Panamá City Restaurants

El Trapiche is truly a novelty in Panama: an authentic Panamanian restaurant. The fact that this country attracts so many charter tourists and gamblers means that there is a plethora of cheap eats and international cuisine, but very few places that will offer Panamanian food. You know that it's authentic by the sheer number of Panamanian old people who come here to eat. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, with a jungle hacienda look to the restaurant. It's best to eat outside, as the air conditioning is a bit much indoors. The menu is huge, with all sorts of traditional dishes, starters and sides, as well as drinks. The service is fairly quick for Central America, and everything is always fresh and hot. The prices here are quite reasonable as well, with the most expensive of dishes coming in at about USD10, but most options are around USD6.

Favorite Dish: I think I sample half the menu, but I'm very much partial to yuca, so I stuck with those dishes that contained it. I was particularly fond of the Sancocho Panameño, a chicken soup made with cilantro and chunks of yuca. As well, the tamale de olla is very good - chicked stewed with raisins in a thick sauce. Stay away from the mondongo, unless you actually enjoy tripe. Meat platters are quite large, and the beef is usually good, although a bit tough.

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Located in a banking area; however, you'd be surprised how good their combination of food and elegant dinner ambiance is all about.

Incredible appetizers and hors d'ourves to start off, we got the 'Provoleta Caprese' and an order of Mixed Hors D'ourves. A great list of Certified Angus Meats (including Kobe Beef) at prices that are hard to find at most other places, which can be complemented perfectly with the wine of your choice.

Great Service ... Highly recommended!

Favorite Dish: Appetizer: Mixed Hors D'ourves

Main Dish: Kobe Beef and Seafood Spagetti

Desert: Cheesecake

Rino Ristorante is an up-scale part of the Tamburelli chain. The menu is similar to the pizzaria Tamburelli, but they have a more sophisticated setting, no pizza, and a more eclectic menu. And yes, it is more expensive than the neighborhood Tamburellis, but not outrageous. It is near the Bank district, and several hotels, so many foreign business people go there.

Favorite Dish: Like the other Tamburelli´s, this location serves clams with garlic sauce. They also have many pasta and seafood dishes. They have full bar service and valet parking.
If you like to play bridge, the ex-pats club meets there every Tuesday at 6 or so to play a few rubbers, they will let you play, you don´t need to join the club, but to join you just need to give your name and a phone number or e-mail address. That is quick, simple and free!

Tamburelli´s is a chain of 11 Italian restaurants in Panama City and one in David owned by Rino Tamburelli.
Most are in neighborhoods throughout the city. There are also locations at Albrook Mall food court and Multiplaza Pacific and the main bus terminal at Albrook. The neighborhood places have pizza and other Italian fare and the location on Belasario Porras has a bakery, too.
Most Tamburelli´s outside the Malls have full-service bars.
They are mostly known for their pizzas, but they also have pasta, lasagna and seafood dishes.

Favorite Dish: I love their steamed clams, on the shell, with garlic sauce. It is very good and a good bargain at $4.50 for the mountain of clams they give you!
Their pizzas are very good, thin crust, NY-style. They have three sizes, we get a small, they are plenty for two people! After getting Tamburelli pizza, I won´t even consider Domino´s or Pizza Hut here, Tamburelli is much cheaper and they deliver, too! So you don´t have to go out to get it!
Nothing on the menu is super-expensive. Most of the pizzas and entrés are in the $5-10 range and some are less. It´s a good deal for a semi-fancy place to bring your family to and not have to break out the Amex card! They are all very clean and nicely decorated, they are sportsbarish, as Rino is a big boxing fan, there is almost always sports playing on the TVs in the restaurants.

Golden Unicorn is a much better choice for Dim Sum than Palacio Lung Fung. It is in a better location, I feel, it is easier to find parking there, and you have a view of the gulf from the dining rooms, and the food is much better quality, and they have a slightly larger variety of dishes. I've had a very filling dim sum brunch and our tab was under $15 for two, including one of their over-priced coffees, too. I would go down to the corner behind the Evergreen Building to get a coffee at Mr. Pan. and get dessert there, too, it´s cheaper than Golden Unicorn!

