Restaurant Review: Pinoy delights at Ninong’s

Jade Campbell

With a goal of sharing traditional Filipino food and culture with their community, Ninong’s Pastries and Cafe brings the delicious taste of the Philippines to Northridge.

After two families made their dreams a reality back in 2008, this family-owned and operated restaurant leaves guests satisfied with large portions that are meant to share.

After relocating to a bigger space in Northridge back in 2017, Ninong’s Pastries and Cafe continues to leave people waiting in line for their savory food. The restaurant is known for its use of ube, a purple yam native to the Philippines. Their menus include over 10 different options of ube-flavored food, from options varying throughout breakfast and lunch.

Ninong’s offers breakfast until 12 p.m. and lunch until they close. The restaurant is only open until 5 p.m. however and does not serve dinner. Unlike their old location, parking can easily be found in the large shopping center lot in which the restaurant is located.

The most popular items are featured on the breakfast menu, which would explain the large line and wait time during breakfast time. As the restaurant gets packed on the weekends, it is recommended to get to the restaurant around the time they open in order to get seating.

Ninong’s offers both modern and traditional twists on their menus. For those who want a taste of the Philippines through their flavorful pancakes, the Pancake Flight offers samples of their ube, buko pandan and mango-pina pancakes for $9.99. The restaurant also offers Ensaymada French Toast, a customer favorite, for the ube lovers who seek a twist on traditional french toast for $11.99. These popular breakfast items can also be found on their lunch menu.

They also have a pastry section where ube-flavored desserts, paste and even bread are available for purchase all day.

Although Ninong’s is known as a Filipino restaurant, their menus do include how to properly pronounce the names of the items. The urbanized interior is inspired by their love for ube, using purple as their accent color and wooden decorations. There is plenty of space inside to accommodate parties of any size and the friendly service at the restaurant may take some time because of how packed the restaurant may get at times.

Ninong’s is open every day except Mondays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.