Jaleo® by José Andrés

Jaleo is José Andrés’s love letter to Spanish tapas, parked right on Disney Springs’ West Side — and it punches well above the usual theme-park dining bracket. The room is loud, warm, and theatrically Spanish: jamón legs hanging at the carving station, a wall of suspended pots, an open kitchen where the energy is the whole point. This is small-plates-as-a-meal: you order a spread, you share, you build a table that ranges from cold conservas and Manchego to sizzling shrimp and a paella cooked over wood-fired flame.

The move most people don’t realize: you don’t have to commit to a full sit-down tapas marathon to eat José Andrés food here. Tucked into the front corner of Jaleo is Pepe, a counter-service window patterned on the chef’s famous D.C. food truck, slinging Spanish sandwiches on pan de cristal — that gloriously crackly, airy Spanish bread — plus sangria, all grab-and-go. Same kitchen pedigree, a fraction of the time and spend.

Is it worth the table? If you treat it like Spain — order generously, share everything, let the meal unfold — yes, easily one of the best non-Disney-owned tables at the Springs. If you walk in expecting one big entrée per person, the $$ check will sting and the portions will confuse you. Come hungry, come to graze, come to drink a little.

Jaleo rewards the people who lean into how it’s actually meant to be eaten: a long, shared table of many small things, not a steakhouse-style one-plate-each. It’s a genuine date night and a great spot for an adventurous group that likes to order-the-whole-menu. Picky eaters and families who just need a quick, predictable bite are better served at Pepe’s counter up front — same chef, none of the commitment.