Jaleo DC

This is not the place to come for a quick lunch; the service is painfully slow.
The food tastes great but I’ve never really gotten the appeal of tapas, so everything seemed pretty overpriced to me. My boyfriend and I shared 4 dishes and our bill came out to $ 55. We were both full enough to be satisfied, but I would have rather eaten somewhere else.
Food:
— The seared scallops were by far my favorite dish, but keep in mind it only comes with 3 scallops.
— The «paella» was also pretty tasty, but beared no resemblance whatsoever to traditional paella.
— The flautas with cured ham were my boyfriend’s favorite. The bread is chewy and soft and the ham is savory without being overly salty.
— The potatoes were filling but not my favorite. I think if we hadn’t gotten this dish, we would still have been hungry.
— They give you free bread for the table, with garlic & rosemary (?) infused olive oil to dip. The bread was crusty and good, but the oil tasted too much like raw garlic to be enjoyable.

Their food is awful. It was very oily and salty that I could not even eat it (l am not picky about food!). They did not even offer to take it back. I paid for the food that I barely touched. The place gets too busy and because of that they are even failing to offer a good customer service. I will not eat here anymore!
I have one star for their Sangria which I liked!

When I was sixteen, I walked past a Jaleo with coworkers and was told it was one of the best restaurants in the DMV.
I first dined at a Jaleo more than five years ago. When I dined, I had high expectations, mainly because of what I was told at sixteen. But like many other things in life, expectations you had when you were 16 turn into disappointments as you age.
Fast forward another five years. I thought I’d give it another shot, mainly because the place I really wanted to go did not have reservations. Because my expectations were lower this time, I had a better experience. We ended up getting the pre-​fixe pre-​theater menu. As soon as we ordered that, the waitress disappeared into the sunset and I had to frantically waive my arms to catch her attention to order another drink (I’m guessing the next table with a corporate card seemed like better customers).
Despite that, the food was decent but didn’t knock my socks off. Perhaps it was because we didn’t order off the regular menu, but the dishes just didn’t seem that well thought out. For example, the endives salad dish came with regular almonds and not marcona almonds. The green pea paste that came with the scallops was just a little too cloyingly sweet and not as nuanced as I expected. The sauce the chicken came with was just a little bit too garlicky.
The food wasn’t bad, as the scallops and chicken were still incredibly tender. But it was just missing the extra pizzaz and attention to detail places at this price point typically have. Everything just seemed a little too prepackaged, which perhaps it is since it is a chain.
But you know, since I didn’t expect much, the food was good and more than filling. Thus, I’m happy.
Moral of the story: have low expectations in life and you will be satisfied.

We really lucked out on finding this place, mainly because it’s gallery place, and what a fucking place. The only reason to come down to white chinatown is to see a caps game or to meet someone coming from a another line which is why I was here in the first place (gallery). Anyway, there aren’t a lot of places for brunch in this area so the choices are few and far between. Fortunately we stumbled upon Jaleo. Which I believe in Spanish means «there’s no brunch places in chinatown besides Lincoln’s Waffle Shop and you’re not getting in there because you’re not the only people hungover on a Sunday so we’re all you’ve got.» Fair. The Blend abides. To start, this place has an incredible air conditioner and it was hot outside so that was clutch. It’s very modern space and has a nice clean feel to it. Those looking for tacky regalia of Spain will be disappointed. Jaleo refuses to be defined by just its national category, which is surprising for a restaurant in a neighborhood that pretends that it is the Forbidden Palace. With Art Deco Décor, and something else that makes me sound sophisticated, the ambience really jives with me. The menu is long and very comprehensive, bordering on intimidating. They have a lot of different tapas that it’s hard to really know what to get. But I wasn’t scared. I have been to Spain so I know what is good and what is good is patatas bravas. If you don’t know what that is then I feel sorry for you. It is awesome. Jaleo’s creation was magnificent and nearly as good as one from an actual chillingito (Did I mention that I’ve been to Spain?). We were originally afraid that the tapas alone (we each ordered just one) would not be filling enough to satisfy our desperate need for nutrients after a hard night of drinking, but these saints or «Santos» kept the bread and olive oil coming. That was very good of them to do. Some places make you order bread a la carte like a jackass but not Jaleo. Jose looks out for you. Let me just say that at the end of the meal we were the perfect amount of full. Full but not coma full. Spanish full not American full. That’s why Spanish people look so good. They eat patatas bravas for brunch and it’s just enough to keep them going before partying until 6 am. Appretivos folks. Appretivos.

