We drove into the city just for this reservation and left disappointed. For how expensive the food is, you expect a certain level of dining. Paper napkins are weird for this price point. Portions were small, plates came out at all different times so some people were eating while others were waiting. It was extremely cramped inside, you could barely fit between tables. I feel bad for the table by the door as they were hit with cold air very often, especially since the bathroom was in the alley so you had to exit the restaurant to go to it. The flavors were lacking and not authentic Filipino( my family is Filipino). The lumpia was not great, the adobo was way too sweet and hard to eat in the dish bc it was bone in. Husband had sisig ( and knows what it should taste like) and did not enjoy it. My kids adore Filipino spaghetti and they did not finish this one. I will say, the chicken wings on the appetizer were good and the Caesar salad was unique and delicious. Did not enjoy the pandas cheese cake but liked the ube soft serve. For the price, you should reduce the number of tables and Lower the volume of the music. Have your chef do a check in with cooks to make sure recipes are being followed accurately. You could not hear across the table it was so loud. Left feeling bummed about the experience and taste. May be better to market it as Filipino inspired... but to label dishes as the true names and then make them different is strange.
Kate
Overall we had a lovely dinner. The food is interesting and delicious. Very reasonably priced if you get the tasting menu. Two concerns 1) you have to go outside and down an alley to go to the bathroom. 2) we were essentially asked to leave because the next reservation was waiting while we were still eating our dessert. We ordered the tasting menu and the first course was quite slow to come out. It was a bit disappointing to be rushed out when we were not the ones causing the tardiness.
Francis
If you're ready to eat your Filipino spaghetti like it's the Nathan's hot dog eating competition, this is the place for you. Your 90 minute reservation is FIRM so be ready to stand up as soon the clock ticks over. In stark contrast to the “take our time” from the excellent waitstaff we'd come to know (and tipped generously), the unfamiliar muscle from the kitchen approached our table less than 5 minutes later and informed us it was time to leave. With that unnecessary escalation, in a single moment, an otherwise excellent dining experience fell off a cliff and left an awful taste in our mouths. Undeserving of its place on Chase Sapphire Exclusive Tables on OpenTable.
Eric Baker
Not a secret, but this place is great. The food is excellent, and the tasting course is an extremely good value. The seating is cozy, but that should be expected in what used to be a South Philly row-home. A great experience. If you're getting dessert (which you should) get the Ube Ice Cream and the Cheesecake. Both are amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A A
Unfortunately, Tabachoy is overhyped. I enjoy Filipino food, but this was not it.
- lumpia: pretty good - garlic rice: quite greasy and the garlic seemed to be a topping instead of being integrated - Jasmine rice: it was undercooked. How is a restaurant sending out undercooked Jasmine rice?? - pork sisig: Flavors were solid, but it was also greasy. A few pieces of pork were inedible since they were only gristle - chicken adobo: pretty good. Only feedback is that it's hard to cut in to bone-in chicken from a bowl. A plate would've been nice to serve it in - pandan cheesecake: pretty good, but not much of a pandan flavor was present since the coconut caramel was very strong
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Chris
Tried the $55/pp tasting menu. It was mostly vegetarian options. We were expecting way more meat options to be included, however the small portions of meat options we did get were tasty and flavorful (lumpia, wings, adobo). Overall we left full but unsatisfied. Dessert was pretty good. I will be back one day to try the remaining meat dishes that were left off the tasting menu. I recommend ordering a la carte.
Octavio Pineda
Fantastic food, excellent service and a great chat with owner. Love the authentic feel to the place, they appreciate what there doing! Note: its small, tight space but worth it 👍🏼
Honestly, I really wanted to love Tabachoy, but for such a bill, the value just wasn't there. The music was actually solid, but the environment was too loud and I found myself talking louder than usual. While the Lumpia was delicious and the Turon with ube soft serve was excellent, the rest of the courses really struggled. The Clam Curry was sandy, the Sisig and Adobo were way too salty, and the rice and spaghetti were undercooked. It’s a shame because the desserts were great, but at this price point, you expect the mains to be executed properly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Kevin
Honestly, I really wanted to love Tabachoy, but for such a bill, the value just wasn't there. The music was actually solid, but the environment was too loud and I found myself talking louder than usual. While the Lumpia was delicious and the Turon with ube soft serve was excellent, the rest of the courses really struggled. The Clam Curry was sandy, the Sisig and Adobo were way too salty, and the rice and spaghetti were undercooked. It's a shame because the desserts were great, but at this price point, you expect the mains to be executed properly.
