⭐☆☆☆☆ Disappointed with the Chicken Inasal
I was really looking forward to trying the chicken inasal at Zul Cafe and Grill, but unfortunately, it fell short of expectations. Instead of the traditional use of chicken thigh or wing, they served it using chicken breast, which made the dish drier and less flavorful than authentic inasal. The marinade didn’t capture the usual citrusy-garlicky notes—it mostly tasted like very salty vinegar, and the chicken itself was overly seasoned to the point of being hard to enjoy. As someone familiar with the classic flavors of this dish, I found this version lacked authenticity. Hope they revisit the recipe to better reflect the original.
Andy Jasul
Takeout of sisig pork and bangus, fried bangus. Not cheap but well worth the price. All 3 dishes were delicious. Bubble tea was just ok.
Jen Tor
Great Philippino food and a nice restaurant that has the feel of visiting a relative at their home.
Tiara Taylor
Food is great however, should be in a better delivery bag for uber eats so food doesn't get tampered with.
Anna Vella
We are lucky to have Filipino cuisine in Fairfield County! Agree with many reviewers, it's not a formal, sit-down eatery. But the food is fantastic and filipino food is hard to come by around here. I order trays of Lumpia often to bring to dinner parties, always a hit. Try it all - we must support this gem!
B C
Very good food but a bit expensive considering its food portions. Staff is friendly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
John Wallace
Having moved from my mom’s house for a new job after graduating college this past May, I’ve been yearning for a taste of my mom’s Filipino cooking. After typing “Sinigang” into Google maps (my favorite dish), I found that this establishment was only 20 minutes away from my new home.
Let me tell you, the cooking at Zul Cafe and Grill is up to par with my mom’s cooking (of course nothing can ever beat mom’s cooking, right?)
My Filipino taste buds are very happy that this place exists. The hot food is great, there’s a variety of snack options to purchase, and the staff is very friendly. I even chatted with the owners for a while during my first visit here and you can tell they are dedicated to their business.
They’ve earned my regular patronage, as I’m sure they will earn yours. I highly recommend visiting!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lauren Stichter
Easy, and delicious spot for a quick lunch on our drive from Philly to New Hampshire. Adding it to our list for the next drive up.
I was craving lumpia (Filipino Eggroll) and have been wanting to try this place forever. I swung by last minute for some take out, but was disappointed. The egg rolls had good flavor, but were small and burnt.
I love their Pork Bbq Meal, Chicken Inasal, Dinuguan, Pancit Canton and their Adobo so so delicious definitely would recommend it gives an intimate homey vibe good for family and friends! (Don’t forget to upgrade your rice to garlic rice it’s the best ???)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork BBQ Meal, Noodles
Danielle Interdonato
I visited this place a few years ago, and I felt like it was ok. The other day, my friend took me back, and I have to say I've changed my mind. I officially like it there now. We had the palabok, and it was good – they top with with crunchy chicharon bits, and boiled eggs. I almost wish they put more chicharon bits, but for the sake of calories, I'm ok with it.
We also ordered the crispy binagoongan – the sauce was a bit rich, and there was no way we could finish it in one sitting, but that's ok. We took it home, and when I had it that evening, it was still great. They use lechon kawali (fried pork belly) in it. We also had the tokwa't baboy (fried tofu and fried pork) – THIS was the most triumphant of all. I will come back many times and order this over and over again. They fry up the tofu perfectly, and toss it with lechon kawali (crispy pork belly), and mix it up with onions, shallots, and scallions all in a vinegar/soy sauce mixture. I'm used to tokwa't baboy having more of the sauce, but their style of less sauce works too. We didn't finish it, so I brought it home and added more vinegar with soy sauce, and (to me) it came out even better.
The place is nice. Don't wear your best clothes in there, because the ventilation doesn't seem the most efficient. You will come out smelling like food. Not necessarily a bad thing, but if you're on your way somewhere, you might want to send someone else it to grab the food. They do have an area to eat upstairs. They bring the food up to you, and give you plastic utensils, a plastic cup, and a paper plate -- and it works, but I'd rather bring it home next time.
