Filipino Soul Food!!! Â We were here with a decent size group and probably ate all the food in the kitchen. Â We had Pancit Bihon, Cripy Pata, Lumpia, Kare Kare, Lechon Kawali, Sisig, Tinola, BBQ chicken and Garlic Rice. Â
Having a little bit of everything quenched my taste buds and turned my jeans into skinny jeans. Â My favorite was the BBQ Chicken and the Crispy Pata. Â For desert we all had Bibingka, which is a must have!
The staff was very friendly, which made us all feel at home.
I just moved into the neighborhood and saw the reviews for this place and decided to check it out. Â It was my first time eating Filipino food, so I was a little put off by the strange new flavors, but my overall impression was good. Â
Sorry, I don't remember the names of what I ordered, but the main dish was fried pork with garlic rice and pickled mango. Â The pork was good, but very different from what I was expecting: I thought it was going to be like a schnitzel, but it was more like chicharonnes - crispy fried pork and skin, very crunchy and greasy but good! Â The pickled mango was yummy - my only complaint is that I only got a little bit of it, about as much as you'd get ginger at a sushi place. Â The garlic rice was the stand out winner: Â hot, garlicky without being offensive, and buttery.
For dessert I ordered something I can't pronounce that was like a Filipino souffle. Â It came baked on a banana leaf and tasted a bit like really moist cornbread with banana flavoring and topped with coconut. Â It wasn't as sweet as most desserts, more savory, but it my book, that's a good thing.
Overall the food was good but not something I see myself craving very often, so the food I'd give 3 stars. Â The service, however, was excellent. Â An older man (the owner?) seated me at the bar and chatted me up about what was on TV while I waited for my food to be cooked. Â He was attentive about refilling my drink and checking in on me without hovering and was perhaps one of the nicest people I've ever met in the service industry. Â Based on his kindness and hospitality (plus the garlic rice) I'll be back to see if I can find a dish that better suits my palate.
Denver Culinary World Trip : Stop #8 (Philippines)
We yelped and found this place near the office. None of us had ever tried Philippines' food ever before so we were kinda intrigued. One thing to keep in mind is that they use pork and chicken for everything. When I asked whether they had any vegetarian options he said "we can take special order for you, we dont usually have anything vegetarian". I got the thin noodles (Bijon) with veggies and eggs and it was amazing. The egg rolls that I got as an appetizer were really good too.
We decided to try out a weird dessert called "Halo Halo w/ ice cream" We decided to go with Taro Ice Cream for the ice cream. It was awesome. Even the Flan that we took was really good.
Definitely a place to go back to.
The only thing we did not like was the person serving us (I am not sure if we the owner) kept interrupting our order and kept advising us against whatever we wanted and keep disagreeing with out choices. The food was good though.
First time here tonight. Been wanting to try this place for awhile, now I'm kickibg myself for not going sooner. I think I found my new fav spot. Started off with the shanghi eggrolls, Philippine lemonade and into the pork noodle (forgot the name) and the crispy pata. Everything was delicious and fresh. The pata was ok, a little too deep fried for me but still tasty. Finished with the halo halo with taro, are we going to be breaking any foodie rules by eating dessert first ?! Â A great way to end a great meal.
Everyone in the restaurant including the patrons were so friendly and outgoing. Made you feel like you've known them for years.
I will for sure being going back soon.
Great to see a Filipino restaurant in the metro area. Went for lunch and the service was very friendly and the meats were well marinated and grilled. i felt the portions on a couple of the dishes ordered could have been just a little bigger for the prices, but we were hungry and in a rush. i'll definitely have to go back and try them again when i'm not racing the clock with coworkers.
Review Source:Delicious food and dessert, very reasonably priced dishes, great service, and it's pretty clean... this place is easily going on my favorites list. Â
Food Favorites:
* BBQ Pork Plate - skewered pork, seasoned well and grilled to perfection
* Pancit Bihon - very thin noodles with meat and veggies... sprinkle some lemon juice, and you're good to go. Â Although there's some resemblance to Korean Chop Chae, don't expect the flavor to be anything like that... this dish is light (not oily) with subtle flavor.
* Halo Halo Dessert with Jack Fruit Ice Cream - fruits, beans, jellies, leche flan, crushed ice, evaporated milk, ice cream, and other delicious goodies in a large bowl... overall ridiculously yummy!
