KAANDELA

Review summary

1. N

   Neha

   Chicago

   2 reviews

   1.0

   2 reviews

   Dined today

   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 today

   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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2. M

   Meredith

   VIP

   New York City

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   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 today

   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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3. B

   Brent

   Hawaii

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined 5 days ago

   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 4 days ago

   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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4. J

   Joe

   New Orleans

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   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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5. B

   Beth

   VIP

   Denver

   7 reviews

   5.0

   7 reviews

   Dined 6 days ago

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

   The set menu for the holiday was very flavorful and the service was attentive
   

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6. S

   Sterling

   Washington DC

   19 reviews

   2.0

   19 reviews

   Dined on December 9, 2024

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

   Expected cutting edge , inventive food. Reality was far from that. Pork belly lollipops were great , but short rib just came with ice cold ordinary mashed potatoes with potato chips stuck in them. Seafood casserole had no special flavoring and was completely unremarkable.
   

   KAANDELAResponded on December 10, 2024

   Dear Sterling, we're really sorry to hear that your experience didn’t meet your expectations. We appreciate your feedback on the pork belly lollipops, and we're glad to hear you enjoyed them. However, we understand your disappointment with the short rib and seafood casserole. We take your comments seriously and will review the dish components and flavors to improve. We hope you'll give us another chance to provide you with a more exceptional experience next time. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
   

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7. S

   Shelley

   VIP

   Calgary

   14 reviews

   5.0

   14 reviews

   Dined on November 30, 2024

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

   Fantastic food. Great cocktails and attentive service. A must go in Casco Viejo!
   

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8. G

   Graeme

   Toronto

   2 reviews

   5.0

   2 reviews

   Dined on November 29, 2024

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

   Exceptional dining. Could benefit from improved espresso quality; otherwise, first class.
   

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9. E

   Erin

   Salt Lake City

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 28, 2024

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

   This was our fourth visit to Kaandela, one of our favotite restaurants for special occasions, but this was our most disappointing visit. The service was very fiendly throughout, but we went long periods of time without check-in visits, were unable to get more than one drink, and there were several problems with our meal. It was as if they forgot we were there for long periods of the evening. After waiting almost 40 minutes, all of our main plates suddenly arrived at the same time. Our appetizer was delivered after the main dishes were finished. On top of that, the food quality was not as good as the previous, exceptional, vists. The pork shank was dry and rubbery (not crispy) and the fish dish was very salty and full of bones. We live in Panama City, and will probably give Kaandela one more chance in the hope this was just an "off night," but we left feeling disappointed after this special anniversary dinner.
   

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10. J

    JUAN

    Miami

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined on November 25, 2024

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

    La comida estuvo mal en general, no lo recomiendo, ni volvería
    

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