The Pantry

Hands down one of the best diner breakfast spots I’ve ever eaten at. Everything about our experience here blew us away. The service was above and beyond top notch. All of the staff are pretty young and every server was personable and energetic. The food came out lightning fast and all of it cooked perfectly. The real star of the show here is their breakfast plates. Unbelievably delicious and hearty. Portion sizes are huge and every inch of food they serve is outstanding. I ordered the longaniza sasusages, 2 eggs with a hash brown and rice combo. The grilled onions and spices on the hash browns really enhanced it all. Even the coffee here is good, and they’re on point with the refills. I polished off my entire meal even though I was full beyond belief half way into my plate. It’s truly that good. The place is pretty small so it’s not great for big groups but as far as service, value, and food goes this place really hits it out of the park. A+ all the way.

Came on a weekday morning and there were plenty of tables available and ample parking. Server was very nice, but unfortunately forgot to fill up my coffee a couple times. Ordered the chicken teriyaki but both pieces were charred (burnt). Might go back in a pinch, but there are tons of breakfast options in the area.

A pretty decent breakfast with an asian flair. The portions are good, and the place is busy, so they are really trying to keep the people moving through. The owners are friendly the coffee is good, I say give it a shot

Best food coma inducing place ever!
Get the Tocino!

4.5 stars but rounding up since they have some of the best breakfast & Filipino breakfast I’ve had in a while, not to mention awesome prices! My coworkers and I came in for lunch on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and it was super packed right before noon. You write your name on a list next to the cashier, and how many are in your party. Luckily, we waited less than 10 minutes for a table to free up, but definitely make sure you come early if you don’t want to wait! We tried:
–Southern Comfort (2 Eggs, Hash Browns, Biscuits w/​Homemade Gravy, $ 6.95,
): Ok, but not the most amazing version of anything. The biscuits could have been flakier, the gravy needed a bit more seasoning, and the hash browns could have a used a few more minutes crisping, but you got a huge quantity of food and overall the dish was good. However, I would prefer to order their other items versus re-​ordering this.
–Tocino (Filipino Sweet Cured Pork, 2 Eggs, Rice, $ 7.95,
): Yum– although this wasn’t the best quality pork, and it could have been crisped up more, the flavor of it was really good. I would get this again, but request that they cook it more.
–Longanisa (Filipino Sweet Sausage, 2 Eggs, Rice, $ 7.95,
): Yum– one of the best versions of longanisa I’ve had in a while, and highly recommended! We pretty much ended up fighting over this dish, so would definitely order this again and order more next time.
–Honey Dipped Fried Chicken w/​French Toast ($ 11.95,
): The french toast was good, but the chicken was just ok. It was super crispy, but I didn’t get much honey flavor from it. However, it seems like the chicken is really popular since we saw they ran out after we finished our meal. I would get the French Toast again but probably not the chicken.
Service is friendly and efficient, and our server didn’t even have to write down our order (and we got everything correctly). Our food came out in less than 10 minutes, and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. For $ 70 (including tax and tip) for 4 people, we left in food comas, and with a ton of leftovers. This is a great place to go if you want good price for a good value! We will definitely be back in the future for more breakfast/​Filipino breakfast dishes. Parking is pretty easy since there is a big lot.

My first review of 2016 – post 3-​black badges biznatches – is dedicated to my one true breakfast love, The Pantry. It’s not enough to call it Pantry. Respect. THE Pantry is the best find of 2015 with its cheap eats, gargantuan portions and amazing service. My six-​year old knows most of the servers by name, though they probably remember him as one of a hundred kids who steal their little jam packets (did I just openly confess that on Unilocal?). The wait gets pretty intense on a Saturday morning, so be patient, loosen your belt loop and prepare for the onslaught of sweet tocino and savory adobo. My only gripe is that they close at 2pm. If I had it my way, I’d probably bring my sleeping bag, come dressed in my loose sweats and just hibernate here with my warm pot of rice. Just like Lionel Richie, baby. All. Night. Long.

