Tita Flora’s

Cleveland does not have many Filipino restaurants. For the longest time, the only choice was Nipa Hut, a store on W. 130th in Parma that serves takeout during the week and had a buffet on Saturdays until COVID hit. Tita Flora’s is a welcome addition to the dining landscape. This sit-down restaurant can seat 60 and is located on Brecksville Road in Independence (in the former Babushka’s Kitchen location).

The restaurant serves Filipino staples like chicken or pork adobo (braised in soy sauce, vinegar, onions, garlic, and pepper), crispy vegetable or pork lumpia (similar to fried spring rolls), pork or tofu sisig served on a sizzling platter, pancit made with rice or wheat noodles, and longsilog, the all-day breakfast dish of sausage fried rice topped with a fried egg. They are still working out some kinks and were not serving the buttery garlic shrimp or the lunch specials that have since been taken off the menu.

We started off being greeted by our server and having any questions we had answered. She was very knowledgeable and took good care of us. We ordered beverages and Pik Pik (starters) to start. I had a taste of both lumpia, and they were both quite tasty and perfectly fried. The vegetable lumpia are filled with carrot, cabbage, and green bean and are served as two long rolls. I preferred the pork lumpia (Lumpia Shanghai). They just had more flavor and are served with a delicious chili dipping sauce. Another one of my friends enjoyed the fish balls. He was on the other side of the table, so I didn’t get a chance to sample them.

She highly recommended the pork or chicken adobo. My friend ordered the Bistek (thinly sliced beef and onions braised in soy and citrus – see above), but sent it back because it was too salty and ordered the pork adobo instead. I highly recommend getting the pork adobo. I had a piece of it and fell in love. It is made with pork belly and just has a ton of flavor. They were little nuggets of deliciousness.

Several of us ordered the Chicken Inasal. Billed as a “famous Ilonggo dish,” it is a quarter chicken marinated in a unique blend of spices and fire-grilled. It was served with a tiny side of tomato and cucumbers and little dipping sauce dishes to add to taste. One of us loved it, while the other had difficulty eating it.

One of my friends ordered the Ginataang Gulay, which is a creamy coconut milk stew made with squash and green beans. You can add shrimp to it. I had a taste of it and also loved it. It reminded me of the coconut milk stews I have enjoyed at Batuqui and Sergio’s Sarava. I will definitely order this the next time if the garlic shrimp still isn’t available.

All of the dinners come with white rice, but you can upgrade to garlic fried rice for an extra $2. We all chose to upgrade. I thought the garlic fried rice was good, but it was a little overpowering when paired with some of the more flavor-forward items. I ordered the white rice on my second visit with my chicken adobo, and it definitely hit the spot as I drizzled the sauce over the rice and paired it with a bit of chicken.

I went back a week later, hoping the garlic shrimp would be available, but it still wasn’t. I ordered the pork lumpia and chicken adobo and took half of both home for leftovers. The chicken adobo had a similar flavor profile as the pork adobo since it uses the same spices and marinade. The chicken flaked apart with my fork and was tasty, but I definitely prefer the pork adobo.

I have tried both desserts on the menu – the Turon and the Halo Halo. The Turon is a deep-fried banana rolled in a spring roll wrapper. It is normally served with ube ice cream, but they were out of the ube ice cream so I was served vanilla ice cream with an ube drizzle. It was perfectly fried with no residual grease and absolutely delicious. I shared it with my friends, and everyone agreed that it was tasty.

Halo Halo is Tagalog for “mix-mix.” The Halo Halo is a mix of crushed ice, evaporated milk, and various ingredients including coconut strips, sago, gulaman, sweet beans, and yams, and topped with a scoop of ice cream. I enjoyed it except for the clumps of ice that overwhelmed at times. It is kind of like a shaved ice with several toppings. I prefer the shaved ice at Koko Bakery over Halo Halo, but it is a nice ending to the meal if the Dairy King on the other side of the street is closed for the season.

I also hear that they serve silvanas, a traditional layered Filipino cookie from the southern region of the Philippines made by Silvanas Kitchen, a local Filipino artisan who started making them during the pandemic and selling them at local farmer’s markets. Be sure to ask about them and try one or two.

Contact info:

Tita Flora’s
6531 Brecksville Road
Independence, OH 44131
(216) 232-4303