Donde Giselle? We’re glad we found Donde Giselle! We live in Boca Chica, Chiriqui and had to come to Boquete on a Wednesday. Our normal choices were closed, but we saw that this place was open. Immediately was we walked in the door, the staff were welcoming and the charming outside garden with comfortable seating beckoned to us. As soon as we saw the menu, we agreed that we’d order 3 appetizers to share for lunch. We chose well! Each dish was beautifully presented and expertly crafted, the flavors were a delight to the palate (I drool as I remember!). Caramiñolas de Ossobucco carimañolas stuffed with Ossobucco served with their own stew - a crispy outer on a perfectly smooth mashed potato, encasing an unctuous ‘ossobucco’ type stew… as I said … drooling remembering! Pulpo Parrillero Parrillero (on an open charcoal grill) Octopus• comes accompanied by a delicious squid ceviche, crispy patacones and yellow chili sauce. The description CANNOT describe the soft and flavorsome octopus, or the very thin and very crispy patacones, nor the equally soft and delicious squid ceviche - perfectly flavored without the overt vinegar of some ceviches. The yellow chili sauce is HOT, perfect for us, but a word of caution! Unfortunately I could not find a menu description of the Beef Carpaccio - the plating was gorgeous - the beef cut perfectly, tissue paper thin (applause for the chef here!) It was served traditionally with a generous sprinkling of fresh parmesan. There were also fried capers and a garnish of onion and a mystery green sauce that was very mild. Everything was wonderful. They made my husband a smoothie that wasn’t on the menu (he wanted Passion fruit “maracuya”) - after telling us they didn’t have it, something delicious and very passion fruit heavy arrived at our table. The staff were impeccable. It cost us for the 3 appetizers and a drink AND a very generous tip! $50. Not cheap by Panamanian standards - but to these foodies - well worth every single cent.

We love Peruvian food and will try it wherever we can find it. BUT, in all our tastings, nowhere compares to "Restaurante La Cueva Del Pitufo Boquete". Rodolfo, the chef owner is a wizard in the kitchen! His flavors, textures and presentation are just — magic! We told him we could taste the love of his craft in his creations, he totally agreed, that each dish he presents, comes from the heart. So hard to make choices when you know that everything will be delicious - but there are a couple of dishes that tell you just how good a Peruvian restaurant is. 1. Cause! 2. anticuchos de corazón. 3. Suspiro Limeño (sadly, for this visit, we had eaten far too much to consider eating this feather light delicacy during this visit - BUT let us tell you that this is the BEST Suspiro we've ever had). We had the Causa Limeña de Camarón (of course!) - with shrimp - it was a feast for both the eyes and the palate - the potato was so fine - so lemony - silky smooth and the shrimp were beautifully presented, as juicy as they could be, as only perfectly cooked shrimp can be. Delicious, rich perfection. Anticucho Típico Peruano - sizzling on a platter, two skewers of flavor bomb! Cooked as we ordered (medium rare), slight chew, slight char ... mmmmm!!! Octopus with Olive - we thought we ordered the GRILLED octopus and were very sad when his octopus in PINK sauce arrived at our table... BUT BUT .... first bite and heaven! This is cold marinated octopus in a black olive sauce, we'd never had it before - we will be having it again. The acidity of the olives in this creamy sauce with the chew of the octopus .. this was an experience in flavor and texture... Steak - normally we would not order steak - but it sounded so delicious and sadly I cannot find the name of the steak we had!!! But it was large, tender and bursting with flavor and prawns - I cannot think about it without my mouth watering - just describe it to the waitress, she'll ask Rodolfo!!! If you like steak, try this stuffed with prawns - your mouth will thank you. Corvina Bajareque - Grilled Corvina fillet with prawns and clams in yellow chili sauce, mushrooms. There are no words to describe the flavors - the textures - the sauce was beautiful and silky, with a mild warmth - I would not call it a chili sauce - I would just say delicious!!! One additional thing to consider - Patacones!!!!!!! This Peruvian chef, Rodolfo, makes the very best Patacones ever - they are soft and tender on the inside and have a crisp, bite worthy exterior that crunches .. mmmm...... So - sadly, we were too enthused and ate too much to get the Suspiro Limeño - but we will be back!!! Many, many thanks Rodolfo!!!!

