Panchita - Chacarilla — Restaurant in Lima Metropolitan Area

First time visiting this restaurant. Got there at 12pm for lunch. The hostess was nowhere to be found so we waited like 20 minutes in front of the door. I had to ask someone who was prepping food inside Panchita for the hostess so he told us he would let her know. When the hostess finally came (young woman with long black hair) seated us at a small table that was way too close to a table with a huge family. The restaurant was empty except for that family and another family in another table so I don’t understand why she cramped us in that space especially when that small table was being too invasive to the family’s table. We felt uncomfortable so we switched to a another table nearby to be more comfortable and near the window because the restaurant’s atmosphere is on the dark side and my guest was a senior and we needed to discuss about business and read some documents. We sat and everything was fine until 10 minutes later. First of all, no server came to greet us during this time. Instead, the hostess came back and told us we needed to move because the table near the window that we were seating on had four chairs and that we were two people so we needed to go back to the small table. I explained the situation and even mentioned that there were a lot of empty tables but she said tables were reserved even though the restaurant was basically empty at that moment and there was no sign that they were reserved. She repeated herself that we need to seat in the small table for two with two chairs and walked away. We were going to ask for the manager and file a complaint but we rather decided to leave and spend our money somewhere else. I’m not recommending Mr. Acurio’s restaurant to any of my business partners. Instead we walked less than a minute and went inside this Korean bistro called Biwon a couples houses next to Panchita. Best decision ever. The food at the Korean Bistro was excellent and the service was impeccable. No issues with the tables either! They gave us a nice large and cozy table in a well illuminated area to discuss about business and the food was superb. We didn’t know there was a Korean restaurant nearby so thanks to this experience we found a nice spot. Not going back to Panchita and I’m not regretting not being able to try the food there because I’m sure there are better options out there for...

The food and drinks are good, but the service is not great. It takes forever for the waiter to take the order and even longer to get the food out. Even the drinks and the bread basket take really long to come out. Some of the food came out cold and some dishes could use a little bit more seasoning (i.e. the soups). The waitstaff do not check on the table, we felt ignored both times we went this week. Our desserts sat on a tray next to our table for at least 10 minutes, the table had not been buzzed at all. Once we got the desserts in front of us, it took another 10 minutes, and asking twice, for us to get more spoons and an extra plate. It took 2.5 hours since the time our reservation started to finally get the checks (which also took a long time and having to look for our server for it to come out).

Do not sit next to the central decoration in the restaurant, it has a strong smell that isn't very pleasant.

It seemed like every table had a birthday celebration for which the servers brought a cajón and sang a song, which at times felt overwhelming...

I expected a lot more from Panchita. We placed drink orders that took over 20 minutes to come. Finally we received our pisco sours. We order an appetizer platter that included ocopa, anticuchos, tamal verde, and papa rellena. It was exceptional. We ordered individual entrées. 2 lomo saltados, cooked medium executed to perfection. Pollada chicken with potato and choclo, extremely tasty. The French fries of the lomo saltados were COLD and very HARD. Anticuchos cooked medium, which we had to SEND BACK because they were cold. Arroz con pato, green rice with duck, we sent it back because not only was it cold but it was EXTREMELY overcooked. They brought it back a second time, but it was overcooked AGAIN. I honestly expected bette from a Gaston Acuario restaurant. The service of our server was very good. But we were disappointed with how some of the dishes were executed. We most likely won’t return...