Where to eat in Daly City

Daly City is the first town south of San Francisco and one of the most diverse places in California. More than half of its residents are Asian. The Filipino community here is large and long established. That shows up on the plate: turo-turo steam tables, barbecue skewers, silog breakfasts and bakeries selling ube cake and pandesal. Add a dim sum hall that people drive across the region for, a diner from 1950 and the revived Original Joe's in Westlake. Together they make a strong day of eating about 30 minutes from Palo Alto.

This guide names only places we confirmed on their own websites, chain location pages or first-party ordering pages in early November 2026. Several well-known Filipino restaurants on Mission Street post hours only on delivery apps or social media, which we do not count, so they are not here. Price notes are our rough read of posted menus. For the Cow Palace, the coast and the Little Boxes story, see our Daly City town guide.

Where Daly City eats

• Serramonte and Gellert Boulevard, by Interstate 280 and Serramonte Boulevard, hold Koi Palace, Chibog and many shopping center restaurants.
• Westlake, along John Daly Boulevard and Junipero Serra Boulevard near Daly City BART, has the old diner and Original Joe's.
• Mission Street, near the San Francisco line, has bakeries and Filipino shops.
• Skyline Plaza and the streets near Southgate Avenue add Chinese noodle and dim sum shops.

Filipino food

Fil-Am Cuisine

Fil-Am Cuisine at 66 School Street calls its barbecue skewers the best in the Bay Area. The menu also features beefsteak Tagalog (beef simmered with soy, calamansi and onions) and pancit noodles, served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Its site lists 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. It also caters parties. This is the place for an inexpensive plate and a bag of skewers to take home.

Chibog

Chibog at 2055 Gellert Boulevard, Suite 5, describes its food as Filipino comfort cooking "just like mama makes it." Its posted menu runs from silog breakfast plates with garlic rice and egg at about $19, to chicharon bulaklak (crispy pork ruffle fat), siomai dumplings at $9.75, lumpia and Filipino sweet spaghetti. It is closed on Monday and open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. most days, until 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It also sells party platters.

Goldilocks and House of Silvanas

Goldilocks, the Filipino bakeshop chain, has a Daly City store at 6220 Mission Street. Its location page lists 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. It sells cakes, breads and Filipino meals.

House of Silvanas takes online orders for pickup in Daly City. Its namesake silvanas are frozen cookies: buttercream sandwiched between two cashew meringue wafers and coated in crumbs. They come in seven flavors including ube, buko-pandan and mango. It also bakes ensaimada, cheese rolls, polvoron and sans rival cake. Our Filipino food guide explains these dishes and sweets.

Dim sum and Chinese noodles

Koi Palace in Serramonte Plaza at 365 Gellert Boulevard is one of the best-known Cantonese restaurants in the Bay Area, serving dim sum, seafood and tea. Its page lists lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:30 to 9 p.m. on weekdays. On weekends it opens at 10 a.m. for dim sum and serves dinner from 5 p.m. It takes reservations online. Weekend lunch is busy, so book or arrive at opening. Our dim sum guide covers Palo Alto.

Smaller Chinese kitchens in Daly City take orders through their own ordering sites. Fresh Elements Yunnan Noodles serves rice noodles from Yunnan province in southwest China. Dim Sum King sells dim sum to go. Tasty Pot serves Taiwanese-style individual hot pots. All three list Daly City addresses on the Serramonte side of town. See our hot pot guide for more.

Westlake classics

Westlake Coffee Shop

Westlake Coffee Shop at 1901 Junipero Serra Boulevard, Suite D, has served Daly City since 1950. It is a family-owned diner with breakfast all day, fluffy pancakes, hash browns, burgers and pupusas made to order. Its site lists 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. It sits near the Century 20 theaters, a short walk from Daly City BART, with free parking in the garage next door. Our breakfast guide covers diners closer to home.

Original Joe's Westlake

Original Joe's Westlake at 11 Glenwood Avenue is the revival of Joe's of Westlake, which anchored Daly City from 1956 to 2014. After a two-year closure and a front-to-back renovation, it reopened under the Original Joe's name, the same family group that runs Original Joe's in San Francisco's North Beach. Its site lists 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The menu is Italian-American: pastas, chops and the big plates the name is known for.

A sample Daly City food crawl

1. Breakfast: Start at Westlake Coffee Shop for pancakes or a pupusa, then take a short drive to see the Westlake hillside houses that inspired the song "Little Boxes."
2. Late morning: Drive to Serramonte and be at Koi Palace when it opens at 10 a.m. on a weekend for dim sum.
3. Afternoon: Stop at Fil-Am Cuisine for a few barbecue skewers to go, then pick up silvanas from House of Silvanas for the drive home.
4. Optional dinner: Stay for an Italian-American dinner at Original Joe's Westlake before heading south on Interstate 280.

Getting there from Palo Alto

• Driving: About 28 miles, 30 to 35 minutes outside rush hour on Interstate 280. Exit at Serramonte Boulevard for Koi Palace and Chibog or at John Daly Boulevard for Westlake.
• Caltrain and BART: Caltrain does not stop in Daly City. Ride to Millbrae, about 21 minutes by express from Palo Alto, then take BART north to Colma or Daly City. BART charges its own fare. Our Caltrain guide covers the first leg.
• Fog: Westlake is often foggy and cool on summer afternoons even when Palo Alto is hot. Bring a jacket.

Frequently asked questions