HALINÁ Modern Filipino Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Vancouver

Visit: October 3, 2025

As part of Vancouver’s Filipino community, I don’t often eat at Filipino restaurants. Usually, I find that my own or my parents’ cooking holds up pretty well against what’s served in restaurants. But Halina Modern Filipino Kitchen + Bar completely surprised me—it offered a dining experience that genuinely elevated Filipino cuisine in ways I didn’t expect.

Filipino food isn’t always the first Asian cuisine that comes to mind for many people. Its bold flavours and unique ingredients can sometimes be unfamiliar to Western palates. But Halina does something special: it modernizes Filipino dishes while keeping their authenticity intact. The restaurant manages to bring Filipino cuisine into the spotlight of Vancouver’s vibrant food scene without losing the heart and soul of what makes it so comforting and flavourful.

I went to Halina for my birthday and was greeted warmly, though the welcome itself wasn’t particularly memorable. The interior decor leaned a bit on the tacky side for me—lots of fake plants—but it was cozy enough that it didn’t take away from the overall experience.

We started with drinks: the Calamansi Mojito and the GinPom. Both were refreshing and well-balanced. The calamansi mojito didn’t taste all that different from a lime-based one, but it was still enjoyable. The GinPom, on the other hand, really stood out. The grapefruit gave it a bright, zesty flavour that paired beautifully with the other ingredients.

Now, the food—this is where Halina truly shines. The Naked Spring Rolls were a creative twist on the classic lumpia. Instead of the usual thin wrapper, they used roti, which gave the dish a lovely chewiness that paired perfectly with the crunchy root vegetables and sweet peanut sauce. The Slamdunk Wings were easily the star of the night—crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and coated in a coconutty white sauce that brought everything together.

We also ordered Sisig and Chicken Inasal, two Filipino staples that Halina executed beautifully. The sisig arrived sizzling hot, and the staff thoughtfully offered to mix it for us, which was a nice touch given how hot the plate was. Both dishes tasted true to their roots—comforting, flavorful, and deeply satisfying.

What made the experience extra special was the staff’s attentiveness. At the start of the night, they asked whether I wanted a low-key birthday or a full-on celebration with singing—a level of thoughtfulness that most restaurants don’t even think to ask about. For dessert, they surprised me with an Ube Cassava Cake, and it was phenomenal. The balance was perfect—not too sweet, not too coconut-heavy. Served warm with ice cream and coconut caramel sauce, it had this incredible mix of textures: warm, cold, sticky, and crunchy all at once.

Overall, Halina Modern Filipino Kitchen + Bar delivered an experience that felt both nostalgic and new. It’s the kind of place I’d happily recommend to my Filipino friends, family, or anyone curious to explore what Filipino food has to offer beyond the basics. I’m already planning my next visit to try more of their modern dishes—and I have a feeling I'll need to bring more people so that we can try everything...

Love that there is finally an upscale/modern filipino restaurant and I believe this is the first to be. Went during the second day of their soft opening, flow of traffic was steady and i believe we were nearing their dinner rush when we came in as bigger groups of people came thereafter. While it was an exciting experience, I believe it has lots of potential and room for improvements.

Service: Service is a bit slow and lacks flow. We were seated promptly upon arriving, but we waited for our server for roughly 10 mins. No water while waiting, was only given drink menus. While waiting for our drinks, O notice the servers/staff to be all gathered up towards the bar speaking w each other and looking around as if they were unsure of what their next steps would be.

Would be nice to have the server check in once in a while when food is being tried, but server only asked about the quality of food towards the end.

Wait for food was ridiculously long. Given that it took so long for the food to arrive, we thought food will be served all at once but they arrived one by one. We waited roughly 45 mins for the first food to come and a chicken inasal was close to being finished by my mom when the rest of the food came. Wait times in between each food was for roughly 15-20 mins.

Food: Flavour was great, presentation is well thought off. For drinks, we had the zero proof mojito, pineapple juice and kalabaw mule. all were great and refreshing. Wait took about 10-15 mins For appy, we had the humba spare ribs, chicken inasal, sisig and salpicao burger (no pictures unfortunately) for main, and uber cassave cake for dessert.

Inasal arrived first before the appy. Flavour was great and can be tasted throughout the meat. Not too greasy. A little burnt on the sides and on the skin. "atchara" was mid.

Humba Spareribs: Very flavourful and hits the spot. Idk if coleslaw is the right pair. It adds to the richness of the humba glaze?sauce? which some may find too overwhelming. Meat was very tough, hard to chew.

Sisig: Nothing special, same with any other sisig we've had and there are far better sisig out there. A little too spicy, although spicyness does not linger for too long. Customers who do not eat spicy food might find it a bit too spicy.

Salpicao Burger: the best one we had. Mushrooms were perfectly glazed, great choice on the smoked gouda, brioche bun was amazingly soft.

Ube Cassava cake: a bit of disappointment. this one came way too fast, as soon as we ordered, within minutes, its right in front of us. We received it with the ice cream all melted. Gave us the impression that this had been sitting on the counter just waiting for someone to order it. Taro chips was a great crunch. This whole concoction was way too sweet. the vanilla ice cream, uber cassave cake and coconut caramel sauce were all overwhelmingly sweet. We couldnt have another bite after the first one.

Overall, the place has great potential. Soft opening is a great way to taste the waters and see where improvement is needed. Will defs come back and try the other dishes like tinapa pasta.

Happy for the owners and the team behind this and hoping this...

10.08.2025 - Brunch Review Caught wind Haliná started serving brunch, I came to find out what they serving. Ordered the Three Stars and A Sun with tapa plus a side of baconchon. Freaking marvelous.

Baconchon - Had no idea what it is and turns out it’s pork belly rolled into the shape of bacon. I was thinking, based on previous experience of pork belly, this is likely all fat. I was wrong. The balance of fat and lean meat is well considered. With the fat at the outer of the curl and lean meat in the inner curl. So the teeth encounters first the softness of the fat then as the bite does down supported by the cushioning of the lean. The sauce of baconchon is something else too! It’s a settled saltiness, not pungent. Sauce is thoughtfully placed on the bottom of the meat not on top giving time to experience the natural flavor of the meat itself before the sauce starts doing its magic in the mouth. Highly recommend.

The rest are good however the baconchon stole the show

27.06.2025 - Review Update Came back alone this time and ordered the Salpicao burger w/ fries and Slamdunk Wings. Yup. I ate it all haha. Service has improved noticeably this time with servers remembering what I requested without needing to ask twice. Compliment to

Shoutouts: Kai for checking how the service was not just the food. 🙌 Justin the bartender for remembering my name with just one mention when I ordered a drink These personal touches are appreciated and if Google translation of what Haliná means in Tagalog then they’ve embodied the spirit of the establishment :)

I went for the burger because it seems they deliver well on other dishes one would typically expect at a Filipino joint but since burger isn’t one that fits the category, I figured I wanted to test its strength on the menu.

I think the burger can stand on its own. Granted, it may not be comparable to joints that focus solely on burgers but it certainly doesn’t disappoint with other factors considered in conjunction (drinks, vibe, conversations) Perhaps an item to consider when you want a quick bite during break time or an accompaniment with a drink at their bar before heading home.

Wings - I ordered it in case the burger disappoints greatly and I need a dish I know for sure will deliver to console my disappointment haha. Thankfully the burger did its job.

30.05.2025 - Good food! Can use some improvements in communications between servers, but trust that this will get...