Jalapeno

Was looking for a brunch place between my apartment and the National History Museum and came across this place. Let me start by saying if you’re looking for a relatively inexpensive brunch place with bottomless drinks, then it’s decent.
However, the food isn’t the greatest. I ordered huevos a la mexicana and they were bland, dry, and just tasted like average food. The black beans that came with it were decent, and the potatoes weren’t bad, but in a city full of restaurants, there are so many better places to choose from.
We didn’t get any drinks, just coffee, but our waiter did tell us that we could switch to a brunch beverage if we wanted to, after we were done the coffee. I thought that was pretty cool.

I went here for a bottomless brunch and it was phenomenal! The mimosas kept coming, the food came out quickly and not to mention it was delicious! The menu was so appetizing that I ultimately let the waiter decide what I order and I loved it! It was a little cold in this restaurant, but I did go on a cold rainy day.
Last thing, did I mention that this all for less than $ 20!!! I want to keep this as my own little secret, but I believe in good karma and just had to share the news. Last bit, the waiters were really nice and they even gave us one extra round of mimosas after they cleared our plates. Definitely left a nice well deserved tip!

Hmm… so much to say, but allow me to summarize with this: I wouldn’t frequent this place if they were handing out free burritos during an apocalypse world war.
It all started with the «5 minute» wait that the sluttily dressed hostesses quoted when we walked in. 45 mins later, we got our table and a half ass apology regarding the wait.
Next was the limitless menu offerings which were conveniently unavailable during our visit. Then there was the not-​so-​clever up sell from a fish burrito to a mega burrito (a concoction that offered no shellfish). Then the fact that they catered to take out orders and we were left abruptly waiting for 1 ½ hours for our food.
Do yourself a favor, go to key foods and purchase Raman noodles for the evening as your sure to have a better dining experience in your apartment alone with your cat.
Also it’s November and the door is wide open. Summer is over, please get a clue!!!

Jalapeño is around the corner from my apartment, and they serve up pretty good, reasonably-​priced food in a neighborhood where good, mid-​priced grub is hard to come by.
I really like the chips & salsa — they bring two different types of salsa, one smoky & hotter, one mild. They will keep bringing them until you are no longer hungry at all, so be careful.
Guacamole is pretty good. Sangria is yummy.
Enchiladas I did not care for at all — the corn tortillas are not very good and the sauce is blah.
Michoacanas tacos and entrée are very good, also carnitas burrito is delish. They know pork here.
The chile relleno is good too — interesting veggie dish that is much fresher than traditional rellenos.
Service is decent — I have visited about 8 – 10 times with no bad experiences other than maybe a slower than estimated seating time. There is a very small bar area you can hang out in if there is space for you.

It was fine. I went for lunch. It’s an ok relatively inexpensive lunch. The staff was really nice though.
Nothing special, really.

Had lunch with my sister here yesterday, and we had an awesome time, the servers were awesome, food tasted awesome, the drinks were a lil strong but we didn’t mind. I would tell people about this place.

Ok. So we stumbled in because my boyfriend and I had some time to kill before a movie, and I wanted a beer, So as we walked we saw Jalapeño. We literally stopped here because it was down the block from the movie theater and it had a bar.
We walked in and said we only really wanted beers, I wanted to sit outside, but they sat us inside at the bar anyway, I let it go though because I did say we only wanted a beer. However, the bar was tiny, and I had waiters next to me the whole night calling drink orders, which was a bit annoying.
We got out beers, which were very cold (always a plus, you have no idea how many times I’ve had warm beer at a place), and the bartender put some chips and 2 different kinds of salsa, one hot and one mild, I REALLY liked the hot one.
We also got the chipotle hot wings as a appetizer, my boyfriend asked for the sauce on the side because he wasn’t sure how hot they’d be. I thought it turned out to be a good idea, because chipotle can be overwhelming sometimes. But these wings were so good! they were still crunchy because there was no sauce on them, and the chipotle sauce was really good. They don’t have any bleu cheese though.
And at the end of our meal the bartender gave us a complimentary apricot danish which was pretty good and nice of them.
The bartender was attentive, without being intrusive which is difficult for such a small space,
However, i wouldn’t try and get to fancy with your drinks, the bartender didn’t seem to know how to make an extra dry martini. Stick to beers, margaritas, and Sangria (they had a pitcher on the bar, it looked good, but I didn’t try it).

