Gauchos is pretty much an institution in Panama. My wife and I went there
for dinner this past weekend. The décor has not changed since I can
remember. We were seated promptly and the menus came quickly. Since
everything is a la carte and I was hungry, I ordered a Caesar salad for an
appetizer, trying not to indulge in the hot loaf of bread that was placed on
our tale. The salad was far from a classic Caesar salad. Actually, it was
quite lousy. I ordered the 16 oz Filete Nacional en trozo(Grass Fed Local
Beef Loin) and my wife order the imported skirt steak. My steak had a great
crust on the outside with a medium rare center. It made up for the lousy
salad..... The piece of skirt steak that I tasted was also very well
prepared and cooked. Potatoes are the only sides that can be ordered, so I
ordered the baked potato and my wife had the mashed potatoes. The mashed
potatoes were very good and the baked potato.... well, was a baked potato.
Nothing special there.
The waiter seemed annoyed when I asked him questions regarding the menu and
the quite limited wine list. The experience, overall was pleasant, but
could be much better if the waiter was nicer and more gracious. I can
suggest that Gauchos is only a place to go for steak. That they know how to
do well.
