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.
