Filipino food when mom’s cooking isn’t available to me. It’s really hard to find a good Filipino restaurant in the Seattle area, scratch that, WASHINGTON STATE. Filipino restaurants come and go. I haven’t had much luck with exploring «filipino good eats» in this area until I came across Manila Groove a few months ago.
So to speak, I’m not an expert but I know when there is good Filipino food. Searched Hawaii, Cali, PI, to NYC to let you know about it (check my reviews). And I have to say, Manila Groove is MASARAP! Sorry, one star deduction… their lumpia shanghai was okay.
Their portions are great and so are the prices. TFC is playing all day long. I recommend my friends to check this spot out.

Like our previous reviewers of Manila Grove, I have more often than once have seeked a good Filipino restaurant in the Seattle area.
After a bit of shopping at Ikea, my wife and I had gone to Ranch 99 afterwards, and then on the way out decided to give Manila Grove a go for a couple of items on their menu (check out my posted photos in this review section):
Pork Tocino — Pork was good, with a right amount of sweetness to it that made my filipino-​food-​wanting palate approve. Group that with the fried egg and garlic rice, and this dish can satiate any discerning Pinoy foodie.
Pancit Palabok — Perfect. Just as I remember eating it in the Phillippines and the SF Bay Area. :) … Nothing more to say. Glad I have leftovers to delve into later this weekend.
Can’t wait to try their adobo and lechon kawali the next time, as well as the rest of their menu.
Btw, the aformentioned TFC programming on two screens was hilarious. Just typical down-​home fare that makes the whole Manila Grove experience that much more inviting. (Fyi, there is on-​demand karaōke singing if one feels the need to toot their whistle while whetting their appetitite). Lawl.

Finally a Filipino restaurant that doesn’t make me ashamed when I bring my non-​Filipino friends! My family comes from Pampanga, Philippines, which is a region known for it’s cooking and so I am super picky about Filipino food.
My best friend (not Filipino) and I decided to try this place out after shopping at Ranch 99. We ordered the kare-​kare, which is one of my favorite dishes, but takes forever to prepare at home. It could have been a little more peanut-​y, but it wasn’t bad at all and there was a good amount of meat AND veggies. I also loved the heaping amount of bagoong (fermented shrimp or fish paste) that came with the kare-​kare (because what is kare kare without bagoong?!). My friend was totally impressed and said it almost tasted like the kare-​kare I make at home.
The prices were totally decent and looking around at other people’s dishes I could tell they would be worth a try. You see, every other Filipino restaurant I have tried in Seattle either makes their stuff too bland, with too much vinegar (their adobo!) or with inches of oil floating on top-​yuck!
This place made me feel at home with their TFC on two screens and the friendly waitress who finally realized I was Filipino and spoke to me in Tagalog. I never recommend Filipino restaurants in Seattle, so trust the fact that I am giving this place 4 stars, but also realize it’s not the best Filipino food out there, just the best in Seattle by far.

good good REAL down home Filipino food, NOT TOO GREASY. While most Filipino food is obviously heavy there is a difference between filling/​delicious and heavy/​greasy. While everything on the menu is delicious my personal favorites (which I could eat over and over again) are:
Lechon Kawali — fried pork, veggies, and a mound of rice
Tocino, eggs, & rice — sweet pork, scrambled eggs, and a mound of rice
the service every time I’ve gone there (too many times to count) has been awesome. Made friends with the young girl who works there so it feels more like going to a friends house to eat rather than a restaurant. Especially when I go in and they have Wowowee on the tube. good times, no complaints here =D

There aren’t that many Filipino restaurants in the Seattle/​Renton/​Kent area. Actually there are a few, but not really worth mentioning, but this place is… and there are some good things and some that are well, bad.
1. The food– portions good *order the beef steak *new on the menu (more pieces of meat than the veggies), full of flavor– try the garlic fried rice.
2. The service– hmmmm… I didn’t get a glass of water, I had to ask for one, and they never asked if I wanted a refill of my calamansi juice (something I suggest you order when you visit– super refreshing and reminds me of the Philippines through and through). A smile would’ve been nice too.
3. All of their dessert offerings were cold! It’s winter in Seattle… what about bibingka or leche flan?