Also Recommended:
* Chicken Adobo - simple flavors and ingredients; looks like boring stewed chicken, but very tasty
Prices/Value: for three entrees and a large dessert, the total came to $27. Â The two of us were happy and stuffed, and we even had a small box of leftovers to enjoy later. Â For fresh food that's tasty and not greasy, this is an excellent value.
Service: excellent; even when every seat was taken in this place, the one waiter managed to juggle everything perfectly for every table.
Ambiance: somewhat small (maximum seating is around 40); flat screen TV showing the Olympics (nice touch); relatively clean. Â
Parking: in the strip mall lot.
Check this place out... even if it's just for dessert (especially the halo halo), you won't be disappointed.
first time spending the night in Denver and saw the reviews on Yelp about Sunburst. Really enjoyed the food. Â Had the Lechon Kawali, Pancit Bihon, and Chicken Adobo and was very pleased. Â Really hard to find good Filipino Food in Colorado, trust me, my wife and i have been looking since we left Hawaii. I would recommend it to anyone asking about good Filipino food in Denver.
Review Source:Went for a birthday outing and because we had never had Filipino food before and weren't disappointed. They do not have a liquor license, so we tried ALL of their juices: mango, coconut, and their version of lemonade - all good. We got some spring rolls which were HUGE. We tried a noodle dish that was very breakfasty even though not on the breakfast menu. The big hit was the char-grilled chicken with garlic rice. Garlic rice is my new favorite thing! We also made sure to get the Halo Halo for dessert and ended up taking home two other interesting desserts from their case: a tri-color rice pudding and a sweet corn pudding.
Our service was fine. We did not wait for anything. I can't give it 5 stars because they don't serve alcohol, the decor is outdated, plus some other minutia. I will say it was clean and can recommend Sunburst and will return!
Take home message: The service here was superb. The food was pretty good too. And the price is right.
We have never had Filipino food before. So, when we started to look overwhelmed by the menu, the waiter (owner?) helped us extensively with ordering. Since we were getting our order to-go, we were going to head over the the liquor store across the street while our food was being made. With this information, he also recommended a Filipino beer to pair with our food.
The egg rolls are different from the usual Asian fare, but they were delicious with both pork and shrimp filling and very crunchy. I got the Sisig (after being I "warned" that it was pig parts) and it had great flavor and to-be-expected texture. We also got one of the noodle dishes, which was more of a crowd-pleaser.
We will definitely be back!
I love this place! Growing up with delicious home cooked Filipino food- I am a critic to pretty much all Asian cuisine. The pork barbeque tastes exactly like my dad's home Filipino bbq, the pancit bihon- so delicious! Among four, we feasted on lechon, 2 orders of the pork bbq, pancit bihon, chicken adobo- and still had room for the halo-halo with icecream! Thank you, Sunburst Grill- you're the closest thing to soul food!! :)
Review Source:When I heard I'd be in Aurora for a few days, thoughts of food danced through my head. Â Where am I going to eat? Â What are the new and upcoming places? Â How am I going to expand my epicurean lexicon with the wonders Aurora has to offer? Â Will there be hot girls there I can flirt with? Â So many questions...so many desires...so much gluttony!
ENTER YELP! Â My plans in Aurora involved hanging with one of my buds...Mongoose K. Â He's of Filipino/German/Irish descent so I wanted to find a restaurant that would evoke distant memories for us both...memories of his mother making great Filipino food for him and memories of Filipina's I screwed over during my 'less than respectable' man whoring years. Â Alas, those man-whore years are long gone...
ATMOSPHERE: (4/5)
Loved the atmosphere here. Â There's a huge TV in one corner streaming shows from the Philippines. Â The one particular show being aired involved a bunch of young pinays in bikini's prancing around on some talent show. Â PLUS! Â Walls are colorful and littered with elements from Filipino life...both warm and inviting.
