Jaleo

Jaleo cooks its paella over open fire in the middle of the room, and you can stand and watch it.

Why go

John Curtas says the pit alone is worth the price of admission, and describes what it does: In those pans are the purest, smokiest expression of Spain's most iconic one-dish meal.1 You can watch it work. He suggests standing by it if that is your sort of thing, or taking the highboy tables beside it, or the cocktail bar, or a low banquette in the big room.1 Eduard Xatruch, who cooks at Disfrutar in Barcelona, ate a meal here he still describes: That meal was unforgettable for its emotional component: José Andrés and [then guest chef] Quique Dacosta prepared two traditional meat paellas.2 The nine-seat counter called é by José Andrés sits inside this room and takes its own bookings.3

Order this / avoid

Order: the paella, which is what the pit is for. Curtas: get a G&T, pile on the paella, and by all means, fill up on tomato bread.1
Order: the tomato bread alongside it.1
Order: a gin and tonic off the list, which Curtas calls practically the Spanish national cocktail.1
Avoid: a weekend evening. Curtas: both food and service are stressed to the max, and large parties whooping it up all around makes serious menu contemplation impossible.1

What locals & experts say

John Curtas, Eating Las Vegas: The 52 Essential Restaurants (2023): you can stand and watch the flames lap up the sides of steel loaded with various proteins and veggies on their way to becoming the best paella in America.1
Eduard Xatruch of Disfrutar, Barcelona, the World's 50 Best No. 1 in 2024: We especially remember the meal we had at Jaleo.2

Good to know

There is a restaurant inside this restaurant. é by José Andrés runs a nine-seat counter in a small room within Jaleo, with its own booking and its own price.3
The room is big and low-ceilinged, with banquettes, a cocktail bar and highboy tables next to the fire.1

Verdict

should-visit — The paella comes off an open pit you can stand and watch: a rectangular grill over small bonfires, with pans the size of a manhole cover. John Curtas calls what comes out of them the best paella in America and says to pile it on, fill up on tomato bread and drink a gin and tonic with it. Come on a weeknight, because weekend evenings stress the food and the service both.