JT Restaurant

NOTE: CASH ONLY!
Ever since I moved out of my family’s house, I have been eating Filipino food less. I was walking around the area checking to see what restaurants were open and found that there was a Filipino restaurant. It might be a bit hard finding this place because I was walking with my GPS out. This restaurant is located inside a small «mall». The entrance is by a barber shop if I remember correctly.
I walked in and was greeted by a friendly employee with a genuine smile. She asked me what I would like and browsed through the menu fast and knew exactly what I wanted: sinigang with rice. I started speaking to her in Filipino just because I haven’t been able to speak to someone in my native language in such a long time.
I could not believe that they also sold yema here! Yema is a Filipino candy that’s made out of egg yolk and milk and it kind of tastes like peanut butter. I made sure I bought some because these were my favorite candy ever since I was a kid!
The sinigang and rice tasted like how my family made it (of course, I don’t think it’s that difficult to replicate). The price was reasonable and my whole experience here was positive.
I would love to come back here again!

A very no frills steam table joint scooping a variety of reasonably priced Filipino fare. The FiDi/​SoMa area is a bit short on Filipino options, so its presence is definitely appreciated. However, I still gotta give it a 3-​star, which isn’t a bad thing since it means «A-​OK» on Unilocal.Basically a place to go if you have a very strong craving and the Filipino Food Trucks haven’t parked near you.
Chicken Adobo: Tangy and umami. The sauce/​gravy is on the thicker side, but it works. The chicken was super tender. The chicken seemed haphazardly cut so there were bone pieces everywhere and you needed to proceeded carefully, especially with those skinny toothpick shaped bones. I mean, why not leave the drumsticks in one piece?
Longaniza: Sticky, sweet and fatty. Could have been grilled a little longer since there wasn’t much char. Seemed like I got a lot more chicken adobo compared to these three longanizas.
Lumpia: A lot of little fried rolls with mostly meat filling. Seemed like it was deep fried a bit earlier so wasn’t as crunchy/​flaky as fried-​to-​order lumpia.
Pancit: Meh. I was pleased to see strips of pork since it seemed meatier than most pancit, but that pork was pretty tough.

(Not so) awkward moment when your company’s catered events led you to the discovery of this little gem. I’ve only had the lumpia and pancit but omg. I can practically see the authenticity coming off the food.
Everything’s cash only (even for catered trays) so be sure to have some with you. The restaurant itself is very homey and almost messy looking– literally like someone’s kitchen. Love the friendliness and food!

I loove eating here! Whenever I would work in downtown I would come here for lunch and the food is delicious. I’m so happy I don’t have to venture all the way to south sf to eat really good Filipino food. I always get the pancit, chicken adobo, Bihon, and the sweet sausage (I forgot the name, I’m sorry). You can really taste the love she puts into her food. The auntie that works there is the sweetest lady! I love her, she is so nice. Whenever you go inside, it’s like going your aunt’s place because it’s so chill. This place is amazing and I’ll continuously come back.

Had sweet and sour fish filet with vegetable lumpia and husband had chicken adobo (the unofficial most eaten Philippines dish I read!)
These entrees are offered on the Wednesday special with about ⁶⁄₇ other choices to chose from.
The dishes are served with a lot of white rice (equivalent of 2 – 3 small rice bowls?).
The food tasted fresh, I liked the crunchy veggies served with the fish.
The bill for two was 10 $!
The owner was very sweet and smiley.
Good option if you are in the neighborhood for a quick lunch!

I love Ate Tess! She made me feel like home. I was craving for Filipino food and stumbled upon JT’s. Tastes like authentic Filipino food! I would surely come back for more.

