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You can get a good meal almost anywhere in the province, but Boquete has the best restaurant selection. The specialty in the mountains is local farm-raised trout, but because the Gulf of Chiriquí has such great fishing, seafood is also a good bet. Chiriquí is cattle country, so you'll also find plenty of beef on the menu.
Though Boquete's first hotel now faces stiff competition, its stately restaurant remains one of the best in town. Created by award-winning Executive Chef Charlie Collins, inventive dishes are based on traditional Panamanian cuisine and might include pumpkin soup, shrimp-and-plantain croquettes, butter-poached trout, wild boar with chocolate demi-glace, and grilled beef tenderloin topped with a three-pepper sauce. Service is flawless in a historic European atmosphere that's hardly changed over the past century. Sunday breakfast is popular.
Owned by master pastry chef Richard Meyer, this colorful café is perhaps the most popular place in town, meaning guests wait in line, all while being tempted by the glass case displaying strawberry cream cake, chunky brownie muffins, walnut cranberry pie, and coconut mousse cake. Travelers on a budget come for the $1 empanadas or the lunch specials of wraps, soups, sandwiches, and salads. The Italian melt with prosciutto and provolone is perfectly toasted, and the hot pressed pastrami on rye or roast beef on ciabatta makes it clear why Sugar & Spice supplies most Boquete hotels and restaurants with breads, all made from natural starters.
This Mexican grill might seem out of place in Volcán, but it’s a favorite among locals with its authentic street tacos piled high with battered fish, chorizo, and chicken. Rice, beans, slaw, and salsas come with main entrées, or you can opt for lunch classics like hamburgers or panini. The Michoacán-born Chef Jamie Ortega delivers traditional Mexican dishes of sopa de tortilla, enchiladas, mole, and chiles rellenos. Start with a sweet mango margarita and end with tasty tres leches. The colorful wooden tables and walls displaying ponchos and sombreros might make you forget where you’re traveling.
Perched on the banks of Caldera River, this pleasant restaurant is Boquete's go-to place for an intimate meal. The smoked trout and pasta with prawns are delicious, but it's the rack of lamb in a rosemary crust that is a local favorite. For a romantic dinner, the fireside gazebo has the best view. A more social setting can be found at the bar, appropriately named "La Roca" (The Rock) for a boulder that washed onto the property during a rainstorm in 1970; the boulder remains. There's often live music, which can be enjoyed with a glass of wine or the tres leches dessert. Lighter fare of soups, salads, and sandwiches is also on the menu.
There is something European about the stone building that houses this restaurant a short drive northeast of town, which is made complete with authentic Italian cuisine. The small dining room is on the ground floor overlooking a stream surrounded by trees and impatiens; an outdoor patio sits beside a small waterfall. The menu includes fresh pastas such as vegetable lasagna and fettuccine del Chef (with prawn-and-mushroom cream sauce) or napolitano (with tomato-clam sauce). You can also build your own pizza or calzone or grab a pizza to go.
Surprisingly good pizza is served at this small, Italian-owned open-air restaurant a short walk from the beach. The thin pies baked in a wood-burning brick oven would be popular in Panama City, but they taste that much better served at the edge of civilization. On holidays and dry-season weekends the place can get packed, and it stays open late as locals and visitors top off their dinners with cold beers and good music. Service is relatively slow, so if your stomach is grumbling, get there by 6:30 pm if you don't want to wait longer than an hour for your food.
Led by Michelin star Chef Andrés Madrigal, this sophisticated restaurant at Finca Lerida is based on the “Kilómetro Cero” (Zero Kilometer) concept: Only local ingredients from nearby farms are used to create a menu of authentic Panamanian flavors. Beet carpaccio with caramelized cashews is an excellent starter, as is the signature tree-tomato soup made from a sweet tomato-like fruit grown on-site. Elegant entrées range from tender lamb and seared trout to roasted skirt steak and homemade ravioli. The hydroponic greens add a colorful and healthy touch, right before the rich and savory dessert, Pan Perdido (black chocolate custard with rum). If the weather cooperates, request a table on the outside deck overlooking the gardens.
Smack at the end of the main road to Santa Catalina, this beachside restaurant has a fine selection of seafood and Italian dishes, with recipes for pollo a la scalopina and filete de pescado a la mediterránea taken straight from the cookbook of the Italian owner's mother. With a great sunset view of the bay at Playa Santa Catalina, finer dining in a more sandals-optional location won't be found.
This simple restaurant serves 17 varieties of good pizza, as well as mediocre pastas, many meat and seafood dishes, and inexpensive, three-course lunch specials. The decor is limited to vibrant tablecloths and tacky art, but the place is clean, bright, air-conditioned, and very popular.
This poolside restaurant on the lower level of Hotel Bocas Del Mar has ocean views and an elegant yet relaxed dining area. Each morning, local fishermen deliver the daily catch that transforms into beautifully prepared plates of ceviche, garlic shrimp, grilled lobster, and seared tuna with linguine. The chilled salmorejo soup topped with serrano is an excellent starter, as is the Greek salad, which is large enough to share. The filet mignon with mushroom sauce comes with shoestring fries, and the grilled fish is served with a side of rice and vegetables. Vegetarians will appreciate the pasta primavera or the veggie tower stacked with eggplant, zucchini, tomato, and mozzarella. Save room for the crêpe suzette filled with vanilla ice cream.
Next to The Riverside Inn, this place's greatest asset is its view of the Palo Alto River and the forest beyond it. If the weather is nice, you may want to sit outside near the riverbank, though the large picture windows also let you enjoy the scenery from inside. The food is tasty and inventive, though service can be slow. Starters range from corvina (sea bass) ceviche to hydroponic salads. Entrées worth sinking your teeth into include pork ribs with sugarcane and papaya sauce and a sesame-crusted salmon filet on a creamy risotto. The grilled portobello burger with cream cheese and cranberry filling makes for a unique vegetarian option. Monday night features live jazz and two-for-one cocktails from 6 to 7.
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