They also have a little area where they sell Filipino chips, juices, and various things. I ended up taking hiome a big pack of hamonado longganisa ($9.99), and pitsi-pitsi ($7.99). They also have mango/calamansi juice, canned corned beef, bags of chicharon, bags of fried chicken skin, ph vinegar, patis, and a whole bunch of other things.
The front of house is really great. They're so kind, and warm, and happy, and that makes a big difference. I'm so glad there is a Filipino restaurant in the area.
I'll defo be back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laura B.
This was my second visit and for our first time here would have rated this place 5/5. Maybe we visited on an off day but I didn’t enjoy our experience as much the second time around. Came in with my kids, ordered three boba teas (one strawberry and one taro and passion fruit black tea)…my kid’s strawberry milk tea wasn’t sweet at all, my passion fruit tea was too sweet to the point that I couldn’t drink it). They do have a nice selection of Filipino snacks, tried the shrimp chips and the crispy fried chicken skins, both of which were delicious. Ordered the grilled shrimp with rice for my kids to share and the pancit Bihon for me. My order took 40 Minutes, by the time it was ready my kids had finished eating and were ready to go and I had already had some of my kids’ shrimp and rice (which was delicious and quick to arrive) so I ended up taking it to go/ not eating it. The restaurant is literally someone’s house that’s been converted into a restaurant, so you come in order downstairs and then head upstairs and your food is delivered to your table. It is delivered in takeout trays and they bring you foam plates and plastic utensils. We were the only people eating in on Friday around 12:30 but the restaurant seemed to be busy with takeout orders. I thought the food was good,but the service was just ok and the drinks were a miss. I wish someone communicated that it would take 40 minutes for my dish because I would just have ordered something else from the menu in that case. I feel like I wasted $70 on a lunch and ended up sharing a few pieces of shrimp with my kids, not ideal! I would visit again because I think the food is good but probably just get takeout!
Parking: Free parking lot, a decent amount of parking spots available
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Parth Desai
I had a wonderful time and I came a little close to closing and they served me no issues. The atmosphere is very homey and relaxed and the food was fantastic
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mary Hazel Anne Ceniza
Quite honestly one of the only Filipino places in the area and I love it! The food is homey and nostalgic while the owners are super friendly. Will be coming back (a ton!)
Absolutely fantastic food. Highly recommend
⭐☆☆☆☆ Disappointed with the Chicken Inasal I was really looking forward to trying the chicken inasal at Zul Cafe and Grill, but unfortunately, it fell short of expectations. Instead of the traditional use of chicken thigh or wing, they served it using chicken breast, which made the dish drier and less flavorful than authentic inasal. The marinade didn’t capture the usual citrusy-garlicky notes—it mostly tasted like very salty vinegar, and the chicken itself was overly seasoned to the point of being hard to enjoy. As someone familiar with the classic flavors of this dish, I found this version lacked authenticity. Hope they revisit the recipe to better reflect the original.
Takeout of sisig pork and bangus, fried bangus. Not cheap but well worth the price. All 3 dishes were delicious. Bubble tea was just ok.
Great Philippino food and a nice restaurant that has the feel of visiting a relative at their home.
Food is great however, should be in a better delivery bag for uber eats so food doesn't get tampered with.
We are lucky to have Filipino cuisine in Fairfield County! Agree with many reviewers, it's not a formal, sit-down eatery. But the food is fantastic and filipino food is hard to come by around here. I order trays of Lumpia often to bring to dinner parties, always a hit. Try it all - we must support this gem!
Very good food but a bit expensive considering its food portions. Staff is friendly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Having moved from my mom’s house for a new job after graduating college this past May, I’ve been yearning for a taste of my mom’s Filipino cooking. After typing “Sinigang” into Google maps (my favorite dish), I found that this establishment was only 20 minutes away from my new home.
Let me tell you, the cooking at Zul Cafe and Grill is up to par with my mom’s cooking (of course nothing can ever beat mom’s cooking, right?)
My Filipino taste buds are very happy that this place exists. The hot food is great, there’s a variety of snack options to purchase, and the staff is very friendly. I even chatted with the owners for a while during my first visit here and you can tell they are dedicated to their business.