I love how this place makes me feel like home every time I come here. I grew up in Stockton, where majority of the people I knew were either Filipino/​a or Mexican and after church my family and I would go to this Filipino restaurant that no longer is in business but some how JT reminds me of their incredible cooking. When I first came they had chicken adobo, pancit and rice all for $ 6, I came late in the day so they didn’t have anymore pancit left, so they offered me more of the adobo which I gladly accepted. The owner was very friendly and very sweet. I will definitely be back!

my go-​to place whenever I need my filipino food fix which is almost once every week.
Auntie Tess is awesome and very nice.
I usually get the kare-​kare, adobo, dinuguan tinola and sinigang. If I’m lucky, I get to have veggies too.
Majority of the dishes are on point – I like my chicken adobo differently but hers is pretty close to how I like. the dinuguan is one of the best ones Ive had.
I specially love her bibingka malagkit… my grandma used to call it latik. it’s the best one Ive hard besides my grandmas.
highly recommended.

This place serves a lot of the Filipino community in the neighborhood feels just like home for a lot of the residents and seniors that are daily customers. Mama Tess is the best her home style cooking gets a lot of attention food portions are really good for the price. They are also good for catering for party’s and events. This place was just awarded for best small business in all the districts by the city if San Francisco congratulations Mama Tess (Tess Diaz Guzman) for all your hard work and generosity. I your in the area don’t hesitate to stop in and try some of her home style Filipino dishes and desserts.

Random hole in the wall and a little tough to find, but the adobo, sinigang, and kaldereta are truly amazing and totally make up for having to walk back down Mission Street to a crosswalk. And Tess is a sweetie! If you’re in SoMa and looking for Filipino food, definitely stop by. You won’t be disappointed. Just remember to bring cash, as they don’t take credit cards.

delicious caldereta!!!

This place really is a hidden gem. Authentic, delicious Filipino food cooked by one fantastically nice mother, tucked away in a random office mall suite on a block with few other things worth stopping for. Portions are generous, and everything was great. I got the beef stew and beef chunks, while my friend got the lumpia and chicken adobo. The chicken adobo really stood out in flavor, I would definitely get that again. Price is very reasonable, cash only. And I always love pointing out when places have no wait because that’s such a rarity for decent weekday lunch in the city. No wait! And the seating area feels like a tropical cafeteria wonderland.

Tess is really nice. When I go there to pick up food, it feels like I’m talking to a filipino version of my mom.
Lots and LOTS of food for 10 bucks, I really like the ground beef thing, not sure what it’s called but it’s ground beef with carrots and peas in a gravy like sauce. Sooo good. The longanisa is great too, too bad it gives you the longanisa burps. Good thing I do all my work over the phone so no one has to smell it but me.
Great place for lunch on days I want to stuff my self silly

My co-​worker and I have been talking about going to JT’s as it’s right around the block from work so we finally made it out last Friday. JT’s is located inside this building called the Mint Plaza. Walking in, it felt like your typical «Turo-​Turo» style resto, where you point at the item that you want. But at the same time, they sold some dry goods and yeah, it felt like a living room in there with the TV, entertainment center, etc. Any non-​Filipino who walks in here would say, «WTF» whereas with us being Filipino were like, «This feels like my Auntie’s house!»
They offered a nice variety of hot food, about ten items to choose from. They have their everyday offerings such as Chicken Adobo, Pork Adobo, Pancit and such but they also have their daily specials, which was Kare-​Kare, Pork Sinigang and something else. I did the two-​item combo and had the Chicken Adobo and Kare-​Kare, my co-​worker also got the Kare-​Kare but got Lumpia Shanghai as her second item. Tess, the «T» in «JT» helped us out and was super friendly, she said just to eat first and pay later. Before I forget to mention, Tess piles on the rice, she apparently knows her clientele and was so hospitable the entire time we were there, not just to us, but to all of her customers that came in.
We sat down and dove into our food. The Kare-​Kare was pretty good! There was generous amounts of oxtail and meat, and the sauce was nice and creamy. My Chicken Adobo was also good, everyone has their own recipe for Adobo and although it didn’t taste like what my Dad cooks or what I cook, it was on spot. Evenly flavored, not too salty, I can’t complain! When everything was said and done, two 2-​items combos and two sodas came out to $ 21.00, not bad at all.
Overall, you’ll get some legit, homemade Filipino offerings here and it’ll fix your lunch time craving.

