The story of JJ’s Scratch Cocina is a story of constant change. And by constant change, I mean constant name change. When owner J.J. Paredes opened his restaurant on Curry Ford Road 12 years ago, it was called JJ’s Grille and offered Mex-Med fare in a fast-casual, counter-service setting. In fact, I praised the restaurant’s uncompromising take on food quality and flavor in a 2014 review. Then, in a bid to play up the menu’s diversity, it became JJ’s Fusion Grille. A few years later, the name was changed to JJ’s Fresh From Scratch, perhaps as a way to tout its unprocessed ingredients and kitchen prowess. But in its latest iteration, JJ’s Scratch Cocina, the name isn’t all that’s changed.
The restaurant now operates as a full-service concept where, Paredes says, “we get to slow things down and share a more immersive dining experience with plates inspired by different parts of the world.” I’m all for the switch, though, in actuality, it’s really a hybrid operation — folks can still order JJ’s bowls, burritos, quesadillas and even arepas from the kiosk in front of the counter.
On the full-service menu, those corn cakes are referred to as “erepa,” an indigenous term for, you guessed it, “corn cakes.” Unlike those in the pre-Columbian era, this trio of golden-griddled buns ($18.95) is cooked in higher-fat European butter and served on a fetching wood-and-marble serving board. Inside each was soft shredded cheese and microgreens cloaking pulled meats of the brisket, pork and chicken variety. A smoked honey chipotle sauce amplified the handhelds, which made for a mighty fine (and filling) lunch.
The same could be said of the handful of tostones ($12.95) topped with avocado spread and pink garlic shrimp licked with reposado tequila, though eating five of these green plantain cakes can get texturally monotonous. I bagged two of them to eat at home later and focused instead on a plate of falafel, pita and beet-infused hummus garnished with chickpeas and pomegranate nestled alongside a bright and vibrant tabbouleh. JJ’s mom, Olivia, grew to love the cuisine of her good pal’s native Lebanon and became very adept at crafting Levantine cuisine, and it shows in this dish dubbed “Earth & Herb” ($12.95).
The label could also describe the restaurant’s interior, with its natural tones and finishes and, yes, even a live herb wall towards the back of the restaurant. It’s all very pretty and pleasing to look at, much like the “Lima” ($25.95), a beautiful presentation of halibut ceviche washed in citrus and passion fruit juices. Dressing the fish were elegantly draped slivers of red onion, red and yellow peppers, and passion fruit pulp whose seeds added a nice crunch to every bite.
The plating here is clearly meant to impress, and it does, but never at the expense of the food. A circular, live-edge acacia wood board flaunting a crackly-skinned chicken breast set in a parsnip puree ($24.95) was very much worth admiring, particularly the bundle of heirloom carrots “tied” with hollowed-out zucchini rounds and graced with edible flowers. Beet wedges, zucchini pulp, mustard greens and a dusting of candied walnuts lent depth and dimension to a not-so-average chicken dish that came highly recommended by two different servers.
The coco de playa ($12.95), billed as a “taste of Tulum,” is a dessert one of the servers said he ate every day for a week. Inside that coconut shell is a coconut crème brûlée topped with toasted coconut and garnished with basil and slivers of candied coconut. As gratifying as it was, the portion size doesn’t make it ideal for sharing. The sweet plantain cake ($11.95), also stunningly plated with a pool of crème anglaise, a scatter of candied nuts and a flower fashioned from the peels of caramelized apple, is more conducive to splitting. The cake, however, leans dry and the taste of plantain was subtle at best, but it’s hard not to appreciate the effort, technique and plating Paredes puts into this and, really, every dish.
Regulars who’ve enjoyed his fast-casual eats over the past decade ought to give this menu steeped in the flavors of the Mediterranean and the Americas a try. The “Scratch Cocina” isn’t a slogan — it’s a flex.
JJ’s Scratch Cocina, 2950 Curry Ford Road, 407-900-0375, jjsscratchcocina.com, $$
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This article appears in Feb. 11-17, 2026.