Butcher Chophouse — Restaurant in Bajo Boquete

For a meat place they sure don't know how to make a burger. Made this review extra long for constructive criticism, the place is genuinely nice and has potential. I'll start with the positive: the place has a very nice vibe, good music and good service. They have a very wide selection of steaks. The neutral: sweet potato fries were made in an oven, which I guess is more healthy but doesn't taste as good and who eats fries for the health benefits right? The negative (tldr don't order the burger): I had the "butchers" burger as the waiter recommended (which as it turns out is identical to the regular one but costs an extra dollar). I asked for medium since they asked how I want it and got a well done burger anyway, so why bother asking. The patty was tasteless and dry, did not feel fresh, and honestly didn't sit well in my stomach so I stopped eating after half of it. The cheese was a cold slice that sat above the vegetables instead of being melted on the meat. They put so much lettuce that in the first few bites that's all I had in my mouth. The burger composition in general felt sloppy. Whoever cooked it either didn't know what he's doing or didn't care. The burger was served on a flat slice of a log, which I'm sure looks cool for steaks but all the fat just dripped off it onto the table, so not very practical for burgers.

The place might just not be used to cooking burgers, I'm sure they know their steaks but they are better of removing burgers from the...

Wow, the food is top notch, 5 star, I opted for the skirt 12 ounce steak from Argentina. Spot on perfect, tender juicy a flawless med-rare. It came with a delicious green salad [or fries or a baked potato]. There was an assortment of various salts which was fun. And the wine list excellent and fairly priced. I went by the glass since I was solo, a delicious Malbec for $6- per copa! A bargain! The room is great with a vibe reminiscent of an old New York steakhouse, charming bar, dark woods, good lighting, an a pleasant all around 1st class pub. Loved it. But alas, perfection is flawed by poor amateurish service. Despite being the only guest there, No one greeted me as I entered or smiled, I felt unwelcome, when my wine glass was empty, no one asked if I wanted another, I had to wave the server down, who was engaged with the bartender. After my delicious entree, No one offered me dessert or coffee, just plopped the bill down with no comment. I paid cash and the change was placed, without a check holder unceremoniously on the table top, no thank you, nada. Rude. It makes me sad that a great place that gets so much correct, is marred by an untrained service team. Hint to servers: get off your...

The place is really nice inside and service is above the rest, first world county style (well, almost there but def above the Panama standards of good service).

The fries with garlic and rosemary were good and thw burgers we ordered as well but one of them was really salty, the other high in salt but still ok and the fries that came with the burgers had too much.

I ordered mine medium and it was more on the 3/4 side. Oh and they did take quite a long time to bring

Sangria was nice, very different than other places, smooth and tasted kinda juicy, hard to describe.

I'd come back to try the meat but the burger was not what I expected.

UPDATE

We gave our feedback to the waiter (who asked) and we're surprised with a brownie with ice cream on top which was really good since the brownie was made with dark chocolate so it was bitter and the ice cream gave it the perfect mix for a little sweetness.

I would give them 5 stars since this is definitely putting already exceptional service even higher but hey, two out of four plates were still charged on salt.

This did make me want to come back sooner and try something else (they only have 1 option for burger), lots...