We love this restaurant and visit it often. The food is absolutely outstanding, and the chefs deserve the highest praise for the quality and consistency of their cooking. Every time we come, we are impressed by how delicious everything is. The only point that could be improved is the service. Recently we visited with a larger group of friends who were in Panama for about ten days and had been visiting many different restaurants. Unfortunately, the service at El Santuario surprised them in a negative way. Our server that day did not seem very welcoming — he never smiled and came across as rather unfriendly, which made our guests feel a bit uncomfortable, almost as if we were disturbing him. Since we had recommended the restaurant so highly to our friends, this was disappointing for us. Our friends even mentioned that this was the worst service they experienced in Panama during their 10-day visit. That said, we will continue coming here because we genuinely love the food and the restaurant itself. We know many restaurants in the city, and this one has always been one of our favorites when it comes to food, even if the service has room for improvement. We simply hope the management might consider improving the way the staff interact with guests, because warmer and more attentive service would make the experience truly perfect.
