Jaleo

That’s it. I love Jose Andres restaurants, and I like Jaleo in DC, but this location is awful. I have tried several times to make it work because it is close to where we live, but I officially said we would never go back after today’s experience. We went solely for brunch, but for whatever reason, they decided not to serve brunch because it was restaurant week. ??? We did think about staying, but when no one came to the table for more than 10 minutes, we packed it in. The last time we went they wanted to up charge me for premium liquor in my cocktail. Really? Why aren’t you already using premium liquor in a $ 16 cocktail? Jose — this can’t meet your standards. We quit.

Food was good. Margarita was very good. Service. Was. Awful. My word – it is 5:30 on a Thursday night. There were ab 20 ppl at the bar with one guy taking orders. A bar back, I guess, wasn’t helping the customers at all. And there was someone, manager maybe, standing at the end of the bar whipping up test cocktails. And testing them-​WTF dude. There’s a time for that-​but not in the middle of ppl needing to be served.

Expensive menu. Enjoyed the hanger steak with roasted sweet peppers, the grilled chicken with parsley purée, the salmon tartare (would have loved this with a little heat to make it spicy), and the chicken fritters. Make a reservation and show up on time. Parking isn’t friendly in this area. It is always packed! I plan to go back and I look forward to exploring other tapas restaurants in the area to make a fair comparison. I love the idea of tapas. Just wondering if the pricing for it is fair. I also tried the sangria. It was just ok for me. My server was excellent and food made it out quickly. Great stop if you dont quite know what you want and would like to sample many things and get in and out fairly quickly.

The food and ambiance here were pretty fantastic – this was a tapas place and we ordered the calamari in black squid sauce, fried chicken fritters, fried cod, sea urchin, chorizo, and the seared sea scallops. Our favorites were the calamari in black ink squid sauce with the rice – it was very flavorful and filling, and the sea scallops which were on top of pureed butternut squash and pumpkin seeds. The chorizo was on top of mashed potatoes and while it was good, it wasn’t that memorable. The chicken fritters were tasty with shredded chicken mixed with other things, and the fried cod and sauce were just ok. The sea urchin was very fresh.

I was expecting a little more than this. Food is super expensive and isn’t even good.
We ordered their housemade pork sausages, fisherman’s soup, and rossejat (traditional paella). The fisherman’s soup was really salty and pork sausage was just not tasty at all.
The roseejat tasted like really fried broken pieces of angel hair pasta with dollops of cheese.
We took the rossejat home as leftovers but ended up throwing it out because neither of us liked it in the first place.
I also expected the décor to be a little nicer — since most of Jose Andres’ restaurants usually are but the lounge area felt more like a older dive bar than a classy joint.

While this isn’t my favorite tapas restaurant in the DC area, it definitely ranks at the top of the list.
The environment is warm and fun and it’s inviting for large groups. Both times I’ve been, there was no wait to be seated.
It has your typical Spanish tapas dishes — I’m always a sucker for the patatas bravas, and these don’t disappoint. I really enjoyed the liquid olives; they were super interesting and unlike anything I’ve had before. My friend doesn’t like olives at all, but he really enjoyed these.
Definitely a good place to bring friends, as long as they don’t mind sharing small plates!

Food 5 stars. Waiter 3 Stars. Ambience eyecrossingly gaudy… but, hey, Gaudi was also from Spain;)
Wish more restaurants would offer fresh fruit from their country for sale as were the clementines. Anti-​local but healthy and smart. Will try the other locations gladly. The cheeses were delectable.

This was my first visit to Jaleo Bethesda although I have been to the location downtown a few times.
My experience was def a three star one. Some dishes were super tasty… the salmon carpaccio, the steak, the pan con tomate (although how can you go wrong with this???)…however some were not. The chicken dish was under seasoned and lacked a distinct flavor.
The timing of our food was also strange. We received the chicken (our final dish) long after we had finished our other dishes including one that would have ideally accompanied it. It seemed that it probably had been forgotten in the kitchen. While the waitress was apologetic, she probably should have just cancelled it. That ending to our meal kind of soured the dinner a bit.
A note! You can def make a dinner for two out of five or so dishes and come out relatively well priced. Make sure you mix up dishes and some are a larger size than others. For instance, the spinach is a decent sized side dish.

