October 23, 2026

---

A Filipino Food Adventure Comes to Sarasota

From crispy pork belly to sweet banana spring rolls, this newcomer brings some delicious new flavors to downtown.

🤷‍♂️ I Have a Confession. It’s probably not the kind you’re thinking of, but it’s a confession nonetheless. I have pretty limited experience with Filipino food.

I’ve never lived in a place with a big Filipino food scene (L.A., NYC, and San Diego, I’m looking at you!). I have visited those cities, but never long enough to get that deep into the food culture. 😢

Here’s my only connection to Filipino food and drink. Back in the 70s (you may or may not remember that time!), my dad was heavily involved with the Rotary foreign exchange student program in the Chicago area.

For a solid ten years, one of our bedrooms housed a high school-aged student whose first language was not English. We had a mini-U.N. happening in our house.

Finland, Japan, Australia, and yes, even the Philippines were all well represented in our tri-level home during that time. It was a little wild, to put it mildly. I knew English (at least high school level English 😄), but my Finnish was a bit lacking (so was my dad’s!). As you could imagine, there was a lot of nodding and smiling going on in our place.

One of those exchange students was Ramon. He was from the Philippines. Super nice, very polite, and extra helpful around the house. I mean, almost to the point of making me look like a lazy American teen. And at that point, it probably wasn’t that far from the truth.

Ramon didn’t teach me about the cuisine of his country. But he did teach an eighteen-year-old Chicago kid about Filipino beer. San Miguel, to be exact.

I never learned what Pancit Bihon was, but I got pretty good at taking the foil wrapping off those Filipino beer bottles. 📝 San Miguel stopped wrapping the neck of their beer bottles in foil back in the late 90s. A shame. 🥲

Fast forward a whole lot of years (almost 50!) and I needed to lean on Ramon’s food experience. I wanted him to decipher the menu from one of Sarasota’s newest places to expand your culinary horizons: Tastes of the Philippines!

Located just off the corner of Ringling Boulevard and Main Street, this new “fast-casual” Filipino restaurant is giving more people than just me a lesson in this flavorful cuisine of Southeast Asia.

I will tell you that this nation, made up of over 7,500 islands, has some pretty great eats!

There’s no table service here. It’s look up at the board…

Place your order at the counter and get a number…

Then wait patiently for your number to be called so you can pick up your meal. It’s really pretty easy and efficient. 📝 If you’ve ever been to a Shake Shack, Five Guys, or Potbelly Subs, you know this drill well. Also, locally, Michelle’s Brown Bag Café uses this system of ordering.

The dining room is clean and neat.

They have an open-kitchen concept where you can check out all of the action if that’s your thing.

And they even equip you with utensils that are definitely a step above “fast-casual.”

All of this is great, but if the food doesn’t measure up, it doesn’t really matter a whole lot if you’re eating from a gold fork.

YES, it’s that time. Let’s take a look at what Tastes of the Philippines puts on the plate!

All of these options come as “Protein Boxes.” Translation: These are complete meals. You pick the protein. The box even includes dessert. And they do it for twenty bucks!

Of course, we tried more than one thing on our visit…

Those are the PB Filipino BBQ Skewers. The owner, Patrick, told us that these are one of the more popular items on the menu. I’m guessing that’s because chicken skewers cross culinary boundaries. Every type of ethnic cuisine has something similar. They’re not really all that exotic. Folks can immediately relate to what a chicken skewer is. Not a ton of guesswork here.

Next up, some Pork Belly Lechon Kawali. The skin on this pork was cracklingly crisp. If you are a lover of pork belly in any way, shape, or form, you will love this.

Here’s where we start to get into some uncharted territory. These Longanisa Filipino Sausages are made from pork and have a kind of sweet/savory flavor profile. The texture isn’t as firm as a traditional sausage link. The feel is almost “undercooked,” if that makes sense. But it’s certainly not. And it’s pretty tasty!