When I walked out of this place, I declared it a «solid 3.5 stars.» Since Unilocal won’t give me a half, I’m going to go with my gut (restaurant review puns are everything) and give it a 3.
PROS:
The espinacas a la catalans
Wine selection, though by-​the-​glass (especially in the sparkling category) is a bit sparse
CONS:
Patatas bravas, coliflor salteada con aceitunas y dátiles (flavorless)
Atmosphere — the cozy booths by the windows seem nice but the central booths, where we sat, have all of the charm of a Burger King
NEUTRALS
Service — I’d just expect more given the price
Husband and I went for our first anniversary (only place open on Memorial Day) and, though it was better than celebrating at some big chain, it wasn’t the special experience we expected.

Yum!
The night started off on a slightly sour note, as when we arrived, our table was not ready. Fast forward 45 minutes and we were finally seated. To quell our annoyance, the manager gave us complimentary champagne but it was cheap stuff. The gesture was nice though. To rinse the taste of crappy champagne out of our mouths, we ordered a few pitchers of sangria. It was good.
The five of us shared several dishes. We tried the scallops with peas and mint, chicken fritters served in a sneaker, fideua with shrimp and calamari, chorizo, braised lamb, seared lamb, hangar steak with peppers, crispy fried pork roll, a cheese plate with fig preserves, and asparagus. Everything was awesome; the fideua in particular was superb and gave me flashbacks to being in Barcelona.
The staff were accommodating and friendly.

The lunch prix fixe menu is a great way to taste the food at Jaleo — 5 courses at $ 25.
Next time I’ll order the food served in the shoe!

I went here for a quick lunch. I had a salad created by combining sliced apples & fennel & walnuts. Very unusual but awfully small.
Lunch also included fresh bread with amazing olive oil & garlic.
My waiter was wonderfully attentive.

I love here so much. It is very fusion restaurant. I ordered the kind of fishball. It is extremely delicious. I have never tasted it before. Seriously it was very yummy.
If you are looking for some light food, I recommend Jaleo. It is good for tapas. It is small dishes and good place to talk with friends. ;)

Great ambience. Colorful, contemporary and modern. If you are a huge fan of vodka and ginger the Moscow mule you must try love it ! Unique variety of beer some from Spain so if are adventurous try it while you are at it try the sea urchin that comes on bread light and unique tasting. Our bartender that goes to school at John Hopkins was awesome !!

So good! The food, the sangria… YUM! Definitely get the patatas bravas (cliché, yes, but totally worth it). I also really liked the shrimp, brussels sprouts and octopus. We ordered too much food, but nothing disappointed.
Only thing keeping it from 5 stars is the atmosphere. One of the tables nearby was full of screaming people as they played fooseball and that was more than a little annoying and distracting.

We were strolling the area and decided to duck into here for a bite. I wasn’t paying attention to time and the DC Brunch crowd was in full effect. However, the four of us were seated immediately. Cool.
The food? Excellent.
Service? A bit spotty, but she had a lot of tables.
Standouts?
Bacon wrapped dates!
Chicken Fritters! (Served in a leather shoe)
Sliders! (Although I bit into a piece of bacon that was too chewy)
Spicy chorizo wrapped in thin potato
Carafe Of Sangria
So we were all fans of the food, we just picked a hectic time.

There were some good dishes but mostly disappointing.
If Ure reading this when Ure already there & can’t leave, order these:
1. Salmon tartare with trout roe
2. 3 types of Jamones: though my fav is the 48months one
3. Calamari with squid ink & white rice
The maybes:
1. Hanger steak
2.chicken croquetas
Do not order these:
1. The cherry blossom specials: pork belly
2. Fried egg with sturgeon caviar
3. Gambas

The waiter asked me what I liked. I replied, «spicy food». He replied that the food was «not Mexican», therefore most of the dishes were not spicy. The patatas bravas were noted to be spicy.
Reservations: readily available. We were seated upon entry.
Prices: high, even more expensive than Rose’s Luxury.
Pan de cristal con tomate: crunchy and tart. Yummy.
Aceitunas Ferran Adria: similar to the olives at The Bazaar
Mini hamburguesas: quite mini. Tastes good.
Gazpacho de remolacha– refreshing but I wish there were more beets.
Puntillitas fritas: Too much breading for my taste. The smallest squid I’ve ever eaten.
Coliflor: tasty, but I did not get any date pieces. Dunno if we were supposed to get any date pieces.
Plato mixto de croquetas: crunchy exterior and soft interior.
Patatas bravas: spicy as advertised. Would recommend.
Condorniz: tasty… Maybe too sweet.
Helado de aceite de oliva con pomelo: Refreshing. Olive oil ice cream added a salty-​creamy balance.
Pan con chocolate: Very good dessert. Rose’s Luxury had a similar dish that tasted better with rose ice cream.