Sigh, where do I start with Jaleo? I’ve never been a fan because I don’t feel like they give you an authentic tapas experience. Also, I didn’t pick Jaleo, but my friends did for a celebratory, bachelorette like celebration for another mutual friend.
We ordered a ton of dishes, and the only one that stood out for me was the salmon carpaccio, which was finished in probably less than 10 mins by the whole table. What fell short was the vegetable paella — while already greasy, the waitress added additional oil on top, and in my picture, where the paella is tilted, you can literally see the oil collecting at the bottom. Needless to say, none of us could really eat it, despite our best efforts, and we ended up sending it back. The manager was very understanding and gracious, and took it off the bill. If that was where it ended, I would’ve left them a 3 star review. The manager offered us a complimentary dessert due to the paella fiasco — a very kind gesture, but one that added negatively to the experience. I found a piece of plastic, perhaps part of a nail?, inside the dessert while chewing it. I do have a picture of it, but I’m not sure if I should post it or not. The manager examined it, confirmed that it was not part of the food item, and apologized profusely, and also removed our drinks from the final bill (thus the 2 star rating, vice a 1 star rating). I feel badly for him as the night did not go his way at all, but also for us, because we were trying to host a celebration, and the food just missed the mark repeatedly. Will not be back here again.

My friends and I tried coming here for happy hour, but unfortunately we were a larger party and there wasn’t a table big enough to fit all of us (happy hour is in the bar area only), so we opted to grab a table for dinner. Our large table was actually a foosball table, so it was fun to play as we waited for our food to arrive.
We started off with a carafe of the Jaleo classic sangria. It was pretty good and filled 6 or 7 glasses. We also shared the vegan paella, paella de setas y verduras, which came with mushrooms and veggies. This was really good! The paella had this oil in it, and I can’t explain it, but it was amazing. Each of us were taking the bread and sopping it up off our plates. When the paella came out it was on a huge pan and one of the managers, I believe, served us a scoop onto our plates. If you are vegan make sure to ask for none of the aioli when you are served.
As for the tapas, we ordered the calamari, chorizo wrapped in crispy potato, hanger steak with peppers and shrimp sautéed with garlic. All were delicious! My friend and I also split espuma crujiente de chocolate con leche for dessert, which was a chocolate mousse with coffee-​rum ice cream. I was already full at this point, but I couldn’t say no after our waitress recommended it. And it was heavenly!
Service was also top notch. Our waitress was great and was constantly checking if we needed anything. And the guys who refilled our waters were so quick to notice if our glass was anything but full. And the another one of the managers checked on us as well.
Our bill was a little more than what I would’ve liked (I’m a broke student after all), but for all of the food and the amazing service, it was well worth it! I’ll be back (but probably for happy hour lol)!

Jaleo was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be — swanky ambiance, dark lighting, and tiny portions of good food at reasonable to steep prices. Prepare to either rack up a huge tab or not eat your fill.
3 of us got 6 dishes — bruschetta bread, a cheese dish that the waiter recommended would go with it, sauteed spinach, chicken fritters, traditional chorizo, and braised lamb. Everything was delicious, but splitting some of the dishes among 3 people was a stretch. For example, the bruschetta pieces were easy to split and each of us got at least 1 – 2 pieces of it, but the lamb had a lot of bone in it so there wasn’t much meat — we each got to try a small bite of it. Also, we sorely regretted getting the cheese. I wish I had gotten a photo of the dish to show how ridiculous it was — it was a plate with 5 – 6 paper thin slices of cheese and nothing else, costing $ 14!
We were nowhere near full after our meal, and yet our bill somehow came out to $ 75 after tax and tip. It was an okay experience, but I don’t think I’ll be back.

This is a DC staple in my book. I’ve been coming here for years and I love it every time. The menu changes seasonally and the food always tastes so fresh and innovative. The happy hour is great too, with lots of cool drink choices (they have a killer sangria). There are tons of vegetarian options in all the menus and no skimping for hh like some restaurants. The Bethesda location is my favorite, simply because it’s the easiest to get to for me and a little more family friendly. The service is the least consistent thing about this place. There have been occasions where the servers have not been as informed about the menu or as patient with my table when ordering. But those times have been relatively few and far between. I still give Jaleo five stars because they keep me coming back for more and in such cosmopolitan city like DC, that’s hard to do.