Tina Gulati
Cramped space but fun in a group. Food is ok, I’ve had better but glad I came once. BYO with wine store down the street
Everything was delicious! Staff were very friendly. Space is cozy and compact and a tad on the noisy side. Would highly recommend - definitely need a reservation, it was busy the whole time, and rightfully so!
Quinn Madarang
Okay food, but really poor customer service.
We had arrived about 20 minutes before our reservation. The hostess would not seat us until our reservation, so they had us wait outside for 15 minutes. Whole time, there was three open tables (two were filled at 7pm) as well as four seats at the bar (they did not get filled until after 7:30). I am not sure why there were open seats and we had to wait outside.
As we finally got seated, I noticed how there are were NO Filipino patrons in the restaurant besides myself. There were 4 Asian girls that were seated next to us and I had asked if they were Filipino, they were not. I had asked our waitress if a lot of Filipino people came here, she said yes and mentioned how her 1 coworker was Filipino. Looking in the kitchen, it did not appear any of the chefs were Filipino either.
Since we were waiting for 20 minutes prior to getting seated, we were ready to order immediately. We ordered the lumpia, Filipino spaghetti, sisig, and chicken adobo all at once. After 10 minutes, the lumpia came out. Nothing special about this - they give you a teaspoon of sauce for 5 rolls. 10 minutes later, the spaghetti came out. Very small plate. They slice the hot dogs and quartered them - very small bites. After 15 minutes they brought out the rice. 10 minutes later the sisig came out. Since our rice had been sitting for so long, we requested fresh rice which we are pretty sure they just microwaved and brought back out. We waited another 10 minutes for the chicken Adobo. By that time the rest of the food was back to lukewarm.
It would make sense they brought out the lumpia first, but not sure why all of the plates came out at separate times. I enjoyed the sisig. The chicken adobo had a heavy soy sauce flavor. We ended with the turon which was enjoyable.
The atmosphere was interesting as well too. Very cramped restaurant. The decor was unique - there was a Japanese sumo wrestler, a poster of the Japanese Manga Slam Dunk, and a picture of brown Anthony Bourdain/Jesus figure which was confusing. We asked our waiter if it was local artists and she had no idea. If you had to go to the bathroom, you had to exit the restaurant, go down a dark alley and around the back to enter the bathroom. Not sure why patrons could not go through the kitchen, as it looked like half of the staff was hanging out in there and not doing anything.
Overall the food was mediocre, the plates were very small for the price, and the menu was small and lacked many iconic Filipino dishes. This would be a great menu for a food truck, but not a sit down restaurant that requires reservations.
If you are looking for authentic Filipino food that is reasonably priced, I would not reccomend this restaurant. I was very excited when my mom found this restaurant, but was shocked by the poor service and lack of Filipino representation of the staff and patrons.
I hope this restaurant is able to turn it around and bring a unique flavor to the neighborhood. It did not quite have an authentic Filipino vibe to the food or atmosphere. A Filipino flag anywhere on the property would have been nice too. If you are looking for a modern take on Filipino dishes, this would be a good spot for you. Would have loved to have seen pancit, palobok, or beef caldereta on the menu.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
LjubicaDL
What a little gem! I discovered this place through Chase dining program, and I consider myself lucky. Never tried Filipino cuisine before and I’m now a fan :) I had squash starter, pork belly main dish and purple yam ice cream. All 3 were delicious. The service is also quick and good. I will be back next time I’m in Philly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tristan Ponceca
How do I describe Tabachoy? Shall I compare it to a summer’s day? Thou sisig art more lovely and more temperate: Thou Wings do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lumpia hath all too short a date; Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is its gold crispy complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd; But thy eternal flavors shall not fade
Also Jamie is the best and deserves to be showered in rose petals and champagne.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Abdul Wasey
We had very tasty Filipino dishes in a cozy, close-quarters atmosphere. Reservations are recommended because it fills up quickly. Would definitely come back for another night of bold Filipino flavors and great conversation.
