52 Best Restaurants in Panama

This unassuming Mexican eatery on the corner of Parque Urracá serves a small selection of homemade Tex-Mex standards at very reasonable prices. Tortillas and chips are house-made, and the guacamole is whipped up to order. There's a fairly predictable lineup that includes soft tacos, enchiladas, burritos, tostadas, and a combo platter called the "Especial La Mexicanita." Wash it down with a Mexican beer, margarita, or horchata (a sweet, cinnamony drink). The ambience is "nothin' fancy," limited to a few, time-faded Mexican tourism posters, but this place is all about the food.

An eclectic blend of Panamanian, European, and Asian cuisines and the choice of dining in an old-world café or a distinctly tropical patio make a meal at Las Clementinas a memorable experience. The bright dining room evokes a Parisian bistro, with its large, arched windows, tile floors, and long, marble-topped bar, and the lush garden patio is a lovely spot for an intimate dinner. The menu ranges from sea bass with jasmine rice and roasted eggplant to three-chili-braised goat tacos with homemade corn tortillas. They offer several cuts of beef and a selection of sandwiches, soups, and salads, and a popular Sunday brunch. It can get quite lively on weekend nights, when reservations are recommended, but as soon as things calm down, the manager usually sits down at the piano and plays a song.

Built out over the Chagres River, this open-air restaurant at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort is a great place to see turtles, fish, crocodiles, and waterfowl feeding in the hyacinth-laden water. If you travel with binoculars, you'll definitely want to bring them here, so that you can watch wildlife while you wait for your lunch. A small buffet is frequently available, but the à la carte selection is usually a better deal, with choices such as peacock bass in a mustard sauce, grouper topped with an avocado sauce and cheese, or the hearty, spicy fisherman's stew. Lighter items include Caesar salad, hamburgers, and quesadillas. It isn't Panama's best food, but it's good, and the view of the forest-hemmed Chagres River populated with grebes, jacanas, turtles, and other wildlife is worth the trip out here even if you have only a cup of tea.

Panama City's best Indian restaurant is also one of your surest bets for going vegetarian in a town short on options for herbivores. The shrine behind the bar shows a traditionally dressed Indian woman making the gesture meaning "welcome," and owners Koreena Bajwa and César Marín certainly make guests feel that way. Their authentic north Indian cuisine is served in cozy, colorfully decorated dining rooms, which include an area for shoeless dining on the floor on plush cushions. Just about any of the dozens of vegetarian, chicken, and lamb options on the menu are guaranteed to make your taste buds smile. A great nonmeat option is the thali, a plate that includes four hefty samplers including beans or lentils and a yogurt-based dish. This popular restaurant is small, so reservations are essential.

Topped by a giant thatch roof that has become an Amador Causeway landmark, Mi Ranchito has a great view of the city across the bay and is one of the best places in town to sample Panamanian cuisine. The food isn't gourmet, but it's authentic and inexpensive. House specialties include various ceviches, corvina entera frita (a whole fried sea bass), crema de mariscos (seafood chowder), camarones a la criolla (shrimp in a tomato and onion sauce), corvina al ajillo (sea bass in a garlic sauce), and a rib-eye steak encebollado (smothered in onions). They serve tasy batidos (frozen fruit drinks) made from papaya, piña (pineapple), and other tropical fruits; this is an excellent spot for a drink at sunset, when the skyline glows. At night, you can enjoy the live Latin music, often traditional Panamanian.

Nestled in a restored colonial building across the street from the ruins of Santo Domingo, Mostaza offers a cozy and delicious dining experience in the heart of the historic quarter. Start with a drink on the plaza, then move into one of the two narrow dining rooms, one of which has a centuries-old exposed stone wall. The Argentine and Panamanian owners are usually in the kitchen, preparing an eclectic mix of local seafood and meat dishes that range from lenguado (sole) in a mushroom sauce to pork tenderloin in a maracuya (passion fruit) sauce. They offer some inventive fresh pastas, such as seafood ravioli in a vodka salmon sauce, and langostinos (prawns) sautéed with Gran Marnier, but meat lovers will want to try the classic Argentine bife de chorizo (a thick cut of tenderloin) with chimichurri: an olive oil, garlic, and parsley sauce.

You can get authentic Indian cuisine in Bocas del Toro at this cozy café atop a gift shop. Owner Sunanda Mehra is a Canadian of Punjabi descent who raided her aunt's cookbook before running off to Panama. You can savor such improbable delicacies as her butter chicken, shrimp masala, mattar paneer, or any of a half-dozen vegetable dishes. Choose your level of heat on the curry dishes, slowly cooked with a blend of colorful spices. You can also request to have any dish wrapped in a flour tortilla. Be sure to try a refreshing fruit lassi, prepared the traditional way with homemade yogurt, rosewater, sugar, and cardamom.

This large, no-frills eatery on busy Vía Cincuentenaria is packed most weekends, as Panamanians arrive in droves for sizzling steaks and seafood, served with a salad and baked potato, at reasonable prices. Though the owner is Greek, there is very little Greek food on the menu. If he'd opened his restaurant in Chicago instead of Panama City, it would no doubt be called Jimmy's Grill, which is basically what the name means in Spanish. Its big draws are the steaks, but the extensive menu has a lot of good options, such as corvina al ajillo (sea bass with garlic), pulpo a la parrilla (grilled octopus), or sancocho (Panama's national dish, chicken soup with tropical tubers). Seating is available on the front terrace, for a view of the traffic, or in two large, air-conditioned dining rooms.

