Las 5 Potencias Restaurante (The 5 Powers) is located in Chame, in front of the Transit Police Station. This is one of the oldest restaurants in this area. It was here when I was a child and has managed to survive the changing times and economy. This is my second visit to the restaurant. The first time I was there, I was in high school, which was a long time ago.
My friend and I arrived for lunch on a Friday afternoon. 8 tables were being served by the only waitress, who was busy keeping up with the lunch crowd. This is an indoor restaurant with air conditioning and no patio. It is quite large, there are over 20 tables with different seating capacities. The walls are white with a freshly painted cleanness to them. Hanging plants add a nice green contrast to the walls and a fresh touch to the atmosphere. There is no background music or TV. There is however, a TV close by the cashier desk, which I imagine gets turned on for important games and events.
This restaurant does not have a printed menu. Meals are prepared according to the day’s availability. We seat ourselves and wait to be attended. My friend and I are busy in conversation and don’t mind the 10 minutes it takes for the waitress to arrive. When she does, she brings water and tells the menu, which for today is, shrimp, chicken or bistek picado (strips of beef). She doesn’t tell us how it made, however we know that it is commonly made with a red sauce and we take this for granted. She also tells us they have chuleta asada (grilled pork chops), gallina guisada (chicken stew) and a choice of shrimp, chicken or beef soup. To drink they have soda, pineapple or nance chicha. No alcoholic beverages are available. Once the tells is the menu, she leaves to serve another table.
When we are ready to eat, we summon the waitress and she returns. I order chuleta asada and nance chicha. My friend, asks for the shrimps and a soda.
Our food arrives in about 10 minutes. I get chicken instead of the pork I ordered, however it is quickly corrected. Our meals come with beans on the side along with a tomato and lettuce salad. My pork chop is tender and juicy and an average size. The beans are freshly made and cooked to creaminess. The salad is mixed with mayonnaise. The nance is more like a slushy than a chicha, which is pleasant surprise. My friends shrimps are camarones in a creole sauce. There is about half a cup of shrimp on his plate. He enjoys the flavors and complains about the quantity of shrimp. The only desert available today is cherry ice cream, which we indulge ourselves with.
When we are ready to leave, I wave to the waitress for the bill. She does not return in a reasonable amount of time, so we go to the cashier to pay instead. The bill for our meals is $10.15 for both of us. This is a very reasonable place to eat.
I recommend not coming here during lunch if you don’t have a lot of time. This restaurant offers you a different menu everyday and the food is quite cheap, so do give it a try.
Las 5 Potencias is open from Monday to Sunday for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 6:30am to 5:00am No reservations needed. To call 240-61-46.
