Day 71 of eating at 100 Asian restaurants in Maryland took me deep into Southern Maryland, all the way down to Lexington Park, and this stop’s a little different from your usual sit-down spot. Nena’s is an Asian grocery store first, with a small Filipino carry-out counter tucked in the back, so you grab your food and go.
I’ll be honest with you, Nomsters, it’s not my favorite Filipino spot in Maryland (we’re genuinely spoiled with incredible Filipino food up here), but for St. Mary’s County, where good Asian eats are hard to come by, it’s a great option to have in your back pocket. We loaded up on their chicken pansit combo, beef kaldereta, and empanadas, everything super affordable, and I walked out wanting to explore way more of this corner of the state. If you’re down that way, this little market’s worth a stop.
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What Makes Nena’s Special?
Here’s the thing that makes Nena’s worth knowing about: it’s two things at once. Up front it’s a full Asian grocery store (the official name’s Nena’s Oriental Store and Carry-Out) stocked with products from the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and more, so it’s the kind of place you hit for your pantry staples.
Then in the back, there’s a small Filipino carry-out counter cranking out homestyle dishes to go. In an area like Lexington Park, where Filipino food isn’t exactly on every corner, that combo’s a real gem for the community, and there’s a real Filipino population down here near Pax River. You can knock out your grocery run and grab lunch in one stop, which just makes sense to me.
What to Order at Nena’s
Fair warning before I get into it: this is homestyle, no-frills Filipino cooking at grocery-store prices, so come hungry and come for the value. Here’s what we got.
Chicken Pansit Combo ($11.99)
This was my main order, and for $11.99 it’s a lot of food. The combo’s built around pansit, the Filipino stir-fried noodle dish, and it came with three beef lumpia on the side. If you haven’t had pansit before, it’s a classic: thin rice or egg noodles tossed with vegetables and usually a protein like chicken or shrimp.
Filipinos traditionally serve it at birthdays and celebrations because the long noodles symbolize a long life, so it’s real comfort food. Lumpia are Filipino spring rolls, fried up crispy and packed with seasoned meat, and getting three tucked into the combo is solid bang for your buck.
Beef Kaldereta ($10.99)
Kaldereta ($10.99, and it comes with rice) is a Filipino beef stew with Spanish roots, built on a rich tomato sauce base and traditionally thickened with liver spread. The name actually comes from the Spanish word caldera, meaning cauldron. It’s the kind of hearty, saucy dish that’s made to be spooned over a big scoop of rice, and getting the rice included keeps it a complete, budget-friendly meal.
Empanadas
We also grabbed their empanadas (full disclosure, I lost my receipt so I can’t tell you the exact price on these, lol). Filipino empanadas are little savory hand pies, a solid grab-and-go option to round out the order.
A few other things the carry-out’s known for if you want to go beyond what we ordered:
- BBQ pork skewers
- Shrimp lumpia and pork lumpia
- Shrimp tempura
- Lechon (Filipino roast pork)
- Rotating daily specials
Heads up, the popular dishes can sell out, so going earlier in the day gives you the best shot at the good stuff.
Why I Wanted to Feature Southern Maryland
Real talk, Southern Maryland doesn’t get enough love in this series, and I want to fix that. As I work through this 100 Asian restaurants project, I keep realizing how many pockets of the state I still need to explore, and Calvert and St. Mary’s counties are two I’m already planning to revisit. I really enjoyed my time down here and I want to come back ASAP.
Spots like Nena’s matter more in an area like this, where you don’t have twenty Filipino places to pick from, so supporting the ones that are here keeps the community fed. There’s more to dig into too, like Blue Wind Gourmet, another Lexington Park spot worth the drive. If you’re a local, I’d genuinely love to hear your go-to spots in Calvert and St. Mary’s, so drop them in the comments and help me plan my next trip.
The Vibe at Nena’s
Set your expectations right: Nena’s isn’t a sit-down restaurant, it’s a grocery store with a carry-out counter, so this is a grab-and-go situation, not a linger-over-dinner one. It’s inside St. Mary’s Square Shopping Center, a strip-style plaza on Great Mills Road with its own parking lot, so it’s an easy in-and-out. One heads-up, the shopping center’s been under some renovation lately, so don’t be thrown by construction when you pull up. Come, order, browse the grocery aisles while you wait, and take your food to go.
Good to Know
- Location: 📍 21600 Great Mills Road, 27 St. Mary’s Square, Lexington Park, MD 20653
- Hours: 9 AM to 7:30 PM daily (worth a quick call ahead, a couple of listings show slightly different close times)
- Style: Asian grocery store plus a Filipino carry-out counter (takeout only, no dine-in)
- Prices: budget-friendly, most plates land around $11 to $12
- Payment: they take cards, not cash-only
- Delivery: also available on DoorDash
- Parking: free lot in St. Mary’s Square Shopping Center
- Good to know: popular dishes sell out, so go earlier, and leave time to browse the grocery side too
- Phone: (240) 237-8162
Is Nena’s Worth a Trip?
Yes, with the right expectations. Would I call it the best Filipino food in Maryland? No, and I said as much up top. But for Lexington Park, Nena’s is an affordable, convenient spot to grab homestyle Filipino food and stock your pantry in one trip, and that counts for a lot in an area without many options. If you’re closer to the city, my roundup of the best Filipino restaurants in Maryland has spots worth the drive. For St. Mary’s locals, this one’s an easy yes.
That’s a wrap on my Southern Maryland detour, Nomsters. Have you guys been to Nena’s, or do you have a Filipino spot down in St. Mary’s I need to try? Let me know in the comments, and while you’re exploring Lexington Park, Bubbles Bzzz is a fun boba-and-pottery stop to round out the trip. Send this to someone near Pax River so they can grab some pansit, and stay tuned, more Southern Maryland finds are coming.