Jaleo didn’t live up to my expectations. Overpriced and underwhelming is correct! This saddened me, as Spanish tapas is one of my favorite cuisines and I was so excited to give this place a try. We stopped by here for brunch as a party of 4 — when we arrived around 10:30−11am, the place was quiet, but by the time we left this place was packed. Make sure to make reservations if you’re planning on coming here in the late morning!
Service was only okay — I very much thought that the waiter looked down upon us (in early 20s) for being so young relative to the rest of the crowd, and found this rather rude. He was not clear at all in terms of table side sangria vs. normal red sangria pitcher, and we almost were tricked into getting the much more expensive table side sangria before I realized this wasn’t the kind we were looking for. Luckily, it was before he had opened the bottle so we were okay. The carafe of red sangria was only okay, definitely not the best I’ve had — I thought $ 35 of carafe was much more expensive than its worth (it fills ~5 glasses).
I got the huevos pochado con Idiazábal, jamón y espinacas. The dish was quite small, but the food was pretty good and the egg was perfectly poached. The only caveat was that there wasn’t much of jamón to be found, but besides that, I would recommend getting this dish. My friend, however, struggled greatly to find something she is able to eat on the menu because she does not eat pork or beef, and most of the menu consisted of jamón. She ended up getting the grilled chicken, which seemed okay but again, the portion was extremely small. We ended up getting two orders of torrijas con plátano caramelizado y espuma de ron as well, which I thought was delightful (light and sweet!) but not something I’d dream about.
Sadly, I probably wouldn’t be coming back here willingly — but at least the décor was great and the bathroom is nice. Still in search for the perfect tapas place in D. C… oh how I shouldn’t have taken Mateo’s back in durham for granted! :(

4.5 out of 5 stars (bar only).
I went here at 7 PM on a Friday and was able to easily snag a spot at the bar (and later a table in the bar). We enjoyed the house sangria ($ 8) and chicken & mushrooms paella. The whole menu looked delicious so I can’t wait to go back for a full meal!

Description:
This restaurant has a cool vibe with the décor and food being the star. The eight of us walked in for a business dinner which was arranged by one of our colleagues. The food was exquisite and really inspired. The décor is a real eye grabber and offers a creative experience. On the flip side, our server was a little lacking.
Location:
Jaleo is located in DC’s Penn Quarter since 1993. It is close to the Gallery Place Chinatown Metro Station.
Décor: The décor is beyond a doubt the highlight! Spanish designer and architect Juli Capella is deserving of a standing ovation. A big wow moment! Modern, eclectic and just all around interesting. You need to walk into the Ladies Restroom (even if you are a man — lol) to just admire the creative artistry there. Everything from the tables and chairs to the artwork adorning the walls all lend themselves to a unique dining experience.
Menu:
A very extensive menu with oodles of vegetarian options. The beet soup is a wonderful beginning to a meal. The chilliness and texture of the soup is superb. One of us ordered it and after a few (probably rude) tastes and asking to share we all decided to order it as well. Then this was followed by the crispy tomato cheese bread… stop here and allow for a big sigh… Amazing! If this is not their signature dish… it should be! Then we ordered to share the wrinkled baby potatoes, a cute name for a very flavorful dish. The star, however, of the evening was… drum roll please… the cheese rice and truffles. Applause!
I particularly loved when a young woman came to the table and explained that the owner hand selects the truffles. We enjoyed her explanation of the whole history while she shaved truffles into the dish. Quite interesting and fun. The presentation was truly a part of this foodie’s delight (being me).
Wine Menu: Good Selection
Service:
The outer staff in part was great. The water was filled by very attentive staff. But, our waitress was a little on the sarcastic side, I felt she was a little off putting. I think she was trying to be humorous, but her negative comments about other patrons and the other staff members was just not appropriate. The young girl who was trying to make a special event of the truffles with the shaving was dismissed by her. We all commented that this was just not cool. In all honesty, we probably should have defended this poor girl as we were enjoying her presentation, but the waitress… seriously, kinda scared us.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere is electric and we thoroughly enjoyed the overall vibe. Music at the right decibel. Easy to have conversations.
Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this restaurant immensely… what sold me was the décor and food. I think they need to talk to the waitress we had to get her attitude in a better place and it would have been perfect. She kept commenting how the women she was waiting on in the table next to us had stinky perfume… what is she saying about us? Really? So make sure that you have another waitress and am sure you will have a fabulous experience.

