Kasama

Come Early for the Pastries—but Be Ready to Wait If you’re planning to visit Kasama, make sure to get there early! I arrived around 8:10, and there were already people waiting in line—even in freezing rain. This spot is definitely popular, so be prepared for a bit of a wait. When it comes to the savory food, it was good but not particularly memorable. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth the long wait—it’s solid, but nothing that blew me away. Now, the pastries? Absolutely worth it! I tried four different kinds, and each one was delicious. I’d gladly wait in line again just to get my hands on those pastries. If you’re a fan of baked goods, this is definitely the place to go!

I came here at 8:40 on a Friday in the cold, and waited about 30 min. I got the classic breakfast sandwich with sausage, and a few pastries. My impression here is this place is well run but lives off of the hype - the sandwich was excellent, carried by the egg and the sausage, but I still expected it to be even better based on how many people wait daily for this. The bread and cheese are very very standard, and the sausage is thin. The hash brown isn’t very thick either. I think the pastries are solid, but there are places that have pastries as good as this too.

Definitely order ahead no matter what, the line was out the door even late morning on a thursday. The breakfast sandwhich was great and the pastries looked incredible. This place was raved about and it appears like their dinner menu (reservation only) is top notch.

As a Filipino, we were excited to try Kasama, especially given its Michelin recognition, but we were left feeling a bit let down. Despite a 1.5-hour wait, which is often expected for popular spots, the food itself didn’t taste as authentic as we had hoped. Filipino cuisine has such vibrant, complex flavors, and we felt Kasama’s dishes lacked that essence and authenticity. The presentation was also underwhelming — I noticed other diners receiving sandwiches wrapped in foil, handed over casually even though they were dining in. It felt out of place for a Michelin restaurant. We tried their pastries hoping that it might be the reason behind the Michelin recognition but they didn’t impress. We ordered a Boston cream and were surprised that there was no cream or custard or any filling inside but just bread and chocolate cover on top. Another surprise was the added 5% employee healthcare tax on the bill. While I understand tipping, it was confusing to see customers shouldering their employee’s healthcare costs as well. Overall, Kasama had potential but didn’t quite meet the mark. For the hype and the wait, I was expecting an experience that would truly honor Filipino flavors.