SERVICE: (4/5)
Don't ask for Ray. Â There are apparently 3-4 gentlemen with that name working at Sunburst Grill. Â I yelled for Ray anyway and looked at the 'Ray' I wanted to talk to for service. Â Service is great...friendly and attentive. Â
FOOD:
Mongoose and Cobra consumed much too much food during our lunch break. Â We ordered the following:
Chicken Adobo (3/5) - tender dark meat chicken in an adobo sauce...was slightly salty but balanced well with the rice and other dishes we had...I think I'd prefer it if it wasn't so salty
Pancet Bihon (3/5) - to tell you the truth, I half expected it to taste a but like Korean Clear Noodles or Japchae. Â I expected the dish to have more flavor and was surprised at how bland it was
Pork Sinigang Soup (4/5) - wow! Â this soup is sour...great taste! Â I wish I had the appetite to eat more of this...reminds me of a Thai coconut soup...I know...hate the references to other genres of food, but that's all I have to compare. Â I could eat this soup with anything. Â Great accompaniment, but probably too sour to eat alone. Â
Overall, I like Sunburst but I can't say that I'll be a regular here.
Okay maybe I just had it built up in my head to be an awesome experience. Maybe I just thought it would be just like when I eat at my sister in laws house or at her dad's house...but when I ate here it fell a little short for me. I thought that the food was just OK. Obviously I have had better in a Filipino household but what are you going to do when they live in California and I live in Colorado.
The service was friendly and I did enjoy the garlic rice but overall I think it was just a bit over rated food wise. Not to mention there was no spicy vinegar to be found (aka Sinamak) which is a staple in most Filipino house holds and my favorite thing to dip my Lumpia in. Oh well. I at least tried. Best to just use the recipes my sister in law gives me to make my own at home.
Super friendly staff! I came here like 3 times w/in 2 weeks. The first time ordered: lechon kawali. This was very good, but I found that there was more fat than meat. The second time, I shared crispy pata (huge serving) with a friend and had barbequed pork. The third time, I had longanisa. All these dishes came with garlic rice (YUM!!) For dessert, I tried the bibinka and turon (sooo good)! I would say their food is pretty authentic. The reason they get 4 stars is that  their portions are not that generous and sometimes they don't have stuff that's on the menu. (I tried to order turon the first 2 times I went and they didn't have the bananas. The second time I tried to order laing and they didn't have that either). I would suggest calling in advance to see if they have a particular dish if you know what you want.
Review Source:I have been dying to try this place forever and finally made it to Sunburst Grill last night. Â Of course, I went just before the Pacquiao fight, so I had the entire restaurant to myself. Â I'm half Filipino and grew up on Filipino food since my aunt did all the cooking, so braving the 45 minute drive to this place was well worth it, even if it meant I had to eat alone.
I started with Lumpiang Shanghai and ordered Lechon Kowali for my entree. Â The lumpiang was crispy and hot without being greasy. Â It was also a very large serving size so I ended up taking most of it to go. Â Lechon kowali holds a special place in my heart. Â It reminds me of the picnics we would have when I was a kid, where the extended family would gather and someone would order a whole roasted pig. Â Then an uncle would don and apron and a large butcher knife and hack the pig to bits until every bone was picked over. Â Crispy, delicious carnage. Â The Sunburst Grill version did not disappoint. Â Crispy skin with tender white pork on the inside, served with white rice, papaya salad and the traditional liver sauce. Â Delicious!
Since I drove such a long way, I decided to take Kare Kare and a Bibingka  to go.  Unfortunately, it had been so long since I had had Kare Kare that I forgot it was traditionally made with tripe.  Tripe is one of the few ingredients that I just cannot stomach (pun intended) thanks to the lovely barnyard smell that filled the entire house when my aunt used to cook it.  I picked around the tripe and the oxtail was delicious and tender, and the peanut broth was also flavorful.  Bibingka is one of my favorite desserts of all time.  Sunset Grill's version is full of coconutty flavor with subtle hints of egg custard, topped with shaved coconut and baked into a banana leaf.  Incredibly delicious and beautiful. Â
Sunburst grill definitely fulfilled the comfort food craving. Â I only gave it 4 stars because while the food is wonderful, it will never beat my aunt's cooking. Â Mabuhay!
Not sure if we just caught them on a bad day, or if it really isn't as spectacular as the reviews lead on. Â But I ordered my favorite Lumpiang and it wasn't anything what I'm used to. Â They were hard with hardly any filling inside. Â Then I ordered the Linguiza sausage which was so greasy and fatty that it made my tummy hurt after only a couple of bites. Â My husband ordered the fish which was pretty decent, but everything else made us want to go to Taco Bell to get satisfied.
