Jaleo

My girlfriend and I came here for happy hour. They have $ 4 tapas at the bar and we got to try a good sampling of them. We got the endibias con queso de cabra y naranjas, patatas bravas, pollo al ajillo con salsa verde, gambas al ajillo, spanish cured meats, setas al ajillo, datiles con tocino ‘como hace todo el mundo’, and the chistorra envuelta en patata frita.
Our first dish was the spanish cured meats. The serrano ham and the chorizo were pretty good. The next dish was the setas al ajillo (mushrooms) which I liked a lot. It was very flavorful and the sourness gave it a nice contrast. When I ordered the patatas brava, I didn’t know what to expect and when I tried it, I still wasn’t sure what I was eating. I’ve never had ailioli before and it made the dish very interesting. I didn’t particularly like it a lot, but I still kept eating it.
Next was the gambas al ajill (shrimp) which was pretty good. They come with 5 shrimps each cooked pretty well. The pollo (chicken) was also very tender and nicely cooked. It wasn’t too heavily sauced and the parsley purée went very well with the chicken. The chistorra I thought was meh — just a thin piece of chorizo wrapped in a potato chip. The endibias (endives) wasn’t bad. I liked the goat cheese mixed with the orange, but I would’ve liked it more if the endive wasn’t a bit bitter. The date wrapped bacon was also pretty good. I think I would’ve preferred it more if was lightly fried instead of deep fried.
Overall the service was good sitting at the bar, and we noticed that they make the sangria fresh. They basically put ice, fruits, and red wine and bam, there’s your sangria — no premix available. I definitely liked being able to sample the tapas for a low price. Would definitely consider coming back to try the rest of the menu.

Had a very early dinner at Jaleo Crystal city on a weekday. We probably came in for dinner around 4:30 PM, and the restaurant was virtually empty by then, though it definitely filled up as the night went on. The hostesses weren’t very warm but the our waitress was quite friendly.
Their cava sangria is really yummy, and it was great to try some Spanish beers on tap. Food was great. The only dish that was a bit of a let-​down was the pork loin, but even then it was still quite good. Our waitress was very good at suggesting some tapas to try – and everything she recommended was on point. They were perfectly sized tapas – enough to get you full but not overstuffed. Really hope I can come back soon to try their paella.