All of these Protein Boxes come with some Garlic Fried Jasmine Rice. It’s a great side, and let’s not forget the Lumpia!  

Those are those “egg roll” looking things on every platter. The menu tags it as a “pork and vegetable spring roll.” It’s an accurate description. It is very similar in taste and texture to a Thai spring roll.

We DID NOT forget dessert!

This is Turon. It’s a super popular Filipino street food. Basically, a banana spring roll that has a caramelized top. The filling has a custardy consistency. These were the surprise of the meal. I’m glad they only gave us two, EACH!! 😋

OK – let’s sort this whole thing out. Filipino cuisine is very simple and approachable, even for novices. If you like food from this part of the world (Vietnam, Laos, Thailand), then this will be easy for you. No training wheels necessary. Just get right on and ride!!

TASTES OF THE PHILIPPINES

📍 1987 Ringling Blvd – Downtown Sarasota

☎️ 941-906-1634

🌐 WEBSITE | MENU

~ LH

📋 END NOTES –

I took a friend for a little birthday lunch. She isn’t the most adventurous eater (at least I didn’t think so). She loved it. So, you don’t really need to stretch your limits to enjoy Filipino cuisine.

Patrick told us that they are in the process of building a bar toward the front of the restaurant. That means you’ll be able to get a glass of wine or beer in the near future. I’m not sure how a sit-down bar fits with the whole “fast-casual” thing, but…

My friend Anna served in the Peace Corps in the Philippines after college. She looked at the menu and gave it a BIG thumbs up. But she did add that if she didn’t have to kill it or clean it, that was a plus. Seems like a fairly low bar. Especially for Sarasota! 😄

The Rotary Youth Exchange Program (as it’s now called) is still operating and going strong. If you’d like more info on this fantastic opportunity, HERE’S A LINK!

---

---

🗓️ SARASOTA FOOD INFO🗓️

Here is some local food information that we think you might find interesting. We’ve provided you with a link to more info.

📖 BUY A COPY OF OUR 2026 SARASOTA DINING BOOK! – ORDER HERE 📖

📰 ALL THE LATEST SARASOTA FOOD NEWS! – OUR NEWS PAGE!

📋 MENU OF THE MONTH!! – Michael’s On East – SPAIN!

---

🧑‍🌾 FARMER’S MARKET INFO ‍🌾

EVERY SUNDAY – Siesta Key Farmer’s Market – DETAILS

EVERY SUNDAY – Farmer’s Market at Lakewood Ranch – DETAILS

EVERY SUNDAY – The Meadows Farmer’s Market – DETAILS

EVERY WEDNESDAY – The Phillippi Farmhouse Market (Oct-Apr) – DETAILS

EVERY THURSDAY – Englewood Farmer’s Market (Oct-May) – DETAILS

EVERY SATURDAY – Sarasota Farmer’s Market – DETAILS

EVERY SATURDAY – Downtown Bradenton Public Market – DETAILS

EVERY SATURDAY – Venice Florida Farmer’s Market – DETAILS

THIRD THURSDAY EVERY MONTH – UTC Night Market – DETAILS

---

🌟 SHARE, FOLLOW, LIKE 🌟

📱 Yes, we’re on social media! Our Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads  and Bluesky

Get information on 350+ Sarasota restaurants on the dineSarasota.com website

Did you miss a story? Here are some of our past Bites – SB ARCHIVE

Do you love our A Burger A Week pieces? – HERE’S THE FULL ARCHIVE 🍔

Check out all of our Videos on our YouTube channel!

Refer a friend to Sarasota Bites. That would make us super happy – CLICK HERE!

Email us a question, comment, or suggest a story. SEND EMAIL

From time to time, our articles may include links to purchase items. If you click on a link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. These small commissions help pay for the cost of creating the content we love bringing you. For more information on our editorial policy, CLICK HERE.  

👀 JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED SOMETHING…