Jaleo Crystal CityMaybe it was because we wentMaybe it was because we went on a Wednesday, but the food seemed a bit diminished from previous visits. The service was perfectly great, though. And they accommodated our large party very smoothly.6/12/2013 12:00:00 AMIt was exactly the experienceIt was exactly the experience I was looking for that night. Wonderful food! OpenTable reservation was a snap. Love it.6/10/2013 12:00:00 AMnice variety of tapas to try...Some of the dishes were a little light on food content such that it was tough for 4 people to even "sample" one dish. Taste was generally good w/the Flan being the best thing of the night.6/8/2013 12:00:00 AMReal Spanish foodI was thrilled to find Jaleo had a Crystal City location, as I had been to the downtown DC location a handful of times on previous visits to the city. I went with a colleague who had never had Spanish food and we both thoroughly enjoyed the cava sangria, apple/manchego salad, pista, tortilla, pan con tomate, garlic shrimp, squid in ink, and especially the patatas bravas which were quite simply the best I have had outside of Spain. For dessert we had the olive oilice cream with grapefruit and my colleague summed it up best when he said "This is exactly what I wanted even though I had no idea what it would be". It was light, cool, refreshing and the perfect closing note.6/5/2013 12:00:00 AMFun spot for a crowd!We had a table of 10 and enjoyed sharing many small plates. The servers were very helpful and pleasant !6/2/2013 12:00:00 AMJaleel crystal cityGreat food. Great service. Met the chef. Very pleasant evening.5/24/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat service, terrific foodBiggest gripe is the selection of wines by the glass is pretty small. Also I still do not like the "new" version of potatas bravas; the original was much better. Other than that the food was perfect and service was impeccable.5/24/2013 12:00:00 AMGood for a groupWe had 8 people at our table. We ended up sharing all the food plates and the carafs of sangria (both white and red). Made it feel very friendly and casual to share the different unique dishes with everybody. Split the bill since gratuity was included; woked out well and was $50.00 a person. It was our second time there and enjoyed it both times. I would recommend going.5/21/2013 12:00:00 AMFantastic restaurantMy husband and I tried Jaleo at a friend's recommendation. So glad we did! We chose the Crystal City location due to proximity to our hotel and an earlier reservation. Added bonus was free parking across the street. The ambiance of the restaurant was welcoming and energetic. Our server was very knowledgable of the dishes and made great recommendations. All the staff was very attentive. And the food... Wow, it brought me right back to Spain! The flavors were absolutely fantastic and my only regret is not being able to eat more. Next time I'd like to go with a larger group so I can sample more items. Definitely recommend checking out Jaleo!5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMTony Tasting Menu? Terrific!We were treated so well Saturday night at Jaleo Crystal City. We had Tony Bourdain Tasting Menu tickets and the Jaleo staff, led by their manager Glenn, rolled out the red carpet for us. Each course was better than the last (our favorites were the Iberico ham w/caviar and the oyster gin & tonic) and Gleen steered us towards a bargin rioja which paired perfectly with the whole menu. Jaleo Crystal City is a beautiful restaurant with soaring ceilings (great space for the noise to dissipate into) and plenty of room between the tables, a big contrast to its lively but cramps and noisy DC and Bethesda counterparts, and we enjoyed hearing each other speak. A visit by the chef Rodolfo Guzman charmed us - we'll be back often.5/18/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat for parents in townMy parents were in town and I took them here. Would have been too loud inside for my dad (who's on the elderly side) but sitting outside was perfect.5/17/2013 12:00:00 AMVery Good Tapas for GroupsJaleo is fun and the food is good. My 1st time at this location. Sangria is tasty but a little weaker that most (little or no brandy I think).5/15/2013 12:00:00 AMOne of DC's finestThis is a branch of the excellent, independent, DC tapas restaurant with the same name. This was my first trip to the Crystal City location and the food, service, and atmosphere were just as great here as in DC. A definite step up the chain restaurants that predominate in Crystal City. Tapas are small Spanish dishes that you can eat as an individual (although you will want to order several), but are best eaten shared with one or more other people so you can try more things. Two of us shared 7 items and all were tasty some extraordinary (the signature ham dish, the flank steak, spinach with pine nuts and raisins, potatoes bravas in a wonderful sauce, and bacon wrapped dates). It is hard to go wrong at Jaleo.5/14/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat Mother's Day brunchWe had the special "chef's tasting" menu. It was amazing! The chef came out to chat with us several times during the meal and provided a great sampling of the menu. We were stuffed by the end and it was probably over 2 hours for our meal. Great wine pairings as well!5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMAnother great experience at JaleoI have taken visiting friends here multiple times and its always been a hit. Food is great and the staff always makes great