JOTA AT MELIA — Restaurant in Ponce

Baleares was exactly the type of fine dining meal I’ve been looking for in Puerto Rico, the food was simply incredible. Our waitress was incredibly friendly and attentive, suggesting her favorite dishes and ensuring we always had everything we needed. We got the Trio de Crudes as an appetizer, the fish was so fresh and the sauces they were in were delicious (and we’re from New England where seafood is our specialty). I then got the Tournedo de Pollo, it was the perfect blend of the traditional type of Puerto Rican rice and beans but as a risotto, the chicken was like butter to cut through, it was my favorite dish of my entire trip. I noticed some other guy giving the risotto a tough time because of the type of rice… he can go kick rocks, risotto isn’t tied to Arborio rice, it is a technique of cooking rice, not the rice itself. For dessert we got the banana bread, it was the perfect portion to split with my fiancé and the combo of the warm bread with the cold ice cream was the perfect end to a perfect meal. A must visit when you...

PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY! POOR QUALITY FOOD!! Served cold coconut rice, filet mignon was hard, chewy , unseasoned and looked like a hamburger. NY steak was Poor quality, seemed like a pork chop. Octopus served pair with a terrible sauce. Dessert you only get two choices. Ordered bread pudding and it was a messy bowl of a weird combination of everything you can imagine!! Lamb was also a terrible choice. Keep in mind missing lots of choices from the menu. Elegant decoration and the 3 waitresses were amazing. We were the only ones in the restaurant!!! Left and NO ONE ENTERED THIS PLACE ON A FRIDAY EVENING!!! STAY AWAY!! Don’t know who is the CHEF AND THE MANAGER WAS MISSING IN ACTION! Never responded my calls!! They wouldn’t even pick up the phone for reservations!! SHOULD HAVE KNOWN...

Beautiful setting and decor. Very clean. Great service. However, the restaurant falls short on its most important aspect: the food. Although delivering good flavors, appetizers lacked texture. My chicken was dry and the risotto de gandules is not a real risotto, it’s just arroz mamposteao. The rice for a real risotto is different from the one used for your regular puertorrican rice dish. The paella was not a real paella. Same issue with the type of rice used. Also, a real paella develops a socarrat (crispy rice at bottom of pan) which this one did not have. The food did not arrive hot, seemed like it sat around for some time before delivering to the table. My drink tasted like a jolly rancher. I would not recommend for the...