160 E 64th St
New York, NY 10021
Tel: (212) 223-5656 
JoJo is a cute restaurant tucked in the streets of the itzy ritzy Upper East Side. It was my second time at a Jean-Georges' establishment; and while his restaurants are usually more modern and spacious, JoJo was very different from the usual restaurant scenes that I've been to. Walking in, I felt like I was visiting someone's townhouse - there were two floors in total; and we were seated on the first floor. The cuteness of the place made me want to squeal. I was swept away by the gorgeous decor. Yup, swept away! Like a Princess who just found her castle. This was the second spot we visited during Restaurant Week and I must admit that the quaint decor and Victorian-styled furniture played a huge factor when I booked a table at JoJo's.The service was attentive and friendly. We encountered some issues at the beginning, though. The hostess couldn't find our reservation and we had lost our reserved table. Turned out there was a glitch in the system as the restaurant had placed my original reservation for the following night instead. Ugh, I know. Thankfully, the hostess was able to squeeze in an extra reservation for us..and all is well again!
The food was great - we had the Butternut Squash Soup, a great dish to fight off the frigid weather. The soup was creamy, but light enough to finish. Even though it was Restaurant Week, it was still relatively quiet and private, which I liked. The seats were pretty small and tight-spaced. The tables for two felt like a small coffee table - very petite and cute, but also very cramped!
For the entree, I had the Salmon (served with mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts and truffle vinaigrette). The salmon was cooked medium rare and was soft, moist, and flavorful. If you want something light to balance the creamy soup - this is the dish you'd want to get! The truffle vinaigrette gave the salmon a tangy flavor - this helped avoid the blandness that may sometimes be of concern with lighter dishes. I really liked the mashed potatoes as well - soft, creamy, and fluffy. My foodie partner on the other hand, ordered the Chicken topped with mango salsa, with polenta fries on the side.
While we were hesitant of ordering a chicken entree, we were greedy people and wanted to try every different dish on the menu so we went ahead and ordered the chicken. Bad move! The chicken was not good. How did they mess up the chicken? It was moist on the outside, but rather dry on the inside and flavorLESS. It was quite a disappointment considering this was the only other dish that was offered besides the salmon on the Restaurant Week menu. You'd think they'd be more selective with their dishes?
For desserts, we shared the Passion Fruit Pavlova and the supposedly famous Chocolate Molten Cake. There was no doubt that I completely ditched the passion fruit dessert and dodged right in for the chocolate molten cake. My poor food partner was left with the healthy..fruity..dessert...while I barbarically dug my spoon into the warm oozing chocolate. Needless to say, one dish was destroyed while the other one was left half-eaten/ barely touched. It was clear which dessert was the better one ; )
I've been told that due to popular demand, JoJo now offers lunch and dinner specials all year round! I would definitely recommend taking advantage of the cheaper deals and dine at JoJo. The atmosphere of this place is gorgeous - dressed with heavy curtains, chandeliers, and different patterned wallpapers - JoJo makes a unique spot for fine dining with the girlfriends and/or boyfriend!
Overall: 3.5/5
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