Went for dinner on a Tuesday evening. I had no reservations but they easily seated us.
Interesting margarita cocktail with «topping of foamed salt». It replaced the salt around the rim of glass and sat on top of drink like foam. Very tasty!
Appetizer: combination of sea scallops, squash, pine nuts and mandarin oranges Very tasty
Opted for the Tapas tasting menu (there are three levels based on price per person– $ 45 – 85 and more expensive more fancy the tapas. Each comes with about 10 plates including dessert!
We did the $ 45pp
Also we were able to get a «flight» of wine samplings for $ 15 3 tastings of various wines
While I can’t remember all the tapas some are more memorable
Here goes
1−2Imported Spanish bread with a Spanish tomato sauce with meat samplings. Salami, chorizo and ham
3 – 4 Endive filled with goat cheese and mandarin orange
Onions grilled with blue cheese crumbles
4 – 5 chorizo sausage wrapped with potato roll. A fig wrapped in bacon and fried and finally a chicken and cheese fries wonton-​esque dish
6 – 7 shrimp sautéed with garlic and spinach salad with apples and raisins
8 – 9 pork sausage with mashed potatoes and red pepper filled with goat cheese and mushrooms
10 dessert – chocolate flan with hazelnut ice cream
It was wonderful experience. Personal favorites were Shrimp with garlic, red pepper filled with goat cheese/​mushroom and dessert!
The staff was wonderful with our attentive waiter Dajir!
He was terrific!
It is totally worth the expense !
I would go back !

I came here for drinks and lunch on a Saturday afternoon with my friend. Not eating since the day before, I was quite h-​angry. So I was looking forward for a substantial meal. Well, that was the main problem! It is a tapas restaurant so food comes in tiny servings. I bit my cheek in pain when I saw the steep prices, and even harder, when I saw my mini sandwich coming out of the kitchen… There’s no way that tiny slice of ham in between two miniature slices of bread could be that expensive. However, just before I was about to say something ignorant about the value of the meal, I bit into my mini jamon sandwich and… it was delicious… the salty jamón, the buttery manchego cheese, the earthy truffle oil on the crisp rustic bread… mmmm
I will probably come back when I am dieting. A small meal but a super tasty one, that treats the taste buds.

Been coming to this Jaleo for so many years for dates, birthdays, special occasions, and happy hours.
There is a new parking garage option right on Bethesda avenue and woodmont. It doesn’t accept coins but pay by credit card. No more quarters!
This Jaleo has redecorated many times and looks as good as the original 7^th street location. However, the DC location is a notch better, but this branch is very good too.
I wouldn’t mind just ordering a pitcher of sangria and just eat any ham, especially their Jamón ibérico de bellota Fermín, and put it on top of their Pan de cristal con tomate, and some manchego cheese.
But for their other tapas, their grilled hanger steak, scallops (just two per order), garlic shrimp, fried potatoes, calamari, cod and potato fritters are good.
Their happy hour specials are quite good and also believe they have late night happy hour too.
Good place in Bethesda to take out of town friends and family here and rarely ever disappoints.

We came to Bethesda and asked for the Chef to send whatever… He went all out sent us amazing dishes lomo bellota, presa ibericos, erizos and vieres en vivo, and amazing paellas for the paella festival. We didnt have to order a single thing. By far this has been the best post birthday lunch ever! Gracious Chef Miguel and server Melissa!
Not to forget the cava and wine they paired everything with.

I forgot how much I enjoyed Happy Hour Specials at Jaleos. Tappas are $ 4 and sangria is $ 5 until 7pm.
I always get the cheese fritters (chicken fritters are on the regular menu at full price), calamari, endives with goat cheese, and a hamburger slider. All are very satisfying. I thoroughly enjoy the sangria and the staff are great.