I love Ate Tess & her authentic Pinoy cooking. She makes you feel at home. Food tastes great and at a very reasonable price!

Love this place! As someone who works in the TL and needs a little escape from the craziness for lunch time JT restaurant is perfect. The owner is extremely friendly and the atmosphere is like being in someones home. The food is simple but good and inexpensive… along with the low key environment it is a perfect lunchtime hideaway.

My co-​worker just showed me this place and I have been working in the neighborhood for 5 years and passed by it many times… place has a homey feeling with colorful tables and tons of plants all around, you get the feeling that you are eating at your mom’s kitchen. One side with rice is $ 6 and two sides with rice are $ 8.50. Home cooked pork, beef and veggies that are supper tasty. The woman at the counter is super sweet and friendly. Please, support this local business.

Decent sized place tucked away in a small strip mall with fast food style service. You walk up to the counter and there is a variety of dishes with the option of either a 1 or 2 item combination with rice. I believe it’s $ 6 for one item and $ 8 for two items which is a great deal in my opinion, especially compared to the ridiculous prices of other places in the area. The lady at the counter is a sweetheart. I was deciding between two entrees for a 1 item combo and she offered to scoop a little of my second choice in the box so I could try it. The chicken and pork adobo are delicious and full of flavor. I will definitely be back to try more.

Contrary to the first review and in fairness, J T restaurant and Catering, this is not the former New Filipinas Restaurant which was owned and operated by another entity. J T Restaurant and Catering is now under a totally new owners, husband and wife team Juan and Tess, thus the letter J T stands for. Food is presented fast food style or in Filipino, ‘Turo turo (all dishes are cooked fresh daily in the morning and afrernoons) with no short order dishes on demand unless requested in advance.
J T Restaurant and catering offers an array of authentic Filipino cuisine, the way it is prepared in the Tagalog region of the islands. The cost of a combo meal is fairly and easonably priced for the amount of food that is being served compared to most competitors. They also cater food for banquets and special occasion as well as office lunches.
In fairness to the establishment in reference to the comment made for the ‘adobo ‘dish was not fairly discribed. Traditionally, the skin is cooked to add flavor to the stewed dish., all chicken parts are usually used. The customer may have gone at a time when certain parts were left at the time. Adobo is among the most popular among Filipino fares next to ‘Lumpia; There are various iterations on how the dish is prepared based on what region of the islands one hails from. All dishes are prepared based on recipes from the Manila and Northern Southern Tagalog regions of Luzon (The main island of the Philippine archipelago.
Aside from lunch and dinner fares, other Filipino delicacies for ‘merienda’ (A (afternoon snacks) such as Bibingka (Sticky Rice cake baked in caramelized sugar qith coconut milk) Turon, (Fried bananas in egg roll wrapper and caramelized with brown sugar) and ‘Palabok’ a noodle dish with achuete sauce (, an alternative to the traditional noddle dish ‘Pancit’)and of course l vegetable lumpia and Lumpiang Shanghai (cocktail sized pork lumpia with sweet and sour sauce dip). Each day two specialty measl are offered aside from the regular dishes such offered such as adobo (Pork stewed in vinegar, soy sauce and a lot of garlic), sinigang (pork with tamarind base flavor) fried marinated milk fish, and other standard dish popular among Filipinos.
Located next to the S F Chronicle building to the left in a little mall strip. On 5^th and MIssion walking distance from the Westfield Shopping Center. I am a regular customer and have nothing but the satisfaction of having a taste of ‘Mom’s home cooked Filipino Food. I recommend you try it while shopping or visting the SOMA area.

I thought I was going to New Filipinas but was surprised to find something in it’s place. Still Filipino food and still being run by someone named Tess makes me think they just changed names. What I got was definitely not worth $ 9 (the lunch combo is usually $ 8.50 but she didn’t bother giving me all my change). The Chicken Adobo was all dark meat; a bunch of broken, boiled chicken legs with the slimy skin still on. The sauce was like a watered down, bland brown gravy. Thankfully, lumpia can never be too bad.