It's always nice to be greeted by the chef's own herb and vegetable garden as you enter a restaurant, so look left before you enter. The restaurant is located in neighborhood and you feel as if you are entering someone's home that has been converted in to a restaurant. I suspect that this is actually the case, and not a deliberate architectural design choice. Needless to say light hardwoods give a warmth to this homestyle haute cuisine establishment. Interpretations of roasted chicken, pork chops, beef cheek and shortrib, and fresh fish are all prepared with fresh ingredients. The chef's style was very pan-american, with some dishes remarkably local and others such beer slow roasted boneless shortrib would be standard fare in New York City and Los Angeles. This restaurant would fit right in to any metropolitan city.

All very fresh high quality food cooked with amazing attention to every detail, including plating. In some cases the dishes were a little flat in flavor, but overall this was a great dining experience and very very cost effective for what it is. I'll put 3 dollar signs but I live in L.A. where everything is ridiculously priced and this is an L.A. 2 as the portions end up being large.

The one dish that was unrivaled was the tres leches. Without question the best one I've had, and I'm not a thin man.

Make reservations. I think my entire experience in Panama city would have been different if I'd had known to make reservations to every hot restaurant a week in advance.

We went to Maito on the advice of friends. We found it a good, normal restaurant but not in any way exceptional. We had a reservation but they said they were all booked so we were seated outside, which was nice in a way but not what we had expected. It is expensive. This restaurant is not easy to reach and it is easy to miss, as it is a small house simply decorated.

We returned recently and the quality of the food is consistent. We tried to book a table inside and ended up in the terrace, but did not regret it one bit as the temperature was extremely pleasant. For an air-conditioned experience, make sure you book at least two days in advance. Taxi drivers usually won't know where it's located, so make sure to write down at least the directions listed on TripAdvisor. (Panama is one of the few countries where taxi drivers cannot handle street addresses: hand the driver a clearly written-down address and he'll ask you where it's at! - they go by landmarks, and good luck if you weren't born there!) Excellent food, except the Tarte Tatin which is a glorified à-la-mode pie, took forever to prepare and was not what we ordered to begin with.

This is a very nice restaurant, the service is outstanding and the quality of the food is well above average. However the portions are small, even by fine dining standards and the main courses are not accompanied by any sides. That in itself is not unique but there is no mention of that on the menu nor is there a list of sides to order. We are glad we went but won't go back.