Carabao Filipino Eatery — a highly anticipated restaurant by French Laundry alums and married couple Jade and Mathew Cunningham — recently opened in Napa and is already creating a buzz in the Bay Area.
Chef Jade characterizes the full-service restaurant as both “modern and authentic” Filipino cuisine. The bold flavors pair well with a glass of local wine from the curated by-the-glass wine list. The food is beautifully plated and served on colorful ceramic dishes by experienced and knowledgeable waitstaff.
The couple hopes Napa Valley, a sophisticated foodie destination, is ready for their elevated version of pancit and lumpia, as well as some dishes that are not as familiar to American diners.
Jade, a petite Filipino woman, stands out in her crisp white chef’s coat and is the creative force in the kitchen; her touch is also evident in the comfortable and inviting design of the intimate 50-seat dining room at the South Napa Century Center. She envisions a restaurant that guests will choose for celebrations or a first date.
The Cunninghams collaborated with Keyla Vega of Napa Design Partners to ensure the interiors were just right. The aesthetic is both contemporary and feminine, inspired by Jade’s favorite colors — soft pink and jade green (“of course, like my name,” the chef said).
She explained the design concept as “a homey, tropical style. We have fresh plants supplied by Riza Plants, and rattan baskets cover the ceiling, which reminds me of the rice fields at home.”
A mural by Filipino artist and illustrator Marielle Atanacio, depicting a Carabao, adorns one wall, along with six birds in flight, representing Jade’s six years in America and her evolving journey.
Jade explained that Carabao is a type of water buffalo found in the Philippines, “a beautiful animal that symbolizes hard work and perseverance,” an apt favorite animal for the young chef.
Mathew, a trained master sommelier, highlighted some menu items during a recent interview.
“We have draft beer and local wines, but the star of the show is the food,” he said.
Diners can order appetizers, mains and desserts, but the couple hopes that customers will order several dishes to be shared family style.
According to Mathew, “pork lumpia (crispy spring rolls) with a sweet chili sauce is always the best seller, and we will never take that off the menu. Grilled skewers are super popular in the Philippines, and our grilled items (Inihaw) are a nod to the street food of the Philippines.”
Mathew mentioned the marinated pork skewers and marinated grilled chicken wings, accompanied by a sour vinegar sauce and served with Aratcha (a Filipino condiment made from pickled and shredded green papaya).
Mathew thinks sizzling sisig will be a big star on the menu. He referenced Chef Anthony Bourdain’s quotes on the typical Filipino dish. Sisig shot to popularity in the United States after Bourdain called it the “gateway” dish to Filipino food, which is “casual and accessible and exactly what you need after a few beers.” Bourdain described the dish as “sizzling, crispy, sticky, delicious little bits of pork with many textures.”
Chef Jade’s version is served on a cast-iron skillet and has a kick to it from a liberal amount of chili peppers. Another popular main dish is “Crispy Kare-Kare,” a hearty dish of stewed and shredded oxtail beef formed by Jade into a giant meatball, encased in a crispy panko shell, and floating in a rich peanut and coconut gravy.
Steamed white rice accompanies the entrees, but most diners will likely opt for the jasmine garlic fried rice. For dessert, tender rice cakes are topped with sweet coconut and tropical fruit. However, the Mango Float — a fluffy, cloud-like vanilla custard layered with freshly sliced sweet mango and graham cracker crumbs — is a great choice.
Carabao is a dream come true for the couple, nearly seven years in the making.
In 2018, Mathew packed up his belongings and drove from Detroit, never looking back. He was a summer intern at Frog’s Leap Winery before joining The French Laundry as a kitchen server.
Around the same time, Jade Mauricio, now in her second year of college in the Philippines, was studying hotel and restaurant management and was selected for a one-year internship as a line chef at the Meritage Resort and Spa. Jade and Mathew met online in 2019 and immediately hit it off, falling in love and getting married the same year.
Mathew laughed as he recalled the moment when “I told her I worked at The French Laundry, and she thought I worked at a laundromat!” Jade soon learned that he wasn’t in the laundry business but that The French Laundry was, in fact, a three-star Michelin restaurant, and what she saw inspired her.