I put just a star because I couldnt do worse.
I went there for lunch during the weekend and I had a table inside near the stairs.
Never again. So many people came un and down during our lunch and I had to move all the time.
Food was so so. Management and also the manager was terrible (whose was yelling to their waiters for something that honestly I didnt understand). I felt also awkward when was time to pay. Price isnt so bad (which means good price for a badish food).
The only good thing was the service. Those guys are fast and very warm.
In two words? NEVER AGAIN.

The blandest Mexican food ever. Came here with my in-​laws who, due to being Scottish and not being exposed to Mexican food often, thought it was fabulous. I had the steak tacos which were nicely seasoned but gristly and were simply steak and tortillas with a creamy avocado sauce on the side. No toppings. Nothing. So odd. They do chips & dips rather than offering a pico de gallo or salsa. Good, but again odd.
We were crammed into a corner near the top of the stairs. They must have a prep kitchen downstairs as my father-​in-​law had to duck every couple minutes as things were brought up or taken down the stairs. Not conducive to a nice meal.
It wasn’t terrrible. But it wasn’t anything I’d give a 2^nd try, either.

Checked in for a free sangria! Free chips and salsa, tasty burrito. nice find on the UWS

Solid Food.
The Good:
Their Pork shank was AMAZING.
Fish tacos were well done. Perfectly fried talapia.
The Bad:
Ceviche was mediocre
Guacamole was mediocre.
Everything else was decent and well executed.
Overall a suprisingly great find on the UWS.

Fantastic lunch specials for about $ 10 bucks.
I got the «baja» tilapia, which was fried tilapia drizzled with spicy aioli. All the entrees came with a hefty portion of rice and beans with salsa. Yum!
Service was good, and they didn’t rush us out even though there ended up being quite a wait during the lunchtime rush.
Check into Unilocal for a free glass of sangria!

I didn’t love the food, so typically I would give this an A-​OK 3 stars, but here some peeves that made it to two stars.
First, I get it, tiny square footage of a restaurant is bound to have a cozy, elbow your neighbor feel. So typically, this would add flavor to a small mexican spot. In our case, however, with oversized dishes and waitress spilling drinks on you, this was definitely a failure.
Second, oh yes, the waitress managed to spill a nice red wine sangria on my friend’s silk dress. She was quick to offer some seltzer, but it was too late. Things happen, but this just added to the rest of the night’s minuses.
Third, the guacamole. This was its own category of failure. First, it was served in one of those huge black heavy bowls in which the guacamole is actually supposed to be mixed and served fresh. Well it wasn’t. A second after we ordered we get the huge black heavy bowl with a splash of green goo (the did not have time to make it fresh) with some pieces of tomato served on top, to make it look just made and fresh?! And by splash of green goo, I mean something slightly more than a tablespoon. This also came with a tiny dish of chillied chips.
Fourth, and the most mind boggling. Why is it called Jalapeño? Looking around and at the menu there weren’t that many dishes, if any, that included jalapeño. Even the guacamole chips were «chillis.»
Fifth, my friend asked what kind of cheese is in the cheese enchilada. Answer: Shredded. My friend asks again, yes, shredded but what is the name of the cheese. Waitress, perplexed, again answers shredded but then looks like she has a brilliant idea and says its like manchego. (We’re in a mexican restaurant, not a tapas bar). As we look perplexed at her she finally decides to say that she’ll ask the chef. The final answer was monterey cheese. You be the judge of this.
Sixth, the tres leches dessert. Do not order it. That’s all.
So you say, wow they messed up in a lot of ways, this may even deserve just a 1 star rating. Well, I’m hopeful that most of these things can actually be fixed (may be not the square footage or the name) and I think they can do it.

Great neighborhood with tons of worthy eats! Too bad Jalapeño is not one of them. Not horrible, but definitely not good enough for me to go back. Pretty tiny space inside, but I still give the décor a thumbs up. That’s probably what got us in the door.
Complementary chips/​salsa were ok and guac was nothing to rave about. I was looking forward to Tilapia Veracruzano, but it was a watery mess. I’m almost certain it had been frozen and recently thawed. Should have gone with the shrimp but changed my mind at the last second! My vegetarian friend said the chile relleno was average compared to those he’s had elsewhere.
Sangria was good, probably the best part of the meal!

It was a hot day and we just wanted some really good food. This place was just okay …
The Pabana Rita and Blanco Mojito were a little weak, but okay. The Guacamole was very bland.
Chicken fajitas were quite good and our grandson enjoyed his Cheese Quesadilla. Other entrees were Pollo Enchiladas, Cheese Enchilada and Chimichanga with Mayan Chicken. Nothing stood out as exceptional.
Service was excellent and we will try it again in the future.