Fantastic dinner! Tracked several times to the DC area… Each time have popped it to sample something new and never have been disappointed. Great treat. Had creamy rice and a lovely lite pork … So filling!

Overkill as far as the décor & atmosphere. I appreciate the restaurant trying to be artsy with the décor but the food should also be able to speak for itself. I went for an early dinner so not crowded at all. The wait staff was professional but again, they weren’t busy yet. Good quality tapas but definitely overpriced. They are also very proud of their tapas with black Iberian pig because it dominates the menu!

Went for lunch with coworkers. Complimentary bread and olive oil was simple but delicious. Sangria was refreshing, not overly sweet. Liquid olive was fun to eat. Tastes like an olive with a hint of orange. I liked eating it more than I liked the actual flavor. Bikini de Jamon Iberico with manchego cheese and truffles was tasty. Ham, cheese, truffles were great together. Looks like a small portion and not cheap, but filling. Service was fine. I will return to try other menu items.

Love, love, love this place! Jose Andres plays with food. He knows tapas. The plates are all shareable and filling. I recommend the corn fritters and brussel sprouts, but everything is delicious! Reservations are highly encouraged since the place fills quickly.

I expected Jose Andres to blow my mind. Opted in for the 8 course brunch tasting menu for $ 45 including a mimosa. While I think this is a sweet deal after 6 course I simply gave up on the amazing looking, however very mediocre food. I cook better meals than the chef here. Sorry. I wanted to love you, but I’ll never return.

Jaleo is Spanish tapas through and through. Here Jose Andres has created a menu with many traditional small plates that is loaded with fine cheeses, ham, bread and spices. Some standouts where anything that even mentioned the word Iberico as it has been on my wish list for some time now. About three options per person we felt were adequate but there were many other items I wished I saved room for. The whole experience I feel is great to get many different flavors without getting full. Also, the surprise of new dishes arriving at your table in quick succession adds to the meal. The interior is decorated with small sprinkles of nuances I will let you discover on your own and the waiters were polite and eager to offer up their favorite items. I would recommend taking their advice, as the garlic shrimp was one of our favorites we may have missed otherwise.

Sorry, this place sucks. It’s so overpriced and underwhelming. We ate the restaurant week menu, and all the protein (shrimp, pork) were overcooked. The soup was oily. The bean salad with sherry dressing was the best dish there, though the flan was quite good too. The portions are quite small for the price and quality. My boyfriend complained his cocktail was weak and sugary.
The restaurant itself is a clusterf*** of people and waiters running everywhere. Even though everyone ordered off restaurant week menu, the dishes did not come out at the same time. The waitress was reluctant to split a check for my table. Also the décor is creepy as f***, the bathroom floor has pictures of people reaching up to you. Not what you want to see while you’re peeing. Hard pass.

My friends and I came for a late birthday dinner Saturday around 9:35pm. We came in a bit early and had to wait for a table so we went near by to the Iron Horse to have drinks while we wait. When we got back we were seated promptly for a party of 8.
We ordered many dishes to try and share we were so hungry didn’t get any pictures.
Eggs & Caviar
Seafood Soup
Lamb
Potatoes brava
Gin & tonic oysters
Chicken croquettes
Quail
Tomato bread and ham
Moscow Mule
Everything was delectable, a few day’s before I went to the Arlington/​Crystal City location for Jaleo’s happy hour and I would have to say the DC location was better. Their décor and ambience were more modern although space was a bit tighter. I will definitely come back when I am in DC.

