Closed since 2023. Jai-Alai Restaurant did not reopen after the five-alarm fire of September 2023. This site is kept online as an archive of the restaurant, its menu and its Basque-Spanish kitchen. What happened
Jai Alai Restaurant Basque Spanish Cuisine · Dover, NJ

Dover, New Jersey · La Cocina Vasca

Jai Alai Restaurant: Basque Spanish Cuisine in Dover, NJ

Garlic, olive oil and the cooking of the Basque Country

Chef-owner Ignacio Cenicacelaya cooked the food of Spain's Basque region at 73 West Blackwell Street for decades — shrimp sizzling in garlic and extra-virgin olive oil, paella a la Vizcaina built for two, and a house sangria made with no sugar added. The restaurant closed after a fire in 2023. This site preserves what it served.

See the full menu Signature dishes Directions & parking
The dining room at Jai Alai Restaurant in Dover, New Jersey: white tablecloths, wood columns and a bread basket set for service.

A Basque kitchen in Morris County

Four generations of Basque cooking, one dining room on West Blackwell Street

The Jai Alai was a Basque and Spanish restaurant in downtown Dover, New Jersey, a few doors from the town's train station. Its menu was built the way Basque kitchens are built: around olive oil, garlic, saffron, salt cod, peppers and the shellfish that travels up the Atlantic coast from the Bay of Biscay to the New Jersey shore.

Everything came out of the kitchen to order, and almost everything was finished in Spanish extra-virgin olive oil. The house poured a sangria made from scratch, red or white, with no sugar added — a detail the restaurant was proud enough to print on its menu.

The room itself was quiet and formal in the old way: white cloths, heavy chairs, a basket of bread waiting on the table, and a menu that ran from a casserole of garlic soup with a poached egg to a one-and-a-half-pound stuffed lobster at market price.

Read the story of the restaurant or learn about the Basque people behind the name.

What the Jai Alai was known for

Four things people drove out of their way for

Garlic cloves, the base of Basque cooking.

Garlic and olive oil

Gambas al ajillo, sopa de ajo, pollo al ajillo — the kitchen leaned on slow-roasted garlic and Spanish extra-virgin olive oil rather than cream or thickener.

Ripe tomatoes used in Basque salads and sauces.

Setas rellenas

The famous stuffed mushrooms: large caps filled with a secret Basque cheese blend, baked in a wine sauce. Guests begged for the recipe; the kitchen would only admit to three cheeses.

Fresh vegetables served alongside Basque dishes.

Paella a la Vizcaina

A classic Basque paella for two or more: lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, squid, chicken and chorizo over saffron rice.

A glass of red wine, poured beside the house sangria.

Homemade sangria

Red or white, made in house with no sugar added, sold by the half pitcher and the full pitcher — the way a Basque table finishes a long meal.

The menu

The full menu is transcribed below by section. Prices are the ones printed on the restaurant's last published menu card.

Appetizers Hot and cold tapas: gambas al ajillo, stuffed portobella, escargot, grilled chorizo, mango and jamon serrano, ensalada Jai Alai. See the appetizers → Soups Sopa de ajo topped with a poached egg, black bean puree with rice, and the soup of the day. See the soups → Seafood & paella Paella a la Vizcaina, two mariscadas, stuffed and steamed lobster, sole, scallops and shrimp, zarzuela. See the seafood → Meats Roast duckling in mandarin Grand Marnier, veal in Jerez, Basque-style N.Y. sirloin, filet mignon, pork with brie. See the meats → Side dishes Saffron rice, white rice, Spanish potatoes and fresh vegetables — the plate-fillers of a Basque table. See the side dishes → Sangria Homemade red or white sangria, no sugar added, by the half pitcher or the full pitcher. See the sangria →

The name on the door

The Basques: Europe's oldest surviving people

The Basque people are the most ancient surviving ethnic group in Western Europe. Their homeland runs along the coast from Bilbao, Spain, to the Landes of Biarritz, France, and their language, Euskera, is unrelated to any other language on earth.

Jai alai — “merry festival” in Euskera — is the Basque ball game played with a curved wicker cesta, and the reason the restaurant carried the name. If Spain is blessed with a rich and varied gastronomic landscape, the Basques occupy its indisputable culinary high ground.

Read about the Basques See the Basque specialties
Page from the Jai Alai website introducing the Basque people, their homeland between Bilbao and Bayonne, and the Euskera language.

In print

What a local reviewer wrote

“… a perfect way to end a day… in the quiet ambiance of this out-of-the-way culinary jewel.”
— dover_nj.com, reviewing Jai Alai Restaurant

The same review noted that guests were likely to be met by Saul or Nick Cenicacelaya, who would steer them through the wine list, and that the homemade sangria was superb in either red or white. Paella a la Vizcaina and the Basque seafood casseroles were singled out as the dishes to order.

Read the full review and press notes →

Reviews page from the Jai Alai Restaurant website quoting a dover_nj.com review of the restaurant.

Finding the place

73 West Blackwell Street, Dover, New Jersey

The restaurant sat on West Blackwell Street between Prospect and Warren streets, a block from Bassett Highway (US 46) and a short walk from the Dover station on NJ Transit's Morris & Essex Line.

Address & contact

Jai Alai Restaurant
73 West Blackwell Street
Dover, NJ 07801
United States

Telephone 973-989-0916
Fax 973-328-7914
Email info@jaialairestaurant.com

The restaurant is permanently closed, so the telephone, fax and email listed here are historical contact details kept for reference. See the FAQ for details.

Street map of downtown Dover, New Jersey, marking Jai Alai Restaurant on West Blackwell Street between Prospect Street and Warren Street, with Bassett Highway to the north.

Map of downtown Dover

West Blackwell Street runs east–west through the map, crossing Prospect, Warren, Sussex and Morris streets. Bassett Highway (US 46) is the wide road to the north.

Full driving and transit directions →

Questions

Frequently asked

Is Jai-Alai Restaurant still open?

No. Jai-Alai Restaurant closed permanently. It shut after a five-alarm fire in September 2023 and in May 2024 it was reported that it would not reopen. See what happened for the full account and sources.

What kind of food did it serve?

Basque and Spanish cooking — the restaurant called it La Cocina Vasca. That meant paella, seafood casseroles, garlic shrimp, saffron rice, grilled meats and Spanish extra-virgin olive oil throughout. The full menu is here.

What was the signature dish?

The stuffed mushrooms, setas rellenas: large mushroom caps filled with a secret Basque cheese blend and baked in a wine sauce. People travelled a long way for them and the kitchen would only ever say that three cheeses were involved. More about the signature dishes.

Where was the restaurant?

At 73 West Blackwell Street, Dover, NJ 07801 — in downtown Dover, Morris County, near the Dover train station and Bassett Highway (US 46). See the directions page.

What does “Jai Alai” mean?

Jai alai is Euskera, the Basque language, for “merry festival”. It is also the name of the Basque ball game played with a long curved wicker basket called a cesta. More on the name.

See all frequently asked questions →

Explore

Everything on this site

About the restaurant The name, the kitchen, the people and the fire that ended it. The Basques Who the Basques are, where they live and why Euskera is unique. Basque specialties The dishes that defined the Jai Alai's kitchen, explained. Full menu Every dish and price from the printed menu card, in text. Reviews & press What reviewers said about the food, the room and the sangria. FAQ Closure, menu, parking, reservations and Basque cuisine questions. Contact The restaurant's address, telephone, fax and email as published. Directions Driving routes from I-80 and I-287, plus the NJ Transit option.