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Joya: Restaurant Reviews

339 University Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301
(650) 853-9800
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Ranked #7 of 268 restaurants in Palo Alto
Price range: $25 - $83
Cuisines: South American, Spanish, Tapas
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Restaurant details
Dining options: Reservations, Late Night, Dessert
Dining style: Casual Elegant
Cross street: Florence Street
Transit: Palo Alto Caltrain stop is just a few blocks away.
Description: From tapas to entradas, Joya Restaurant and Lounge provides a modern interpretation of the rich culinary lineage of Spain and Latin America. Joya is proud to have teamed with Shopworks (designers of W-Hotels in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and San Diego) to create a natural-hued, contemporary restaurant and lounge that imparts guests with a feeling of comfortable exclusivity. So if you are looking to enjoy a refined Latin-influenced dining experience, new age cocktails and festive live music, we invite you to join us at Joya Restaurant & Lounge.
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49 reviews from our community

91% Recommend
    17
    28
    3
    1
    0
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
There are newer reviews for Joya
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San Francisco, California
Senior Contributor
24 reviews 24 reviews
17 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 13 cities Reviews in 13 cities
6 helpful votes 6 helpful votes
“Great Tapas!”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed January 3, 2013

Tried out Joya for the first time for my birthday luncheon. Nice restaurant, hostess not so great or friendly, but the wait staff was very good. We shared the Joya salad (just ok), shortrib tacos (the meat alittle dry), excellent brussel sprouts (anything with bacon is good), chorizo corn dogs (sausage was dry and hard), shrimp w/ sausage was very good, gacamole w/veg chips (excellent chips & gacamole), and finished off with the chocolate cake w/bananas and coconut ice cream & the churros w/chocolate sauce (excellent!) light and very crispy! We all decide we would definitely go back to try more dishes. A definite place to go to on University Ave in Palo Alto.

  • Visited January 2013
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Food
See 2 more reviews by Kimaf for Palo Alto
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Lompoc, California
Senior Contributor
24 reviews 24 reviews
11 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 10 cities Reviews in 10 cities
7 helpful votes 7 helpful votes
“Awesome Paella”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed November 14, 2012

My son and I shared the Classic Paella which included saffron rice, mussels, clams, chicken, chorizo, calimarI, scallops, and English peas. A nice upscale decor provided us a great environment to enjoy a classic meal with family.

See 5 more reviews by GEOAHC for Palo Alto
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
calif
Top Contributor
77 reviews 77 reviews
52 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 28 cities Reviews in 28 cities
56 helpful votes 56 helpful votes
“Fun”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed November 5, 2012

I've eaten at Joya twice and had a good experience both times. Service is very friendly and helpful and food is very good. Fun to go with a group so you can try lots of different tapas. Scallops were so tasty.

  • Visited September 2012
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Food
See 9 more reviews by Bigpenny34 for Palo Alto
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
San Francisco, California
Top Contributor
101 reviews 101 reviews
50 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 36 cities Reviews in 36 cities
111 helpful votes 111 helpful votes
“Trendy, hip place for tapas”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed November 1, 2012

High ceilings and a New York style decor lend this place a cool vibe for after-hours mojitos and dinner.
I highly recommend to go for tapas to share with your friends.

Their empanadas are to die for as are their seared sea scallops.

Check out their menu often as they regularly offer special menus: Argentina week, Mexico etc....

  • Visited December 2011
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Food
See 3 more reviews by vorsoni for Palo Alto
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Southampton
Senior Contributor
32 reviews 32 reviews
21 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 12 cities Reviews in 12 cities
27 helpful votes 27 helpful votes
“Nice place for tapas.”
4 of 5 stars Reviewed October 20, 2012

Joya is a very popular restaurant and you can see why as soon as you arrive. Very stylish, and delicious food. A highlight for me was the seared bay scallops with sweetcorn, but everythign we had was delicious.

Visited October 2012
See 3 more reviews by Graftarian for Palo Alto
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