Food’s alright, but not that great.
The only thing I really enjoyed here was the nice outdoor seating since I was able to bring my pup.
What lured us in was the AYCD brunch deal, but I wasn’t impressed with it. It felt more like a scam since it took forever to even get our drinks, and subsequent refills took a long time as well. Also other AYCD brunch places allow you to mix and match drinks, but this place makes you stick with the same drink throughout the meal.

I know there are a ton of restaurants in Manhattan, but I’m a creature of habit. If I find one I like, I go back. Such is the story with Jalapeño: a dinner spot where I always go with one friend in particular. It’s our spot.
I’ve tried most vegetarian items on the menu and have never been disappointed. Enchiladas, burritos, tacos, you name it. The ingredients are fresh and the food is, for the most part, hot. Service is a little slow at times: once you’ve gotten someone’s attention and asked for something it arrives quickly, but getting the attention and getting the meal takes a bit of time.
The inside is cozy, but outside is great for people watching and I prefer it if there is a table available. The drink selection is decent, the sangria is average. Overall a solid place, a good go-​to where you know will satisfy.

A 2.5. This place seemed good in theory, since it includes unlimited drinks for no extra charge (either prosecco, mimosa or bloody mary. If you don’t drink, you can get unlimited OJ, coffee or tea).
First of all, their service is slow, so the unlimited drinks get pretty slow, too. The mini cornbread they started us off with was cold, with cold butter on top (with thumb imprints). I got the huevos rancheros, which didn’t come with any sour cream/​guac like I’m used to, sigh. Actually, the waitress handed me a different plate and after a couple of minutes (good thing I didn’t eat it yet), she realized it was the wrong dish and gave it to the person who ordered it right away (er, at least pretend to give her a new one!).
My boo had the burrito and both dishes were just ‘eh. The prices were fair, however that’s still not enough to get us to come back here. The food really did seem like it was just reheated, and there’s a lack of authenticity.

2.5 stars.
We were walking down Columbus Avenue on a spur of the moment quest for dinner. Jalapeño was the first place we saw, it had margaritas, $ 12 enchiladas, and outdoor seating. Sold.
The staff was incredibly friendly and attentive, and it was really nice sitting outside. However, the food was horrendous! My margarita on the rocks tasted quite bitter, and not in the «oh wow there’s a lot of booze in here» way. I ordered the skirt steak enchiladas, which were just overcooked strips of meat inside 2 tortillas, microwaved with red sauce, and sprinkled with flecks of Mexican cheese. Enchiladas should be oozing with cheese and ladled with red sauce, not dry. There were rice and beans on the side, but nothing else (IE: sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce), that you usually see next to enchiladas. I feel bad giving it 2 stars since the staff really was great and we had a nice time sitting outside, but they have to get their kitchen together, seriously.

After a whole lot of walking up and down streets, looking at buildings and cabs, and drooling at the Apple Store nearby, I pointed at Jalapeño and determined that yes, we must consume here. Immediately. Hunger.
After a quick peek at the menu and another quick peek at Unilocal,we entered [despite the mixed Unilocal.] Mexican sounded splendiferous and I was craving a margarita.
The place certainly lived up to its mixed review reputation. Food was hit or miss, as were the drinks. Service was great.
And I elaborate, drinks to food:
Mango Margarita, rocks, no salt. For me. Not recommended. I feel like they added tequila to mango purée mix — it was thick and odd and confusing to drink.
So much for my margarita craving. After that, I went to Modelo Especial — always a good choice.
Azul Cielo. For my lady. Heavy on the blue, light on the pineapple. If you like to drink blue — sure. Good. Otherwise… eh. After that, she had a FREE glass of Sangria thanks to my Unilocalness and the check-​in coupon… now THAT was good. Worth coming back for.
Foodnoms:
Chips and Salsa — Chips were a little stale but both salsas were nice and spicy.
Pozole — Good chicken, nice spice, heavy on the broth, light on the chunk. Still, quite good though — but next time I would want to try the tortilla soup.
– Now for our main meals, we asked for recommendations. Our waiter did backflips over the mole sauce, and he was definitely right — I thought it was awesome. Too bad I ordered something without it.
Big mouth me got the mole recommendation and then asked him what his SUPER favorite thing is on the menu. That would be the Michoacanas, and I ordered it without much hesitation. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but it was a little too oil-​filled, perhaps the pork is flash fried for crunch before they served it, I don’t know. Oh well.
(my girlfriend had the mole de pollo, and I very much enjoyed the bites I stole. Highly recommend that dish, or anything with mole on it.)
So: Stick to the mole. Get mole on everything.
And sangria. Especially when Unilocal gives it to you for the price of… on the house.