Dabarkadz Filipino Bistro — Restaurant in Hayward

Things continue to go downhill here. I gave them 2 stars before because I thought they could get better. I'm placing them at 1 star because when I didn't think they could get worse, they did. It's pathetic.

We just ordered takeout this past weekend with my brother-in-law this time to give them another chance, because our dining experience was just so terrible I wanted to try the food by itself. The kare kare was so hard and tough this time. The shrimp lumpia was cooked through a little bit more, but the shrimp was still slightly undercooked, fortunately the pork was cooked through so I wasn't as worried about getting food poisoning this time. The pancit was overcooked. The lechon kawali was crispy on the outside but hard on the inside. It also tasted old. I really think they don't know how to serve anyone outside the Filipino community by the way they treat non-Filipino customers. My wife is Filipina, and her comment was they really live in their own bubble based on the way they operate. I saw tables frustrated that they weren't getting their orders in a timely manner while we were waiting for our food. I don't think they know what they're doing with running a restaurant. The food is very inconsistent. It's either really good or it's really bad. I don't want to risk any more stomach aches just for the chance to have possibly good food. For the prices they are charging, I would have expected a lot better service. The staff is nice at first, but they really don't know how to talk to customers when, not if, they make a mistake. They blame the customer instead of themselves. This is not good. Seriously, just go elsewhere. They are not worth it, and the management sucks and is sloppy. Even my Filipino in-laws don't want us to support this place. I don't think they know how to take feedback and learn from it. This is so poorly managed. I said in my previous review that I hope they learn before it's too late. I guess they didn't learn, and there's probably little hope at this point.

I went with my Filipina wife last week, and we had a lot of concerns about this place. Mind you, they are just getting started and the staff is generally nice. We ordered their house special shrimp lumpia, and it was raw on the inside. We also had the sisig and some rice. The meal was just ok, but everything felt a little cold.

In the middle of our meal some lady, who I think is the business owner, with a bunch of kids stormed into the restaurant and they were running in and out of the kitchen. She kept screaming at the children, and it was very unpleasant for the diners around. Then some other guy who was the husband of the owner, at least from what my wife could tell by listening to their tagalog, was also walking in and out of the kitchen. He wasn't wearing gloves and started touching things in the kitchen. Moments later, he walked out with a bag of takeout. No wonder their kitchen and food is really off. It's not good for customers to see random strangers coming in and out of the kitchen. It makes me wonder how sanitary they are in the kitchen. I used to work at a restaurant in SoCal, and even family members shouldn't be walking in and out of the kitchen if they aren't part of staff.

Edna was our waitress, and Jonas was behind the bar. They were both pleasant, and we appreciated Edna's service. But there is something really off about the owners and how sloppy they are with their operations. You can tell Edna and Jonas are professional and know what they are doing. I want this place to succeed, but there is something really off. I hope they figure things out before it's too...

Downgrading to one star.

This place, Dabarkadz, is just a total disaster now, seriously. I went there again, and it's just gotten worse. The inside? Man, it looks like a dump. All beat up, especially from those super loud business presentations they have, and don't even get me started on those cheesy live music nights. It's like they don't even care how run-down it looks. And the food? Ugh. It's like they just scooped it out of a school cafeteria line. No thought, no flavor, just… blah. Like they just threw something together and called it a day. Then there's the service. The people working there seem totally lost. They don't know how anything works, and if you have a problem, forget about it. They can't fix anything. And the owner? She's just as bad, if not worse. Still super rude, yells, and honestly, she doesn't seem to know squat about running a restaurant. Plus, those business presentations they host? They're super loud, and they even try to sell stuff to customers who are just trying to eat. How rude is that? Honestly, this place is just a mess. No organization, no clue how to run a business, and zero customer service. It's a joke. If you want real Filipino food and a place that actually knows what it's doing, go to Timog in Newark. Seriously, it's so much better. The food is awesome, and the people there actually act like they know how to run a business. Don't waste your time or money at this mediocre cafeteria scratch kitchen. Dabarkadz just plain sucks. Don't listen to the other 5 star reviews. It's probably just their friends trying to increase the ratings. Listen to the real people who describe how terrible this place is. This place needs to go. I am ashamed this place exists. There's better Filipino food elsewhere.

Old Review- We visited with family and friends and found the experience disappointing. The music was excessively loud, making conversation nearly impossible. While the interior had some appealing elements, the overall atmosphere resembled a dive bar due to the lackluster service. The food was unimpressive, with dishes like the lechon kawali and kare kare not being fresh, and the shrimp in the lumpia undercooked, as noted in other reviews. Several dishes, including the adobo chicken and garlic rice, were served cold. The cocktails were overly sweet and lacked alcohol, reminiscent of low-quality resort drinks. The management appeared disorganized, and the venue's vibe seemed to cater to a specific demographic, which might not appeal to a more diverse crowd. For a better dining experience, consider Gerry's Grill or Isla in Newark. This place needs significant improvements in service, food quality, and overall ambiance. We’ll reassess after...

I probably live a 2 min walk away from this place. It's literally across the street from my house. So I was hoping, especially being Filipino, that this would be the most convenient and most visited restaurant for us on the weekly. We ordered a few items and they told us it would be done at 6:30pm. Around 6:45pm with no call and my visiting parents (old) getting cranky, I went to go pick it up already.

Upon coming in, my food was already bagged, clearly no one bothered to call us. Even when I told the waitress what I had ordered, she was still confused somehow skeptical if it was my food despite clearly reciting what the exact order was. She sat me down as she needed to talk to the owner. I waited patiently for a few minutes and the owner goes up to me in an extremely rude tone saying "are you going to pay?".

What kind of place assumes after all this that I was just going to take the food and leave? After I gave her my card without her even presenting a receipt, she told me I needed to go BEHIND the bar to sign and conclude the transaction by myself. I stupidly gave her a 20% tip and after the receipt printed, she didn't even say thank you. Basically ignored me from that point. I took my receipt, walked out with my food, and came home to cold, dry and clearly overcooked food that was possibly reheated and not made fresh. Even worse the rice was ROCK HARD, almost as if it had come straight from the refrigerator, microwaved for only a short amount of time (not enough) and then put into a container. $55 for a large order of rice, lechon kawali and sisig bangus (fish).

Not great quality and horrendously bad customer service. I've been a fan of so many restaurants in this same exact location that sadly closed down but this is the first in over 30+ years that I think DESERVES to close down quickly. The reviews you'll read indicate stuff of food poisoning, to servers singing karaoke instead of serving customers, to people waiting up an hour to get their food, to people sitting down getting glasses (without water), waiting for 30 minutes to get water and another 15 min to get the MENU.

Extremely bad. Customer service should be first and foremost and this place is way too amateur, new, and rude to deserve customers from coming back. What a shame. No one should go here unless you want the worst customer service of your life and a risk of potentially getting sick or in the hospital due to their bad food preparation...