Jalao NYC

I really enjoyed the food but had mixed feelings about Jalao and I’ll explain why…

Service wise: 2.5-3 out of 5 stars. Need to do better! We were a party of 6, so of course we made a reservation in advance. We had to change it cause we were supposed to be more and then some people cancelled at the last minute. When we arrived they sat us down pretty quick, the table was uncomfortable for the six of us so we asked to be moved. The person who appeared to be the manager/supervisor, his name Corporan, gave the green light, so that was done pretty quick as well.

So, we waited no time to be seated, at 6pm exactly we were sat down, at around 6:10 they changed us to another table. We had to wait until 6:35pm for the waitress to finally come to our table and take the orders. They had not even served water and we were there for 35 minutes already. I can’t really say how long they took to bring our food or everything else but we calculated a rough 30 to 45 minutes for every course, which was a really long time. We stood up from the table to leave the restaurant exactly at 9:07pm. So that was 3 hours in the restaurant, being that said, if you’re trying to get something to eat and are mindful of time or in a rush, maybe should find another restaurant option. If you don’t mind being at the restaurant for a really long time, then this is the place for you.

I was referred to this restaurant by a friend who also joined me yesterday. She stated the service was very different the first time she came, much faster and far way better. There were all waitresses yesterday, when she visited before there were all waiters, so maybe there’s a difference in service depending on the staff. She also mentioned if she had not visited before and only yesterday, she wouldn’t have referred us to come but she knew they have more potential than they showed yesterday, which was a bummer for us visiting for first time.

Food wise, they deserve 5 stars. We ordered 3 Croquetas de Chivo, Chicharron and Guacamole for starters. All appetizers were delicious and well prepared! Most of the table had >>Chivo y Chenchen<< for main dish, everyone LOVED it, specially the Chenchen. I had never had chenchen before, which is corn grits according, and it blew my mind!!! I had the >>Paila Jalao<<. It was also extremely tasteful, all the meats were prepared to perfection. The chicharron was crunchy and not too greasy, the churrasco was exactly the term I asked for, the sausages were just perfect!! And there was so much food I had to share with two other people. My mom had >>Sancocho<<, which she loved!! She stated some restaurants make greasy* sancocho, but this was not the case, and it was perfect for the weather as well!!! Delicious and well prepared with all the components Sancocho should have! My bf’s mom had >>Costillas Ñoñas<<, she really enjoyed it and also had to share because it was so much food. Out of all the plates the table ordered, the costillas were the flavorless one, in my opinion.

For dessert we had a few >>5 Leches<< and >>Majarete<<. They were both very good and interesting. We never found out what the five leches were but they were perfectly paired and sweet but not overpowering sweet, which was perfect!! The Majarete was like a Majarete brûlée, which in my opinion is an incredible twist for those who like classic dishes with an upgrade!!! Loved it!!

We had a few courtesy drinks from our waitress Maria, she had a strong personality throughout the whole night, I rather say strong because we were not sure whether she was going through something or that was her actual personality. The whole table felt a little uncomfortable a few times and we were not sure what was happening. But I guess giving out courtesy drinks made her feel like it would make our experience better, which did not.

I believe the whole Jalao experience will be different to everyone depending on who’s working the day they visit and the waiter/waitress that serves them.