Review of the New Bar Bamboo (the old Baru Restaurant)

[Bud]

Three of us had dinner yesterday afternoon at Bar Bamboo. This is the eatery that in the recent past was known as The Baru, and is located diagonally across from the post office in Bajo Boquete. It had been a very long time since last patronizing that eatery, so we wanted to see how things went with the new owner's version of the restaurant/bar.

First off, there were no signs visible from the street as to the name of the facility. I saw only one "sign" that had been painted on an exterior wall that was hidden from easy visibility to the effect that the name is now Bar Bamboo.

Service was quick, and the menu was extensive and reminiscent of the menu of the prior Baru establishment. We all commented upon reading the menu that prices for the food items seemed a bit high. We ordered some onion rings for an appetizer, plus one medium size combination pizza, which was to be shared among the three of us, plus drinks consisting of one each domestic beer, Coca Cola, and black coffee. The drinks and onion rings were delivered in short order. The onion rings looked attractive, but did not meet our expectations for taste. The pizza was delivered a few minutes later, and was very attractive and tasty. It was a LOT of food, even for three people. Glad that we had not ordered the large family sized pizza.

The ambiance was quiet, which pleased us because the three of us like to chatter and catch up on the latest bochinche. On the other hand, we were the only patrons inside the restaurant (pardon me for calling it a restaurant, since the name is Bar Bamboo). The place was clean and well appointed. After finishing our meal, which included a request for take away container, we asked for the bill, but did not ask for a jubilado discount. I paid with a credit card; we were informed that tips had to be in cash. No problem with that. We paid, left a cash tip, and then departed. The outside patio area had only one table occupied. In other words, there were not many patrons there at what we think of as a normal dinner time.

We likely will go back, but it is not at the top of our favorites list. No real complaints on our part, but it didn't seem a good value, and the onion rings left a bad taste in our mouths.

It was not until getting home and logging the credit card purchase that I noticed that we were not charged for the beer. Obviously an oversight that would have been pointed out had I checked the bill prior to departure. Also we were given a jubilado discount without asking for it. The medium size pizza would have been $14.00 but with the discount it came down to $10.50. Had the bill been correct and no discount applied, the total would have been about $21.00. The bottom line of a dinner for $7.00 per person (not including tip) is reasonable to us, so maybe I should soften the earlier comment about the prices seeming high on the menu. And it was a LOT of food, and tasty pizza.