They’ve earned my regular patronage, as I’m sure they will earn yours. I highly recommend visiting!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Easy, and delicious spot for a quick lunch on our drive from Philly to New Hampshire. Adding it to our list for the next drive up.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Belly Meal 2 pcs, Pancit Bihon
I was craving lumpia (Filipino Eggroll) and have been wanting to try this place forever. I swung by last minute for some take out, but was disappointed. The egg rolls had good flavor, but were small and burnt.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
I love their Pork Bbq Meal, Chicken Inasal, Dinuguan, Pancit Canton and their Adobo so so delicious definitely would recommend it gives an intimate homey vibe good for family and friends! (Don’t forget to upgrade your rice to garlic rice it’s the best ???)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork BBQ Meal, Noodles
I visited this place a few years ago, and I felt like it was ok. The other day, my friend took me back, and I have to say I've changed my mind. I officially like it there now. We had the palabok, and it was good – they top with with crunchy chicharon bits, and boiled eggs. I almost wish they put more chicharon bits, but for the sake of calories, I'm ok with it.
We also ordered the crispy binagoongan – the sauce was a bit rich, and there was no way we could finish it in one sitting, but that's ok. We took it home, and when I had it that evening, it was still great. They use lechon kawali (fried pork belly) in it. We also had the tokwa't baboy (fried tofu and fried pork) – THIS was the most triumphant of all. I will come back many times and order this over and over again. They fry up the tofu perfectly, and toss it with lechon kawali (crispy pork belly), and mix it up with onions, shallots, and scallions all in a vinegar/soy sauce mixture. I'm used to tokwa't baboy having more of the sauce, but their style of less sauce works too. We didn't finish it, so I brought it home and added more vinegar with soy sauce, and (to me) it came out even better.
The place is nice. Don't wear your best clothes in there, because the ventilation doesn't seem the most efficient. You will come out smelling like food. Not necessarily a bad thing, but if you're on your way somewhere, you might want to send someone else it to grab the food. They do have an area to eat upstairs. They bring the food up to you, and give you plastic utensils, a plastic cup, and a paper plate -- and it works, but I'd rather bring it home next time.
They also have a little area where they sell Filipino chips, juices, and various things. I ended up taking hiome a big pack of hamonado longganisa ($9.99), and pitsi-pitsi ($7.99). They also have mango/calamansi juice, canned corned beef, bags of chicharon, bags of fried chicken skin, ph vinegar, patis, and a whole bunch of other things.
The front of house is really great. They're so kind, and warm, and happy, and that makes a big difference. I'm so glad there is a Filipino restaurant in the area.
I'll defo be back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was my second visit and for our first time here would have rated this place 5/5. Maybe we visited on an off day but I didn’t enjoy our experience as much the second time around. Came in with my kids, ordered three boba teas (one strawberry and one taro and passion fruit black tea)…my kid’s strawberry milk tea wasn’t sweet at all, my passion fruit tea was too sweet to the point that I couldn’t drink it). They do have a nice selection of Filipino snacks, tried the shrimp chips and the crispy fried chicken skins, both of which were delicious. Ordered the grilled shrimp with rice for my kids to share and the pancit Bihon for me. My order took 40
Minutes, by the time it was ready my kids had finished eating and were ready to go and I had already had some of my kids’ shrimp and rice (which was delicious and quick to arrive) so I ended up taking it to go/ not eating it. The restaurant is literally someone’s house that’s been converted into a restaurant, so you come in order downstairs and then head upstairs and your food is delivered to your table. It is delivered in takeout trays and they bring you foam plates and plastic utensils. We were the only people eating in on Friday around 12:30 but the restaurant seemed to be busy with takeout orders. I thought the food was good,but the service was just ok and the drinks were a miss. I wish someone communicated that it would take 40 minutes for my dish because I would just have ordered something else from the menu in that case. I feel like I wasted $70 on a lunch and ended up sharing a few pieces of shrimp with my kids, not ideal! I would visit again because I think the food is good but probably just get takeout!
Parking: Free parking lot, a decent amount of parking spots available
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
I had a wonderful time and I came a little close to closing and they served me no issues. The atmosphere is very homey and relaxed and the food was fantastic
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Quite honestly one of the only Filipino places in the area and I love it! The food is homey and nostalgic while the owners are super friendly. Will be coming back (a ton!)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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