We’ve been here twice. The first time I would give it a 3 and the second time I would say a 4.5. Let me explain why…
The first time:
We were seated near the front of the restaurant by a family with three kids and the table they were seated at was a foosball table turned dinner table. All night we had to listen to the kids yelling and playing foosball. It cheapened the environment and, combined with the busy look of the menu and neon lights on the outside of the restaurant spelling out Jaleo, you felt like you were eating at a diner. The warm uni toast was yummy and buttery but the rest of the dishes were forgettable. And I really mean that because I went back the second time and my boyfriend’s parents asked us what we ordered here when we came just maybe 6 weeks ago and after scanning the menu we couldn’t remember anything except the toast.
The second time:
The service was great and we were seated towards the middle of the restaurant away from those foosball tables. Every dish we got was great. I can’t think of a single one we didn’t like. We got a salad with seared octopus and I don’t like octopus but this dish out was soooo good. We had a tomato and shrimp dish as well. Of course my favorite was the Bacalo croquette. I would come back again after that experience.

My friend and I concur that Jaleo serves one of the best restaurant week menus ever! (So much so that I am writing this review right after the meal, which is a rare occurrence.)
I’m incredulous of the price compared to the value of what was offered. For dinner, you have several options to choose from among five courses. All of the courses were bigger than your typical tapas plate, and we were pretty stuffed by the third course. I brought home enough leftovers for another meal!
My favorites were the patatas bravas and gambas al ajillo. The Patatas bravas was pan-​fried potatoes with a spicy tomato sauce that bordered salsa and topped with highly addictive aioli. The Gambas al ajillo came with six plump shrimp in a beautiful garlic and olive oil sauce. The flan was delicate and light, with the a subtle zesty catalan cream. The butternut squash was a little wanting in more of the nutty and sweet flavors, but the sear on the salmon was to die for and the salmon just melted in my mouth.
Service was impeccable despite it being restaurant week — I’m tempted to go again this week… Jaleo is definitely my favorite Jose Andres restaurant!

I ate here with my girlfriend.
The food and drinks: We had the Pan de cristal con tomate as an appetizer, which is bread brushed with tomato. While it was pretty good, it was worth half the cost. We also had the Patatas bravas which was fried potatoes and tomato cause with alioli. It was decent, but not worth the cost. We also had the ‘Rossejat’ which was paella of toasted pasta with shrimp and calamari. This was definitely interesting, though probably the worst paella I’ve ever had. Worth a fraction of the price. We also had a glass of sangria which was full of ice. It would have taken nearly 5 – 10 of these to feel any alcohol. Should have just snuck in a Hi-​C instead. Definitely worth just a fraction of the price.
The service: The bread was brought out to us mid meal, need I say more? Besides that though, the service was decent. The server was pretty knowledgeable.
Overall: everything is overpriced and some things are unsavory, occasionally mediocre, and rarely delicious, I will not come back here even if everything was 50% off. Maybe 75% off. And if they had sales in restaurants as they do in retail, I still would not be trying to find coupons for this place.

What can I say, nothing short of amazing. On vacation from Florida with my son and had to try one of Jose Andres’ restaurants. Had a total of 7 dishes and 2 desserts.
Flaunta Iberico — with tomato, olive oil, and the cured Iberico ham was good enough to order a second set.
Gambas — shrimp with garlic had a little bite, just enough to get you going and was one of the best items we had.
Ensalda Campera — a salad with tuna, fingerling potatoes, green beans, tomato, and hard boiled egg was light and delicious.
Chorizo Casero — with olive oil mashed potatoes was good, I wouldn’t say great.
Iberico Hamburger — made from the pork was wonderful with all the different flavor coming together.
Datiles con Tocino — bacon wrapped dates was another unique dish that I doubt you will find anywhere else.
Mixta Croquettes — wasn’t something we loved, they had too much cheese vs chicken or pork in them but that was our preference.
Olive Oil Ice Cream with Grapefruit dessert topped off the night with an over the top experience. Olive oil ice cream with frozen grapefruit shavings, rind, ruby red slices, and mint leaves. One of the best desserts I’ve ever had. Also had traditional flan, which was great but being traditional was just that.
I would recommend Jaleo to be on everyone’s list to try.

