27 ALUNA - Rockford (IL)

4 /5 Diane: Thoroughly enjoyed the fried chicken and ube pancake, as well as the morning noodles. Everything was flavorful and well prepared. Loved seeing local art on display, and there’s also a great selection of beverage options.

5 /5 Jeremey Powell: Kris is absolutely amazing and provided amazing service! Very kind hearted and diligent. She made sure everything was perfect, took her time and great conversing with. Excellent service, she’ll continue to reel in consistent consumers!

4 /5 Tim Prince: I really love this place, the food and the drinks are consistently good. The flavors are wonderful. Its a great place to hang out, wonderful atmosphere. My one complaint would be before shows downtown at places like the Coronado. They struggle with service when they are busy. The wait staff doesnt always seem to work well together. For the second time, we were recently there for dinner before an event. 90 minutes at a table with a reservation, and we only managed two drinks about 40 minutes apart. The stress was evident with the wait staff, but the bartender seemed at ease even with the backup of orders at the bar. After the rush started to slow, nobody was clearing the tables for new guests, the wait staff just seemed flustered. Room for improvement there, but I would still recommend going during times of normal operation for the unique flavors they offer to the city. Really happy to have them downtown.

3 /5 Kerby Lugue: This establishment has a cozy and pleasant ambiance. However, the food was not impressive; the portions were small, and my lumpia was undercooked and required recooking. The staff were friendly and patient, and the service was excellent. They graciously removed the affected dish from the bill. While we were disappointed with the food, we might consider returning for the service or maybe their liquor selection, as they have a bar. We apologize for expressing our disappointment.

4 /5 Art JIMENEZ III: Well this is a bucket list driving from Chicago but Ill have to come back again because I only had the Filipino brunch menu dining in. It was delicious. What really caught my attention on the website and I have to come back probably another time probably when its a little warmer in the spring for their famous Beef Machado which is served for dinner. I went for their brunch which was good too. Their lumpia Shanghai or Filipino fried egg rolls were treating like an formal appetizer. Traditionally, when youre invited to a Filipino party the egg rolls are more like hors doeuvres than a formal appetizer in a big group and they separate the chili or sweet and sour sauce like a dip or condiment similar to ketchup and fries. It tasted good and original in traditional Filipino cuisine. Ambience was very modern but then again I see a lot of the newer restaurants in franchises like Maxs restaurant franchise making it modern ambience versus reflecting traditional ambiance. It was originally another American restaurant bar but the owner being Pinoy Filipino bought it. I had found it on Facebook and it looked like a bucket list to come all the way from Chicago despite having a lot of other Filipino restaurants back in Chicago. I just came from a French Filipino one called "Kasama" which was unique that you had to pay first and then sit down and order your food ahead for their brunch and the dinner. Anyways, going back with this place it was good service. Staff was pretty friendly especially Lola and Brandon. I also met the chef for Dinner named Olivia My food came quick i for time having brunch. I ordered the Topsilog which was unique but delicious. Their version they dont use pork. I really dont eat pork that much now that I am older. They use thin marinated semi sweet and savory beef served with one Sunnyside egg and garlic rice for this restaurants version. I just wish that portions was a little bigger as I was a little unsatisfied and I had to order another Filipino egg roll.I would come back for the dinner for the Machado was the main attraction. I did like the Ube drink called "Manila dreams" with vodka, lemon and guava with a dried lemon as a garnish. Surprisingly, I didnt really taste the tarty sweetness of lemon despite that it was labeled in the menu with guava. It was an alcoholic Filipino cocktail drink with Ube or purple yam which I dont see it being utilized as a usual cocktail at a bar or restaurant. I guess by chance if youre in Rockford, Illinois do stop by here if youre craving for Filipino breakfast, brunch and hopefully dinner but if you could wait up to after 5:00 pm I would suggest probably trying to dinner which I havent done yet but will come next time.