The owners of a well-regarded Bergen County restaurant are looking to turn around the fortunes of a seemingly cursed restaurant space just off The Palisades with their modern Spanish cuisine, inventive drinks, and imported brews.
Sangria, who opened their first location in Mahwah back in 2014, has officially launched their second outpost at 800 Jackson Street inside the MetroStop building. The eatery is located on the property’s southern side just past the 9th Street Light Rail station and faces a plaza that was recently renovated with space for outdoor seating.
The existing restaurant has garnered some stellar Yelp! reviews thanks to their wide selection of tapas, which range from empanadas to a skirt steak with a sherry caramel sauce or a traditional churrasquito al ajillo. Other highlights on the small plates side of things include lamb meatballs, cod fritter croquettes, Galician octopus, and gorditos, which combine the flavors of dates, smoked bacon, and wine goat cheese.
Entrees at Sangria consist of several paellas and puntas calientes, a dish made up of filet mignon tips with veggies and saffron rice. Additional standouts include a double-cut pork chop with Manchego mash potatoes or the seafood-first mariscada, which features clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops, and calamari with red or green sauce.
The restaurant lives up to its name with several sangria varieties including red, white peach, blood orange, and a rotating monthly special available by the glass, pitcher, or in flights. Other concoctions include a sangria Cosmo or a sangrini with vanilla vodka and peach schnapps, and the eatery also offers a selection of imported beers from Spanish brewers like Estrella and Ahambra Reserva.
Sangria hopes to have better luck at the 13-year-old MetroStop space than past occupants, as the spot has spent almost half of its existence vacant. The storefront hosted a Tilted Kilt for about five years before Jersey City’s now-defunct TapHaus took over for a two-year run. It has been dark since 2019 following the closure of Privé Gastrobar, which shuttered after less than a month in business.
The Hoboken location of Sangria will be closed Mondays but will otherwise open at 4 p.m. with service until 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, staying open an extra hour on Fridays and Saturdays. They can be followed via their Hoboken-specific Instagram account at the handle @sangria_hoboken.
