Meet Marwin Guevarra of Sarap! A Taste of Home! Filipino Restaurant

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marwin Guevarra.

Hi Marwin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Sizzling Manila Story

In 2019, Emmy founded Sizzling Manila, motivated by her desire to explore her culinary traditions in the United States. Along with Ed, their goal is to showcase the Filipino culinary heritage to a broader audience in Colorado Springs and beyond. Emmy’s original recipes reflect her self-taught skills and passion for cooking.

In 2022, Emmy and Ed met Lei Guevarra as a customer of Sizzling Manila. Having recently moved to Colorado Springs from Georgia by way of military move, Lei was looking for good Filipino food and stumbled upon Emmy’s page in Facebook. Sharing the passion for cooking and food, a partnership was born to start a business venture together. Leilani’s distinctive and proven culinary and leadership skills was a perfect fit to join the team.

Fast forward to May 2024, Sizzling Manila was established and flourished through the rest of the year. With 2.8K followers, many were brought a true “Taste of Home”.

Sarap! Story

One of the owners, Daryl Woodward, was born in the Philippines in a city called Iriga, in the Bicol region. He was adopted by his biological aunt and her American husband at the age of 2 and has lived in Colorado Springs since 1996. He grew up being exposed to both American and Filipino culture and food. Some nights it was Spaghetti with hotdogs and some nights it was Chicken Adobo. Some nights it was Macaroni and Cheese and some nights it was Lumpia and rice. But most importantly, all the nights were with his family. However, in 2013, his parents retired in the Philippines and the home cooked Filipino food disappeared along with the family dinners. For over 10 years, Daryl was searching food trucks, restaurants, fairs, and home catering for tastes that reminded him of his childhood and the food he tasted when visiting the Philippines.

Daryl realized that more than anything, he would love to share the food of his birthplace with the community he grew up in. At the time that Daryl was researching possible locations, Colorado Springs had only one brick and mortar Filipino restaurant and Denver had only two that advertised themselves primarily as Filipino restaurants. Filipinos represent the third largest origin group for Asian Americans behind Chinese and Indians and this is the same in Colorado. However, if you Google search for Chinese restaurants in Colorado Springs you are presented with over 50 results. A Google search for Indian restaurants in Colorado Springs yields 16 results, and a search for Filipino restaurants yields 1 restaurant and 3 food trucks. Pew research studies in 2021 and 2023 showed that Filipinos make up 19% of Asian Americans but only 1% of Asian restaurants in the United States serve Filipino food. Daryl decided that it was time for that to change.

Katelyn (Daryl’s Wife) and Shane (Daryl’s long time friend), wanted to make sure this dream came true. Together, we brainstormed names, colors, branding, food, and atmosphere. Daryl’s mom provided some of the recipes and others were developed from our favorites and other popular dishes.

Sarap! is a name that we thought would be great for a Filipino restaurant. It means delicious in Tagalog (the Filipino national language). It’s simple, and it’s (hopefully) what you say when you take that first amazing bite of your Tita’s (Auntie’s) homemade food. The restaurant is casual, homey, and covered in murals and pictures that transport you to the other side of the world. At Sarap!, nothing would make us happier than seeing Coloradans enjoying our food and smiling and laughing while catching up with friends and family. So many memories are made and shared over meals – and we’d like it to be a part of them.

The Merge

In September 2024, Daryl & Katelyn Woodward opened Sarap! Filipino Restaurant where You-Ka Cafe and Bayanihan Cafe formerly resided. In 2025, Sizzling Manila: A Taste of Home was ready to expand into a more permanent location. Sarap! and Sizzling Manila realized they had the perfect opportunity to join forces. In March 2025, they officially merged with the goal to provide the most authentic Filipino food to Colorado Springs and became Sarap! A Taste of Home.

Most of the owners have served and retired from the military and have a combined service of over 75 years.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As with any merge, there’s bound to be some changes with the operations. Sizzling Manila completely took over the day-to-day management of the restaurant. With that, the entire menu was overhauled, employees retrained or let go, and new standards were set.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Sarap! A Taste of Home! Filipino Restaurant?
We are a restaurant specializing in truly authentic Filipino Cuisine. As the only brick-and-mortar Filipino restaurant in Colorado Springs, we aim to promote the Philippines’s delicious cuisine in Colorado Springs and surrounding areas. We offer the traditional Filipino dishes like lumpia, pancit, and chicken or pork adobo, but there are so much more dishes to explore if you’re up to it!

Aside from the traditional dishes mentioned above, we are known serve the popular dishes from the Philippines. A dish called “sisig” served on a hot plate, consists of minced deep-fried pork belly, mixed in a citrus mayo cream sauce, served spicy or regular. Another traditional dish loved by Filipinos everywhere is “kare-kare.” A peanut sauce stew with beef, tripe, bok choy, green beans, and eggplant.

We also do special events like “Kamayan Feasts” or “Boodle Fights” where you dine on dishes placed on banana leaves with other people using just your hands. We offer catering big or small. Also, what’s a Filipino Restaurant without karaoke? Those happen twice a month (check with the restaurant for specific dates). Finally, we offer private events for birthdays and office functions of 30 people or less.

What makes you happy?
What makes us happy is the ability to be able to bring an under-represented cuisine to Colorado Springs and surrounding areas. We also work with other businesses in this promotion by working with the Chamber of Commerce and participating in various events like La Vida, A Day in the Springs, and other community events. We also work with the local military community by donating to charity drives and providing discounts to teachers, first responders, senior citizens, and the military.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sarapcs.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarap.cos

Image Credits
Personally taken by Marwin Guevarra (owner) and asked permission to take pictures of participants