Isla Restaurant — Restaurant in Newark

The last customer on Christmas Eve. So there's this Filipino restaurant right by my hotel, where I've been going repeatedly because the food is so darn good and it reminds me a lot of puertorrican food ❤ and today, after getting a beatup while everyone else is with their loved ones, I, all of a sudden decided maybe it was a good idea to get going and get some food or risk of surviving Christmas Eve on hotel snacks, so I got in basically while they were cleaning and only a handful of folks were finishing up, still they sit me, and brought a ton of food , then at some point someone came to me and asked me if he could sit, of course I said! Turns out he was the owner and we had a long conversation about food and how the Filipinos are so much like Puertorricans and their food is criollo-chinito which is something boricuas would love, I know I do!!! But not only that, he spoke in filipino with an attendant and he brought these pork pinchos with filipino BBQ sauce and just gave it to me!!! And a ton of rice! Obviously pa que se pierda 😄 This guy made my day in full, I was in full depression , being Christmas Eve and everyone with their loved ones and me stuck on a blown magnet...but he totally turned my mood around, I think this gotta be my xmas present from above 🙈 kind like in fruity movies.😄This restaurant is called La Isla and and I strongly recommend it , the prices are super fair and their service is very good! Shout out loud for La Isla...

I eat a lot of Filipino food and go to a lot of Pinoy restaurants here in the Bay, Sac and in S Cali. Tried Isla's lechon kawali for the first time and it may have been THE BEST I've had stateside. Reminded me of how food tastes in the PI. Moist but crispy on the outside, seasoned well. It was just LEGIT. Couldnt stop eating it. Other dishes we got were the short rib caldareta, shrimp sinigang and ginataang green beans as well as crispy calamari and garlic rice. Garlic rice,calamari and green beans were on point. Kaldareta I would say wasnt worth the price (the short ribs made it seem like an elevated version of the dish but regular beef woulda been just fine) and the shrimp sinigang was standard (to be fair I wasnt in the mood for sinigang but my family wanted it and i only tasted it).

Ambience and vibe of the place is always great and staff are very friendly. I appreciate the presentation of the food, very traditional to the PI island feel. They put in the effort. Only criticism I would have about the restaurant itself is that all the dishes dont come out at the same time (pet peeve of mine). So if youre eager to eat a specific dish you may not get it until later so you may either have to wait or you start eating and may be full by the time your dish comes out. But that may be a personal issue of mine. Ha! Overall this is one of the best Filipino restaurants...

Super disappointing, I got there at 10:45am there was a group of ladies waiting that were offered chairs to sit down while waiting for the out door dining area to be arranged while I was just left to stand there... I wasn’t greeted at all they just stared at me and proceeded to go back and forth between the restaurant and outside area . About 11:05am they sat the group under the canopy area didn’t been bother to ask me if I would like so dine or take out. A waiter with glasses that saw me when I first initially got there was hopping back on his motorcycle when he shouted “you can take a seat” I was observing the ladies as menus were brought to them, nobody noticed me once again so I went inside and grabbed a menu myself. I had ordered the tosilog and pork barbecue sticks, a couple came after me and got immediate service and menus which was odd. What’s was more frustrating is that they got there food before me, and when I questioned how that happened the waiter said he would find out.. he never gave me answer after asking two different employees... 10 mins later my food came COLD. Then 15mins later my barbecue came. After I finished my first dish. I feel discriminated against because I don’t look Filipino but I am half Filipino and Puerto Rican. The vibe totally changed when I spoke Tagalog... so sad I just moved to the area and I will never be...