We have been to Retrogusto several times and we are continually impressed. Our last meal there was as near to perfection as you can get - 100+ all around - service - atmosphere - and food, food, food. We like to sit at a table on the interior of the restaurant (there is outside seating on the street one table, and an exterior ‘garden like’ setting in the back). Our inside table of choice has an excellent view of the kitchen, where we are continually impressed with the attention to detail and the perfection of their plating! There is a wonderful menu, but you can also ask for a ‘tasting menu’ - smaller plates - more courses! Of course, we opted for the tasting menu. Tuna carpaccio, it was not just ‘food’ but a delightful experience in textures and flavors. The smoked tuna was cut expertly, wafer thin and there was a pesto sauce, ‘crumbs’ of very well toasted and flavored bread, sprinkled with sprouts. Cream of mushroom soup - so expertly done! The texture and flavors were impeccable. It did not appear to have cream in it - but it was a silky emulsion of mushroom, the flavor of the mushroom exploded in our mouths as we had the first taste .. mmm! Risotto, flavored with truffles and topped with juicy, perfectly cooked shrimp. Again, the flavors shone through - expertly balanced blend of truffle and shrimp. Filet Mignon, served over a bed of ‘creamed spinach’ - this was not the ‘normal’ creamed spinach - this was a light as air, concoction of spinach, that was not cream at all, but a wonderful puree that let the vegetable shine - and of course, their filet was cooked EXACTLY as we wished. There was a delicious balsamic reduction on the side that worked perfectly to blend the flavors on the spinach and the filet. Lastly! There was a tiny cup of Pana cotta perfection - topped with a puree of strawberries, perfectly flavored - I don’t think any sugar met these strawberries. My husband ordered a Negroni and Retrogusto have a special one that they top with Prosecco instead of soda - happy, happy husband. Service was impeccable and our waiter was Jake, who was both knowledgeable and engaging. In all Retrogusto has our custom, again and again - it’s difficult for us to go to Boquete and not visit our favorite restaurant!

We were so happy to find El Pan Ya! It has recently opened in the square that has Delta Gas, Farmacia del Carmen and Gladisin. It's actually really bad news as we HAD to try so many things! They bake fresh every day and we tried the rolls and plaited bread made with egg, a ham and cheese sandwich, a tres leches cake and a pastry that had pineapple and cream cheese. The pastry is so flaky and crispy and I've not had better anywhere. I think that the prices are good, for all the things I've mentioned we paid just over $7.00 !! Go try it! They're new and waiting for customers!!!!

¿Te gusta el DIM SUM? ¡Dim Sum House en David es Hong Kong en Panamá! Créame, he comido Dim Sum en algunos de los mejores lugares: Hong Kong, Londres y San Francisco. Dim Sum House en David es igual a mejor que muchos de estos. Hoy escribiré sobre Dim Sum, pero también probamos su sopa Won Ton, Mein Fun y Chow Fun. ¡Todo lo que hemos probado está delicioso! ¡Acabamos de tener una FIESTA de Dim Sum! Tomamos 9 platos (¡hambre!) - ¡Olvidé el nombre del noveno! Rollito di Primavera - rollitos de primavera - muy, muy crujiente - delicioso - verduras perfectas por dentro. Chon Fun de Cameron: la masa más suave hecha a mano, sedosa y con camarones perfectos en su interior. Wotip - excelente masa - RELLENO, pude ver que allí estaba hecho a mano. Siu Mai de Puerco con Cameron - Muy bueno y tierno, delicioso. Costillitas - trozos de costilla de oporto - perfectamente cocinadas. Jamón Pao de Puerco - bollos de cerdo al vapor - ¡posiblemente el mejor que he probado! ¡Esa masa se salió flotando de mi plato! Bolita de Carne: albóndigas de cerdo al vapor, deliciosas y de sabor delicado, ¡tan ligeras! Patita de Pollo - patas de pollo al vapor con frijoles Entonces, si estás en David y te gustaría tener una fiesta china, ve a The Dim Sum House, no es un lugar elegante, ¡pero sí limpio y acogedor! Like DIM SUM? Dim Sum House in David is Hong Kong in Panama! Believe me - I’ve eaten Dim Sum in some of the best places - Hong Kong, London and San Francisco. Dim Sum House in David is equal to better than many of these. I’ll write about Dim Sum today - but we’ve also tried their Won Ton Soup, Mein Fun and Chow Fun. Everything we’ve tried is delicious! We just had a Dim Sum FEAST! We took 9 dishes (hungry!) - forgot the name of the 9th! Rollito di Primavera - spring rolls - very very crispy - delicious - vegetables perfect inside. Chon Fun de Cameron - softest hand made dough, silky smooth and perfect shrimp inside. Wotip - excellent dough - STUFFED, could see that it was handmade there. Siu Mai de Puerco con Cameron - So good and tender delicious. Costillitas - port rib pieces - perfectly cooked. Ham Pao de Puerco - pork steamed buns - possibly the best I’ve ever had! That dough floated off my plate! Bolita de Carne - steamed pork meatballs - delicately flavored and delicious- so light! Patita de Pollo - steamed chicken feet with beans So - if you’re in David and you’d like to have a Chinese Feast - go to The Dim Sum House - not a fancy place - but clean and welcoming!