“I was blown away that this is how a kitchen could look,” she recalled. “The way people move, the finesse and the attention to detail — everything!”
During the pandemic shutdown, Jade jumped at a chance to volunteer in the kitchens of Ad Hoc, cooking for the employees and families of the Thomas Keller restaurants. She worked alongside Thomas Keller, the founder and Michelin-starred chef of The French Laundry, as well as his executive chef at the time, David Breeden.
“When they started hiring again, they brought me on as a ‘commis’ (a junior-level chef),” Jade said. Her unique Filipino cuisine at staff meals was a big hit among her coworkers.
“They always told me, ‘Oh, your food is so good,'” she recalled. “I was a saucier at that time, cooking all these sauces, and I guess it was one-of-a-kind, part Filipino, part French cuisine.”
Breeden actively encouraged her to take the initiative to go out on her own, she said.
“He supported me and gave me free time to start a pop-up,” she recalled.
It was another French Laundry alumnus, Christopher “Butters” Ruiz, now the owner of Butters Burgers in Napa, who gave the couple their first break.
“Butters was a big part of how we got started,” Mathew said.
He lent the couple his food truck, parked in front of Bilco’s, for a one-night pop-up.
“He gave us a low barrier of entry to do a pop-up,” Mathew explained. Since that first sold-out pop-up, the Cunninghams have held many more at Winston’s Cafe, featuring their homemade Filipino food and serving up to 100 customers a night.
“Those were a ton of work, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone to make money, but we saw it as research and development,” Mathew recalled. They learned which dishes were popular and worked on improving service.
“We train our servers to really know the inspiration of the dish, to let people know the story of the food,” Jade added.
“I was always encouraging Jade to open a restaurant, and in the end, she got inspired also. She has a passion for cooking; she would work a 12- or 14-hour shift and then come home to cook for everyone, for fun,” Mathew explained.
“I love cooking for people,” Jade added. “Growing up, we always were cooking something, and people were always coming over to our house; that’s the culture.”
She attributes her love of cooking to the summers of her youth, which she spent at her aunt’s house in Bulacan, a rural area near Manila. There, from the young age of six, she spent hours helping her aunt in the kitchen.
Recalling that happy time, Jade said, “I realized that this is fun. I didn’t need to play outside; I could just help my tita chop vegetables and peel garlic.”
To open Carabao, the couple joined forces with Eric Gonzalez, a friend who is both a financial partner and mentor. Gonzalez first met the couple at a Filipino scholarship fundraiser, and he became an instant fan of Jade’s cooking.
“I went to one, then two pop-ups, then five, and then 12 ” Gonzalez recalled with a laugh. “Eventually, I just said, ‘What’s the goal here?’ Long story short, we’re open.”
For the Cunninghams, Gonzalez’s support is vital.
“There’s a lot of pressure on us; of course, we have to pay rent, payroll and our suppliers, and we have an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan. We give a lot of credit to our partner, Eric Gonzalez. His maturity and experience in the business have helped guide us,” Mathew explained.
Gonzalez believes the location at South Century will draw from the dense Filipino population in American Canyon and said it is “a bridge between the communities. The cherry on top is that Gasser (The Gasser Foundation) really wanted us there,” Gonzalez expressed his admiration for the community foundation that owns South Century and distributes proceeds to nonprofits.
“It just made a lot of sense,” he added. “They saw the vision and the partnership we could develop together.”
On Gonzalez’s urging, the couple hired a public relations firm. Mathew admitted their naivety when it came to PR.
“We didn’t even really know that PR existed, but we needed help to tighten up our story for the grand opening,” Mathew said.
Gonzalez introduced them to Pati Navalta, the owner of Navalta Media, who is also Filipino. Navalta’s connections have already secured articles with several regional press outlets and helped them craft their narrative.
The entire team behind Carabao is in place and ready to introduce the concept of upscale Filipino food to Napa and beyond. Mathew cheekily pointed out that there is currently only one Filipino restaurant in America with a Michelin star, so “the field is wide open!”
Perhaps with Carabao, Filipino food is having its moment right here in Napa.
Carabao Filipino Eatery is open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner at 145 Gasser Drive in Nap. Reservations are available on Resy. Lunch service will be available at a later date. For more information, visit carabao-napa.com.
