Our First Dining Experience at Boulder 54

[Bud]

Marcelyn and I had our first dining experience at the new Boulder 54 Restaurant (located at Hotel Oasis) last evening. A friend joined us, so there were three of us. We sat in the gazebo area next to the fireplace, which was lit and helping keep us warm.

The really pleasant surprise for us was that we were greeted by Nelson, who called us by name upon our arrival. For those who don't know Nelson, he is a well known person in the restaurant trade here in Boquete. Always professional, smiling, knowledgeable, attentive and with good English skills. Hooray for Chef Chris and his partner Justin for including Nelson in the staff of this new restaurant. We miss the service of Calixto from the Restaurant Oasis days, but Nelson  made up for his absence.

There have been numerous changes in the facility itself, all of which were creating a warm and engaging ambiance.

Overall it was a nice experience. Presentation of our main dishes was excellent. The food was prepared as requested. And the unplanned entertainment added a bit of levity to the event -- two ducks decided to come into our area and bash their heads against the glass windows. The staff promptly escorted the unwanted and rather large ducks out of our area, but the animals tried to return a few times.

Here are some pictures taken last night. First are the two main entrees:

Note the large serving sizes and nice presentation.

 

Next a picture of the two unwanted dinner guests as they were trying to reenter the gazebo area (we presume they could smell the aromas of our food)..

 

Next, a shot of Justin and Chef Chris, the two principals behind Boulder 54 and other businesses in the Boquete and Puerto Armuelles areas. At the table behind Justin and Chris are Lola Braxton and her husband Steve. We have known Lola for many years, and engaged her services several times.  Lola lives in David, and is well known in the expat community as a translator and liaison/coordinator.

 

And finally, upon departing we noted one of those high tech laser/LED signs displaying the logo of the restaurant on the concrete walkway at the entrance area from the parking lot. Nice touch here, but it would have been better had the sign correctly spelled Chef Chris' last name (Young, not Yonug). We got a big laugh from that sign, but it just adds to happy memories.

[Bonnie]

I dined at Boulder 54 last night with five friends. It was an exquisite experience: pleasing ambiance, excellent food, and superb service. Personal attention is the name of the game there. And all of us were surprised that the bill, with the senior discount already included, was much less than we expected. We'll be back often.