Jaleo — Restaurant in Lake Buena Vista

Little background. Raised in Miami where Paella can be found easily and every cuban bakery has ham croquette.

We often visit Epcot festivals where they have paella frequently and it's passible. So when dfbguide was hyping up the paella here we figured hey for mothers day weekend let's take a friend driving up from Miami to have some "recipe handed down from my father" paella; her favorite.

We made a reservation for noon. When we arrived the restaurant was half empty on a Saturday. Atmosphere is great. Interior decor design was well executed. I wish I would have been there when they asked for the mounted bull head with a lucha libre mask from the designer to see their face.

We had someone in the party who prefers chicken breast so we asked the waitress because we would have steered her over to something else if there was no chance for her to get a piece of breast in the chicken paella. We we assured it was white meat.

We ordered some ham croquettes; something familiar to start off. A benchmark to see where we are heading.

Croquettes came and they must be house made. The inside consistency is that of a thick sticky paste. I'm use to something not ground down to that level of fluidity. The flavor was good, but it was peanut butter consistency inside. I have had a ton of croquettes in my life, I have never had it ground down that far. The breading was OK, but it wasn't that toasty shell to complement the ground ham inside. The peanut butter consistency is throwing the taste buds off. Taste ham croquette, but my tongue only feels peanut butter.

Ordered a pitcher of sangria. Use to sangria with some fruit cocktail at the bottom to quell the dryness of the wine and impart a fruity flavor to it. Only fruit was some citrus, so it did dial down the dryness of the wine, but not enough to light that familiar flavor memory of sangria. It could be easily mistaken for a glass of red wine with an orange wedge floating in there if you close your eyes.

Paella arrived. We were braced for the 45 minute wait for the house specialty but it came out quicker, maybe 20 minutes 30 tops. Scooped some out for each of us and prepared to be wowed. Hmm, first taste I got was cast iron seasoning. Ok maybe I hit a bad spot, another bite. Oh crap I just dragged these people here for glorified chicken and yellow rice. 3/4 of the way through I had to ask everyone. Didn't give my opinion, asked my daughter, she would not give hers. Asked the pickiest one of the group she couldn't find any words. Arroz con Pollo, and not even a good version of it. It had a light smokey flavor hovering throughout which tasted like something from the cast iron pan seasoning. Some flavor poked through, but when it did it was just ok arroz con pollo. Hard to believe Epcot paella was rating higher. I've had some bad examples of it, but at least there was always flavor from ingredients, never the cooking utensils it was cooked in. It was all chicken thigh too, so either our waitress is not familiar with the menu or our 4 person pan had zero white meat. I expected the juciest part of the chicken to be used, but our guest hoping for chicken breast wasn't going to get any and was now stuck with it.

Later we dissected the receipt. For the people who clutch the pearls at paying 5 bucks for a 16oz bottle of coke at the parks, you will pay $8 for what seems to be a 12oz bottle of sprite here - no alcohol. We payed $16 for 2 sprites. Per glass the sangria pitcher was actually a better deal. Wife paid $5 for a "bottle" of diet coke. For $16 at least they bring 2 glass bottles to your table. So I spent the rest of the weekend apologizing for setting their expectations high, Jaleo landed at the bottom of all the restaurants we have eaten at in Disney Springs, and dfbguide folks...

