Jojo Restaurant

Recommends

pekkle

Joined 8 years ago

cute place ... good food ... service wasn't bad either ... not so great reservation experience. i had made reservation online very early on for trying their restaurant week menu. everything was fine until a day before the dinner, someone called from the restaurant and told me that i am not allowed to have a reservation w/ the time i have already slotted for (From opentable). I was told that there is a 'new' policy that restaurant week participants are not given the "prime time" dinner slot. we had to be rescheduled to 9pm. that conversation was not apologetic at all, moreover with a tone of as-matter-of-fact.

Anyhow, since we were really excited to try JOJO, we took the 9pm appointment. And we are glad we did .. .cause aside from the poor experience w/ the reservation, everything went well from there. we were promptly seated; the food was great; the drink was not bad and the server was nice however not very attentive as I needed to ask for water several times.

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lynnw1

Joined 7 years ago

Great Food and service. Party of 4 had great time at this upper east side landmark! Server happily gave us recommendations and was right on the money with each one. Don't miss the Black Bass over carrot confit with cumin and cilantro and the warm chocolate cake!

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anniemidtown

Joined 9 years ago

Fun Theatre of the Upper East Side. I had a great time here. I only had some desert and drinks they are all amazing. overall very nice casual french place. we took our time and our server was very attentive.

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johnboy32064

Joined 8 years ago

Warm and comfy with very good food. I hadn't eaten at JoJo for years. The decor had changed -- lots of toile now. It was perfect for Christmas dinner last night. My first course of the vegetable tasting menu (a bargain at $45) which was wonderful- a very rich and refined version of butternut squash. The second course, a "goat cheese fondue" was nice, but nothing extraordinary, the main course, a porcini mushroom tart tasted great, but was a little on the soggy side. A lovely passion fruit puree in a meringe shell for desert was a perfect ending. My dining companion had a tuna tartare appetizer wrapped in a phyllo crust with a fava bean puree which looked pretty good and an alsatian lamb stew as her entree, which tasted nice, but not something I would have ordered. Her banana praline cake for dessert was divine. All in all, a pretty nice experience.

Doesn't Recommend

thetakid

Joined 8 years ago

A very disappointing experience. Nice decor. That's about all the praise I can give the place. Terrible service; the worst steak I've eaten in NYCity. The fish my wife had was cold and runny (Black Sea Bass). Coffee was brought to us after the check!

It didn't help that we had two "new-money" early 30-something girls talking about how unhappy they are with their 5 carat rings (no joke!) and their water breaking in Bergdorf's. Tables are too close for that type of discussion. And they were LOUD.

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sumptiousny

Joined 9 years ago

Good but not outstanding. I went to JoJo on a Friday night around 8pm without any reservation. My friend and I passed by the quaint restaurant front and decided to give it a try. We were seated immediately without any wait, service was impeccable and the dining room romantic. The two of us sat in privacy with our table located on one side of the dimly lit narrow 2nd flr dining room. The food was good but you could probably get more bang for your dollar somewhere else. I did enjoy the whole dining experience though, tasty food, wine and great ambience. My dish, venison was delicious but still, not out-of-this-world. If you wanna splurge a little go for the ambience - you'll leave with a satisfied stomach and happy tastebuds. My friend thought his food was fantastic....

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Jean-Georges' posh yet relaxed townhouse restaurant still earns a loyal following with its exacting French fusion fare.. The Scene
This narrow, ornate restaurant is a quintessential East Side scene, with flurries of post-museum, pre-theater Europeans and lacquered dowagers sipping exacting martinis. The young, skilled staff operates with a refreshing lack of stiffness, putting both special-occasion diners and regulars at ease, despite the handicaps of the somewhat awkward space.

The Food
Seemingly simple dishes, such as roast chicken and broiled fish, are given a veneer of nobility with careful French techniques and eclectic flavor inspirations from Asia and the Middle East. Cumin-scented carrot confit gives a rich filet of bass a twinge of Eastern panache; abundant butter makes a hot porcini tart extra special; and beet green-filled ravioli in brown butter is remarkably flavorful. But roast chicken with ginger and olives is a bit over-salted, and a carpet of mushroom bits fails to rescue a flavor-shy sirloin--the soggy fries don't help. Finish with the warm Valrhona chocolate cake.

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djadziadax

Joined 10 years ago

Underwhelmed. For a three star restaurant, it delivered good food and diner-style service! Below expectaion.

The food was great, but not outstanding. I had the chicken, and it was a little dry, but the steak my husband had was delicious.

The appetizers were the stars of the night--squash soup that will blow your socks off, and goatcheese fondue that you just want to keep eating and eating. The goatcheese paired with beets was fantastic.

My complain was the noise--high decibels, cramped surroudings, below average service.

Overall, for best experience go late at night, after 9:30 pm when the crowd is gone and staff can pay more attention.

To compare it with Cafe Boulud, which is a restaurant of same caliber and associated with a celebrety chef, Cafe Boulud will get my return business.

Doesn't Recommend

WolphGang

Joined 11 years ago

disappointed.. Not worth the money or the ridiculous wait. We had to wait 45 minutes for our table because they claim we didn't confirm our reservations -- whatever -- we confirmed that morning. The bartender made a great french martini though while we waited, as I got a dozen dirty stares from the overage snotty crowd in the broom closet size front bar.

The food was good but nothing to brag about. I was expecting more from Jean George.

The service was horrible! Our waiter handed us the dessert menu before we even got our main course -- hello?!

The restaurant itself was very elegant, but I wouldn't go back again.

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Katjh80

Joined 11 years ago

Jo Jo Delicious. My family and I had dinner at Jo Jo last night and we all thought that the food was excellent. I had the salmon with mashed potatoes and a truffle vinagrette and a goat cheese tart. These dishes were both very flavorful and cooked to the salmon was cooked to perfection! Not fishy at all. The wine list was very affordable with nice selections and the desserts were all fabulous. The chocolate cake was especially good. The atmosphere was also very nice and the service was good, but this is not a restaurant where you have a quick meal.