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.

Is there any better name than "Raw" for a sushi restaurant? The Canadian owner prefers to refer to her restaurant's cuisine as Japanese fusion, and the menu here expands beyond classic sushi to include shrimp tempura and salad rolls. This lively place has become a favorite among Bocas's large expat community, but all are welcome, resident and visitor alike. Dine inside if your group counts more than two. The tables overlook the water. Smaller tables line a long pier jutting out into the bay. Raw does a brisk business each evening during its 4–6 pm happy hour.

After managing Manolo Caracol for years (see review), René opened his own place, while following Manolo's popular formula of offering a set menu that changes daily and consists of about a dozen items served in five or six courses. The difference is a more intimate setting, more Caribbean influence, and lower prices. René is almost always there, making sure his guests are happy. The small restaurant is in a historic building on the northwest corner of Plaza Catedral, with a high ceiling and white walls that are invariably decorated with the work of local artists. There are also several tables on the sidewalk with cathedral views. The dining experience is a sort of culinary journey, in which fresh dishes appear every time you complete a course, and you happily chew your way forward, toward a light dessert. Simpler, inexpensive lunches are an alternative to René's seemingly endless dinners.

Angel is the most elegant of the city's Spanish restaurants, with antiques and original art decorating its plush dining room, as well as a few photos of the owner receiving awards for his cooking. The cuisine is Spanish with some French influence, with dishes such as cordero chilidrón (lamb sautéed in tomato sauce) and conejo deshuesado (rabbit in a garlic sauce). It's located on quiet, tree-lined Vía Argentina, a short walk from most El Cangrejo hotels. Dress well if you dine here.

This open-air restaurant is known for serving large portions of fresh seafood, prepared a variety of ways, with an ocean breeze. The specialties are all from the surrounding sea, such as ceviche, corvina con hongos (sea bass with a mushroom sauce) and crispy langostinos (prawns) served with coconut rice and guandú (pigeon peas). The name is a misspelling of the word barco (boat), and you'll probably see a few as you dine, because most tables face the canal, whereas the rest overlook the bay and city, beyond the parking lot. The wine list has 10 vintages from various countries. It's the first restaurant in the Brisas del Amador shopping center, on the left as you arrive at Isla Perico.

This popular Peruvian restaurant named after that country's famous Inca ruins occupies an unassuming house a short walk from the hotels of El Cangrejo. Its relatively small dining room, decorated with paintings of Peruvian landscapes and colorful woven tablecloths, is often packed with Panamanians at night. The food they come for is traditional Peruvian, with a few inventions such as corvina Hiroshima (sea bass in a shrimp, bell pepper, and ginger sauce) and langostinos gratinados (prawns au gratin). You can't go wrong with such Peruvian classics as ceviche, ají de gallina (shredded chicken in a chili-cream sauce), seco de res (Peruvian stewed beef with rice), and sudado de mero (grouper in a spicy soup). Be careful how you apply the ají hot sauce; it's practically caustic.

This open-air restaurant, a short drive from the main road, is like something out of a fairy tale. There are stone floors, plants everywhere, goldfish ponds and a stream running between the tables; the food is pretty good, too. The ample menu ranges from traditional Panamanian dishes such as sancocho (chicken soup with tropical tubers) and corvina (sea bass) prepared various ways, to filet mignon and chicken cordon bleu—they spell it "gordon blue." There's a playground and a tiny menagerie in the back garden. They also rent rooms, but they're cramped, dark, and musty.

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.

Perched over the sea near the center of Old Bank, this rustic, open-air restaurant is known for serving authentic bocatoreña food. House specialties include Caribbean chicken (in a mildly spicy sauce), fresh lobster, shrimp, and conch, listed as "snail" on the menu. They are served with a hearty mix of coconut rice, red beans, and a simple cabbage salad. The ambience—a thatch roof with tables and chairs made from tree trunks—is equally authentic.

This American-owned deli, in a historic building behind the Palacio Municipal, is a popular breakfast and lunch spot thanks to its selection of sandwiches, salads, and homemade soups. The ample breakfast menu includes several English muffin sandwiches and a house version of eggs Benedict, as well as excellent coffee. In addition to a dozen sandwiches, they offer a good selection of salads and such treats as homemade hummus and a Brie and fruit plate. They also make good cookies and other desserts. The central location and free Wi-Fi make this a popular hangout for local expats.

This trendy tapas restaurant packs in the locals on weekend nights, but it's a fun place for a meal any time. Seating is at long, high tables, which different groups share under a tangle of wires and hanging lamps. The tapas are an international mix of flavors: from Greek salad to coconut cashew chicken to a selection of Panamanian empanadas (fried pastries stuffed with sausage and potato or beans and cheese). The portions vary in size, but the best thing is to start with two per person, and share. The atmosphere is hip, with house and other contemporary music on the stereo and original art on the walls. You may want to head up to the rooftop bar—a popular night spot with an impressive view—once you've had your fill of tapas. The restaurant's weekday lunch specials are reasonably priced and make for a nice break while touring the historic neighborhood.