Review Source:I recently had Papi cater for my wedding. Since my wife is Korean half of the catering was Korean food. The wedding guests were almost entirely Korean. The Filipino food ran out first. There was nothing left of the 35-pound lechon. It was crispy and moist on the inside. The Chicken Relleno had the best sweet gravy; I would have settled for Jufran but the gravy made it. The Lumpiang-Shanghai was a hit among my new Korean family. And the Palabok: Well, I didn't even get a chance to eat that.
I also got my brother-in-law and his asian-but-actually-white friend hooked on Filipino food. It won't be long now until the Filipino sensation catches on in Colorado.
I am half Filipino and recently moved here from Kansas City. My family is half Manilense (from Manila) and Kapampangan (from Pampanga). We know how to cook good food!!!
I live in Longmont and have visited Sunburst Grill several times now.
Every dish so far has been really, really good. Our favorites have been the Kaldereta, Sinigang, Nilaga and BBQ Pork sticks.
The owner and employees have always been nice to us.
I just wish they weren't an hour drive away.
Great place for real Filipino food!!
****Update 6-14-2012
My family and I have been back to Sunburst Grill a bunch of times since I first reviewed it. The place is still amazing! The hour long drive isn't a hassle anymore since we know for sure we will get quality and delicious food. My new favorite is the Salpicao.
This is out of my 'hood which is way too bad. Â I LOVE the color scheme and tropical decorating scheme esp the bamboo painted on the window screens and some really enviable sparkle lights in the floral arrangements.
We had Squid (of course), the sour soup (a completely satisfying meal in itself, don't miss it), the deep fried pork hocks (yes for the hock lover), and a rather ordinary tomato based beef stew recommended by the Americanized waiter. Â I have to say, I wish I'd tried the stew with bitter squach but I think he was afraid I wouldn't like it. Â We loved everything else. Â Go again ,take friends that are adventurous and try the fruit drinks, delicious.
Real Pinoy chow! Strip mall store-front restaurant looks plain outside but is neat and stylish (in a PI* sort of way) inside. The food is authentic including adobo for middle of the road tastes to pinakbet with shrimp paste for some real country flavor. Masarap (delicious)! It all serves to warm this old PI sailor's heart.
*PI is Pinoy speak for Philippine Islands.
I will write more later, but Sunburst is almost every bit as good as the Filipina cooked dishes I used to enjoy when I worked in S.F. Â I have eaten here three times already, and never been displeased, though service can sometimes be slow. Â Don't forget to share a halo halo with your diner date.
Review Source:I've had Filipino food in the past and I've even made Chicken Adobo myself, so I had expectations going in. Â It looked like they had a different take on the usual dishes, so it must be a regional thing. Â Everyone in my group seemed happy with their dinners, and the place was packed.
They can't really handle large parties, but they rearranged the restaurant for us. Â The place is family owned, and our servers were the children of the owners. Â Their daughter was in the 10th grade and she took our orders. Â Her younger brother ran food to tables. Â The service wasn't quick or efficient, but it was adorable.
I was sharing food with a friend at my table so we ordered the egg rolls to start along with diet cokes. Â For our entrees we ordered the Chicken Adobo and the Sisig.
It was incredibly hot in the restaurant though it was chilly outside, so be prepared for that. Â We slowly got our drinks as they brought them out one by one. Â Our egg rolls came out at about the same time as everything else, and the Chicken Adobo was the first entree to come out. Â It came out about 15 minutes before the Sisig.
The egg rolls were wide, with much more wrapper than filling. Â I was expecting little "cigars" so that was odd. Â After a bite, I gave the rest of mine to someone else.
We both ordered garlic rice and it was really good. Â Most people put chili oil on it and we all gobbled it up. Â The Sisig was a little too salty and very greasy, but the flavor was good. Â We didn't finish it.
The Chicken Adobo was strange to me, though it was good. Â The meat had been stewed for awhile and it was very tender and flavorful, but there was no sauce. Â The dark sauce that I love was nowhere to be found. Â The plate just consisted of a couple of pieces of plain chicken with some rice on the side. Â We ate all of that dish, though. Â It was good, but I wouldn't call it Chicken Adobo.
We ordered the Turon for dessert and it also wasn't what I was expecting. Â It was just like like the egg rolls with a bit of underripe banana inside. Â I ate the banana out from inside it and left all of the greasy, deep fried egg roll wrapper on the plate.
Other than a few green beans that came with one meal. there were no vegetables to be had on the entire table. Â We all missed our veggies.
I can't say that I'll be back, though I wish them well. Â The owners were chatting with us and they were very friendly. Â It's definitely a popular restaurant.
