Jaleo — Restaurant in Paradise

Our party of four did the $125 Jose's Way Tasting Menu and three people did the Jose's Way wine pairing, an ADDITIONAL $125 per person. To say we were sorely disappointed would be an understatement.

The portions are small like other reviewers mentioned but the small plate sizes can usually be made up by paying for the tasting menu and getting a larger quantity of dishes, right? Apparently not here. In total, I think we received something like 9 dishes and even then, the variety and execution were confusing and disjointed.

Our appetizer plate involved a tomato-olive oil bread plate but the waiter placed a cheese board onto our table, then proceeded to come back and take it to another table. We then had an endive dish with goat cheese that was good, two chicken and cheese croquettes each, a single small stuffed pepper each, a couple plates of tuna-beet dip, and two sets of single-bite chip cones that, while delicious, were all miniscule and small.

They then completely missed giving us the jamon iberico item and only realized it when we said something! We were going to be denied probably the singular most important item from the menu, purely due to the inattentiveness of the staff.

After this, main entree included two small plates of cold paella rather than delivering the dish in a shared pan, the typical convention. Really bizarre and lacking the typical flair and flash of a good paella.

Another oddity was them delivering us a pan of shrimp (which was admittedly tasty), asking if we were interested in any more breadsticks to dip with, and then charging us for the extra bread. In the end, it was just a couple of extra bucks but it was honestly just surprising that they did charge us, considering the state of the rest of the meal.

For the wine pairing, the red they gave the group as part of the entree portion was absolutely FILLED with sediment. One of our party member's glasses looked like it had the remnants of a few crushed grapes at the bottom, while the others' looked like they had one or two. Not what you would expect from an establishment like this. Take the extra step and decant your expensive wines.

Finally, there was just an overall lack of polish that you would expect from an expensive dining experience. I ordered a cocktail and they completely forgot about it, only realizing their mistake when I asked 20 minutes later. I never once got asked if I wanted another cocktail. Our plates never got changed until we asked. Their water delivery was slow and irregularly paced. Once they brought out the late jamon, they did not replace our plates and silverware so we had to ask for dining utensils to eat our very expensive ham. We literally just sat there waiting for things to eat with and the manager came over and gave us the plates and utensils. Afterwards, our waiter asked us if we wanted new plates for dessert - why would we want to eat dessert with the same plate that we just ate ham with?

All-in-all, it was an extremely disappointing display and likely means that we will never return to Jaleo. One member of our party had been to Jaleo in Chicago and Washington DC before and had great experiences but there is an enormous difference in quality between what he had experienced (and raved about) at the other locations and the restaurant at the Cosmo.

If you're looking for a tasting menu and want a restaurant that's actually worth your hard-earned time and money, go to Zuma some 100 feet away. Much better...

Everything about our dinner at Jaleo was beyond outstanding. We came for my husbands birthday, and we were able to get a last minute reservation spot on OpenTable. I was running very behind on this day as we had to call to change the reservation time and they were very easy to accommodate. We even ran into some traffic on the way and called, worried that we wouldn't make our reservation time and they said it'd be no worries and they would still keep our table. Amazing customer service and we didn't even get there yet!

The restaurant is located next to the Boulevard Tower elevators in the Cosmopolitan. It's a big restaurant, very crowded on a Friday night.

Our server was Josue. He was very attentive, had great recommendations, and had an overall good attitude. We loved him as our server!

To drink, my husband got a Cuba Libre which came with a full bottle of Mexican Coke. Awesome!!! I got a virgin mojito (pregnant at the time) and it was delish.

We ordered a bunch of plates at once, and Josue spaced them out for us so we're not bombarded with everything together.

I didn't take any photos of the food this time because I wanted to focus on my hubby and enjoying his birthday. But here's what we ordered:

Started with the pan de cristal con tomate. The bread had a wonderful crispy on the outside but soft on the inside texture, the tomato spread was amazing. Tasted heavy on olive oil, still a great beginning. Should've saved some of this bread for the meats to come!

Next we had the croquetas de pollo which was served in a cute chicken shaped plate. There were 5 croquetas and they were crunchy on the outside and the filling was soooo satisfying. It was a warm soft chicken filling and they were just perfect.

The gambas al ajillo came next, the item that everyone seems to love! The shrimp were good, 8 total pieces, but what made this plate perfect was the garlic oil at the bottom. Please do yourself a favor and get extra bread with this because you will want to soak it in the oil!! Definitely a star dish.

We went with two of the carnes, the chorizo casero and the carne asada. The chorizo came as 6 slices of chorizo on top of an olive oil potato purée and cider sauce. You must have the chorizo with the purée and sauce in one bite! Flavors together are just beautiful. I absolutely loved the carne asada. We ordered it medium and received it medium well, which was fine because the meat was super tender, and you must have a bite with a piece of the piquillo peppers under it. So amazing.

We finished our small plates experience by sharing one of the mini pepitos de ibérico. It's tiny but packs a ton of flavor. The ibérico bacon really adds a great taste to it.

For dessert, Josue recommended the flan al estilo con espuma de crema catalana. My husband isn't a flan person but absolutely LOVED this. The flan itself was more creamy instead of gelatinous. It came with this orange flavored whipped cream that made it just perfect.

Everything from start to finish here was fantastic. We were so happy with the food and service. My husband loved his pick for his birthday dinner. I just wish we could've thanked Chef José...

If you visit Las Vegas, book a table in advance or as soon as you are in the city and have the best Tapas ever in the beautiful restaurant Jaleo by Chef Jose Andres. Located at The Cosmopolitan, not only will you have a sampler of the most authentic Spanish cuisine, including tapas, paella, and an incredible sangria but also a memorable experience as the service is as fresh and authentic as the ingredients. The menu is full of incredible options that are made for sharing. We ordered the Sangria de Vino Tinto (Red wine) and it was amazing, so we ordered another pitcher. In our party of three, we decided to share multiple tapas: Coca escalivada, a crispy-Catalan-style bread dish that is a reminder of the sincerity of the Spanish cuisine, centuries of creativity and resourcefulness in every bite. Special mention for these staplers of the Iberian cuisine: buñuelos de bacalao (fried codfish fritters), patatas bravas (spicy potatoes) and Jamon Iberico de bellota (the top-one cured ham in the world). As Canadian visitors coming from the French-speaking province of Quebec, we never expected to have anything to say about their cheeses but we were totally surprised. JALEO's Spanish raw-cow milk cheese is something to talk about. You need to taste their Queso Massimo del Rey Silo (cured during 4 months). Needless to say that we re-ordered many of these incredible tapas. When the dessert time arrived we were reluctant if we would be able to finish it. When our very professional and charismatic waiter described their Arroz con Leche and their Helados we were down for a little sugar to end the night. The authenticity of the flavors made us suddenly feel as if we were eating from a Spanish grandmother’s kitchen pantry directly from a still-warm Pyrex. In conclusion, after visiting JALEO, having a conversation with one of its employees, enjoying the quality of their ingredients and receiving the warmest and authentic service you will become a fan of this very outspoken and social media chef. Gracias,...