recomendations. New on the menu was the "Jaleo Experience", if you want a custom multi-course experience, definitely try this. The chef discussed our food preferences, allergies and anything we wanted to try on the menu. It was great. Everything they brought us was excellent and the staff really made us feel valued.5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMAnother wonderful eveningWe go to Jaleo three or four times a year and always have an outstanding meal, good wine, and excellent service.5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat Night OutTook our son and his girlfriend to Jaleo for dinner...they loved it! They are vegetarian and had so many great options to choose from on the menu. We had 12 tapas between the 4 of us...just enough and we loved every single dish! Great wine list too!5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMBirthday CelebrationsThe food was tasty, the variety great. I don't think I will ever understand the cheese platter that has 3 wedges of cheese so small, each person only gets the smallest crumb to try, but everything else was lovely. I was able to add a note in my Open Table reservation that we were celebrating a birthday and they were very attentive to that fact, asking quietly which one of us it was, the wait staff quietly talking about it amongst themselves, all in anticipation of surprising my friend. It was great.5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMAlways top notchOur first time at the Crystal City location. Big! Nice outdoor spot there. Food was excellent as always at Jaleo. Lots of great flavors. The two of us split 5 tapas - lamb chops, fennel/apple salad, garlic shrimp, grilled asparagus, and sauteed spinach. All were excellent. Our server was great too. Gave us lots of info upfront. Anticipated everything we might ask before we asked!5/10/2013 12:00:00 AMFamily in townGreat place to take a large group of cousins. The staff was quite good, especially given the large party size. We frequently eat at the Bethesda Jaleo and Crystal City was just what we were expecting - Yummy and satisfying food.5/9/2013 12:00:00 AMPerfect evening with friendsSix good friends enjoyed our feast at Jaleo. The quality of the ingredients and the taste of the food was amazing. The servers were very attentive and patient as they explained the menu to us.5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat ExperienceI opted to turn the choices over to the chef and the waiter by selecting the chef's tasting menu. The waiter asked for my broad preferences and for any limitations, e.g. allergies. Eight offerings and each was excellent. The wait staff was attentive and very efficient. The meal flowed without delays. The portions were more than generous. Highly recommended.5/2/2013 12:00:00 AMGood food, service needs work.The food is great but service was poor. They forgot our cheese plate and the manager kept coming over to table which was a little bothersome. Service needs work. We had about 10 different servers.4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMI have been to Jaleo severalI have been to Jaleo several times and this visit was as good as ever. Our server was friendly, attentive and efficient and the food was excellent as always.4/26/2013 12:00:00 AMLived Up to ExpectationsWas very pleased with my visit to this gem. Had a variety of Tapas that were all excellent. Went with the quail and rabbit cobfit for meats and the sauce with the quail was perfect. The spinach was fabulous as well, maybe the best dish of the night. Highly recommend visiting Jaleo.4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMThe tasting menu and pairedThe tasting menu and paired wines were a great way to really sample the best of this fun restaurant.4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMWe shared the Chef's TastingWe shared the Chef's Tasting menu. Several of the dishes were among my favorites from previous visits. Some things I never would have ordered but were fabulous. I appreciated the opportunity to try them. One of my favorite restaurants.4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMOverall, I enjoyed the experience.Overall, I enjoyed the experience. The waitress was slow and didn't seem to want to be there but tried to be pleasant. The rest of the staff was very attentive and nice. We had 6 dishes between two of us and most of them were tasty.4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat place to take out of towners!We had family in from out of town and we all loved it! We live in DC, but decided on going to the Crystal City location since they take reservations, and parking was SO much easier. Same great food, same great sangria, what's not to like?4/20/2013 12:00:00 AMMy second Jaleo experienceMy second Jaleo experience - the first was in Bethesda. Bethesda had better service, but the food was good at both locations!4/19/2013 12:00:00 AMLoved the Paella!Although it is a "tapas" restaurant, we were not blown away by the tapas. We ordered the 3 different tapas: chicken croquettes, cod salad and garlic shrimp - I thought the garlic shrimp were a little oily for my taste; I liked the cold cod salad best. We shared a chicken and wild mushroom paella - delicious. We both ate the paella, then took half of it home in a doggy bag.4/19/2013 12:00:00 AMJaleo was what I expectedJaleo was what I expected and didn't disappoint. It is very loud and the space is wide open so it is more conducive to celebratory gathering than it is a romantic night out. The food