Last night was my third visit to this restaurant. The first 2 visits were flawless in all categories. We looked forward to taking friends to dine with us who had not been there before.
We we arrived we learned that we had no reservation because, while I was told that we were confirmed, we were actually placed on the waiting list. The place was full, likely because of the great review in La Prensa the previous day.
Barbara, the gracious bilingual hostess quickly addressed the issue by promising the first table that opened. She seated us to wait in the back bar and bought our drinks for the inconvenience. We soon had a table and all was well.
There were several issues with the food. On my first visit I had the crab cake which was crispy and delicious. I thought I would give it another try. It arrived so undercooked that it was cold. The waiter quickly whisked it away. When it returned, it was warm, but limp and the crispy deliciousness of the previous visit was nowhere to be found.
For the platos fuertes, 2 had meat and 2 had fish. The corvina and the Robalo arrived woefully overcooked. My friend ate his corvina but my wife could not and it was taken home to become today's tuna salad. The short ribs and the entrana were perfectly prepared.
I still like this restaurant but I will wait to go back until the crush caused the the review abates. The failures were from a lack of attention by a kitchen that I assume was not used to the volume of a full house. Nothing that some practice and attention to detail cannot cure.

This is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Panama. The food has the intense flavor found in Chinatowns around the world and there is no compromise when it come to authenticity. That said, communication can be difficult. Spanish is not only my second language but the second language of the waitstaff. The menu can be very confusing and many items are not available. However, for those with an adventurous palate and spirit, this is the place for true Chinese food in Panama.

Last night we were looking for something new. I found Alkimia on Degusta and looked at their online menu. The menu looked interesting (Mediteranean with a Spanish accent) and the reviews were good but I wondered why the restaurant had so little buzz. We arrived at 8 and the place was pretty empty so I did not expect much.

The apps were uniformly excellent; croquetas de jamon, beef and corvina carpaccios and sauted mushrooms. Both taste and presentation were outstanding. Mains were over the top great. I had the lobster; tail meat removed and cut into bite size peices and returned to the shell over angel hair pasta with a creamy fresh mushroom sauce. Que rico! At $26 it was their most expensive plate but still a good value. The entrana (skirt steak) was tender and perfectly cooked and sauced. The corvina with maracuya sauce was seared and crusted but still cooked moist and not overdone. The maracuya sauce would make an old sneaker taste good. We had room for one shared desert and ordered the apple tart which was mediocre compared to the rest of the meal. My geuss is that they do not have a pastry chef.

The server was inexperienced but pleasant and accomodating. the decor was comfortable but nothing special. I will return soon to sample the extensive menu and, if the food is as consistently good, I am sure to become a regular.