Todd R.
Yelp
So, I followed the hype (from Instagram) and visited Jholano's finally, thankfully on a cold and rainy Sunday so the wait for their sandwiches was actually only about 10 min.
Let's start off with the Good: Jholano's is a small (and I mean small) sandwich shop tucked inside of what used to be an old condominium building in Coral Gables (look for the red door). They are very small and so if you come when they're busy be prepared to wait and possibly wait outside as the inside can probably only fit about 10 people comfortably before feeling claustrophobic.
You order at the front counter and then wait for them to call your order when it's ready. Seating is outside (in what used to be the pool area for the old condo now covered by black tarp :/)
There's ample seating (two large picnic tables) and several smaller tables that can sit 2-4 comfortably.
The sandwiches are quite large so if you're not super hungry, I definitely recommend sharing one with someone. You definitely pay for the sandwiches at an average of $20 per sandwich they definitely aren't cheap.
We for the Il Primo which had: Turkey, Italian dry salami, fig jam, burrata, truffle glaze, olive oil, salt/pepper, and arugula between two big piece of Focaccia bread. My only complaint here is that this is a cold sandwich (which I prefer) but the Focaccia was also cold (as in refrigerated cold) and this bread does not lend itself well to being served cold. My recommendation here would be to ask if they can lightly toast the bread and then prepare the rest of the ingredients cold.
Overall the sandwich was pretty solid, definitely a lot of food but I could've eaten one to myself but then been uncomfortably full lol. They have a few different drinks to choose from such as Dr. Browns soda's, regular soda, San Pellegrino, and water and juices.
Service was nice and the guys making the sandwiches seem super focused on their craft which is awesome.
The Bad (or just things they could improve):
Ambience inside, I understand it's a small family run sandwich operation but livening up the place with some flair wouldn't hurt and it would make the potential long lines a bit more tolerable.
Please consider lightly toasting or freshly baking the breads for the sandwiches that are cold, the cold bread, especially focaccia isn't really the best.
If you haven't considered already, please add beer to your establishment as I think this could add a nice extra bit of draw to the location. There are some great craft Italian beers that would go well with sandwiches on the menu!
Add more seating outside or a covered area where people can wait in line when the place gets crowded.
Other than that love that there are places like this that exist! Will be back to try more of their sandwiches as the menu is quite big and each sandwich seems to be worthy of a try.
If you haven't been, stop by and check them out!