| Panama Top 5 Restaurants Announced |
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| Written by Matt Landau | |||||
| Thursday, September 25 2008 | |||||
Panama City's dining scene is lauded as perhaps the best of any capital in Central America, but to the savvy gourmet there's not a whole lot of innovation going on around here. The majority of city meals are comparatively less expensive than their counterparts in the USA, but the food and service generally tend to hover from good to very good, rarely hitting that Manhattan level of excellent.
 I remember a time when my parents were politely asked to leave Le Bec Fin, one of the world's fanciest French restaurants on the basis that they were taking too long to finish their dessert. The maitre de was new on the job and figured, that because a new group was coming in and my parents hadn't yet finished their meal, that it might be sensible to ask them to finish quickly and leave: to make room for the new guests. "Here is your bill," I imagined him bluntly saying to my father. "Now, just shoo." It was a story that lingered in our family for years, arising whenever the topic of bad restaurant service made its way to the surface of conversation. And while the restaurant in the end apologized profusely for the "misunderstanding," offering complimentary truffles as an admission of French guilt, it did not shake the anecdote which my parents told with pride again and again to anyone who might listen. "Excuse me, would you mind getting up? I'm late for Jeopardy." I would often reenact with my mother. "Excuse me, could you get up? I gotta go take a really big dump." The restaurant world is not unlike that of an intern: do everything right and no one says a thing, do one thing wrong and people are up in arms. Teetering on this delicate wire of being average and sucking horridly has put many Panama restaurants under, while managing to float above the threshold is a feat awarded to very few. There are a lot of really bad restaurants in Panama and even more mediocre ones. The crème of the crop though, the select few which pass as acceptable, can be counted on just several hands. Here is my closely-guarded list of go-to dining establishments when I'm in Panama City. Granted, many of them are known to the public, but at the very least, if you dine at any of these places you won't be terribly disappointed (I hope). Don't expect the most exotic and supernatural restaurant experience when you come to Panama because you won't get it: what you will get is moderately innovative food, occasionally good service, and a good feeling afterwards from a decent bang for your buck. This is also on the proverbial eve of Panama Restaurant Week where you can go to a large handful of these places and get deals. Buen Provecho! Matt's Top 5 Fine Dining Establishments - Eurasia (Bella Vista): Old school Bella Vista architecture, plantation-home feel right out of a Hemmingway novel, semi-innovative cuisine - Market Restaurant (Calle Uruguay): Good steaks and side dishes, relatively inexpensive bar, closest you'll get to a Paris hotspot bistro around here - La Posta (Calle Uruguay): Breezy Cuban feel, impeccable waiter etiquette, killer location, innovative seafood options, funny-looking owner - Astrid y Gaston (El Cangrejo): Impressive for a chain restaurant, renowned ceviches, elegant segmented dining areas, try-hard (but sometimes clumsy) wait staff - Viso 52 (Punta Paitilla): Cool ambiance, interesting takes on traditional Panamanian cuisine Matt's Top 5 Panama Dining Atmospheres - Indigo (Casco Viejo): Morrocan chic (not sheik), lots of cushy pillows, downtown SOHO vibe, attentive staff, new-restaurant enthusiasm, weird owners - La Marea (Las Terrazas, Multi Plaza): Breezy outdoor patio dining, tall tables and chairs, open kitchen, variety of inexpensive ceviches, bottle service - Habibis (Calle Uruguay): Good for people watching, fiery hookahs, scurrying waiters (in a good way), close to plethora of bars, tasty dips and (as Casey might say) other "goopy things" - Grill 50 (San Francisco?): Outdoor college-type scene, breezy fans, cheap drinks, women - Buzios (Casco Viejo): You'll be transported to Brazil, outdoor terrace, great mojitos and caipirinhas, view of ocean and Bridge of the Americas Matt's Top 5 Consistent Panama Restaurants - Beirut (Area Bancaria): Always busy, cheap sandwiches, close to hotels and bars, freakishly attentive waiters (to the point of OCD), fresh salads and nice patio with TV - Sushi House (Calle 50): Unswervingly good sushi for a few bucks a roll, simple sterile atmosphere, delivery service (oftentimes no available), perfect for Sunday hangovers - Kyukos (Causeway): The only reasonable spot a non-tourist should eat on the Causeway, middle-class vibrancy, super simple dishes often fresh and unadorned - Ten Bistro (Area Bancaria): Sexy atmosphere, creative dishes, walking distance to bars and casino, quality seafood options, clandestine dining areas if desired - Machu Pichu (El Cangrejo): Peruvian food as it should be, simple and un-messed with, good ceviche, traditional Pisco Sours drinks, myriad of dependable fish choices Image: http://frontlineclub.com/cms/Image/building/restaurant.jpg
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, September 25 2008 ) | |||||
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