Jarocho

Everything we had on the Omakase menu was amazing. This is the best seafood I have had in the KC area.

Been here 5 times and it keeps getting better the more we try! Oyster special Tues/​Thurs nights — Awesome and Fresh! Baked oysters, spicy shrimp, scallop and tuna ceviche, squid ink special, grilled sea bass, grilled red snapper — loved them all. Look forward to trying the other entrees, the soups and the shrimp cocktails. Excellent margaritas and super courteous service. Plus best guacamole in town. Freshest seafood in town and NO problem with the location!

Great little local joint. It’s in a strange neighborhood, feels a little sketchy/​divey, but the food is good and authentic. The best thing we had was the fried red snapper and the rice is amazing! The ceviche was ok but I probably won’t order it again (I had the conch and it was honestly too large of a portion and after a few bites I was done.) the service was good. Several nice girls keeping watch on the tables and checking to make sure you didn’t need anything. Overall a good experience and I definitely recommend it.

What a great find! I came here for lunch on a Saturday and it was delicious. The spicy shrimp was awesome as well as the fresh oysters.

Jarocho is a wow! We went all the way to Columbia, MO for a basketball game and decided to head back in the direction of MHK. We decided to eat in KC and then think about driving back or staying for the night. I knew Jarocho would be of interest to Eric R. and it was near I-​70, so it was a great option. When we walked in, it had a beach shack-​like feel and it took me back to one of my favorite restaurants in Houston, Tampico.
The dishes all looked good so we had to ask for lots of advice from the staff. The Unilocal check-​in offer was for 6 free oysters — whoa!!! According to our server, since it was late, the typical free oysters sold out so we got special Prince Edward Island oysters. A squeeze of lime and the freshness came through perfectly! We also ordered a guac starter and a few sides of flour tortillas.
Eric R. and I decided to split a dish because they were huge. I wanted to the octopus sauteed with garlic and onions but Eric R. is not very keen about octopus. We ordered the seafood paella because it had a variety of seafood and no pork.
It had little shrimp, mussels, calamari, octopus, fish, and maybe even scallops? There was so much flavor and every bite was delicious. I really enjoyed the entire meal and would definitely return. I really want to try the octopus but I bet the seafood cocktails are also phenomenal.

**Update**
The food was phenomenal. Spicy shrimp (perfect brain pounding heat) not too hot. Just right. Mom got the snapper and rice. Perfectly cooked and not dry. Paella was awesome. So much food and not dry (highly recommend)! Portions are spot on.
Service was a little slow but given a packed house its where you expect it.
Highly recommend coming here if your a seafood lover, prices are right without the fine dining prices and small portion. Bring a smile! Great atmosphere.

Tuesday and Thursday are good nights to go with great deals on oysters. And the oysters are fantastic, one was almost the full size of my palm.
The civeches were amazing! Where else in the midwest am I going to get to order conch?
The cooked dishes were amazing as well. The chef respects seafood and knows exactly how to treat it. I’ll be back, a lot.
They had soft-​shell crayfish on special… I didn’t even know that existed.

This is NOT your typical Mexican restaurant. They specialize in seafood. I was impressed. It’s a classic hole in the wall in a part of town that is not overly appealing. The guy told me they have been opened for a year and a half. Lena and I shared 6 oysters which were huge, and we also shared the fried red snapper. All around, very good. The fish was cooked well, crunchy skin, nice garlic sauce to dip in. This was my first time having fish like this, so I don’t have much to compare it too. I would try it out if you like authentic Mexican seafood.

(1.26.16) $ 1 oysters on Tues & Thurs. Excellent seafood. Friendly staff. What more could you want? Baby octopus in guajillo sauce, octopus in its ink, aguachiles… the seafood doesn’t stop here! Recently had the sepia with pesto and it was remarkable. It’s located in an unassuming corner, but don’t be discouraged. When in Kansas City, go off the beaten path and dine here!

I love the fact that Kansas City has a Mexican restaurant that specializes in seafood. I always order seafood items at mexican restaurants when I get the chance, and I was excited to see such great reviews for this place.
I ordered a clam ceviche as an appetizer on special and the seafood paella. The waitress told us about the clam that was on special when we sat down. It sounded good, and she said it was an appetizer, so we ordered it. When it came, it was obvious that the clam was very fresh, which was a nice find for KC. The flavors were good and the presentation was fantastic. The real point of interest here was the price, though. $ 18.50 for one clam made into ceviche. Since it was an appetizer and other appetizers on the menu ranged significantly lower in cost, this was a bit of sticker shock.
The seafood paella had a nice flavor to it and it was HUGE. It could easily feed two people, so it was definitely worth the money. The seafood in the dish seemed really fresh and there was a ton of mussels.
Service was ok. We had to ask for refills on our drinks, and one person at the table was not given a napkin, but food was brought out promptly.
I may check this place out again sometime, but I would try to hit a time when they have the blue crab that I have seen in other Unilocal reviews.

We were traveling through Kansas City, and wanted to stop for good seafood. This had all the makings for a great find: Good Unilocal reviews, hole in the wall location and a great menu. We weren’t disappointed. The service was great, loved that it wasn’t all glitz and glamour and the red snapper and prawns were superb. We even got a free helping of oysters that were delicious, by checking in using Unilocal.We highly recommend this place.

What a great place — Amazing seafood! Presentation was great, everything was delicious, and the prices were very reasonable. Service was knowledgeable, friendly, and prompt.
We’re looking forward to our next trip back :)

Very yummy food with affordable price. First time to try sea urchin there. It was not very tasty but good to have a try.
In addition, the servant was very friendly. I will come back soon, thanks!

