Jajaja Mexicana — Restaurant in New York

I’m going to be a bit stingy here and only give it one star less than their other locations merely because the vibe from the other locations elevates them and their cocktails are freshly made there.

This particular location is tucked inside of the Whole Foods in the Manhattan West block. And although it lays within the super bright and slightly sterile grocery store aesthetic, it has some of the best vegan food I’ve had so far. And this is coming from someone who lives on the west coast! (Full disclosure I am not a vegan though for some reason I love trying out vegan spots just to see if they’re any good)

Their Crispy Pescado tacos are some of the best tacos I’ve ever had. PERIOD. The base is squash but combined with the other flavors and sauce, they are chef’s kiss delicious. I would order a dozen in a heart beat. Their Mezcal Mushroom tacos on the other hand lacked in flavor. They had some sauce and salsa but the mushies themselves didn’t seem to have much flavor which was unfortunate but still tasty with their handmade tortillas. My sister had the Buffalo Pollo Burrito, which was hefty in size and flavor. I’m not a fan of buffalo anything but this burrito was tasty.

Their other locations offer cocktails and luckily so did this spot, albeit premixed. I had a Lemon Ginger RX Margarita that was a bit too spicy on the gingery side while my sis had the Blackberry Cooler Vodka cocktail that was well balanced.

We finished it all off with some red velvet style cheesecake, “Velvet Rojo Pie”, that was equally decadent and creamy.

There’s a few locations about Manhattan and Brooklyn so there’s plenty of chances to step into one of these delicious hotspots to...

Beware: it’s vegan. The menu doesn’t call out that any “meat” options are fake meat.

Edit: based on restaurant response, adding more detail.

While the service was fine, the atmosphere I gave only 3/5 because it’s in a Whole Foods. It’s a nice enough space though, so upon reflection I did give it 5 stars. It was convenient and clean.

I understand and appreciate that you didn’t feel the need to call extra attention to the fact that the food is vegan. However, some vegan food is highly processed (especially vegan ‘meat’ options) and I know that it doesn’t agree with my stomach. I also don’t enjoy vegan ‘cheese’ as it is just not as delicious. I was unpleasantly surprised when I ate the food to find out it was not animal-based. While there is a line about “plant-based” buried on the website, I did feel misled and found myself choosing between an upset stomach or being out $25 for my meal after tax and tip once I realized I’d been duped. I chose the upset stomach, hoping it might not happen in the end. It did, however, and I felt sick for the rest of the afternoon. I could have avoided it altogether had I known what I was ordering.

The queso was also so watery and flavorless I actually though something was wrong with the one I got. When I brought it to the counter to ask if I had received the wrong item, they informed me it was “coconut cheese,” which explained the consistency and lack of taste. They were polite and took the item back and provided a refund.

Overall, I had a bad experience with the food that I would not have had if I had know it did not contain animal products. I simply would have...

Initially hard to find as I wasn't expecting it to be inside wholefoods. It is located in the food court to the left hand side if you are in the store.

The food court itself is open, bright, spacious with a variety of seating. The is also outdoor seating.

The server was welcoming and friendly. I ordered based on the servers recommendation which was the churizo burrito 🌯. Being a lover of elote 🌽 I had to try the Mexican Street corn and to wash it all down, I ordered the almond horchata.

I was given a pager and found somewhere to sit. The food was ready in less than 10 mins.

The corn was chargrilled and cooked perfectly so the corn fell off the cob easily. The flavour was evenly distributed and there was also a good bite to the sprinkle. The only criticism is that it lacked heat and spice.

The burrito was beautifully presented and definitely had an air of Mexico to it! The sauces not only had presentational value but also helped it from being a dry double carb dish! The rice was well flavoured and the churizo had a subtle but different taste. The churizo pieces were small in nature but still stood out from the rice.

The horchata had a hint of almond but it wasn't perhaps obvious in the flavour. What was noticeable is that it was freshly made but there was far too much ground up cinnamon with has the tenancy to feel dry and stick in your mouth.

Overall, it was a great place for a quick vegan bite but not as authentic as a true...