Phil’s Kitchen

My husband and I order from here every time we jones for some chicken Katsu or the amazing Mutsubi.
This place does it right, and they are fairly generous with the portions. The flavors are great and they really do a great job taking the order and not messing it up like other restaurants when you call in the order over the phone.
Can’t recommend this place more.
Also, totally affordable considering the overly inflated area we are in. Bravo, Phil for keeping it real.

Solid Hawaiian BBQ place. I always go with the BBQ mix combo, meat is tender and very generous portions. Very good value. Phil and his parents are always happy with a smile on their faces!
Cash only, but there are a ton of ATMs around.

My medium sized seafood Phở was a little over $ 14. It had shrimp and calamari, but not enough for that price. The broth was too salty for me and very dark for just to have been seafood.
Customers are required to serve themselves and then bus their own tables afterwards when dining in. My table was sticky and had big crumbs left on them so I had to borrow the towel to wipe my table down.
I ordered a small fried rice togo and it was very dry, plain and the peas did not taste fresh but like they had been frozen for a long time.
I would have loved to have been offered a cup of water.
The man was nice. I appreciated the free wifi.
Cash only. There is an ATM inside. Banks are very close by.

like everyone says service is super friendly. Lots of choices here. I got the phở which was actually really good for a place that does so many other things!

Looking for a giant pile of Chinese/​Hawaiian fast food? This is your spot but bring cash! Cheap and so much food. Phil’s has items in the buffet trays and also makes food to order.

Cheap fast and so much food. I was like. saay what, this is so much. then they be like. of course yo. then I be like. i need to go this. and they be like. coo. So super friendly and good food. Not the best but very good for what you pay for. All about the bills here. You will be like 8 bucks and get super full with plenty to spare.

The people that work here are great. I didn’t know it was cash only but the lady let me order and while she cooked, I got to run to the bank down the street. I’m pretty sure they have an ATM here too but I didn’t want to pay a fee.
The loco moco was my least favorite dish here. The hamburger was really thin and cooked too much. The mixed plate with chicken and beef was great. The portions are really big and I had a lot of leftovers. The kalua pork and the mac salad are all winners.
There is a lot of parking nearby in the lot and on the street
The eating area is pretty large. It isn’t that nice, but who cares because the food is taste and reasonably priced. I would come again with a big group of people.

Definitely a great place to get great Hawaiian, Chinese and Vietnamese food. I know, you’re thinking how is it even possible nowadays when some other restaurant can’t even do a single cuisine.
Phil and his family mastered it with hard work, skilled cooking and a lot of love and chemistry. His mom is extremely warm and sweet.
I believe his pops and brother mans the kitchen.
We-​husband and wife come 1 – 2 times a week even though we live on the other side of the bay.
I always get Combo #3 pork Lau Lau and kalua pork with cabbage sans Mac and I’m good.
My wife like to flirt with their Chinese offerings, she enjoys her choices every time. The ingredients is fresh and healthy. She doesn’t get that heavy feeling you get at most Chinese restaurant after a meal.
Thank you Phil for offering us such a unique experience with food.

I came here on a weekend night, and it was empty except for 2 – 3 tables. I ordered at the counter (CASH ONLY) and got the chicken katsu. It took about five minutes for my meal to come out, and it came out in a to-​go box. I ate it there anyway, and it was mediocre. The katsu breading was very thick and there wasn’t much meat at all. The katsu sauce was good, but the rice quality and the macaroni salad quality weren’t great either. Rice was sort of mushy, didn’t taste very fresh, and the macaroni salad had no flavor. It’s quite a bit of food, and at $ 8.99 it’s good quantity for the price, but the quality just isn’t there.

OBSESSED! This little gem brings me back to Hawaii. I had their Saimin with BBQ chicken, shrimp, and egg and it was delicious. I did not expect the noodles to be as perfect as they were. It does take about 15 minute to prepare which is actually a good sign to know it’s freshly prepared. I also had a spam musubi that was also very fresh, and ordered a Loco Moco to go for dinner.
Phil was behind the counter and very friendly. You could tell he has a big passion for the food he prepares, and the taste reflects it.

Love coming here, Phil and his mom are always welcoming and super nice.
Now that I can no longer eat rice, soy or wheat I thought there would be nothing left to eat here. Boy was I wrong! Just order from the made while you wait menu ask for «no wheat» and it’s made fresh, gluten/​soy free and delicious! I usually get it to go and eat it with cauliflower «rice» at home, and no longer feel like I’m missing out.

Came here for dinner on a Thursday evening before a show at the Guild. I had the Hawaiian banquet chicken and my wife had the chicken Katsu. The Hawaiian bow chicken was marinated in a teriyaki sauce and had a very nice flavor. The chicken Katsu came with a sauce which added some needed flavor.
I would definitely have the Hawaiian banquet chicken again.

Thought the food here was decent for the price but nothing to rave about. I personally like L&L better as well as Ohana Hawaiian bbq.
I did not try any of the chinese food here but shared a bbq chicken plate with a friend. Totally enough food for both of us since we weren’t extremely hungry but I feel a plate would definitely be good enough for anyone who comes in with an empty stomach. Also ordered a Chicken Katsu masubi.
I personally don’t like macaroni salads and let my friend have that. The cuts of chicken were generous and enough for the amount of rice there was. Also, I know the lettuce at the bottom is used as a filler but it totally soaked up the juices from the meat and was actually really good with everything combined.
Chicken katsu masubi was good also. Usually I don’t like chicken katsu so I don’t have much to say about it other than it was a good portion albiet a little more crunchy than I would have liked it
Only downside is that this place does not accept credit cards. They do have an ATM inside but there is a charge, however there are banks that surround the block so you could withdraw money from there. Or venmo, which is what I ended up doing. All in all, pretty mediocre place. Nothing too special but decent enough for lunch.