Best oysters in town for half the price!
Was our 1^st time here and the neighborhood appears a little sketchy but don’t let that keep you from some great food.
We tried multiple small plates–
Scallop salad and fish ceviche was yummy to start.
The grilled chili garlic oysters were badass!
Service was great, food was fabulous and prices were more than reasonable.
This is a definitely a place to try.

A little bored and hungry at the American Royal one afternoon, I turned to my Unilocal app for entertainment and maybe a new idea for lunch. There was Jarocho, boasting seafood, 4 ½ stars, and only 5 minutes from Kemper.
It looks like your typical, tiny KCK local Mexican restaurant-​simple furniture, bright paint job, nothing fancy at all. But these guys play a bigger game. Seafood dominates the menu, and I think this is the only time I’ve ever seen entrée prices above $ 20 in a Mexican place. It all sounded wonderful, but I really wasn’t up for spending that much. Fortunately I found lunch specials on the back page, and for $ 10 got enough for lunch the next day. I ordered steak and shrimp, grilled with peppers and onions. It came with warm, homemade corn tortillas, black beans (which I like so much more than pintos), and fluffy, mildly seasoned white rice that was perfect with it.
They also offer a much wider variety of alcohol than I’m used to seeing in places like this. In addition to several mezcals and tequilas, they have a pretty extensive wine list for such a small place. I passed on this particular day, but I’ll be back to try some more of that divine-​looking seafood and a top-​shelf margarita. Truly a diamond in the rough!

Ahhhmazing! This place is truly a hidden gem. Luckily we were the only people dining in for an early dinner on a holiday weekend. I say luckily because, we had the waitress all to ourselves (selfish, I know lol). This also made it a comfortable, relaxed environment for us to savor every last bite of our food.
Our waitress was a sweetheart and attentive but, not intrusive. Her recommendations were spot on and, she did a good job explaining the dishes to us. Be sure to ask what the specials are. That night, sea urchin was on their speciality menu but, that was a little too adventurous for us. Anyways, we went with the Ceviche Jalisco. Yummy! Hubby tried the Grilled Fish. Again, yummy! I went with the Seafood Paella. Ahhh! Everything was just delicious! The Paella had a little of everything in it including, octopus.
With that said, you can’t be closed minded if you want to dine here. Don’t expect to see nachos, fajitas, etc. on the menu. It’s not that type of restaurant. The price point was a little high but, it was all worth it considering the type and quality of seafood used in their dishes. We’ve spent way more to dine in the ritzier parts of town to leave feeling as if we were robbed for our hard earned money. However, when we left here, we were happy, full, money was well spent and just overall, pleased with our dining experience.
Good times! Shoutout to the chef here. You are the real MVP :) I’m sure we’ll be talking about our food for weeks. We’ll definitely be back and tell everyone we know, to check this place out!

A Mexican seafood paradise. We ordered the seafood soup and fried sea bass. Both were delicious and the portions are big enough to share between two people. Perfect for a chilly fall morning. The soup was spicy, filled with mussels, shrimo, fish, calamari, and veggies. The whole sea bass was freshly fried with lots of sides.
Our waitress was friendly, prompt, and to the point. She recommended things that were most popular and what she liked, not just the items that were the expensive ones on the menu.

We were set to try another place, but it was closed and this was in its place. Knowing it for its seafood reputation, I checked with the waitress before everyone arrived for the crawl and she said they had various tacos so we decided to stay.
When checking in there was a Unilocal offer. We were told we could only use it once per table. After some discussion the waitress let two of us use it being there was a big group and separate bills. The offer did not specify any limits.
The offer was for ceviche. It was good and fresh, but a little heavy on the onion.
When it came time to order we were told that tacos came in threes. Most of us ended up splitting orders because there was no way we could do three tacos for one stop on the crawl. Jen and I shared the fish tacos and they are some of the best fish tacos. The fish was fresh, tender, and moist. The coating was light and they were not greasy at all. They were topped with cabbage. A huge plus that many places don’t do.
The complimentary chips and salsa were meh. Normally I find chips lacking in salt. These were heavily salted.
It took a while to get our bills paid as they were having problems with their machine. They were very nice and you could see that resolving the issue was a priority.
As we sat there someone else’s order came up. They order whole fried tilapia. It looked amazing!

A great meal, with great service. With a Unilocal check in you get a free bowl of ceviche. Very tangy, sweet and full of fish. Enough for 2 or 3 to share as an appetizer. Not sure what I was thinking when I ordered the Cocktail de camerones when the ceviche was already coming. The cocktail had a much sweeter citric taste than the ceviche with plenty of plump shrimp.
My wife was smarter than I, to order something completely different than the free ceviche, and got the grilled trout. Wow. I had never had trout and fell in love with the taste. Covered in grilled onions and seasoned. Move over salmon and halibut, bring on the trout tacos!
Expect to pay a little more than your typical hole in the wall Mexican restaurant but they provide a great and unique meal that most places can’t offer.

Because we checked in via Unilocal we got free ceviche. It was a bit sweeter than I’m used to. The place is in KCK and there were bars on the window so it looks a bit dodgy, but the inside was very nice.
The guoc was very good and went well with the freshly made chips. We all shared two dozen oysters and they tasted very fresh and not fishy at all. We went on a Wednesday so the special was $ 1 oysters.
I ordered the fried whole fish and was very tasty. I haven’t had anything like that before, especially at a Mexican restaurant. It was served with rice and salad and tortilla.
The waitstaff was very friendly and attentive. Everything that we ordered was nice. Would definitely come back.