J was for Jaleo

Jaleo is a casual tapas restaurant and bar brought to you by the renowned Spanish chef/DC restaurateur José Andrés. Andrés’ team is also responsible for popular DC spots Zaytinya, Oyamel, Café Atlantico, and minibar (there’s also a recently opened Jaleo outpost in Vegas). Jaleo, however, is accessible for even the least likely foodie, and the happy hour offerings provide an opportunity to sample some of the restaurant’s most popular small plates at a deep discount.

Located in Chinatown-Penn Quarter neighborhood, Jaleo is just a few blocks of all of DC’s metro lines. “Jaleo hour” specials (4:30-7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday) include select draft beers (Yuengling, Sierra Nevada, Stella, and New Castle), house red and white wine, and red sangria – all for just $4 each. The sangria was lightly sweet and pleasingly fruity, but $4 actually seemed a little steep for a small highball glass. There’s also the option to try one of Jaleo’s “cocteles especiales,” like the Golden Boy made with Cava, Hidalgo Amontillado Sherry, and actual gold powder flecks ($11).

To compliment the boozy beverages, order a few $4 tapas for the table to share. The calamari and garlicky shrimp (the most popular offering, according to the bartender) were both delicious, but the fried bacon-wrapped dates were simply addictive. Jaleo offers about a dozen specially priced plates during happy hour, so everyone is sure to want to nibble on something.

The atmosphere at Jaleo isn’t particularly impressive, but the giant plate-glass windows on two sides of the dining room make for good people-watching in a busy neighborhood. There are also large Spanish-themed murals on many of the walls and an impressive set of half a dozen full-scale wine-cooling refrigerators near the restrooms.

The curvy, wrap-around elevated bar is the eye-catching center of the restaurant, though be warned that the small space fills up quite quickly toward the end of happy hour (and then empties out just as soon as the prices rise). Also be warned that the service can be painstakingly slow during this time; they don’t seem to have the appropriate number of staff attending to the throngs, at least on the Wednesday we were there. And, perhaps worst of all, the bartender stopped offering the happy hour prices precious minutes before the clocks in the bar area indicated that time was up. He blamed it on the time-stamp feature of Jaleo’s computerized ordering system, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing to a patron looking forward to one more happy hour-priced cocktail.

Jaleo hour may not be worth the crowds when you just want a quiet cocktail after work, but I’m betting there’s more room to breath and enjoy the happy hour prices on Saturdays and Sundays. And if you don’t get your fill before time expires on a weekday, you can always make the short trek next door to Austin Grill for $5 margaritas until 8 p.m.