While visiting Galipán, we ate lunch at a restaurant called El Mirador. From the terrace, you can actually see the Atlantic Ocean and some of the airport hotels. The food was pretty tasty…

Tequeños with teriyaki sauce…

Carpaccio de lomito…

Snapper and vegetables…

And for dessert, brownie with vanilla ice cream…

Don’t know if my pictures do it justice, but it was delicious. It’s probably best to make a reservation there before going, because it doesn’t hold that many people. The servers were very attentive and the facilities well-kept. I’d eat there again without hesitation should I ever find myself on that side of El Ávila again

I should’ve reviewed this restaurant a long time ago considering we’ve been going there since we first arrived in Caracas back in 2009. I love Italian food and while there’s an abundance of restaurants around, it took me a while to find one that was to my liking. Panini offers your garden variety pasta, meat and fish dishes al italiano. They also offer some great carpaccio appetizers. This picture of the outdoor area is my favorite place to sit. I have an aversion to air-conditioning anyway, but this area is covered and less noisy than the main room. Before telling you more about the food, I have to say that the service at this place is fantastic. The waiters know us and we always feel like we’re getting first class treatment. Only caveat is that they tend to get really busy around lunchtime and the wait time for your dish can be up to 45 minutes.

This last time we were there, I ordered lomito a la plancha con salsa de miel y vinagre balsamico (grilled steak with a balsamic vinegar and honey sauce). My sides were sautéed vegetables and mashed sweet potatoes. Delicious and very filling. My usual dish is called del Bosque which is pasta – your choice of linguine or penne – with chunks of fresh mozarella, tomatoes and basil. Also very good.

My favorite drink to order at Panini is a limonada frappé con grenadina (frozen lemonade with grenadine syrup). I’ve tried this at several other restaurants and they tend to be too sweet. Panini has the perfect blend which makes for a very refreshing drink while enjoying Caracas weather.

So, if you ever find yourself in Caracas…call me and we’ll head on over to Panini