3 ½ stars
This place is pretty good. It’s located at a weird intersection near the 92 exit. There was quite a crowd when I came at around 10am on a weekend morning. Although there’s a line, I think the line moves at a reasonable pace. I’ve never had Filipino food before so I can’t speak for its authenticity. I ordered the Longanisa at the recommendation of one of the waiters, and it was pretty good! The sausage texture and taste was reminiscent of Taiwanese sausage, and I liked the added zing when you dip the sausage in the vinegar.
As others have said, portions are big. I think the prices are reasonable. Service is quick and friendly.

There’s always a long line, estimated wait time of 10 to 20 minutes if you come on a Sunday after 10:30am, so prepare yourself. Servers are very friendly, food to table time is quick, and the Sunday breakfast tradition is always concluded with a satisfied belly with leftovers to spare for the next morning. I love this place.
My favorite: chicken teriyaki, eggs over-​easy with white rice. YUM!

I’m in two minds about this place. The first time I came here, I had a great experience. I got their linguica plate — it was the first time I ever had eggs with my rice. Unbelievable, I know. We were trying to figure out whether to get pancakes or biscuits and gravy on the side, and our server ended up just giving us both but only charging us for one — awesome service.
When I came back again, I had really high expectations for this place based on my previous experience. However, I had an average experience. The service was still on point and the food was good, but the rice was bland and just tasted kind of mushy when mixed with the egg.
I wouldn’t mind coming back a third time just to give it a chance to change my mind, but right now it wouldn’t be my first choice.

This family owned place is seriously good for breakfast any time. Loved the Torcino (cured pork) and the corn beef hash. The portions were generous too.

On 11÷23÷15, the county health department shut this place down. If you search at
, you get the note: «An imminent risk to public health was observed that could not be corrected during the inspection. The facility was closed.»

No frills or fluff, just an old school diner that’s stood the test of time with good service, food made from scratch and ridiculously big portions!
Today I had the Southern Comfort (homemade biscuits and gravy with eggs) and I added a side of corned beef hash, which was awesome. My Mom makes the best country gravy so I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to restaurants but I was not disappointed — the gravy was excellent.
If I’m nitpicking, the meal did lack a bit of seasoning; my eggs had zero salt/​pepper, same with the hash browns but once I doctored them up and poured on the Tapatio, it was very tasty.
Like I said at the beginning of my review, the portions are huge — I left happy and in a food coma. Great way to start my Sunday and I’ll definitely be back to try some of the classic Filipino dishes on the menu — more to come!

It looks like a busy place for breakfast as a family restaurant, but people come and go quickly so the wait for just myself was quick. The first thing I noticed was the service: a waiter came by to seat me before busying off, and another one asked me if I would like coffee before I took my seat. In total, 5 check ups by the time I ordered, and the food came in less than 10 minutes. Customer service may have nothing to do with food, but it sure makes your day better, and when your day starts going, so do things like food.
The teriyaki steak steak tastes just as you might expect: sweet, savory teriyaki sauce topped on multiple piece of thin cut medium steak, served with toast, eggs and hash browns. Easily worth another visit when I’m in the area for breakfast.

Came here on a Sunday morning around 9am and this place is packed. We waited around 15 mins before we were seated by a table near the back of the left side of the restaurant.
We had come because we saw pictures on Unilocal of their honey fried chicken wings but they had signs at the door saying they didn’t have any in stock because of distributor limitations. (Sad).
I got the longanisa (sweet Filipino sausage) with half rice and half hash browns and shared a side of lumpia with my boyfriend. The portions that we were served was enormous. I think I finished ¹⁄₃ of my food before I was full. The food, however, was incredibly greasy. I tried to like it as much as I could but I couldn’t get over the fact that my food was swimming in oil. The rice was overly dry as well and didn’t taste that great.
The service is definitely ⁵⁄₅. They were friendly and attentive and reflective of the family owned, mom and pop shop vibe. And their prices seriously can’t be beat.
Outside of the food, I also felt uncomfortable with the ambience. It was LOUD. Like shrieking, crying babies and what seemed like family reunions. I could barely hear myself in that restaurant.

Immaculate place and the nicest people in the world!!! I love it that it is not pretentious. If I lived closer, I would be here all the time.
Thank you so much!!! You’re wonderful!