Favorite Dish: All their dim sum dishes are very tasty and better quality than Lung Fung. They have some other dishes that they offer besides regular dim sum fare in the dim sum dining room. They offer garlic-crusted fried shrimp that is to die for, for only $8 a serving. It is definitely worth it!

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Flamingo's is located in Hotel El Panama in the Cangrejo district of Panama City. The restraurant is open 24/7, but has a serious lunch buffet, every day for $22 per person. You can eat all you want and it includes one soft drink, coctail or beer, and all the coffee, tea or water you want.
The buffet is available from noon to three, at other times the restaurant offers pretty much the same as the buffet on the menu at ala carte or three- or four-course meal prices.
The bargain is to get the lunch buffet, you can easily spend the buffet price, per person, on the regular menu.
The room itself is very pleasant with food along one wall and windows open to the outside on the other. It is a very bright and airy environment, and with the hotel facing south, the restaurant is in shade at lunch time. So one will not have sun in their face in the dining room. The restraurant is also open to the pool for even more visual stimulation.

Favorite Dish: The Buffet is the reason to come here. If you want to pig, pig, pig out, on a wide variety of food and try some things you may not have had before, this is the place to do it!
The quality is superb, the variety is overwhelming. There are at least six choices of all courses of a meal from appetizers through dessert. There is at least one Panamanian dish in each course selection, so you can try on Panamanian food without fear and if you don't like it, you won't be out anything, just go choose something more to your liking. Their buffet includes a taco stand and carved-to-order meat and a sandwich board. Nothing is overlooked.
The service is fine, of course, it is self-serve at the buffet, but as soon as your plate is empty, it is whisked away, so no clutter on the table. Waitstaff is always roving to refill water or coffee.
I love to come here to celebrate special occasions, after you try it, you will, too!

Restaurante Pizzaria Romanaccio is attached to the Hotel Biendorm. They heavily promote each other.
The room is bright with white tiles and green tables. Looks like an Italian bistro inside. They have a four-stool bar that serves the local beers, plus MGD, Heinneken and a couple of others. They also serve Seco Herrerano, Ron Abuelo, Old Parr Scotch and Johnny Walker Red and Black lables. I didnt see a blender, so doubt they could do frou-frou drinks.

Favorite Dish: Only meal I ate here was breakfast, they have typical Panamanian breakfasts. I had the higado (liver) which is a very typical Panamanian breakfast. The liver tasted fine but was a little overcooked, it was a golden color, not grey as I am used to. It was only served with sauted onion, no bell peppers and came with toasted michas, which are like hot dog rolls, that were cut in quarters and buttered and grilled. It was a satisfying breakfast, but at $3, about double what I am used to paying and getting more for my money. In Chitre, Meson Rex serves the same type meal for the same price, but one gets the meat cooked in a salsa and sauted peppers and hojaldres (fry bread) with the meal. I felt kinda short-changed with this meal.
The Restaurant serves pizza for $4-16 depending on size and toppings. They looked OK when I sat at the bar and had a few beers and observed the few other patrons in the restaurant who ordered pizza.
They have some seafood cocktails and ceviche, that were about double the price I've seen on the Azuero.
The also serve burgers, club sandwiches and pasta dishes.
I don't know that I'd eat there again, the food was OK but not great, the portions seemed a bit stingy and judging from the lack of clientelle, they probably are over-price for the area.
There is another Restaurante Pizzaria Romanaccio on Via Brasil near Via Espana, that seemed to be cheaper than this place.
The service was fine, but then it should have been, as I was only bar patron and customer in the place a breakfast.

A local hang-out. They serve a long list of Panamanian dishes. Perfect for a quick, no-frills meal or to chat with a friend over a cold a beer. Prices are inexpensive and service is good. Only tried a couple dishes and they were good but I'm not sure about the rest of the food on the menu. It is worth a try if you happen to be in the neighborhood. Menu is in English and wait staff is bilingual.

Favorite Dish: We've had the grilled fish and chicken with garlic sauce and they were delicious. The fish was fresh and the chicken was not dry. I would go back for those 2 dishes.