This Epic Filipino Festival Feeds Like A Family Party — With LA’s Best Filipino Eats
Baryo HiFi, the Filipino festival that captured Angelenos’ hearts and appetites last year, returns this Saturday, May 3 — and this time, its expanded food lineup reads like a roll call of Filipino culinary standouts.
The festival, which first came to life in 2023 through a group chat and sheer community willpower, has grown from an ambitious grassroots gathering into something that feels like the most epic family party you’ve ever been invited to — one where food, music, and heritage come together in joyful, unapologetic celebration. This year, Baryo HiFi returns to Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown, a neighborhood rich in Filipino American history. Known for its vibrant community, it’s where Filipino identity, activism, and pride have been nurtured for generations, making it the perfect backdrop for this all-star festival.
This year, Baryo HiFi’s food lineup is not just deeper; it’s a snapshot of where Filipino American food is right now: dynamic, diverse, and impossible to ignore. Among the stacked lineup of 21 vendors are San Diego’s Animae, bringing James Beard finalist Chef Tara Monsod’s flame-grilled fusion takes on Filipino classics; Lasita, whose lechon manok and bright calamansi-dressed salads have become synonymous with LA’s new Filipino food wave; and Sampa, known for its bold, progressive spins on regional Filipino dishes. Dollar Hits, an institution in its own right, returns with its beloved skewers — a reminder that street food remains at the heart of the culture.
Sweet tooths will find comfort in B Sweet’s signature baked creations, while Cafe 86 delivers its viral ube milk tea and desserts. Lobsterdamus puts a seafood-forward spin on traditional Filipino grilling, serving lobster tails alongside garlic rice and toyomansi sauce. San & Wolves Bakehouse offers a plant-based re-imagination of nostalgic Filipino pastries, while Same Same Dumpling bridges Pan-Asian flavors and techniques — think curry dumplings or beef gyudon-laced fries. Open Market, known for curating some of LA’s most dynamic pop-ups and serving up some of the city’s best sandwiches, rounds out the list, making Baryo HiFi feel less like a food fest and more like a living, breathing showcase of Filipino food’s future.
But Baryo HiFi has always been more than what’s on the plate. Rooted in the long history of Filipino American contributions — from farmworkers and labor organizers to healthcare workers, city leaders, and creatives — the festival honors that legacy while pushing the culture forward. This year’s musical lineup mirrors that range: from disco icons VST & Company to rap and R&B voices like P-Lo, Yeek, Guapdad 4000, Hokage Simon, and SoSuperSam, capturing the sound of multiple generations.
Come for the lumpia and sisig, stay for the music, and leave with a deeper connection to the community — because if there’s one thing Filipinos do best, it’s feeding not just the body, but the spirit of everyone around them.
