Jakaru Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

The hospitality and service here is not a true reflection of the Paraguayan culture. The identity of the restaurant is confusing. Let me explain….

I was excited to try jakaru (which means, let’s eat in guaraní) because there are limited Paraguayan food options in New York/all the United States. Upon walking in, despite there being Paraguayan flags on the tables, it did not feel authentic. Looking through the menu, not a lot of Paraguayan options. It felt more Venezuelan; As there were more food options that represent Venezuela.

Paraguay is already under represented in the U.S. — it’s rare to find a Paraguayan restaurant, why make it a fusion with another country? We don’t eat arepas, what are huevos pericos??

The name of the restaurant, the flags, the Yerba mate and remedios yuyos being sold here is Paraguayan, but the majority of the food and...

I live in the neighborhood and since they are always advertising that they need clients to eat and drink I decided to give them a try. First of all, I called to place a pick up order and no one spoke English… thankfully I speak limited Spanish so I was able to say what I wanted. I was told that they had sopa de pollo however was given sopa de gallina…. Which has a different taste/texture. No one told me this, I found out once I got home. On top of that, they charged a non cash adjustment fee, and according to Section 518 of the General Business Law, this is ILLEGAL in New York! And then the person who took the payment for the food, Adriana, decided to give herself a $2.25 tip for a takeout order?? Since when is gratuity mandatory for takeout orders? Nevertheless, I see why they are begging for people to eat at their restaurant but I will not...

We waited about 40 min for our food. Which is bad enough. But I also waited about 35 min for my margarita, and my husband waited about 38 for his piña colada. Which is crazy for drinks at a bar that’s NOT busy. Moderate business at best.

Also, we ordered the tequeños, which were 5 for $10 on the menu. We got only two. Twenty minutes after we got our food (aka, an hour plus after walking into the restaurant) one of the waitresses/bartenders asked me if I wanted the 3 remaining tequeños that we didn’t get. I said no, because I didn’t want to waste another 45 minutes waiting for them. But when I got the check, I was unbelievably still charged FULL PRICE for the 2/5 tequeños that we got. Terrible service. Would...