We love Angus House - one of our favorite places to go for lunch when we have to go to David (from Boca Chica). The decor, service and ambiance are very clean, quiet and welcoming, it is also comfortable and the lighting is excellent. But the reason we go there is the food - the burgers are large and cooked perfectly to our directions, every time. The French fries are especially crisp and delicious. We’ve also tried their steak dishes (several kinds!) - the meat is always tender and very tasty and we also couldn’t; resist the octopus carpaccio which was wonderful! We highly recommend Angus House for either lunch or dinner.

I cannot believe it took us so long to actually go to this place. Very convenient location at the back of Super Baru on the Interamericana. We had Chicken and Waffles for breakfast - the waffle was crispy and tasty and the chicken portion was very generous. They have an interesting menu and we'll certainly be back!

We went to Restaurante Huamei on the recommendation of our landlord. We were so glad we asked him - it’s now one of our favorite places to go in David. There are actually two menus - a ‘general’ menu where you get combination plates - full and half plates; and a ‘Chinese’ menu (in a black folder), where items are individual. Both menus are equally delicious - but the one in the black folder has some real gems of the food world - their Duck, was some of the best I’ve eaten anywhere (including Hong Kong), they have a tofu dish on this menu which seems expensive - however it’s so large that it will feed several - it’s unusual, I’ve never seen it anywhere else - and of course it’s delicious! We have also tried their roast pork which was excellent - meaty and with the crunchy skin that was perfection! If you want AUTHENTIC Chinese food - look no further than Huamei!

Vinimos aquí por consejo de Danny, propietario de Inn The Coffeepot en Boquete, un espíritu europeo afín que aprecia la buena comida y el servicio. Retrogusto fue totalmente inesperado en Boquete: ¡ESTABA en Italia! La comida era, en pocas palabras, italiana. Ni americano ni nada italiano. Tengo el mejor risotto que he probado en mi vida (incluso en Italia), sencillo y delicioso, cremoso y sabroso. Risotto con trufa negra, queso Asiago y estofado de ternera. Ni siquiera puedo escribir sobre esto sin babear. Y no puedo esperar a volver a comerlo de nuevo. Cuando leímos la descripción, ¡tanto mi esposo como yo pedimos el mismo plato! Definitivamente probaremos su pizza la próxima vez: ¡se veían increíbles! Si estás en Boquete…..no necesitas pensar a dónde ir…

Si estás en Boquete, especialmente para desayunar, date un capricho. Olga nos abrazó cuando entramos por primera vez. Su comida continúa el abrazo: cálida, reconfortante y, lo mejor de todo, totalmente deliciosa. Probamos tortillas, waffles, desayunos tradicionales panameños, batidos de jugos de frutas y todo estuvo delicioso para bailar con las papilas... Lo siento... no hay fotos mías de la comida, ¡¡entramos directamente en cada ocasión!!