KAANDELA

Review summary

1. T

   Tiffany

   VIP

   Philadelphia

   7 reviews

   5.0

   7 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Wow! This restaurant far exceeded our expectations. Jenny, our server, was great and helped us pick the perfect Panamanian meal. Highly recommend!
   

   KAANDELAResponded today

   Thanks so much, dear Tiffany!
   

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2. R

   Ronja

   BW

   2 reviews

   3.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   It was nice but I wouldn’t go there again. The food was good but not exceptional and it was too loud. The front of the restaurant is nice but after you smell like a beef because of the grill. The back is really not nice and the chairs are really uncomfortable.
   

   KAANDELAResponded today

   Dear Ronja, thank you for your feedback, we truly appreciate your honesty. We’re glad to hear that you enjoyed the food, although we’re sorry it didn’t quite meet your expectations. We also apologize for the noise level and any discomfort caused by the seating and the smell from the grill. We’re always working to improve the atmosphere and your comments are very helpful in guiding us. We hope you’ll consider giving us another chance in the future. Thank you again for sharing your experience.
   

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3. A

   Anna

   New York City

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   It was amazing! It was 10 stars! Service was excellent, food was delicious and presentation…. I ll recommend this place to everyone who ll visit Panama… Thank a lot!
   

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   KAANDELAResponded 5 days ago

   Dear Anna, thanks so much for visiting Kaandela!
   

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4. R

   Richard

   San Francisco

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 6 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   From the moment you enter until the time you leave, you will feel cared for. The staff is very attentive. Our server Yenny was very personable and looked after us well. The cocktails were nice, not too sweet like many other places we’ve been to. The food was amazing, delicately spiced and beautifully presented. Everything was perfect about this place except the entrance. It is not explicitly marked so we had some comedy trying the wrong doors. Other than that, perfect.
   

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   KAANDELAResponded 3 days ago

   Dear Richard, thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your experience with us from start to finish. It’s great to know that Yenny took such good care of you and that the cocktails and food met your expectations. We also truly appreciate your feedback regarding the entrance. We're glad you could still find humor in the situation, and we'll be sure to review our signage to make it clearer for future guests. It was a pleasure having you with us, and we sincerely hope to welcome you back soon!
   

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5. M

   Martin

   Salt Lake City

   2 reviews

   4.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 4 January 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Really wanted to love this place but just a few missed steps that make it 4/5. They open at 6:30pm, we showed up at 6:25pm and doors are closed so we decided to take a quick walk to the front by the water then turn back. We arrived again at 6:40pm and seated right away. To our surprise the entire restaurant other than 3 tables had arrived which means they must have a full seating time at 6:30pm. The reason I mention this is that when you sit that many people at once it’s difficult to be timely both for the kitchen and bar, especially in a smaller establishment. The bar is small and should only have 2 bartenders which it did, but due to sitting an entire restaurant at once we waited 25 minutes for our 2 cocktails and the apps arrived before drinks which should never happen. We ordered the Kanapachi which was 10/10, the lamb which was the best dish of the night and the pork belly lollipops but then someone came out and said they were out of them, which was very strange for a Saturday night during their first seating of the evening. We then ordered entrees which were great. The crispy pork shank was 10/10, the short rib definitely had a strong smoke flavor with the open fire which might not be to everyone’s liking and I think the dish was a little overpriced for what it was 8/10. We had one red cocktail which had way too much sour mix in and the other two were great, the cacao cocktail won’t be for everyone but incredibly unique and I enjoyed it. There was a 2 top which arrived maybe 5-10 minutes after us, assuming they were late to their reservation but I overheard him complaining as we were leaving after just short of 2 hours, asking where his food was, again I think it’s due to their seating schedule. Really unique space, good food, the host was great and knew her job well, our server didn’t speak any english which is expected of course but he was very attentive. If you’re only 2 people I would suggest a booth in the kitchen area, only 3-4 of them.
   

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   KAANDELAResponded 7 days ago

   Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed feedback! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the food, especially the Kanapachi and lamb. We apologize for the delays with the drinks and the pork belly lollipops, as well as the timing issues. We’ll work on better managing the seating to avoid bottlenecks in the future. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to welcoming you back soon!
   

