Tambayan Filipino Food — Restaurant in Phoenix

Update 10/21/2023 Under New Management!?!

We opted to give this place another shot despite my last review of having seen a creepy crawling thing that was dead on the floor. As it turned out, we were unexpectedly disappointed again and sad to see this place came down under new management! It no longer was the flagship of Filipino restaurants here in Arizona, in my opinion from the ones we’ve visited. The previous management had it all; great service, great food, great staff! They were focused on those values which a lot of Filipino restaurants fail to achieve, again in my own opinion, just the ones we visited here in Arizona. Unfortunately, just one sight of that bug put out the flames in the Flaming Pig for us. So here we are today and we find out Flaming Pig is under new management! They only had selected items to order off the menu and it was buffet style now which was located in front of the bar on one of those buffet stations on wheels. I couldn’t tell if the food was kept properly heated as we didn’t stay to try. I didn’t notice any heat lamps or steam coming from under the food trays. But I could be wrong, let me know if there was. But in all fairness, ⭐️⭐️! And so, our mission continues to find the new Flagship Filipino Restaurant in Arizona!

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Update: 2023.06.29

This place went from 5⭐️ to 1⭐️! Sorry, we hate creepy crawling roaches and won’t be coming back anymore.

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Previous Visits:

We have been to Flaming Pigs 5 times already and the food and service has always been good. Driving from the EV, Ironwood and Rt. 60, your expectations for good Filipino Restaurant is going to be high. I waited to make a review of this place until now because I wanted to see if their service, food, and milieu remains superb and consistent! I based my reviews on these three factors.

Service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ No where in the state of AZ, has their been a Filipino restaurant that doesn’t just see you as money. There are Filipino restaurants where you order your food at the counter and they bring your food out to you later on and that is it! No asking if you’d like a refill of your drinks or need anything else. At Flaming Pigs, you have someone that actually waits on you and comes by to make sure all is well!

Food: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-⭐️ The food can sometimes range from 4 and sometimes 5. There was one time when the egg rolls or lechon was a bit over cooked. However, the quantity to price ratio is spot on. Their Halo-Halo is to die for, well, during the AZ summers! I’d say better than Max’s Restaurant! The young lady has been the one that has always made mine for me and it’s just great. We’ve always left Flaming Pig spending $200+ and FULL and still have leftovers to take home!

Milieu: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ This used to be a Korean Restaurant, I believe, but it’s just about right. There are no rocking tables or chairs or butt crater booths! If you sit in the booth, though, you may have limited foot and knee room. The place is clean and plenty of parking. The area in which the restaurant is located is decent. “REMEMBER, ITS NOT HOW GOOD THE FOOD TASTES GOING IN ALONE THAT DETERMINES HOW GOOD THE FOOD IS, BUT HOW IT COMES OUT THE OTHER END AS WELL!” And that’s where the the restrooms comes in! Their restrooms passed my sneakers test! I can only speak for the Men’s room, but my wife says the Ladies restrooms were clean too. Sneakers test, you may ask? Have you walked into a restaurant restroom and your sneakers start sticking to the floor or squeaking as you’re walking? Need I say more what that is? Well, you don’t have to worry about that, their restrooms are safe to use! You don’t see any shoe prints on the toilet seats, again, I can only speak for the Men’s restroom.

Conclusion: If you want good service and good customer service, and not just seen as an object for generating money, go to Flaming Pigs. You won’t be left hanging with any empty cup to drink with. Keep up the good customer service and good food. We’ll be there next week!! Let’s see if they’re still consistent!?! To...

Flaming Pig is gone to heaven. I liked Flaming Pig which is why I came back.

In its place is a new Filipino resto named Tambayan (Hangout in Filipino). Different owners.

When I got there, there was no clear directive whether I should line up to place my order or go straight to a table. When I approached the counter I was told that I can proceed to a table, not really clear whether their staff would guide me to one or to look for one by myself.

When I found my table, it took some time before anyone realized that no one has asked for my order. I looked around, I was not the only one in the same sutuation. They were not attentive to any customer at all.

After what seemed like 30 minutes, someone took my order. It would take another 30minutes before my food was served. It seems that their kitchen staff was overwhelmed despite the place not being 100% full.

Front people seemed like they did not know how to handle the number of people around. Tables were left uncollecred and unclean up to an hour after the people who ate had gone.

When I was served my order of Sisig, I asked for either Knorr Seasoning (which is always available at ANY Asian grocery). The server was clueless. I mentioned that Soy Sauce is fine. The server gave me a vinegar mix intended for lechon paksie which is NOT what I asked for. I had to call the attention of another server to provide me with either Knorr Seasoning or Soy Sauce.

After I finished eating, it was not clear if I was to wait for my check. I had been waiving my arms for several minutes before the busser informed me that I had to queue up to pay. It was past 5pm when I got to the cashier to pay. More than two hours for a meal that wasn’t worth my time.

They are such a mess. They should have studied their processes before they even launched their business. They could have waited until every single one of their staff is on...

This was enjoyable, but I think the quality and atmosphere need some work.

I had come in with my family for brunch, and was surprised how cold it was inside. It took a while for us to warm up, but the noticeable chill was a bit much.

We were greeted and got our order in. It seemed like they thrive with family style orders where you buy entrees to share with the table. I wish they had gone over that in the beginning and really pushed for that, it would have added more to the atmosphere and story of Filipino culture is sharing and we want to share our meals with you. That was lacking.

We made our orders, and the one taking our order was a bit taken back on our lack of ordering? I think they were trying to upsell, but they didn't know how to do that.

As for the food, I can only speak for myself and my spouse. My order was the crispy kare-kare - which had very good crispy pork! But sauce for karekare seemed to be missing something and was still a little grainy. The vegetables included were not as cooked down as it could have been. I also give rice with my entree, and for being open for 30 mins, the rice was not as fluffy and soft as it should have been...

My husband ordered longganisa for breakfast, and while it was good, he was given one fried egg. The portion seemed too small for what he was ordering.

This place has time for improvement and could really become something for the Phoenix area. But because I live in the East Valley, I already have quality pinoy food...