Island Central — Restaurant in Jersey City

Wondering why this business removed their original Google Maps review page, where they still had high overall ratings but valid criticisms on the service and food? If there’s a good reason I will edit this review.

I was in the middle of drafting my fair, yet honest, detailed review - the highs and lows of it all. As a Filipino American (to tie back to the original review page - most, if not all valid criticisms came from FilAms who are familiar with the cuisine) I question the business practices of deleting your page essentially hiding those reviews that I whole-heartedly agreed with.

Anyway……. to pick up where I left off, unbiased here despite my side eyeing….:

OVERALL: 3/5. This review was based on my one visit during the 2nd or 3rd? week of opening so they were very new and busy. I want to visit again in hopes they’ve improved.

FOOD ORDERED: Lumpia: 3/5 - good flavor + nice and crispy. But inside texture was mushy and gummy instead of meaty and with fresh vegetables… I’m questioning if there are store bought frozen instead of homemade.

Ampalaya - 1.5/5 - extremely bitter, so disappointing as it’s one of my favorite dishes. Maybe it’s all the other past ampalaya I’ve had in my life, but I could not bring myself to finish let alone pack it to go. Extra deduction points because it did not come with rice by default, I had to order that separately which is WILD to me as a Filipino!! You cannot eat this dish by itself lol.

Pancit Bihon - 2.5/5 - Large serving, but pretty bland. Came with 3 thin, sad slices of egg as the protein.. mind you this dish traditionally is loaded with protein (usually chicken AND pork together - shrimp too on some occasions.) Also gave us 2 tiny slices of lemon for our entire plate.

Buko Pandan (to-go) - 3/5 - Fresh & homemade, flavor was just alright, but overpriced for the amount you get so I'll be getting it else where.

SERVICE + ATMOSPHERE: This place was busy and bustling at the time of our visit, so it was nice to see a lively spot with friendly staff! The food service though fell short… We ordered soda but it didn’t come until after our meals. We had to remind the server to get us our drinks. No glass, no ice – just room temp cans of soda. He did however was tentative with refilling our water cups. When we placed the order for pancit, he told us they ran out of chicken so we opted for pork. We did not get any pork when it came out. Karaoke was poppin’ that night - but the service declined which I think would be a problem for some wanting attentive staff. It was entertaining and wholesome to see staff/patrons join in on the little “stage” so I enjoyed it, but to be fair the service suffered because of it. It also was loud (music & singing, bursting laughter and camaraderie filled the air)- I just think of Filipino parties so I’m used to it but the average Joe may not appreciate it as much. Mind you, this was on a Thursday night.

Overall - there’s areas for improvement to be had in both the food and...

FINALLY some Filipino food in the Heights! As a Filipina-American, I was delighted to try this much-needed addition to Central Avenue.

My biggest impression of this meal was the CLEAN feeling even when eating fried food. My most common issue with many Filipino restaurants is often the greasiness and fat saturation of the dishes. However, their Pompano and Lechon Kawali was light and fresh, and the fry crispy without being too oily. Having had Lechon and fried fish pretty much everywhere up and down Central Avenue, I can say this is by far my favorite.

We also had the Bam-E with seafood, which came as a generous portion (even with two of us, we took home about half). While another review mentioned a lack of seasoning, I actually found the lightness more refreshing and reminiscent of the way I feel eating Vietnamese dry pho over American-style Chinese lo-mein.

The Halo-Halo, also enough for two, had all of the American-Filipino fixin’s. We finished it all!

I believe my harshest criticism of Island Central is simply a growing pain; what started as more of a counter-service establishment is evolving into a dine-in restaurant. With that, you can expect some hiccups. We experienced mistiming (some guests receive their entrees while others wait), inconsistent service (for water refills), and being informed mid-meal that our main entree had sold out and we would have to choose differently (for that, I believe we were comped). However, I would not fault them for this, as this will surely improve with constructive feedback, patience and time!

Overall, I think Island Central presents a modern, appealing presentation of Filipino food for a community that is largely more familiar with South American dishes than East Asian/Polynesian. It offers classic authentic entrees, a wide variety of beverages from Bubble Tea and smoothies to drip coffee, and even some social-media ready desserts!

If you’ve never had Filipino food, trying it here is a great start. And if you are Filipino, I think there’s something that can...

I live here in The Heights, and although I have many favorite restaurants around my area, this new Filipino restaurant caught my attention. Since I have many Filipino friends and I love their culture, I decided to give this place a try and taste some of their food.

I also noticed they had good reviews on Google, so I thought it could be a nice spot to eat and experience both their food and service. When I arrived, the restaurant was pretty empty—only two tables were occupied. The waitress told me I could sit at any open table, handed me the menu, and I ordered a Diet Coke while deciding what to get. I went with the Chicken Adobosilog.

I waited at my table for about 35–40 minutes. I saw the other two tables get their food, and I noticed several delivery drivers coming in and out picking up orders, but my food never came out. Eventually, I got up and asked about it. Apparently, they had completely forgotten about me and my order. The food had been ready in the kitchen for a while, but no one realized it.

If the service is this poor when the restaurant isn’t even busy, I can’t imagine what it’s like when it’s full. I was looking forward to trying the Leche Flan for dessert, but I decided not to order it after such a long wait. I didn’t even receive an apology, which made it seem like they’re used to keeping customers waiting.

In the end, I decided to take my food to go instead of eating there. The food itself was delicious—it’s just a shame that the service was so disappointing. Maybe I’ll give it another try in the future when I have more time, knowing that I’ll probably have to wait a while...