SunBurst Grill, you delivered once again. Â The owner was so graceful to open his restaurant just for us. Â This review is long overdue. Â We were here on Tuesday October 26th 2010. Â I did not know they changed their timing, but when I made the reservation, the owner said its ok, just for us, he is willing to cook for us.
I cant deny it took awhile for them to cook all the glorious delish food for our group which there are 13 of us while we are there. Â I even "warned" my frens to have slightly more patience waiting for their dinner since its a mom and pop shop. Â They cooked the dishes individually and from scratch!
If I could recall properly, these were what the group ordered :
* Â Vegetable Egg Rolls
* Â Chicken Barbeque Platter
* Â Pork Barbeque Platter
* Â Crispy Pata
* Â Inihaw na Pusit
* Â Shrimp Skewer Platter
* Â Tinolang Manok
* Â Nilagang Baka
* Â Kaldereta
* Â Daing na Bangus
* Â Salmon Grill
* Â Sisig
* Â Halo Halo
* Â Turon
My main entrees were Grilled Squid (Inihaw na Pusit) and Kare Kare. Â My main entree came with Garlic Rice. Â I like the Kare Kare, its comfort food Filipino style for my taste bud! Â I was slighlty disappointed with the Grilled Squid, coz its was way too sweet due to the soy sauce.
Above anything else, I would like to extend my many thanks to the owners of SunBurst Grill, for cooking for us on their DAY OFF. Â At the end of the evening, I also purchased Chicken Barbeque Platter to go for Hubs. Â I dont mind returning to this establishment when needed.
Being Filipino is almost like being stuck in Purgatory...we have an image, yet we don't in a way. I think it sums it up well when Anthony Bourdain went to the Philippines and Augusto Elefano explained that Filipino cuisine isn't as world-famous as other Asian countries b/c we have so many islands and that contributes to our diversity.
Anyways, suffering from a lack of comfort food in Denver, I decided to head on out to Sunburst Grill off of Iliff and Chambers. The restaurant is small and quaint, however, stepping into the place immediately comforted me. Now, I went early on a Sunday afternoon and the only other people there was a Filipino family from California who were visiting and enjoying a good Filpino meal.
Now, when you order, you are going to have to be patient w/the food. Filipino food preparation is very tedious and takes a while (watching my Mother cook as a child). They have all the Filipino staples: Kare-Kare, which is oxtail, tripe, and some veggies in a peanut sauce served w/a side of ultra-salty (but ultra-good) bagoong shrimp paste. They have Sinigang which is a Tamarind-based stew w/veggies. They also have my favorite Lechon Kawali which is roasted and fried pork served w/garlic rice.
They have other non-Filipino offerings such as sandwiches and hot dogs, but c'mon! You are in a Filipino restaurant! For the beginners, I would start off slow and order Lumpiang Shanghai (essentially egg rolls, but much better), Chicken Adobo, and Pansit Bihon. Those dishes will help you ease into the wonderful world of food that no one else really celebrates!
First time we went to the place. I looked up the menu before we went to this place for lunch...they had three vegetarian dishes on the menu - the squash and green bean in coconut curry, the mango-papaya salad, the eggplant banana salad. They were out of all three :(
So, finally I had a tossed iceberg lettuce salad (yea, that's very Filipino) and spring rolls.
Needless to say, the fat and hungry gal inside of me was well, still hungry.
But I will say this - the hostess was so apologetic she had nothing else vegetarian...and I was pretty damn impressed with that. Being a vegetarian is not that easy, but I rarely ever have the waitress feel that bad about it. Its true...Filipino's are indeed the friendly!
I read all the reviews about Sunburst Grill before trying.
I go to DenverAurora every summer to recruit/scout in the annual CO Fireworks tourney the City of Aurora puts on around the end of June. Over 100 softball teams from all ages with their families flock to Denver, Boulder, and Westminster since there are 2 other huge ASA softball tourneys going on. With over 200+ college scouts, not many are filipino. Since I am, I crave filipino on this trip ALL THE TIME.
I get tired of eating at chain restaurants during this full week.
So........one day headed to Olympic Park to go watch a 16U team from Hawaii, I glanced at the parking lot of Sunburst. No cars. So I drove on. Afterwards, on my way to Aurora Sports Park, I drove on Chambers again, no cars.....so I didnt bother to stop.
