Jalao — Restaurant in Santo Domingo

I do not know where to start, since an experience such as this one has never happened to us. So here we go. My wife and I decided to go to Zona Colonial. We have been in the country for a couple of days and wanted to return to this place since we have been here in the past. We sat down near the statue located at the center of the plaza, in front of the cathedral. After approximately 15 or 20 minutes of seeing people walk by and taking some pictures, we decided to head to the entrance, since we saw that enough people had left the restaurant and probably wouldn't be as busy (today was mother's day in the DR). So I walked by the front chairs and reached the main door, a young lady at the door (most likely the host) didn't say anything, so I proceeded to ask for a table in Spanish. Here is the kicker: today was a hot day; I decided to wear jeans and a t-shirt; and my wife had a nice red blouse with long sleeve, blue jeans, and convers. The young lady proceeded to look up and down and immediately said that they were "full". I don't know about you guys, but in the US when a restaurant is full and you don't need a reservation, they usually ask if you want to wait and tell you more or less how long it will take. This young lady didn't say anything. We said "ok" and decided to leave. I saw another couple entering the building as we made our way out. The lady was wearing a dress and the guy had a dress shirt. They got in, so I guess it wasn't full for them. We literally felt completely profiled for some reason. I didn't say anything to my wife right away, since I thought maybe I noticed something that wasn't there. But my wife simply said, "I think we were profiled." I replied, "did you notice the same thing?" She returned, "yeap". I could have asked to speak with the manager, but I have class and simply don't bring my money where we are not welcomed.

I have never been though something like this. I wasn't expecting this in the DR, where the majority is mixed and wear all type of clothing. Once again, we have been here in the past, but at that time I guess we had something "nicer" on. I guess we will never return to this place and would not recommend it to anyone. We ended up going to a place that looked wayyyy fancier few steps down the same street. It is called Buche Perico. It was expensive (2,000 pesos per person), but way nicer. Anyways: just be careful with what you wear depending on the color...

The food wasn't all that good, although the entertainment and music was great and fun! I even got pulled to dance a little myself. The drinks are pretty good and the bartenders are friendly.

I went with my sister and the service we received was actually terrible. We sat on the second level looking down and not only did they make us wait 30 minutes before we could order, but once we got our food no one asked us if we needed anything else for about an hour. We needed things but I ended up going down to the bar and getting it myself. There was some sort of birthday going on in the back section upstairs and a group of giddy girls wouldn't stop screaming and yelping. This isn't the restaurant's fault, but they could have said something about it, it was annoying and rude. Everyone around us seemed annoyed. When my sis and I were finally ready to leave we stopped someone and asked him for a to-go plate. He instead fetched the waiter assigned to our table and we had to ask him for a box again. Well, they pack it for you so he took our food to box it up in the back... but he didn't return for over a half hour. I stopped multiple waiters and asked them about the box. All of them "went to the kitchen and investigated" but no one got back to us. After waiting over 20 additional minutes I decided to go down and try to find someone in charge. I asked the bartender and he got one of the managers for me, who in turn said he didn't manage the waiters so he got a different manager. I told him what was going on and that I didn't even want the food anymore, I just wanted to pay and leave. He went to the kitchen and within 30 seconds returned with my food already packed up and the check. Apparently it was just sitting there. As I was paying, the boy who was our waiter showed up and apologized to us saying he "forgot". That's nice. I asked the manager if he could do anything for us and he said no.

I wanted really badly not to leave him a tip, but I did anyway, albeit it was under 10%. I gave the bartender a tip even though I didn't actually get anything from the bar.

All in all, I wouldn't return here and I would never suggest...

I have to start off by saying that the cocktail menu needs work.A lot of sugary drinks and almost everything has coconut flavor rum.The mojitos were tasty but everything else was overly sweet and not balanced. The server did000 not offer water or made some recommendations for first timers,Didnt make the time to find out what we like.I felt we were at a assembly line.He missed the chance to upsale(this is costing the company revenue Btw.) especially since I like good food and drinks.Didnt offer items to share.We had to ask for glassware and plates to be cleared after we were done,items were beginning to accumulate.the main course hit the table and we were not marked properly. We had steak and ribs and were not given steak knives. Waited 10 minutes to give them the benefit of the doubt and again had to ask for the proper silverware. Ok,now food.The sauce for the churasco was overly salty.the meat was well cook but the plantains were lukewarm at best.The octopus ceviche was passable, lacked flavor but the octopus itself was not chewy like gum.i have it 5 out of 10,needs work.On the flip side,the place is beautiful, looks great and I love the decor and ambiance. Parking is next to impossible and the closest parking lot is 2 blocks away so not that bad,for 100 pesos we could park until the next day.thats a win.Prices are not $$$ out of $$$$ so bring some money.Would I come back here to eat.No.needs a lot of work especially for such a tourist area.Save your money and go...