I’ve got to give it up to Jaleo. Every time we go there we have a fantastic meal. We usually go with family and order off of the regular menu. However, on this occasion it was just me & my husband so we opted for the tasting menu. We did the less expensive one but added on the jamón ibérico (this is an absolute must). Each course was thoughtfully prepared and presented strategically. They start with traditions you’d normally have as appetizers like charcuterie & crudos then move you on to some like small plates, some heavier dishes, and some meat courses. The first couple courses were some of my favorites. The ibérico add on, pan con tomato with manchego & serrano, the cones (filled with tartare & salmon roe this was one of my absolute favorite bites highly recommended), and a liquid olive purée of some kind which was really fun. Following that we had some lighter small plates the octopus ceviche & the endive cups with fresh goat cheese & oranges. Both of these were refreshing & light but the octopus was our favorite. Following this we had the croquetas, papas bravas, and stuffed piquillo peppers. While we always have the croquetas when we come (someone at the table always wants them!) I am not the biggest fan of this prep. It’s very heavy on the creamy bechamel but otherwise doesn’t impart a ton of flavor. I get why they are a hit but not my favorite. Patatas bravas are always good albeit a simple dish you can go wrong. I liked the piquillo peppers it’s a very standard Spanish tapa you’d find anywhere in Spain. My husband isn’t crazy about the texture but I like it! Following that we enjoyed the mussels, giant prawns, and steak tapas. The mussels were a miss the first time around they were undercooked and many were closed. The manager rectified it and brought us new ones. The sauce! Herbaceous, savory, and delicious! It was one of our favorite flavors of the night. Really delicious! The head on prawns were excellent as well. Fresh seafood flavor & attention to the entire shrimp to make it a nice composed plate. The steak tapa we’ve had before and the flavors are phenomenal. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare also. After this we transitioned to dessert & we had the flan. You can’t go wrong with flan & my husband felt this one was especially delicious. It was a great dining experience and definitely worth the price. The way it’s coursed it’s not just dinner it’s a dining experience. It’s a large amount of food but honestly perfect for us because we really like to taste everything & savor all the different parts of a menu. The only thing that didn’t make this experience perfect was the service. It wasn’t our servers fault because it looked like they had her pick up tables all around the restaurant (we were eating late & she was probably the closer). But she was unable to be on top of us. Twice we had to flag down a manager to place a drink order. We also had to get up and get a manager to return the mussels. In addition I had to remind them of my husbands birthday. It seemed like there was a lot of managers physically around but not really checking in on the tables or assisting the servers. Just a small complaint though as regardless of the service we will...

We made reservations on the patio, far in advance. The “experience” reservation was an option at that time but I booked a regular reservation because it allowed me to and I wanted to order off of the regular menu. When we arrived we were made to wear a paper wrist band and told the tasting experience was our only option. We went with it anyway, expecting something nice and was truly looking forward to it despite it not being our first choice. Our sever was very nice and this review in no way reflects him. The food however was not good. Each course was very underwhelming- the cured dried meat with the plain crouton type bread pieces was flavorless. The endive dish was also lacking in flavor and that had to be the only thing I somewhat liked. The fried croquettes and fritters were doughy and undercooked in the middle and we did not eat them. The pizza type bread with tomato sauce and sliced cold cheese on the side might have been good but was cold- and under seasoned. We never ate anything else because our silverware and plates were cleared and more food was dropped off by a runner, who didn’t notice that the table had been cleared. That dish, shrimp, looked like the cheap small frozen shrimp you get at the grocery store. Never tried it. By the time we were approached again, it was surely cold. My second glass of wine never arrived. At this point we were done with it- Our server boxed the shrimp up and I believe something else that was supposed to follow. We didn’t want it but took it, our server really was wonderful and he truly seemed to feel bad about it. HERE’S THE REASON WHY I THREW EVERYING IN THE GARBAGE AS SOON AS WE LEFT. My fiancé used the restroom and came back to the table and said that there was mold growing in the soap dish. I kind of blew it off, not realizing that it was anything to be of note. On our way out, I used the women’s restroom. Now when I say, I have NEVER seen a more disgusting bathroom, I am not even kidding. This sink area was shocking- I’ll attach pictures if I can. The soap dish in the women’s room had something growing in it for sure. The pedestal sink wasn’t attached to the floor and the hole for the pipe that was supposed to be going to it was exposed. I suppose that they rigged it another way, but it was all exposed and disgusting. Words can’t really express this situation that was happening there. There’s no way anyone had cleaned that bathroom in probably a year. So we tossed the to go food in the wastebasket outside of the restaurant. We did not ask for a discount, and our server did take off one of the “meals” (50% off) and the glass of wine that I did get. Again, none of this was his fault. I do understand that this is a new thing with them having to deal with the drone show and all but the food was a joke- it would have been around $250 total for two people with 2, maybe 3 drinks. Don’t waste your money. I honestly can’t believe it as I was really excited about...