Finally, on the last day of my trip. I just said "eff it", I'm gunna try it even though its empty. I ready the menu, picked chicken adobo over steamed rice (other option was garlic rice) since its hard to mess that dish up.
To my surprise, it was very tasty! Almost as good as my father makes! While I was there, there was 3 phone orders all requesting for crispy pata. Even though when I went for lunch an no one was there, I wished I wouldve stopped days before. Sometimes you can't let looks win as hole in the wall places are usually good!
I found a place now that I can eat every summer when Im in Aurora!
Had to try Sunburst Grill after hearing the ravings on Yelp -- and by chance we were heading down Chambers on an errand -- Meant to Be !!
Stopped into the small restaurant, which is set-up like your average Asian Joint -- you know 4 top linoleum tables, with the most uncomfortable hard chairs !!
We were the only people there to eat in -- several people came and went with to-go bags, which is what we'll do next time, because the food itself is terrific !
I had a pork dish, that reminded the hubby of a Mexican Pork Dish, and the owner even called it in it's native Spanish name, vs its Filipino name.
Hubby had a Pot Roast that looked delish, and a super bargain at about $7.
So,
Food = Excellent and Homey
Service = Family Run
No liquor License
Seating= Your Grandmother's kitchen from 1950
It's very odd for me to go out and pay to eat Filipino food, since I can make most of my favorite dishes at home. And being in a city where there are virtually NO Filipino restaurants and much less Filipinos..I didn't think I really had any other choice. But I had heard about this place from Thomas S some time ago and got quite a few of us together to trek down to Aurora to check it out.
Sunburst Grill is located in a pretty nondescript strip mall, blink-and-you miss it. We were greeted very warmly by the staff. We got right down to business and ordered lumpia, kare-kare, sisig, chicken adobo, kaldereta, pancit and lechon. We all decided to share each other's plates.
Let me say this-yes I am Filipino, but I am probably one of the pickiest eaters on the planet and because of this I don't eat a lot of my own cuisine. I pretty much stick to the things I know like adobo, lumpia, kaldereta, pancit etc. Â I couldn't even bring myself to try the kare-kare, athough I hear it was good. My favorite of the night: LECHON! We liked it so much we ordered another serving.
We also ordered puto, leche flan and halo-halo for dessert. The halo-halo brought me right back to my childhood days. And topped with ube ice cream..yum!
I got to speak to the staff for a little while and see where exactly I can track down those Filipino goodies I so crave (Lotus Asian Market!) They were super friendly and made me homesick for my family, and I'm not just sayin' that cuz they are also Filipino!
Two things though that I disliked-one, the location is so far from my house and two, the portions could be a tad bit bigger. But I will be back, oh yes I will!
Filipino food is not a common cuisine for me, but since it's quite close to Indonesian food I got the cravings, checked with Kat A. and carpooled to Sunburst. This restaurant is a mom and pop shop, looks like it used to be a sushi bar... This shopping strip used to have Mee Yee Lin back in the day. Inside, few tables, sushi bar with no sushi, clean, an aquarium, a kid greeting customers, a very cozy mom and pop shop.
Since we were in seven people and we are all comfortable in sharing, we ordered a bunch of food; lumpiangs, sisig, beef adobo, chicken adobo, kare-kare, lechon kawali, bihon. Plus desserts: flan, puto, and halo-halo...
I'll be back for sure!
Alright, I can't give you as much detail as the other reviewers because I'm a noob to Filipino food. Â But I can tell you this: Â everything I tried at Sunburst Grill was fantastic!
A bunch of friends, including Kat A and Hans O, and I checked out Sunburst Grill last night and much to everyone's pleasure and amusement, it was an amazing experience. Â
Sunburst is situated in an unseemly strip mall, but certainly is doing the strip mall a favor by locating itself within its realm. Â You'll be greeted by a cozy space and a friendly and attentive staff. Â The menu is extremely helpful: it explains all of the Filipino names, so you're not guessing about what you're ordering. Â (Thank you!) Â Because we were such a large group, we all ordered several different dishes and shared everything. Â Twas a lovely communal, familial even, experience. Â All of the dishes were fabulous and flavorful. Â We even splurged on desserts and had mango ice cream, ube ice cream, and halla-halla (sp?). Â Ah, so good! Â And most importantly, easy on the wallet!
I'm thankful Sunburst is reasonably close to my home because I will definitely be back!
