About - James Fiesta Grill
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Amenities and More
Offerings
- Comfort food
- Healthy options
- Quick bite
- Small plates
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible entrance
- Wheelchair accessible parking lot
- Wheelchair accessible seating
Atmosphere
- Casual
- Cozy
Top Reviews
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I've been here twice. Ordered lechon kawali and pork belly liempo the first time. It was pretty good. Yesterday, I was here with my girl and ordered calamari, shrimp tempura, and bicol express. Let's start with calamari and shrimp tempura. Both were okay, not bad but not great either. I'd give them 3 or 4 out of 10. But the sauce they served it with was fresh out of the freezer. It made the calamari's and tempura's temperature cold, ruining the flavor and experience of eating fresh hot food. Moving on to Bicol express. This is what prompted me to post this review. I ordered bicol express with high hopes, since the lechon kawali was pretty good the first time i visited this place. However, i was extremely disappointed with what i've gotten. Please refer to the pictures attached. When I received the Bicol express, i immediately asked them what that dish was because it did not look remotelt close to what i'm used to seeing. The server, who is probably the owner too, said that was the bicol express. To those who are not familiar, bico express is a spicy dish from bicol region in the Philippines. It's core ingredients are chili and coconute, and almost all the time "bagoong" or shrimp paste. This place's bicol express, which they don't even refer to as their version since they claimed that's how bicol express really is, looks like kare kare. It does not taste like bicol express. No hits of coconut. No spice. It had string beans. The flavor of the "broth" was closer to kare kare than anything. So I am not sure what type of bicol express exactly they are used to, but this ain't it. Edit: BTW, I remade their bicol express to show the review how its color is supposed to look like (sometimes it's paler white when shrimp paste is not added, but never seen yellow/brown).
One of the best restaurant serving Philippine foods. Their fried pork belly is just amazing. Their grilled chicken also tastes great. I’m looking forward to trying every dishes they have on the menu.
My first time with this cuisine. I liked our server who was both patient and friendly. She explained some of the dishes, told us which ones were customer faves, and since the place was very busy, especially with a lot of carryout orders, it was fun watching folks come in to pick up their food. They were mostly Filipino folk who had moved to America but craved the tastes of home. That created a homey atmosphere and the smells coming from the kitchen added to that scene. Our food was well-prepared, served warm in disposible tableware, and we felt like a part of this functioning community. We'll be coming back here as it's only 8 minutes from our house. I met the owner/chef before we left. A tall, graying man with massive hands, he popped a friendly smile. There are few Filipino restaurants in Baltimore but this small, informal cafe does a great job as a source of Pacific island home-cooked food and a sense of real community....and - the prices were very reasonable as well. All veggies, noodles, meats and fish were fresh and made great snacks at home too!