Jose Andres is my food idol. Cute. Sexy Tthhpanith accent. Yes please. I caught Jaleo on my most recent visit to D.C. on what had to be an off night. Back to that later. The space itself is powerfully beautiful and modern, with a two story glass front facing 7^th N.W. and a softly lit dark wooded interior. High-​backed banquettes are upholstered in fabric with an abstract but somehow richly Mediterranean feel. A forty-​foot Grisanty mural in mixed-​media warm golds and reds overlooks the entire restaurant from above the bar on the second level. I gazed at the mural for at least half an hour before realizing that fully half of it was a flamenco dancer moving at lightening speed. Another twenty minutes and I realized in the other half was a matador in the motionless pose they maintain until a big-​ass angry snorting bull running toward them is three feet away. How any artist can capture close-​up frantic movement and distant, perfect stillness in abstracted images the size of a Jumbotron was wild. As I ate my dry salty disappointing tapas I looked at the mural a lot.
Two intensely flavored sauces and purées got my hopes up and broke my heart. The scanty romesco underneath my dry woody grilled asparagus was bright and rich when I finally found it. A ripe, earthy apricot purée came with the only successful dish, succulent and smoky confit rabbit. There just wasn’t enough of it, plus I got robbed. No jus. There had to be jus somewhere from roasting my rabbit that did not make it to my plate. The dish would have been so much better with it. They jacked my jus. Not cool.
Cauliflower with very salty olives and very sweet dates sounded interesting but probably did not come together the way it was intended to. Pimenton was the only seasoning I could identify. I think it was headed someplace good but we didn’t get there.
The small plate of sausage and white beans was named the «Daniel Patrick Moynihan» so I’m guessing the late senator from New York came by often. The sausage was tasted ok. It was roughly ground and rustic and had a nice chew, but it needed more fat from those black-​footed acorn-​fed Spanish pigs it was made from. How hard is it to find fat on a pig? Apparently it can be difficult.
The tables could have been from IHOP. We put a wadded up cloth napkin under the base of our wobbly one to steady it. After she cleared the first plates our server used a soaking wet cloth to wipe the table, so we used another napkin to wipe it dry. Seriously. Having said all that, dessert was amazing. Order it. Flan with bitter Seville orange sections was so creamy it had the texture of soft butter and probably the same grams of fat. The bitter orange took the dish straight up to heaven. Divine. Double divine. Absurdly, it was plated with three tennis-​ball size scoops of whipped cream that we didn’t touch. Don’t touch them. The only thing it needed was a dessert spoon. I was tempted to use my fingers, actually, but I didn’t. Ok, I did.

Jose — I thought you would blow me away.
What can I say?
Jaleo was a-​ok. (3 stars, thanks for the perfect rhyme, Unilocal ratings.)
So the story begins with a trip to DC back in February (where our dinner reservation got taken down by a BLIZZARD), and I was not about to let another visit to our nation’s capital go by without seeing what one of Jose Andres’ several locations had to offer. We were walking back from the National Gallery, looking for a bite to eat, and when we happened upon Jaleo totally by accident, we seized the chance. Here’s all of the delicious dishes that we totally annihilated:
Chorizo ibérico Fermín: Cured acorn-​fed pork chorizo — like, the best kind of aged chorizo. On point.
Dátiles con tocino ‘como hace todo el mundo’: Fried bacon-​wrapped dates served with an apple-​mustard sauce — duh, you guys. Bacon wrapped dates are so damn good. Fry those little suckers up and it’s like «hallelujah!»
Arroz cremoso de setas: Creamy rice with seasonal mushrooms and Idiazábal cheese — beautiful, delicious mushrooms, but the cheesy rice was kinda gluey.
Espinacas a la catalana: Sautéed spinach, pine nuts, raisins and apples — this was a damn huge bowl of veggies that was well cooked and really hit the spot after all that meat.
Puntillitas de Cádiz salteadas con pochas: Baby squid from southern Cádiz sautéed with Spanish white beans — probably the most exceptional of all of the dishes that we tried. The little squids were SO TEENY AND CUTE, and frankly the size and color and texture of the squids was a lot like the white beans. So, you grab a bite, and it’s like, «is this a squid or a bean?» Really interesting. We added the fried egg, clearly.
Finally, we had a hangar steak dish that I can’t quite seem to find on their menu online. It was steak, and it was just fine.
Being no stranger to tapas or Spanish cuisine, I think that my brain and my belly were looking for a little bit more out of Jaleo. Everything was wonderful, but I can’t say that there was anything that I literally cannot wait to go back and eat again.

