A Lompoc couple have opened the first Filipino restaurant on the Central Coast, launching Samantha’s, 910 North H St.,  with a grand opening April 16.

Warren and Lida Steele said they wanted to introduce authentic Filipino cuisine to the Lompoc Valley, offering such traditional favorites as chicken adobo, a fried rice and chicken dish, and pansit and lumpia, noodles and a roll, similar to and egg roll, along with less familiar items such as Halo Halo, a dessert made from shaved ice, tropical fruit and cream. 

This is the only Filipino restaurant from Oxnard to Salinas, said Warren. Already, customers have traveled from Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Buellton and Santa Ynez, and were given free samples to help the diners make menu choices.

“We want to make everyone, from everywhere, feel at home,’’ he said.

The Steeles employ two cooks, who specialize in the authentic dishes of the Philippines. Also helping out are Warren, Lida and their son, Cameron, 16, a Cabrillo High School junior who works after school and on weekends, bussing tables.

The restaurant’s namesake, Samantha, is in second grade at Manzanita Charter School. Their eldest son, Drake, attends Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo.

“We may hire more people if business picks up, in the future,” Warren said, adding that it seems it will.

Since opening, the tables have been full of customers trying the dishes for the first time and members of the military who have longed for these authentic, traditional menu items, after having been  stationed in the Philippines, he said.

Lida is from Pampanga, in the Philippines, a region most known for its contributions to the gourmet food industry, said Warren, who has been in the heating and air conditioning trade for 27 years.

The couple met in the Philippines while Warren was vacationing with friends about 14 years ago. They kept in touch via telephone and letters. One and a half years and several trips to the islands later, Warren asked Lida to marry him. She accepted and the couple has made Lompoc their home for 12 years.

Most of the items on the menu are prepared with ingredients purchased locally, but many spices, noodles and sauces have to special ordered and imported from distributors, operating out of Lida’s hometown, Warren said.

“The building was in good shape, we just had to clean up and paint, to make it our own,” Warren said of this turnkey restaurant previously called “Maggie’s.”

A banquet room, in the back, can be used for parties and meetings or club functions. With a big TV, it can accommodate large groups to watch sporting events while enjoying the delights prepared in the kitchen.

Samantha’s opens for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and for breakfast, lunch and dinner, from 8 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.