El Trapiche

El Trapiche Review

El Trapiche is a popular spot for traditional Panamanian food, thanks to its convenient location and reasonable prices. The menu includes all the local favorites, from ropa vieja (stewed beef, but literally "old clothes") to cazuelo de mariscos (seafood stew) and sancocho (chicken soup). They serve inexpensive set lunches, and typical Panamanian breakfasts, which include bistec encebollado (skirt steak smothered in onions), tortillas (thick deep-fried corn patties), and carimañolas (cassava croquets stuffed with ground beef). The decor is appropriately folksy, with drums, Carnaval masks and other handicrafts hanging on the walls, and a barrel-tile awning over the front terrace, at the end of which is the old trapiche (traditional sugarcane press) for which the place is named.