A bit pricey for what you get, but perhaps keeping it kosher is expensive and in that case, one can understand where the prices are coming from. We enjoyed the presentation of our dishes. I had a Portobella mushroom appie that was beautifully laid out and well-prepared. A friend ordered the goulash (might not always be on the menu) and the serving size was very generous (presentation was sloppy...the paprika and oil had sloshed against the sides of the bowl and the result, while tasty, looked like a greasy mess). Another friend had a yellow lentil soup that was simple but she liked that about it.
At the end we had a chocolatey souffle served in a coffee cup, cute presentation. It was good, but not one of the best I've ever had. Bottom line, they do a good job of presenting some very solid dishes. The ambiance and the service were both just ok for me. Overall, I have to say the place failed to make a big impression. We went during the day (for lunch), and the place is light-filled, which isn't a bad thing. It's possible that the ambiance changes at night--I'd be willing to go back and give dinner a try (if the circumstances present; doubt I'll initiate it).

I've been to Luna quite a few times, and my impressions have changed over time.
I had some issues the first few times I went, but kept returning because it seemed to get better and better. On one visit with a small group of friends, we had a great night: lobster risotto for the seafood lovers, and for me, the Panama Veggie, fresh citrus-y salad, asparagus, the ubiquitous risotto ai funghi...and the desserts, which were really on point (fondant de chocolate, passionfruit tart, and to-die-for cheese platter with KiaOra farms goat cheese).
Recently, my sister was in town and we were looking for a place to have an enjoyable dinner, and Luna came to mind. Imagine my surprise to find that the menu had changed!
We are both vegetarians and found we had enough to choose from (more than in the old menu). We opted for the queso prensado en infusion de cafe, tortillitas y sofrito de culantro--all local products. Queso prensado is a simple curdy white cheese made in Panama, which I adore for breakfast. Chef Ruben Ortega-Vieto, had the brilliant idea of covering it in rich, dark coffee and serving it up with tiny corn tortilla patties and culantro, a local herb that grows everywhere and tastes like a stronger, heartier version of cilantro. The dish was one of the best things we'd ever had anywhere in Panama.
We also had the truffle parm fries (decadent), the vegetarian gnocchi (a pasta-based gnocchi instead of the usual potato, FAB texture) and the Spinach salad, which came with almonds, orange bits, and KiaOra farms goat cheese. I had one happy sister on my hands!
We complemented the chef on each and every single thing we ate that night! Considering the fact that my sister lives in an amazing restaurant town (Vancouver), I was very proud that she was so totally impressed!

Yay Panama! Yay Luna!

Based on the reviews, we went to Roma Antica expecting some nice Italian food. The verdict at the end: way overpriced.

We ordered a bunch of different things to get a good "across the board" sample: for appies we got a salad, a focaccia, truffle toast, and a brie platter. Mains: mushroom/truffle risotto, linguini alla ruota, arugula pizza (there was no arugula so we had to cancel), four cheese gnocchi. Aside from the salad which was nice, nothing was worth what we paid.

I've had risotto alla ruota (in Italy) and it was the most decadent dish I've ever had. Alla ruota = at your table, the waiter dumps the hot rice/pasta/whatever onto a massive wheel of parmigiano and stirs and scrapes till everything is coated in the cheese.

I had high hopes for the fettuccine. My pasta (overcooked, should've been al dente) at Roma Antica got a few half-hearted swirls on the cheese wheel and while it wasn't bad, it didn't much taste like anything. There were also random sliced California olives in it, shouldn't have been there (not on the menu description and really didn't go with the dish). It was like $17, what a waste!

As for the other dishes:

-brie: stingy
-risotto: overcooked and sickeningly over-truffled
-gnocchi: good texture but flavorless (add a gorgonzola to the mix?)
-focaccia: dry, more like a pita. Canned mushrooms! For these prices, way out of line!
-truffle toast: eh.

Oh and the owner(?) came out to chat with us, told us he no longer had a chef and so he and wait staff rotated the duty for a while and he "got stuck with it"...told us a very macabre story about the chef who disappeared...invited us to come back for a free pizza night (it's a measure of how little we liked the place that it never occurred to us to take him up on that). Overall, he was very welcoming but needs a little polish if he's going to be going up to guests like that...a little lesson in TMI (and gouging).

The ambiance is nice and the wine list is good. No intention of returning, though!

I'm supremely sick & tired of restos w/uppity attitudes (Gonna talk the talk? then walk the walk. Deliver.) Disappointed but not surprised Elephant Grill has joined their ranks.