was very good but for a tapas place with small plates, I expected more on the menu.The service was outstanding. The server was very attentive without hovering. If you don't speak Spanish, some of the menu will need a little more explanation than the short description. It doesn't matter if you understand the description because it will be good.4/19/2013 12:00:00 AMAlways reliable both at ourAlways reliable both at our neighborhood location (Crystal City) and in the DC and Bethesda locations. Reasonably priced for such outstanding food.4/18/2013 12:00:00 AMfantastic food! We had a greatfantastic food! We had a great farewell dinner for a friend.4/16/2013 12:00:00 AMI went to dinner with friendsI went to dinner with friends and two weren't keen on going to a tapas restaurant because they had never been and typically like more traditionally American cuisine. Once they tried all of the different dishes we ordered they LOVED it! All of our small tastes were delicious. I've been to this restaurant numerous times and it never disappoints.4/16/2013 12:00:00 AMSuccessful Client DinnerI was entertaining a party of 8 clients. To avoid tapas ordering pandemonium I dropped by Jaleo early with a print out of the menu and the items I wanted highlighted. They checked to make sure they had the wine I wanted, and took care of everything after that. We arrived, sat down and within 15 minutes the dishes started coming. The food was fantastic. One thing we missed was hearing the dishes described in detail in an audible voice.4/15/2013 12:00:00 AMOur server really made ourOur server really made our night. She helped us through the large menu and navigated all of our courses. We had a great night all around!4/15/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat as always! Just theGreat as always! Just the right amount of good food.4/14/2013 12:00:00 AMDelicious, but less of a funDelicious, but less of a fun environment than the original location. Phenomenal food. Great for pre-theater meal4/12/2013 12:00:00 AMalways reliable. my kidsalways reliable. my kids love the small plates and the ability to sample lots of different tastes. the service was spot-on and helpful when we had questions. definitely a go-to when we want a fun dinner.4/7/2013 12:00:00 AMFantastic food and excellentFantastic food and excellent drink selection. The food came out reasonably fast depending on the complexity and it was more of a constant stream instead of everything at once. That also means everything was nice and hot when it came out instead of sitting on your plate cooling off until you get to it. You want to be careful about how much food you order. They recommend 3-4 plates per person, but if you don't eat a lot, like my fiance, you will be bringing home a lot of leftovers. I'd suggest start with 5 options per pair of people just to be safe.4/6/2013 12:00:00 AMbest ham in life....have eatenbest ham in life....have eaten around the world.
everything was excellent...quite pricy....$7/slider.. $22 skimpy cheese plate. most of the food was worth the price.
loved sangria and desserts too4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMGood TimesThe atmosphere is relaxed and stylish. The food is thoughtfully prepared and very good. The portion size for the price feels a bit small but makes sense given the style of cuisine and the quality of ingredients in play, and unlike most places. . . you can pace yourself to have room for dessert :-) Our server was very knowledgeable and helpful, and their business model allows the servers to act more as consultants - it seems they know the menu inside and out, they answer questions, and then other folks do the actual serving.4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat food unique way to shareGreat food unique way to share a meal. Will be back.4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMConsistently excellent diningConsistently excellent dining experience! Great new tapas selections and an always reliable wine selection!4/1/2013 12:00:00 AMChef's Tasting Menu was INCREDIBLE!I had a spectacular meal. Dining alone (in DC on business), I ordered the $55 chef's tasting menu. I expected it to be six or seven plates. Instead, they fed me until I couldn't eat anymore. They just kept bringing out dishes for 90 minutes straight. In addition to every bite being absolutely delectable, it was an outstanding value. In all, it was 15 plates plus dessert, and three of the plates were large vegetable dishes and another three were pretty significant sized meat portions.
I was absolutely psyched when I left the restaurant. It was so much fun, the food was so great and the value so tremendous that I couldn't get over the experience. Totally awesome job by the chef and waitstaff.4/1/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat food and service. IGreat food and service. I like that the tables are not too closed together.3/31/2013 12:00:00 AMWe really enjoyed the evening.We really enjoyed the evening. Huge menu of Tapas, all of which was delicious. Great Sangrias and the service was friendly. We'll definitely be back.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMUnfortunately the power hadUnfortunately the power had gone out at Jaleo and we were not able to dine there on March 27. I believe the power failure was out of control of Jaleo3/27/2013 12:00:00 AMThe staff was great but theThe staff was great but the paella was not up to Jaleo's usual level. The rice was overcooked and the non-seafood paella was bland.3/24/2013 12:00:00 AM