There are DOZENS of places to eat in Disney Springs, so how do you know which one to choose?
We’ve checked out every single restaurant in the shopping and dining complex, from the snack stands to the quick service spots to the fanciest sit-down places. But just to keep our opinions up-to-date, we like to go back to restaurants we’ve visited before and see if the eats are consistently delicious. And recently, that’s what we did when we booked a reservation at Jaleo!
Background
Jaleo by José Andres is located on the West Side in Disney Springs, near Splitsville, the M&M’s store, and Everglazed Donuts & Cold Brew.
The restaurant’s facade is absolutely GIGANTIC, and over on the left side of the building, you’ll find that it has its own quick service spot attached — Pepe!
Disney Springs is home to the biggest Jaleo location, with two stories of dining space. The menu here is home to a variety of Spanish-inspired tapas, as well as traditional paellas cooked over a wood fire.
And of course, we can’t mention Jaleo without talking about its owner, Chef José Andrés! Chef Andrés was named “Outstanding Chef” and “Humanitarian of the Year” by the James Beard Foundation and one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in both 2012 and 2018. He has 31 restaurants and Andrés is the only chef globally that has both a two-star Michelin restaurant and four Bib Gourmands.
With all that background done, let’s take a look at the space!
Atmosphere
When you walk in, you’re immediately welcomed by a stunning display of Spanish-inspired decor. Red is a dominant color here, and everything feels simultaneously warm and bold.
Off to the left side, there is plenty of restaurant seating as well as a bar area. They have quite a few drink options on the menu here.
The seating is a combination of booths and tables, and there is both an upstairs area and a downstairs area. It’s very open inside.
And of course, one of the defining features of Jaleo is the bull head on display! Each Jaleo location has its own unique bull head with a Luchador mask. How cool is that?! You can find this one near the bathrooms and kitchen.
Each table comes set with plates, cloth napkins, silverware, and wine glasses.
Okay, who’s ready to EAT?!
Food & Drinks
You better buckle up, because there’s a LOT of food on the menu at Jaleo. As we mentioned before, this restaurant is known for tapas, so many of the items are portioned to be small and shareable.
They also have a large selection of cocktails, wines, and sangria on the menu.
There are several sections to the menu, including spots with recommendations directly from José. They’ve got everything from vegetables to seafood to soups and salads and fried dishes.
And of course, we can’t forget to mention the iconic paella. There are a few different varieties you can order, and they serve quite a few people!
Once you’re done, don’t forget to order dessert — there are multiple traditional options as well as some sweets with a special twist.
We started the meal with an order of the Rosé Sangria, which you can get in a glass for $12, half pitcher for $32, or full pitcher for $54. It’s made with Lobetia Rosé, gin, vermouth, seasonal fruit, and citrus.
We ordered the half pitcher and got four to five glasses out of it, which was a pretty good deal. It was light, sweet, and minty. Very refreshing!
For those who don’t drink alcohol or just want something lighter, you can choose from a few mocktail options. During our visit, we tried the Lotus for $12. It’s made with Seedlip Spice, London Essence White Peach and Jasmine Soda, and house-made vanilla extract.
At first sip, you get the strong bubbly peach flavor, but then the smooth vanilla comes at the back half. This is great for someone who wants a fruity drink but maybe isn’t too adventurous with flavors — it would be a good crowd-pleaser and it’s perfect for summer!
Now it’s time to move on to food, and we got a LOT of it! First up is the Cono de atún “Gilda” from the Buen Provecho menu. It’s $8 and has tuna tartare, modern olive, and Cantabrian anchovies. But here’s a warning — it’s a bit on the small side!
Next up we ordered a plate of Quesos for $24. You get three cheese selections, and we chose the Murcia Al Vino, the Rey Silo Blanco, and the Queso Manchego.
The Manchego was the sharpest of the three cheeses and had a nice strong flavor, but was more crumbly in texture. The Murcia al Vino would be a great goat cheese for someone who doesn’t typically like goat cheese — the wine flavors hid some of that earthier taste. And finally, the Rey Silo Blanco was incredibly creamy and almost had a fondue-like melt-in-your-mouth texture to it. The plate came with some apple slices, hard breadsticks, oranges, and a small cookie.
If you’re a meat fan, you’ve GOT to try the Chorizo Ibérico de Bellota for $18. This board is FILLED with cured pork chorizo from the legendary free-range, acorn-fed, black-footed ibérico pigs of Spain. It was sliced super thin and was moist, but had a nice spiced flavor to add some depth to the meat. It was a bit on the greasy side, but it’s served similarly to pepperoni.
And now for the main event — the paella! When paella is served at the restaurant, the server rings a bell and everyone shouts “Paella!” The entire production was a lot of fun.
