Where is the best Filipino food in Hampton Roads, and which neighborhoods near Naval Station Norfolk do those families actually live in?
By Kyle Melvin · NMLS #1486450 · REV Mortgage · Licensed in Virginia ·
Short answer
Hampton Roads has the largest Filipino community on the East Coast, built by seventy years of Navy service, and the food follows the housing: the turo-turo counters, bakeries and lechon shops cluster in Virginia Beach's Kempsville and Green Run corridors, along Norfolk's Little Creek Road, and in Chesapeake's Greenbrier — the same 1970s–90s subdivisions where a Navy BAH covers a mortgage. Point at what you want, get rice, go look at houses.
Virginia Beach — the center of gravity
FeLynn — Virginia Beach. The turo-turo everyone names first: point at the steam table, karaoke in the back, family-reunion volume. Sisig, sinigang, lumpia fried to order. Susan's Kitchenette — Virginia Beach. Traditional recipes, karaoke, twenty years in. Ihaw Ihaw — Virginia Beach. Crispy pata (pork leg) and fried fish, a step more contemporary. Glenda's Bulalohan — Virginia Beach. Bulalo, the beef-shank soup, is the reason to go. Only at Renee's — Virginia Beach. The sit-down, made-from-scratch end of the list. Lumpia & Company — Virginia Beach. Lumpia in every form, including ones your lola would not approve of. Angie's Bakery / Glory's Bakery / Red Ribbon — Virginia Beach. Pandesal in the morning; Glory's pepperoni pizza bread is a local cult item. House of Lechon — Virginia Beach. Whole roasted pig by special order — the thing you bring to the hail-and-farewell. Jollibee — Virginia Beach. Chickenjoy and the sweet spaghetti. You know if you know.
Live here: Virginia Beach — Kempsville, Green Run, Salem and the Princess Anne corridor are 1970s–90s brick-and-siding subdivisions, 25–35 minutes to the Norfolk gates via I-264/I-64 and much closer to Oceana and Dam Neck. This is where most of the community lives, and the price band is the most forgiving on the Southside.
Norfolk
Maymar — Norfolk. A takeaway counter that's been doing this for nearly 25 years; the Ocean View–area Maymar Poke and Grill adds poke bowls. Boracay Philippine Cuisine — Norfolk. Small turo-turo, Filipino TV on in the corner. Lumpia House — Norfolk. Takeout lumpia and pancit, nothing else needed. Manila Bread House — Norfolk. Grocery, specialty cakes, roasted pig orders.
Live here: Norfolk — Ocean View, Wards Corner and the Little Creek Road corridor are the shortest commutes to the base that still come with a yard; 1940s–60s brick ranches and Cape Cods, mixed condition, priced accordingly.
Chesapeake and the Peninsula
Maymar Filipino Restaurant and Winnie's Filipino Kitchen — Chesapeake. Two small cafés with attached groceries; Winnie's for the classic entrees. Totoy's — Suffolk. Turo-turo plus à la carte, the far-west option. Lorma's Kitchenette (truck) and Tindahan grocery — Newport News. The Peninsula's answer, near Langley and Newport News Shipbuilding.
Live here: Chesapeake — Greenbrier and Western Branch, 1980s–2000s subdivisions with newer schools and a 30-minute commute to the Norfolk gates up I-464 or I-64. On the Peninsula, Newport News and Hampton are the Langley-Eustis side of the same story.
Why this is a housing article
Every one of these places is a strip-mall storefront in a subdivision, not a downtown destination. That's the tell. Filipino Hampton Roads was built by Navy families who bought in Kempsville, Green Run and Greenbrier on a petty officer's BAH in the 80s and 90s, and the bakeries opened where they lived. If you're choosing between Virginia Beach and Chesapeake on orders, the turo-turo map is a decent proxy for where a Navy family's money still goes furthest. Run the payment on the BAH-to-payment tool, then go get pandesal.
Directory per Coastal Virginia Magazine, March 2022. Confirm hours and that each location is still open before you drive.
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Questions people also ask
- Where is the best Filipino food in Hampton Roads, and which neighborhoods near Naval Station Norfolk do those families actually live in?
- Hampton Roads has the largest Filipino community on the East Coast, built by seventy years of Navy service, and the food follows the housing: the turo-turo counters, bakeries and lechon shops cluster in Virginia Beach's Kempsville and Green Run corridors, along Norfolk's Little Creek Road, and in Chesapeake's Greenbrier — the same 1970s–90s subdivisions where a Navy BAH covers a mortgage. Point at what you want, get rice, go look at houses.
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