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6. N

   Nathalie

   VIP

   Miami

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 31 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great experience! Kenny was our waitress and was amazing
   

   KAANDELAResponded on 2 January 2025

   Thanks so much, Nathalie!!!
   

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7. N

   Neha

   Chicago

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on 30 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   I was expecting a much better experience at this restaurant as it is highly rated but was disappointed from the beginning. The doors are locked so we had to wait outside after ringing the bell multiple times until someone finally showed up to open the door. This was despite having a reservation and being there on time. We were then seated and provided menus. There are no vegetarian mains available and the servers didn’t offer to check with the kitchen or chef to improvise or offer vegetarian options. I ordered the only vegetarian item on the menu - a salad called La Colorada - it was literally 2 pieces of dosa( Indian crisp crepes) with yogurt sauce, and couple of beet root pieces. My husband ordered lamb kofta - which was sweet. We had ordered drinks with along with our food but didn’t received the drinks until after we were done eating and had to remind our server that the drinks were missing. Overall, a disappointing experience. The service should be impeccable for the prices they charge.
   

   KAANDELAResponded on 30 December 2024

   Dear Neha, thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re truly sorry to hear that your experience didn’t meet expectations. We apologize for the delay in opening the door upon your arrival and the issues with your drinks and meal. While we are not a vegetarian restaurant, we do strive to accommodate all dietary preferences and will ensure our team offers better alternatives in the future. This is not the experience we aim to provide, and we’ll work to improve both service and menu flexibility. We appreciate your comments and hope you’ll consider giving us another chance in the future.
   

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8. M

   Meredith

   VIP

   New York City

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on 29 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 4

   My husband and I had received multiple recommendations to dine here and were looking forward to trying many of the top dishes from the reviews. Unfortunately, we had a terrible experience from start to finish. We arrived for our 6:30p reservation for an Open Kitchen table. The server was enthusiastic and provided a nice wine recommendation as we reviewed the menu. However when we began to order we learned that nearly all of the restaurant’s top dishes were not available. The restaurant had hosted a large lunch party and not adequately stocked enough food for their dinner service. This was incredibly disappointing, especially as nobody had alerted us to this when delivering the menus, but we still managed to select 3 appetizers to share, and for the mains my husband selected an entree while I ordered the side vegetable dish. The pacing of the first two appetizers was pleasant; we were happy the restaurant was not rushing us. There was a friendly interaction with both our server and the manager throughout our time there, including a discussion as to whether we had ordered an appropriate amount of food and we agreed we might add one more side after the 3rd appetizer came out. We then waited about 30 minutes before any more food arrived, and given that we had seats looking into the kitchen, it was apparent that there was some chaos in how plates were being served to diners. We were very alarmed when my husband’s entree came out next, along with a second entree that we had discussed with the waitress but never actually ordered. We immediately asked the manager where the rest of our order was and were outright shocked when we were told that the kitchen had also run out of vegetables for my tomato & watercress side dish (the only dish I had ordered for my main!). Also, they had mistakenly given our 3rd appetizer to someone else without realizing it. At this point, we have been at the restaurant for 2 hours. We immediately paid our bill and I was left hungry.
   

   KAANDELAResponded on 30 December 2024

   Dear Meredith, first and foremost, we deeply regret that your dining experience was so disappointing, especially given the high expectations you had from the recommendations. What you described does not reflect the level of service or attention to detail we strive to provide, and we sincerely apologize for the miscommunication regarding dish availability, the delays in your meal, and the mistakes with your order. Please rest assured that we are addressing this internally to ensure that something like this does not happen again. We hope you might consider giving us another chance in the future. If you do, please don’t hesitate to reach out in advance, and we’ll ensure your next experience is much more reflective of the standards we work hard to maintain.
   

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9. B

   Brent

   Hawaii

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on 25 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   Service was good. Wine list was great. Starters were excellent but main course of Tamarind Pork was dry and somewhat tasteless. Side was also disappointing. Overall not good value for money. Don't think think we would return.
   

   KAANDELAResponded on 26 December 2024

   Dear Brent, we appreciate your comments and your visit. We have shared your feedback with our Chef as we are entering into a new menu era. Thanks a lot!
   

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10. J

    Joe

    New Orleans

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 25 December 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Kaandela is definitely the most-go-to place for dinner in Casco Viejo, Panamá. The food is delicious, and the service is excellent. You won’t regret it.
    

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