The Pantry is a very solid breakfast spot. It’s where you go when you want some no-​nonsense breakfast fare plus some comfort Filipino fare as well. I love the fact that they serve Longanisa and Tocino with eggs. I went with the Tocilog (
) and it was satisfyingly good! Comes with two eggs, a generous amount of tocino and your choice of rice or hash browns or half of each. My friend ordered the Longsilog and I got a little jealous because it looked just as good. I’ll probably try that next time. They also have a full menu of comfort food for lunch that includes burgers, fried chicken, spaghetti, chicken adobo, and lumpia. I’ll have to stop by again sometime for lunch to try those.

I’m really surprised with how much I ended up liking The Pantry. It’s a great balance of brunch, good service, and affordable prices.
Service was great – as we walked in, the host welcomed us like we were friends, and reassured that the wait goes by quickly. Our waitress was also nice too, and came by often to check on our table.
The food was surprisingly good– I mean, you can’t really go wrong with brunch. But they went above and beyond, especially with the Pork Tocino. I was a little hesitant on ordering it due to previous reviews complaining about large chunks of fat and no actual meat, but I was craving the Tocino and decided to get it anyway. It had a pretty good meat portion, and it came with a vinegar dipping sauce that completed it.
I also love their hash browns– soft internal perfection with a crunchy exterior, topped with grilled onions and that amazing seasoning (I don’t know what seasoning it is– I believe it’s crack) that made me want to devour the whole thing.
Five stars, bruh.

This is how they serve take out:
THEY DIDNT GIVE ME MY EGGS TO I WENT BACK AND THIS IS HOW THEY TREATED ME: Sunny side up eggs. Or sunny side up egg smushed at the bottom of the container. Then hang up on you when you call back? I mean local charm is one thing but really? A restaurant can’t take responsibility for their own crappy service and instead tells the customer that «the owners do not want to deal with your complaint»… Uh are you freaking kidding me? What low lives! can’t fix your own nasty a$$ service? What a bunch of trailer trash food servers. Never go there. Skewed Unilocal reviews raving about this place, be advised.

Cheap great tasting breakfast, quick and friendly service, plus Filipino food I can’t find at other breakfast joints — WHY ARE YOU SO FAR AWAY, SAN MATEO?!
Seriously, if you’re ever in the area and you want breakfast, The Pantry is the way to good. They can cook their eggs well from north to south, plus they have a wide variety of meats. I love my bacon and country fried steak, but my must get meat here is tocino — sweet, savory pork with enough fat for flavor but you eat past the guilt. And then you eat the next piece. Even the hash browns are a step up with the onions and the seasoning.
The service here has always been super friendly. I’ve been sat down really quickly even on a busy day. You pay for yourself at the register rather than asking for the check. But seriously, you get so much food for your money — $ 7 – 9 sit down breakfast in Palo Alto is almost unheard of! Every time I go to the city for the weekend, I make sure I always stop by this place on the way back.

A few years back, I used to be a regular in downtown San Mateo. I worked and dined in the downtown area. But I have never dined or explored the east side of San Mateo, towards the Bridgepointe shopping area and 101. «I only get 30 minutes lunch on my shift, if you are wondering!»
Recently I drove around the shopping area and brazed with the cozy diner that serve breakfast and lunch with authentic Filipino magic. «Abracadabra!»
On my debut from this peninsula diner, I had the Chicken Fried Steak meal. For $ 8.95, I get a nice size poultry fried and smothered in a creamy sauce. Normally many diners that serve the similiar dish, the meat is paper-​thin with excessive batter. But this diner’s version, the meat is really thick; «You have to like that!» My hearty meal also comes with hash browns, eggs and toast. This is one of the better breakfasts I have had in distant-​memory.
As I was chomping down my meal, I was continuing to browse the lengthy meal. And the diner also serves Longanisa sausages and Tocilog as some the popular dishes serve here. I also peeked at what other people are ordering and those portions looks hearty and enticing too.
I wished I had found this cool diner earlier. Otherwise, I would be here more often for breakfast and lunch!