Gripe number one - it's tacky to have your uncouth "bien cuidado" parking lot peon ask your well-heeled guests whether they have a reservation. Here's a thought: let them actually get in the door & get a glimpse of your oh-so-carefully decorated space before u give them the feeling you'd like nothing better to turn them away. Gah. The host asked me (for a 2nd time) whether I had reserved by which time I was bored with the question and already regretting being there.

So here's the rest of the evening, directly transcribed from my notes:
-Hmmm, why are we stuck @back table by kitchen door, wedged in next to a cabinet? We booked like two weeks ago. No one should sit here.
-Just asked the waiter, since I'm a late arrival, can I order something to take home? The answer was "no." Not, "I'm sorry, we prefer not to compromise the integrity of the food by allowing takeaway." Not "I'm sorry, we don't have to go containers." Just "No." Lovely customer service. So glad snotty restaurateurs are investing in training staff to be like them.
-no appies @bar, must wait till entire party is seated before u can get a bite, even if starving. This is gonna go over REALLY well w/us Panamanians, who are always punctual (snort)
-So I ask: can I get a separate check? (Just me, not all around). Answer? You guessed it. Flat out no. Huh. They really like that word here.
-peeps @my table who managed to get a meal say duck was excellent, pad thai not so much (no flavor). Sigh, plenty of 'tude but no delivery on food/service front.
-no hello, welcome, nothing from owner or chef. Nice.

The place looks cool, sure it'll do fine, but not a fan of the pretentiousness, which to me signals insecurity...bit like when the nouveau riche overcompensate. A plus de rapports que cela n'a l'air...

Sorry, pero este lugar es una travesía de las proliferantes cadenas tipo estadounidense. tiene una fachada llamativa pero esa fachada es el unico aspecto que se podría calificar como positivo. Una vez que entras, la mala acustica poco a poco y sutilmente te pone de mal humor (echo por todas partes y oyes los teles y dos diferentes tipose de musica a la vez porque no han podido invertir en aislar el sonido de un espacio para otro). Si vas a construir un restaurante con "espacios" diferentes, es imprescindible tener buena insulacion, sin eso solo eres un experimento en cacofonia.

(English below) Creo que algunos que han calificado a Rayuela como "malo" no estan entendiendo bien, este lugar no es en verdad un restaurante. En Rayuela, segun lo que he visto en las 3 ocasiones que he ido, todo se trata de la musica. Hay presentaciones en vivo, creo que todas las semanas de miercoles en adelante hasta terminar el weekend. La comida nada que ver y el bar no tiene gran cosa en cuanto a la seleccion. Pero cuando comienza la musica...vaya! El lugarcito lleno de personas que de verdad viven la musica, escuchan activamente, participan. Es algo especial. Rayuela es algo especial. Se trata de beber lo que haya y perderte en el sonido sea cual sea...esa es "la broma" como dicen algunos...Yo de seguro volveré, ya que no conozco a muchos lugares asi en Panamá. De hecho, mañana sabado hay un tributo a Frank Sinatra..."old blue eyes" interpretado por alguien a quien estan llamando "green eyes"...que divertido! Voy pa'lla!

Listen, the people who rated this "restaurant" poorly are missing the point (sorry, but it's true). Rayuela really isn't a restaurant anyway...they have food on the menu to help you soak up the booze, but this place is hard core about the music! There's live music every week, usually (I think) Wed-Sat. All kinds of stuff, some amateurish and some not. This Saturday (mañana) it's a tribute to Frank Sinatra. The flyer says something like: "old blue eyes...sung by mister green eyes himself". I have no idea who'll be singing but I know it'll be fun. Look, the food's crap and the bar is poorly stocked...but it's all about tossing back whatever's on offer and sitting in close quarters with peeps who are all about the sound...everyone's totally engaged and rocking out, whether it's salsa or ballads or cumbia or jazz or whatever. When you're there it feels special. Rayuela is something. If you love music, this is a must-do. You might want to reserve ahead (or arrive early-ish). Cover is usually cheap, $5 or $10.

There are no real vegetarian options for the mains (there are several vegetarian appetizers) but seems the chef was happy enough to make me the chicken & risotto without chicken! The flavor was great, very rich, with mushrooms & asparagus. I think I detected some truffle, glad it was mild as restos in Panama tend to overdo it with the truffle! Texture was iffy. Seemed cooked a tad too quickly, if you do that with arborio rice you can ruin it; instead of an overall al dente feel, exteriors of the grains will be soft and interiors harder.