We drove into the city just for this reservation and left disappointed. For how expensive the food is, you expect a certain level of dining. Paper napkins are weird for this price point. Portions were small, plates came out at all different times so some people were eating while others were waiting. It was extremely cramped inside, you could barely fit between tables. I feel bad for the table by the door as they were hit with cold air very often, especially since the bathroom was in the alley so you had to exit the restaurant to go to it. The flavors were lacking and not authentic Filipino( my family is Filipino). The lumpia was not great, the adobo was way too sweet and hard to eat in the dish bc it was bone in. Husband had sisig ( and knows what it should taste like) and did not enjoy it. My kids adore Filipino spaghetti and they did not finish this one. I will say, the chicken wings on the appetizer were good and the Caesar salad was unique and delicious. Did not enjoy the pandas cheese cake but liked the ube soft serve. For the price, you should reduce the number of tables and Lower the volume of the music. Have your chef do a check in with cooks to make sure recipes are being followed accurately. You could not hear across the table it was so loud. Left feeling bummed about the experience and taste. May be better to market it as Filipino inspired... but to label dishes as the true names and then make them different is strange.
Overall we had a lovely dinner. The food is interesting and delicious. Very reasonably priced if you get the tasting menu. Two concerns 1) you have to go outside and down an alley to go to the bathroom. 2) we were essentially asked to leave because the next reservation was waiting while we were still eating our dessert. We ordered the tasting menu and the first course was quite slow to come out. It was a bit disappointing to be rushed out when we were not the ones causing the tardiness.
If you're ready to eat your Filipino spaghetti like it's the Nathan's hot dog eating competition, this is the place for you. Your 90 minute reservation is FIRM so be ready to stand up as soon the clock ticks over. In stark contrast to the “take our time” from the excellent waitstaff we'd come to know (and tipped generously), the unfamiliar muscle from the kitchen approached our table less than 5 minutes later and informed us it was time to leave. With that unnecessary escalation, in a single moment, an otherwise excellent dining experience fell off a cliff and left an awful taste in our mouths. Undeserving of its place on Chase Sapphire Exclusive Tables on OpenTable.
Not a secret, but this place is great. The food is excellent, and the tasting course is an extremely good value. The seating is cozy, but that should be expected in what used to be a South Philly row-home. A great experience. If you're getting dessert (which you should) get the Ube Ice Cream and the Cheesecake. Both are amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Unfortunately, Tabachoy is overhyped. I enjoy Filipino food, but this was not it.
- lumpia: pretty good
- garlic rice: quite greasy and the garlic seemed to be a topping instead of being integrated
- Jasmine rice: it was undercooked. How is a restaurant sending out undercooked Jasmine rice??
- pork sisig: Flavors were solid, but it was also greasy. A few pieces of pork were inedible since they were only gristle
- chicken adobo: pretty good. Only feedback is that it's hard to cut in to bone-in chicken from a bowl. A plate would've been nice to serve it in
- pandan cheesecake: pretty good, but not much of a pandan flavor was present since the coconut caramel was very strong
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Tried the $55/pp tasting menu. It was mostly vegetarian options. We were expecting way more meat options to be included, however the small portions of meat options we did get were tasty and flavorful (lumpia, wings, adobo). Overall we left full but unsatisfied. Dessert was pretty good. I will be back one day to try the remaining meat dishes that were left off the tasting menu. I recommend ordering a la carte.
Fantastic food, excellent service and a great chat with owner. Love the authentic feel to the place, they appreciate what there doing! Note: its small, tight space but worth it 👍🏼
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pork Adobo, Chicken Adobo, Starter Sampler, Garlic Fried Rice
Honestly, I really wanted to love Tabachoy, but for such a bill, the value just wasn't there. The music was actually solid, but the environment was too loud and I found myself talking louder than usual. While the Lumpia was delicious and the Turon with ube soft serve was excellent, the rest of the courses really struggled. The Clam Curry was sandy, the Sisig and Adobo were way too salty, and the rice and spaghetti were undercooked. It’s a shame because the desserts were great, but at this price point, you expect the mains to be executed properly.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Honestly, I really wanted to love Tabachoy, but for such a bill, the value just wasn't there. The music was actually solid, but the environment was too loud and I found myself talking louder than usual. While the Lumpia was delicious and the Turon with ube soft serve was excellent, the rest of the courses really struggled. The Clam Curry was sandy, the Sisig and Adobo were way too salty, and the rice and spaghetti were undercooked. It's a shame because the desserts were great, but at this price point, you expect the mains to be executed properly.