It takes about 45 minutes to prepare the paella, so you’ll want to place the order for this ASAP when you arrive. We got the Arroz con Pollo y Verduras for $140. That may seem expensive, but just LOOK at the size of this thing! We decided that it could probably feed 6-8 people.
Once it arrives at your table, your server will plate it for you, along with the garlic aioli that pairs with it. The rice was soft and sticky, and the whole dish had a nice buttery flavor to it. The vegetables were soft and seasoned to match the Spanish flavors of the dish.
The chicken was pretty good, but some pieces were a bit on the fatty side. We really enjoyed this overall and ended up taking home lots of leftovers!
Oh, and that garlic aioli is creamy and delicious, and we could eat it from a BOWL. Thankfully, they brought extra to the table!
After the paella, the stream of tapas continued. We next tried the Endivias con queso de cabra y naranja for $12. These are endives with goat cheese and orange, and we thought they were incredibly light and refreshing. The sweetness of the orange and the savory cheese help cut down on the bitterness of the endives.
The Coca de escalivada con boquerones are available for $14. They’re made with Josper roasted red bell pepper, eggplant, and onion with boquerones (unsalted anchovies). Don’t let those anchovies scare you away though! The flavors here reminded us of ratatouille (eggplant-forward), and the anchovies were surprisingly meaty and not too fishy.
Next up, we have one of our favorite items of the night — the Croquetas de Pollo for $14. These were deep-fried chicken fritters with cheese and vegetables, and they reminded us a lot of tiny chicken pot pies. They were rich, savory, cheesy, and just a generally delicious comfort food.
Calling the seafood fans! If you like mussels, then you might want to get the Mejillones a la brasa con mojo verde for $16. We got a HUGE portion of mussels with a mojo verde. These were very savory and rich, and the green sauce reminded us of a pesto. They weren’t the best mussels we’d ever had and we wished they would’ve been served with some kind of cracker, but they were pretty good.
One of the most popular things to order at Jaleo is the Patatas Bravas. For $14 you get fried potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and aioli. These were soft, a little spiced, cooked golden brown, and covered in dollops of that same delicious garlic aioli we loved with the paella. We would eat these by the BOWL. Definitely don’t skip the patatas!
And last but not least, let’s talk about dessert!
First up, we got the Sorbetes Caseros for $9. This is a daily selection of sorbet, and we got one that was strawberry-flavored! It was creamy and thick and had a nice strong, fruitiness. It wasn’t too sweet, so it would be a crowd-pleaser. But with Salt & Straw right across from Jaleo, we don’t know if this is a must-get.
Next up was the Tarta de queso vasca for $15. It’s a “burnt” goat cheese cheesecake, and the description is pretty accurate — it comes out VERY charred.
The cake was creamy but also a little lumpy in texture and had a strong cheesy flavor. But here’s the weird thing — when you get a bite with some of the burnt part mixed in, it really tastes like Cheez-Its!
And finally, let’s talk about the Arroz con leche for $11. It’s made with Rice, saffron espuma (foam), milk, and caramelized apples. The rice was plump and soft with a good lightly chewy texture.
The milk wasn’t too heavy or too sweet, but there was a LOT of whipped cream on top. There was a light cinnamon flavor throughout that reminded us of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. You might not be interested in this if you have textural issues with things like oatmeal, but it was delicious flavor-wise.
Okay after all that food…how did we feel about Jaleo?
Should You Go?
So after several rounds of food and drinks and many hours spent at Jaleo — should you go? First of all, you need to know that this meal was LONG. It takes 45 minutes for the paella to be prepared, but it may also take you a while to eat if you’re ordering multiple courses of items. If you’re just going in for a few drinks and tapas, it might not be so bad.
Also, this is certainly not the most budget-friendly spot in Disney World, so keep that in mind when you’re making reservations. It would be great for a group of people to split the cost or a couple looking to enjoy a nice date night, but it’s probably not right for those on a tight vacation dining budget.
The food here is delicious and very well thought out. There wasn’t anything that we really disliked. But you’ll need to have a more adventurous palette to enjoy this experience — this isn’t a chicken fingers and burgers kind of place.
If all that sounds good to you, then we definitely recommend Jaleo! We had some amazing service during our meal (shout out to our server Eric!), and we can’t wait to go back in the future.
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Have you been to Jaleo in Disney Springs? Tell us in the comments!
We had a wonderful meal at Jaleo, having chosen “Jose’s Way,” one of the preset menus. It was too much food, but we managed to eat it all. The atmosphere is good. I contribute monthly to Jose’s charity, but I never thought I’d be able to eat at one of his restaurants. A treat all around.