Cabalen Restaurant — Restaurant in Jacksonville

We came in 15 mins before they were closing. The lady accommodated us with our orders. There wasn’t a lot of option left as they were closing but we got halo-halo and Bicol express. I like the halo-halo even though they were out of Leche flan, it was still good. My half-Filipino kids tried their Bicol express and they enjoyed it very much especially my son. Only thing was it was very warm inside considering the weather outside b/t 85-90 degrees F. Overall, we liked what we ordered and we’ll be coming back to try different dish while on vacation here in Jacksonville. Next day we came back and got longganisa and...

Whenever we're in the neighborhood, we make sure to grab a bite here. It's cozy and simple, but I enjoy it because it feels like a tasty homemade meal. 🍽️

The service is quick and friendly, and it's run by a family, which adds to the charm. ✨Just a heads up for those used to traditional sit-down restaurants: they operate cafeteria-style and serve food in styrofoam containers. If that's not your thing, you might want to skip it.

Also, during busy times, they tend to run out of popular items, so it's best to go around noon rather than later in the day. And naturally, the food is freshest right when...

I'd give this place 5 stars as the food was excellent.... but the girl working the cash register was really bad on explaining the menu and food. She made me feel like I shouldn't eat there almost. In describing the food she was very negative in going over ingredients, even telling me I probably didn't want a certain menu item just because it had liver in it. I ordered anyways, despite her weirdly negative selling of her own store's food, and like I said it was good, just a strange customer service experience. Lumpia was delicious, definitely order some if...