Cramped space but fun in a group. Food is ok, I’ve had better but glad I came once. BYO with wine store down the street
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Everything was delicious! Staff were very friendly. Space is cozy and compact and a tad on the noisy side. Would highly recommend - definitely need a reservation, it was busy the whole time, and rightfully so!
Okay food, but really poor customer service.
We had arrived about 20 minutes before our reservation. The hostess would not seat us until our reservation, so they had us wait outside for 15 minutes. Whole time, there was three open tables (two were filled at 7pm) as well as four seats at the bar (they did not get filled until after 7:30). I am not sure why there were open seats and we had to wait outside.
As we finally got seated, I noticed how there are were NO Filipino patrons in the restaurant besides myself. There were 4 Asian girls that were seated next to us and I had asked if they were Filipino, they were not. I had asked our waitress if a lot of Filipino people came here, she said yes and mentioned how her 1 coworker was Filipino. Looking in the kitchen, it did not appear any of the chefs were Filipino either.
Since we were waiting for 20 minutes prior to getting seated, we were ready to order immediately. We ordered the lumpia, Filipino spaghetti, sisig, and chicken adobo all at once. After 10 minutes, the lumpia came out. Nothing special about this - they give you a teaspoon of sauce for 5 rolls. 10 minutes later, the spaghetti came out. Very small plate. They slice the hot dogs and quartered them - very small bites. After 15 minutes they brought out the rice. 10 minutes later the sisig came out. Since our rice had been sitting for so long, we requested fresh rice which we are pretty sure they just microwaved and brought back out. We waited another 10 minutes for the chicken Adobo. By that time the rest of the food was back to lukewarm.
It would make sense they brought out the lumpia first, but not sure why all of the plates came out at separate times. I enjoyed the sisig. The chicken adobo had a heavy soy sauce flavor. We ended with the turon which was enjoyable.
The atmosphere was interesting as well too. Very cramped restaurant. The decor was unique - there was a Japanese sumo wrestler, a poster of the Japanese Manga Slam Dunk, and a picture of brown Anthony Bourdain/Jesus figure which was confusing. We asked our waiter if it was local artists and she had no idea. If you had to go to the bathroom, you had to exit the restaurant, go down a dark alley and around the back to enter the bathroom. Not sure why patrons could not go through the kitchen, as it looked like half of the staff was hanging out in there and not doing anything.
Overall the food was mediocre, the plates were very small for the price, and the menu was small and lacked many iconic Filipino dishes. This would be a great menu for a food truck, but not a sit down restaurant that requires reservations.
If you are looking for authentic Filipino food that is reasonably priced, I would not reccomend this restaurant. I was very excited when my mom found this restaurant, but was shocked by the poor service and lack of Filipino representation of the staff and patrons.
I hope this restaurant is able to turn it around and bring a unique flavor to the neighborhood. It did not quite have an authentic Filipino vibe to the food or atmosphere. A Filipino flag anywhere on the property would have been nice too. If you are looking for a modern take on Filipino dishes, this would be a good spot for you. Would have loved to have seen pancit, palobok, or beef caldereta on the menu.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
What a little gem! I discovered this place through Chase dining program, and I consider myself lucky. Never tried Filipino cuisine before and I’m now a fan :) I had squash starter, pork belly main dish and purple yam ice cream. All 3 were delicious. The service is also quick and good. I will be back next time I’m in Philly
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
How do I describe Tabachoy?
Shall I compare it to a summer’s day?
Thou sisig art more lovely and more temperate:
Thou Wings do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lumpia hath all too short a date;
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is its gold crispy complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal flavors shall not fade
Also Jamie is the best and deserves to be showered in rose petals and champagne.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had very tasty Filipino dishes in a cozy, close-quarters atmosphere. Reservations are recommended because it fills up quickly.
Would definitely come back for another night of bold Filipino flavors and great conversation.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loading...