The Best Restaurant in Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama

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The town of Bocas has an ample restaurant selection, with such surprising options as Thai and Indian cuisine to complement the traditional seafood. Dining is casual and the pace is slow, so be patient for your meal. Local specialties include lobster, whole-fried snapper, octopus, and shrimp served with patacones (fried plantain slices) or yuca frita (fried cassava strips). At restaurants, opt for bottled water over a glass with ice because tap water is usually unsafe to drink. Almost no restaurant here accepts credit cards. Although tipping is not obligatory in Bocas, it is greatly appreciated by the locals.

El Ultimo Refugio

$$$ Fodor's Choice
For a break from plantains and battered fish, this darling tin-roof restaurant with live music and a menu based on the freshest-of-the-fresh, is truly the “ultimate refuge” from the typical Bocas culinary scene. Strings of bulbs dangle above wooden tables on wide-plank floors perched over the water. Vegetables are refreshing and vibrant, and salsas are sweet and tangy atop mahimahi and tuna tartare served with homemade chips. The beetroot salad with blue cheese is excellent, as are mains like octopus on white bean puree or creamy shrimp risotto with sun-dried tomatoes and fried pumpkin seeds. The chef caters to vegans with flavorful yellow curry on coconut jasmine rice. The peanut butter Snickers pie has been known to make repeat customers out of those only in town for a week.