Everything I ate was delicious but very rich (hello butter!)

One friend had a shrimp and chorizo dish that actually felt light, no oil or butter in sight. For appies, we got paté, foie gras, tuna tartar (which I didn't eat, being vegetarian). Disappeared quickly enough so probably good; understandably tiny portions except for tartar, fairly generous. Came with brioche toast & onion marmalade. We also had a goat cheese polenta (small portion, good) and truffle-butter sauteed mushrooms (a bit salty but decadently good).

Nice bread selection for before meal.

The hotel it's in, the Esplendor, is worth seeing, can't believe I had no idea it existed! Very attractive. Some walls in Rausch are golden-glam, loved the effect.

Service was very pleasant but a bit disorganized, a bit lacking in terms of anticipating needs (they should learn to offer fresh pepper, offer another bottle of wine when clearing an empty one, clear space on table instead of asking guests to, etc.) Wait staff seems on-the-ball & good-natured so hope those kinks will be worked out.

Didn't see the wine list because by the time I got there my friends had already ordered a Luigi Bosca tinto (delish).

RE ambiance, the resto is quite big but made up of more intimate spaces, so still feels cozy.

Anyhoo, those are my disjointed comments! One of these days I'll blog about it. :)

Since I'm vegetarian I had been avoiding Hacienda Real...I had been told there was nothing on the menu that I could eat. However, the place looked cute, so I was curious, and when a friend suggested we go there for a drink and a late snack, I agreed.

It is true that the mains are meat-oriented, but there was still enough to make this vegetarian happy (and full). We had guacamole with soft tortillas, queso fundido con hongos (flavorful, yummy) and a "brick" of refried black beans that was also yummy. The guacamole seemed very overpriced at nearly $9, but when we got our final bill (under $30 each with tip), we were satisfied with the cost/quality, especially considering we had several good mojitos. For veggies there were a couple other dishes: a black bean soup (may or may not have chicken broth, I didn't ask) and sauteed mushrooms.

The waiters bring you a platter of hot sauce, tomato relish, and escabeches at the beginning of the meal, so we ended up making little yummy tortilla bites (or soft tacos) with cheese, guacamole and beans, and then piling on the sauces and pickles. We ended up veeeery full...there were two of us, and we could have easily shared with one more person (so the prices are quite reasonable for all you get).

Our waiter, a tall, reedy fellow, rushed us a bit toward the end (but just a bit, and we did get there very late, so we didn't complain), but the service was pretty efficient. The gentlemen/hostess who sat us and took our drink orders were welcoming. (Tall and reedy was either having a bad night or could stand to learn a thing or two from his coworkers).

Didn't get to see the terrace and upstairs areas as there were big reservations/private parties occupying those areas. The downstairs bit where we sat didn't have what I'd call the greatest ambiance but it had a good feel (rustic, but not in a bad way).

Bottom line, I'll be glad to go back anytime...

We've had a lot of fun every time we've gone to la Rana Dorada...I've been there three or four times and most of all enjoy the pub-style decor and great music (whoever is playing "dj," keep up the good work, please!); lots of good rock, from classic to alternative (60s to 90s and everything in-between).

Everyone I've gone with has said the food is yummy...I am vegetarian and always order the little mozzarella balls, which are surprisingly good...they come with two dipping sauces, a thin but tasty marinara and a mild honey mustard...the mozzarella bits are breaded and very tender; the place obviously uses a good quality cheese.

Unfortunately, we had awful (non-existent) service the last time we were there, even though someone who we think was an owner came out to help his staff. In their defense, the place was super busy...but we were a good-size group (about 8 people) and were spending a lot, so we got heartily sick of having to beg for every round of drinks. As it was a holiday we didn't judge too harshly, though...will definitely go back, as the service has been reliable every other time we've been; hopefully the last time was just a fluke and the owner's will take steps to anticipate holiday crowds.

This is the perfect place for an after-work beer or to get a jump-start on the weekend (try it for before-dinner drinks!)...whether you sit outside or in the dark, cool interior, it's all good!

I really enjoy going to Caffe Per Due...the last time I went, the lady owner was happy to let me practice my broken Italian on her (thank you!) The place is tiny and feels like a cozy pizzeria in Italy. The pizzas are great, nice thin crust, excellent value! It's not fancy at all but this is one of the top three places in Casco Viejo, as far as I'm concerned. Many other places aren't consistent...but in Caffe Per Due I can get pleasant service and pizza that's good every time!