Seriously, I’ve never reviewed Jaleo? Ok, I’ll get it done now. I try to pop in every few months or so for a nice business lunch or dinner, because I’m too cheap to want to pay for restaurants like this myself.
Do yourself a favor and bring 2 or 3 other people with you — this affords you the ability to try lots of tapas!
I recommend starting with the bread brushed with tomato — it doesn’t sound that great but it is AWESOME! Then move on to fried menu — the patatas bravas (fried potatoes with the most delicious spicy red sauce you will ever eat!), bacon-​wrapped dates, and any of the croquettes.
If fried isn’t your thing, the melon and prosciutto or fennel and apple salad are pretty damn delicious too. Oh, and get the shrimp in a mouthwatering garlic sauce — super yum!
However, if you are kosher, don’t bother to come here. I feel like this place couldn’t exist without pork and shellfish!

Took a client here last night for eats and drinks place was packed. Pros and cons to this spot.
PROS:
1. Easy to get to my mid town office. Über’d
2. Place has a good vibe when you get in.
Lots of young good looking peeps. Kinda like Lauriol Plaza… a place to see and be seen.
3. That’s all I can think of
CONS:
1. Décor and images over the bar (of little children is strange. When I go to a bar the last thing I wanna see is kids
2. Drinks weak. I had 3 Red Sandria and if I had taken a sobriety test — 0% alcohol would have registered in my system
3. Too pricey. I’ve been to lots of Tapas joints but this was at the top on price for mediocre quality
4. Food. Simply put just ok. We went through about 10 – 12 small plates and still left hungry and underwhelmed.
5. Service was just ok nothing exceptional
Overall I didn’t leave this place excited about my 1^st time experience, and definitely not eager to come back which I likely won’t.

My hopes were so crushed.
It was so busy that our service was really lacking. It probably didn’t help that we sat next to a table of yuppies who had first world problems and voiced them in an annoying manner.
Food was so mediocre. Our menu: sautéed spinach, warm mussels, seafood paella, scallops. The flavors all seemed the same with raisins in several dishes. The paella with the noodles was weird and not that great. Scallops were ok, but seemed a bit over cooked. Mussels tastes burnt somehow!
My sangria was really great, though! I can’t waste too much time describing how underwhelmed I was with this place.
Not worth my time or money, especially when it’s found in other places besides DC.

Jaleo in DC is a good place for Spanish tapas. Just good, not great, not mind-​blowing. I’ve been many times over the years and must admit I used to loooove Jaleo’s happy hour — great prices, good food, good sangria, good vibe. However, I believe the DC location has done away with the happy hour prices. And the regular prices are a little bit ridiculous. The food is good but for the amount of food that comes on each small plate, the price tag is just far too high.
If you like goat cheese, try the piquillos peppers stuffed with mushrooms and goat cheese ($ 7) — really creamy and delicious dish. Gambas al ajillo is another always-​tasty dish here and I’d highly recommend trying it at least once. Their paellas are honestly too salty for me (I tried the lobster paella, $ 55, and the chicken mushroom paella, $ 34). The paellas come in large platters and there’s quite a bit of it so only order if you’re with a few people — it’s quite filling but just heavy on the salt. The pan de cristal con tomate (bread with olive oil and tomato) is sooo heavy on the olive oil. it was literally soaked in olive oil and dripping — could have used less olive oil and more tomato. Also at $ 8.50, it seems overpriced. I do not want to pay any more than $ 5 for 8 small slices of toasted bread. Wtf.
The re-​done interior has a funky fun atmosphere now, with foosball tables that double as dining tables and busts of animals wearing brightly colored wrestling clothes hanging on the wall. It’s a good place to try at least once or to take people who are visiting.

I was pretty excited to try Jaleo after hearing Starr C. talk about how well known Jose Andres’ restaurants are in the DC area. She made a reservation for us during Sangria Hour. (Reservations are highly recommended — a huge pool of people were waiting by the door when every seat filled up.)
$ 5/​glass or $ 35/​carafe of sangria. We were debating whether we should get a glass each or get the carafe to share. After ordering a glass each, we were so glad we didn’t get the carafe. The sangria was pretty watered down and didn’t taste good. Apparently, the carafe pours about 5 – 6 glasses, but we’re pretty sure it poured less after seeing the size of the carafe.
We also tried their flautas bread bites ($ 5) which were basically mini breadsticks with your choice of cheese, chorizo, and ham. Definitely not worth the money!
The ambiance of this place is definitely classy, and the service is very friendly. But my tastebuds weren’t too pleased with the drinks or food.
Jaleo is pronounced «ha-​LAY-​o,» but it should be more like «ha-​LAY-​no.»