This is a staple for many of the surrounding college students. Phil’s offers authentic Hawaiian, Chinese, and Mongolian dishes – all of which are done well. My favorite is still the chicken Katsu; which they pile on high over a bed of fresh rice and Mac salad. It’s cooked perfectly, crispy and light, and the regular size is enough for two people.
If you make your food selections by your eyes, most of their food is prepared and set out so you can see what you are getting. There are also multiple photos in their menu to help guide your choice.
The seating area contains about 15 tables and is nothing fancy, but does give you the option to sit and eat or wait while they prep your food to go.
Also, bring cash! They don’t take card. And if you are a Menlo student you get 10% off your order.

Chicken Katsu was fresh, crispy, HUGE portions, enough to feed 3 girls, comes with mac & cheese and rice.
Spam musubi — hard to mess this up, thick cut of spam over teriyaki sauce over a block of fresh white rice
Nice family owned restaurant
CASH only…

When a restaurant offers multiple types of cuisine (like Chinese, Hawaiian, traditional American, Japanese), I am wary because there’s a good chance that a jack of all trades is master of none, but that is mercifully not the situation at Phil’s Treasure Pot. I think I have eaten something from all their major food groups, and I’ve been consistently satisfied with the quality and preparation across the board.
The burgers are roadside diner respectable. And they’re inexpensive for Menlo Park (at about four bucks). Free fountain refills on the drinks, which is a nice touch. Lovely musubi. The special ramen is delicious and feels endless.
There’s an assortment of Chinese food behind the glass at the counter, held hot in chafing dishes, and yet I’d say that the majority of the menu is cooked to order in the kitchen. This was a nice surprise — my favorite dish is made fresh every time. What’s my favorite dish? It’s salmon fried rice. Salmon. Fried. Rice.
Say it with me now: salmon fried rice. Fellow slammin’ salmon lovers, this is the dish for you. Plentiful, savory, generously studded with plump medallions of grilled salmon, and delicately flavored with grilled salmon throughout, this is a knockout dish. If you see it on the specials board, order it. If you don’t see it on the specials board, cry yourself to sleep. You’re missing out.
So basically, Treasure Pot is a hard-​working, casual, indie establishment that is a real jewel. See what I did there?

I came here after visiting someone at the Stanford hospital. Couldn’t decide whether I wanted to do downtown Palo Alto or downtown Menlo park. I’m glad I went with downtown Menlo park since it has a chill vibe about it. Not at all chaotic and busy as DTPA usually is. It wasn’t terribly hard to find Phil’s Kitchen, but it is located on the driveway to a parking lot, rather than facing outside the street where you can just drive past and see the storefront. I came around 7PM on Thursday and there were only two tables that were filled (aka, empty in terms of Bay Area standards).
I wasn’t super hungry so I went with the «small» sized Loco Moco. Loco moco here tastes just as good rainbow drive in in Waikiki ! Or maybe I was just craving one so bad that it tasted soooo good. I’d love to come back and try more of their Hawaiian plates. Wasn’t too big of a fan with the Vietnamese/​Asian food options since it was all fast food (aka over oily and fried).
P. S. **** CASH ONLY — there is an ATM but there’s a$ 1.25 fee (I came with card only, ugh… haha). BUT! There is a BOA ATM around the corner if you walk more towards the ‘actual’ Santa Cruz Ave.

Stopped in here for lunch on a Thursday afternoon and it was completely empty! But, it didn’t worry us too much. This was my first time, and my bf’s first time again in a couple of years.
I ordered a 2 item combo with fried rice, chowmein, chicken string beans, and spicy chicken. The chowmein was surprisingly tasty given the fact that it looked plain. The rest was ok, regular Chinese food. I also ordered the hot and sour soup, but it was more sweet. No sour and no hot.
BF got the Hawaiian combo plate with short ribs and chicken. The chicken was moist and tasty. The short ribs were good too. They were good pieces without much fat, which shows that they weren’t the cheap cuts.
This place is somewhat out of the way for both my BF and I, but I wouldn’t mind coming back if we’re in the area. For some odd reason, I really want to try their phở. Lol.

During my college days, there was a Hawaiian BBQ place that served large portions for cheap price and the quality was excellent. I’ve been craving to find that around the Bay Area and hoped my search would end at Phil’s.
Phil’s is located nearby a parking lot so parking should be relatively easy to find and the people that work there are friendly. I walked in and ordered the Hawaiian BBQ mixed plate. They had a variety of sauces such as chili oil flakes, vinegar, sriracha, hoisin, etc. The portion was more than generous so that was a plus! However, I began to eat it and the BBQ Beef was dry and tough to eat, it was overcooked. The chicken was pretty good, but my last few pieces were also dry and overcooked. Same with the short ribs. The meats all had plenty of flavor, but I wish they weren’t so dry and tough, it made it hard to eat. The macaroni salad was delicious though!
Phil’s is pretty out of the way for me so I probably wouldn’t come back, but if you want big portions for a decent price, this is your place!

Do you want Hawaiian, Chinese or Phở? No need to decide now because this place serves a variety! Their large banner from the street caught my eye and they’re located in this little complex of other small businesses.
They have a menu you can order from and your food is made fresh or you can order from the buffet-​style items sitting in the chafing dishes. They should change their name to CHOICES because there really is a lot to choose from.
Price is reasonable, food arrived quickly, and everything tasted ok. Not crowded at all as many people pick their food from the ready-​choices and take it to-​go.