Kaandela Restaurant — Restaurant in San Felipe

My wife and I shared the lamb and pork belly appetizers. She ordered the prawns, and I had the skirt steak for our mains. The lamb appetizer was flavorful but overly salty, while the pork belly was decent. Her prawns were fine, but she didn’t care for the sweet rice that accompanied them. My skirt steak arrived on a sizzling hot plate with chimichurri. I had requested it medium, but it was served slightly undercooked and lacked flavor beyond the spoonful of chimichurri it came with and the feta I slathered on it from the 6-leaf 2-tomato slice salad . The cut of meat was also on the tough side. I had to saw it apart with the dull steak knife I was given. There are Mexicans I work with back in Texas that cook a better skirt steak on a homemade grill in the middle of nowhere than what I had here. Overall, I was disappointed, especially after reading so many glowing reviews. The service felt rushed, and for all the hype, the experience was mediocre at best. The space in the dining room is quite intimate and there was a table of 5 fellow Americans who were obnoxiously loud to the point my wife and I had to elevate our voices to hear each other. I would much rather eat with and where the locals eat on the outskirts of Casco Viejo than the touristy spots inside the old town.

I always find it weird and cringy when restaurants use phrases like "not to your liking" or "not meeting your expectations". It's a more of a deflection rather than an acknowledgment. The issues I had were issues with standards and quality. I have never ordered a skirt steak that was presented at the table and they not slice it for you. Cooking a steak to Medium calls for a warm pink center (not red like I was given). To avoid waiting on them to recook another steak or risk a confrontation over requesting they cook me a new steak I just dealt with it. The pork belly is shown on their website with little sticks inserted into the meat. We were brought a plate of sticks separate. This is not some four or five start dining experience as hotel guest that are checking in literally are led through the dining room to get on the elevator (also in the middle of the dining room) to the hotel. It is a hotel restaurant that has a successful hype campaign that makes it seem like a grand experience due to its location and online marketing. I was really shocked at the low quality of my experience due to the overwhelming number of...

In 900 reviews and many more visits unwritten, I have never before walked out of a restaurant mid meal. This was a bad experience that got worse as the evening progressed.

First, of 5-6 choices in white wines, only one was actually available. Because I intended to pair it with the pork belly pops appetizer it seemed important to do it right. We actually don't know what wine we got because we were sampled on something not in the menu, but it was still the wrong choice when they didn't have the pops. Seriously, it's paper and your signature item. Reprint your menus when you are out of everything, or at least tell us at the beginning instead of waiting until after we order. This is not a one night problem as a review 4 days before mentioned the same.

We got the Clams Papa which really needed bread to soak up the liquid. Several of them were still gritty and my wife said her's tasted fishy. Not good.

Then we sat. We ordered a different glass of wine and got a really short pour. Photo of untouched glasses is attached. An hour and a half after sitting down and after going to the kitchen to ask when to expect dinner they brought the steak. Compare the photo I'll upload with that of other's. There's no comparison. Ours was small, grey and cooked in a pan, not appearing even near the advertised weight. There was no crust and no ember as described. There's no way that this gristley thing was prime either. At this point I decided I could not pay $100 for this junk and told them we were leaving. The chef came out, but there was nothing for him to do. I think that he was as embarrassed as he should have been to serve that mess. No, I would...

Visited in July 2024. Panama. Panama-City.

We stumbled upon this restaurant after a disappointing experience at another place that left us hungry. The interior is really charming, especially the indoor terrace, which is airy and not at all stuffy. The high ceilings and light walls create a very inviting atmosphere.

The Food:

We chose two appetizers and an alcoholic cocktail to whet our appetites. The first dish, which is quite popular, was the pork belly lollipop. Perfectly fried, the pork belly was super-crispy on the outside, but remained tender and juicy on the inside thanks to the fat. There was no feeling of overwhelming greasiness in the mouth. The fermented, slightly spicy kimchi was a great addition for a balanced flavour. The second appetizer was clams in a garlic-wine-cream sauce. We loved it! The sauce had a nice smooth texture and a rich, garlicky, creamy flavour. The salt and spice balance was excellent. The clams were tender. We really enjoyed the flavour. I also want to mention the pisco sour, which tasted identical to the one we had in Peru.

Service:

The waiters didn't speak much English, making ordering a bit challenging, but the manager came to the rescue. He gave us a great explanation of all the dishes and helped us choose. His recommendations were spot on. The service was fine, and the dishes took about 15 minutes to prepare.

Overall:

A wonderful restaurant offering creative cuisine. The appetizers we tried were delicious. The interior is lovely, and we truly enjoyed our time at the restaurant. We highly recommend it, especially if you're in the area....