JUJU Spanish Gastrobar — Restaurant in Songshan District

While reluctant, I'm giving this place three stars with the reasons stated further down in my review.

I had high expectation of this visit given many glowing reviews on Google Maps.

The JuJu's Super Platter was worth four stars as the Iberico cold cuts, the Serrano ham, and the Manchego cheese were all quite flavorful. The "homemade" pate was decent. The bread, on the other hand, was ordinary and looked nowhere like the one shown in the menu photo.

The garlic shrimps were also above average as the shrimps were tender and the garlicky olive oil was complementary and appetizing.

The soup and the other dishes served that evening were not particularly memorable. The paella was below par as the shrimps were dry and the rice lacked flavor.

There were several aspects of my visit that dampened my enthusiasm for this place.

First of all, there are too many tables cramped into a small space. As a result, diners sitting at adjacent tables are literally within touching distance. It is not a pleasant setting to dine during the best of times, let alone during a pandemic.

Secondly, there were only two waiters serving the entire restaurants with thirty plus patrons throughout the evening. These two poor souls were too busy to provide good service even though they tried. We had to ask for water after having sat down and waited for thirty minutes. Throughout the evening, not once did the waiting staff come over to ask if we needed anything.

Last but not least, an order of fried chicken was never served yet the charge appeared on the bill. It was only corrected because my wife noticed the overcharge.

As such, I have mixed feeling about my visit. I'm not sure if I am motivated...

We went here specifically for the tapas, so we didn't end up ordering any mains. Of the tapas we ordered, the meatballs in creamy sauce and the broken eggs were both very flavorful and delicious. We ordered the fried chicken because there were so many glowing reviews for it, and while it wasn't bad, it was really nothing special and I don't think I would bother with it if I were to go again. The tapas that I was most excited about was the fried eggplant with hummus. I was expecting something delicate, with a thin batter coating that gives the soft eggplant centre a nice external crunch. What we got instead was very disappointing. It was in a thick, uneven batter coating that wasn't crisp. It was chewy and it overwhelmed the delicate taste of the eggplant, so much so that it all tasted rather flavorless. This dish had so much potential. Ah well. We also ordered the pork arepas. Again, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. The shredded pork in the arepas didn't taste like it had been seasoned well and was rather bland. The vegetable soup in jamon broth was quite nice and the flavors were lovely. Finally for dessert we ordered the Torrijas with ice cream. This was a glorified french toast that didn't taste like it had much cinnamon in it. It was nice enough but I probably wouldn't...

I couldn't not leave a more glowing review for this gem. Me and my partner had an amazing, relaxed date night here with wonderful service and absolutely divine food. The atmosphere of the dark painted walls, dim lights, tasteful music and outdoor seating are all so cozy, and the staff were all very friendly, attentive and professional - and the two Spanish chefs are very warm and fun to chat with! :) We got fried chicken, creamy cheesy meatballs with bread, steak salad, a shredded pork arepa and deep fried cinnamon bread slices with vanilla ice cream to end it all. Every dish was positively fantastic, generously portioned, and of superb quality- makes me miss Europe! The must orders for us were frankly everything we got minus the fried chicken (which is delicious, but everything else was more unique~). Next time we'll for sure get more arepas, the taro cheesecake and the seafood paella. Such a great choice for dinner, drinks and a good mood.

P.s. the owner Pablo was very friendly and informed us that they have a newly opened bar downstairs that specializes in gin cocktails (our favorite!) With live jazz shows on Fridays and Saturdays starting 10pm! :) Called "Jinbar"~ definitely going to try that...