Nanay's Best BBQ — Restaurant in San Diego

I don’t know about you, but I never saw my grandma cook skewers/bbq and although I get that this isn’t technically home cooking it’s got its roots in the right place. Yes she cooked about every other dish they sell here, but it’s interesting that as the customer base gets less Filipino the more and more grilled meats they move.

It seems as though every time I come here I’m ordering things everyone else is too afraid to ask what it is and when they do I’m glad to tell them quickly as the line is out the door during lunch. I think that’s why they stick with a 2 item, rice/pancit dual BBQ meat plate.

Price is very affordable for the amount of food you get as a 2 item should do the trick. The service is hit or miss and if that staff is in a good mood. You are less likely to have a pleasant interaction when it’s busy. I’d say that the next item they are starting to see traction with for the entire demographic is the curry’s, though Filipino cuisine isn’t known for their curry’s it also helps to have an Indian food place nearby so they can sort of grow the local palate together. I find the curry to lack an aromatic rich mouthfeel and be more gravy like. They almost always have Dinuguan, but it’s on the watery side and they overload it with onions (green, white). I prefer mine with more guts than meat, they do not do tripe here. I rarely if ever see kare kare here and the one time I had it, it was good, but the bagoong fell short. They overcook the afritada and the potatoes turn the tomato stew very chunky. The BBQ is pretty good, but I wish they offered some fish items or some veggie items (besides steamed vegetables a la every other rice place every other place). South East Asian food has some killer vegetable dishes that actually don’y even have broccoli or carrots.

Protip: Enter through the North entrance, not the food court side because that’s now where the line starts and you’ll have to scoot past a lot of people.

I’m always curious as to why they have so much soy sauce when it’s not super prevalent in Filipino cuisine.

I also wish they labelled all their dishes and had kare kare more often. They could do a better job of showing off their menu if people could see everything before it’s already on top of them, like the desserts.

Parking lot sucks, and most hours of the day too, thought that has no real weight on my rating, just a thought. It’s the closest decent Filipino...

I just love Nanays BBQ. The name and ownership has changed throughout the years but their food has stayed the same. They were the first one to introduce me to Filipino barbecue and now I'm hooked. I come here once every 2 weeks to get my Filipino barbecue cravings. The food here is always fresh and delicious. My favorites would be the lechon, longanisa, and all the Filipino barbecue. Whether it's a combo or meet by the pound they always give you generous portions here. The staff here is very nice and love to tell you about the food. I hope to one day try everything on the menu but for now I'm slowly checking everything off the list. This is a takeout spot so either you can take it home or there are tables in the food court. Parking is plentiful but can get...

I had tried this restaurant for the first time today. I had called over the phone to see if there was any seafood allergens, and I was told no. But when I arrived asked if any of the food contained fish sauce or oyster sauce, then they said mostly all of the options had fish and or oyster sauce. So Ding, Ding, Ding. That means there are seafood allergens. So rather than leaving empty-handed and driving all that way, I had ordered a Dozen Lumpia and they tasted really terrible. I am not even a full Filipino. I am multiracial and my lumpia tastes way better. So if you’re a person with sea food allergies, this isn’t the place you...