I’ve been to Jaleo once before but it was for dinner and even then I wasn’t impressed. This time a friend and I came here for Sunday brunch and my opinion hasn’t changed.
For drinks, we ordered grapefruit juice and café con leche. For some reason they decided to serve the grapefruit in a wine glass… which I guess seems more classy but also pretty expensive for the amount they gave us. For the amount I was getting, I might as well have ordered a glass of wine. The café con leche was also tiny but delicious.
For the brunch, we shared the huevos estrellados with ham and the arroz a la cubana. The huevos estrellaods was extremely salty to the point where it left your mouth dry The arroz a la cubana was alright but there was nothing special about it. Overall the prices were pretty expensive for brunch.
Although the food wasn’t great, the service was. Our waitress was very attentive and helpful when we asked questions about the menu.
If you’re going to pay these high prices for brunch, you might as well go to either El Masa 14 or El Centro where you have the unlimited option and the tapas are way better.

Happened to pop in during Bethesda Row Restaurant Week and Jaleo’s offer was 4 tapas selections and 1 dessert for $ 30. Pretty good deal and a few of the options caught my eye, so I decided to give it a try.
Here’s the run down:
Tuna tartare cone and salmon tartare cone — nice presentation and the cone had a nice crisp. Oddly, the salmon was too salty and the tuna under-​seasoned, maybe that’s why they’re paired together? They were also quite oily; the oil seeped through the cone and was all over my hand.
Endives, goat cheese, oranges and almonds — simple yet brilliant combination. However, it seemed like someone sloppily put it together and some endives had so much oil that in certain bites, it was a burst of oil (gross).
Traditional chicken fritters — the inside was surprisingly soft. After the first bite, I hesitated and wondered if it was undercooked. Strange texture and didn’t enjoy it.
Porklion with roasted onion and blue cheese — the best of the 4 «entrees», the sauce was a bit salty but well-​cooked dish.
Crunchy chocolate-​caramel mousse with coffee-​rum ice cream and cocoa nib — the mousse itself is just okay but when you scoop everything together, yum! The bottom seemed to be a ferrero rocher crust that was addictive.
Also want to mention that service was not very good. Understand that it was late in the evening and it’s important to efficiently clean-​up, but you still need to serve your customers! Had to ask for the check 3 times. Overall, disappointing meal, especially given chef Jose Andres’ fame in the greater DC area.

Quick trip to DC area for a client meeting and was able to fit in a nice dinner with my birthed who lives in Bethesda. He had been wanting to come back to Jaleo to try the menu again since it had been a couple of years.
Really fancy, modern décor with a Spanish twist but not overdone. Inliked the fact the tables had writing all over it like classy graffiti is what I would call it.
Jaleo is a tapas style restuarine so if you are not familiar with that style or don’t like to share than beware because sharing is what you do.
Right now they have a Monday special with all you can eat Paella for $ 25 per person and if you like sangria you can get unlimited for an additional $ 15. You choose a salad and dessert to go with the meal as well.
My brother and I opted to do the tapas since we were feeling a variety of tastes. We were both pretty hungry so opted to order 6 dishes first.
(I apologize ahead of time as the menu was in Spanish and I cannot for the life of me remember the names so will give you the English version)
First dish out were the bacon covered dates, which you cannot go wrong with anything wrapped in bacon but the saltiness of the bacon was a great complement to the sweetness of the date. Good portion for two with 6 coming on the plate.
Second dish that came out was the sautéed soinach with raisins. Ate this with some of the other dishes that came out later as a side and it was really flavorful and good.
Third dish we had was the rabbit confit. It came with two size able pieces with a tomato based sauce that was pretty yummy.
The 4 th dish that came out was by far our favorite as it was grilled calamari with squid ink and buttered rice. This dish was cooked perfectly and had this smoky char to it that made it so good.
5^th dish we had was the chorizo with potato purée. I have had a lot of chorizo but not made or tasted like this. Great spicy flavor to it and just the right amount of salt and the pure balanced out the whole dish.
The sixth dish that came out was the seared scallops with balsamic and some purée too. The presentation was beautiful and when it first came the balsamic seemed like it might overpower the scallop but with a bite of everything In one forkful it tasted delish!
So…I know I said we ordered 6 dishes but we decided we were still hungry and decided to throw in the quail to round off our meal. It came with one quail breast with sauce underneath. Quail was cooked really well and added the final kid of protein we needed to be full!
Be prepared to spend $$$ here but if you like tapas and trying a variety of small tastes for a good well rounded meal, this is definitely a place to try.