Great place for Filipino food!! I think Manila Express To Go closed, so I tried to find another place and now I have one. :) Â Sunburst Grill is a nice sit-down and casual place with delicious food. I only gave them 4 stars because of the slow service, so don't go if you are only planning to go in and out within 30 minutes. We ordered pork adobo, pinakbet, and kaldereta. Everything was delicious! The average price is about $7-8 a plate. Â We'll be returning soon!
Review Source:Mabuhay! I love the cuisine of the Philippines. In fact, one of my coworkers has been known to refer to me as "the white Filipino".
At one point, Aurora boasted no less than four, yes, four, eateries of this type for my delectation. Now, for various reasons, we are currently down to one. But what a clean, cozy one it is.
Yes, SunBurst Grill does have sandwiches, hot dogs and the like. But c'mon, wouldn't you rather have some Sisig (pork chunks served in a sizzling pan with an egg to mix in?)
Or what about Kare-Kare, a peanutty tripe and oxtail casserole which is even better with the fragrant (hee!), salty neon-purple shrimp paste called Bagoong. Yes, it's a little different, but would I steer you wrong?
You could also come just for Merienda (nibbles) and have Bibingka, a densely sweet butter-cheese-salted-egg cake. But make sure you pencil in a nap afterward!
To drink, how about some Calamansi (native lime) juice, or a coconut juice to moisten your palate? End on a high note with Leche Flan (Pinoy cheesecake) or Halo-Halo (wow, how do I describe this? Combine fruits, beans, coconut milk and crushed ice in a glass, top with mango or purple yam ice cream and you get the picture. Don't forget, Halo-Halo means "mix-mix"!).
SunBurst Grill is so delicious, and the manong (older gentleman) who owns it and his staff are so friendly, that I can't help giving it 5.
Out running errands in Aurora, I made a lunch stop at SunBurst Grill in Aurora. Â From the outside, SunBurst is nothing exciting - just another pad in an aged strip mall in a city bursting at the seams with aged strip malls. Â The inside tells a different story. Â One of the few Filipino restaurants that I know about, the inside of SunBurst is quaint and cozy, with bamboo drapes, bright colors, can lighting and wonderful paintings lining the room. Â The tables are utilitarian, but comfortable. Â Surprisingly, the restaurant was packed, with many Filipino diners and a few others sprinkled in. Â The service is outstanding with several generations of their family checking in with you, taking your order and bringing your food and drink faster than you can believe. Â
The menu is little wacky, with Filipino standards mixed with American comfort food (think burgers). Â While I was tempted to order a danger dog, a bacon wrapped hot dog, I stuck with my guns and went the Filipino flavors. Â I was disappointed to find out that they were out of Chicken Adobo and Lumpiang, so instead we went with pork barbeque (safe choice) and sisig (living on the edge choice). Â Both dishes came with rice - the bbq was served with java rice, a yellowish, hearty, savory take on rice. Â The sisig came with garlic rice, served white with a surprisingly strong essence of garlic. Â The rice was served perfectly - light, fluffy and full of flavor - a good sign when you go to any "Asian" restaurant. Â The bbq pork was just as expected - safe - with a sweet and tangy sauce, nicely grilled, it is hard not to like such a comfort. Â The sisig was different, but still incredibly delicious. Â Advertised as an assortment of "pig parts," the sisig comes out on a sizzling platter with a raw egg on top. Â We were instructed to mix the egg into the platter while it was sizzling. Â The entire platter was nicely browned with all the pieces finely diced uniformly; making it difficult to discern what was what. Â I think I made out that there were some head pieces, cracklings, liver, and perhaps some buche. It didn't matter because it was all delicious, with a variety of textures to go along the wonderful blend of sour, spicy, salty and vinegary. Â
All in all, SunBurst is now easily my favorite Filipino restaurant in Denver and I am looking forward to trying more of their menu.
I am so glad that my iPhone app came up with this place. Never have tried filipino cuisine and I sure have been missing out. Great flavors and generous portions. We tried the marinated pork and it was delicious. Also tried more "folk" type dish callled "kare-kare." It was a stew of oxtail and tripe with eggplant and green beans. Very good comfort food. The owners were very friendly and the different juices were very tasty. We will be back for sure. Don't miss out on the "Danger Dog" as well. a bacon wrapped hot dog...what could be better.
Give it a try...you won't be sorry.
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