Best Casual Restaurants in Panama City

This place is beautiful, and I loved sitting in the outdoor patio! My server was Eric and he was wonderfully patient with me as I chatted with him so much about the food and drinks. The ceviche del dia was outstanding! The house made bread was divine with the completely unique savory hibiscus butter! The stracciatella ice cream was made with chocolate made with Panamanian cacao! And it was the best stracciatella ice cream ever! The mixed herbal tea was fantastic too! It was a mix of mint, lemongrass, rose, petals, and hibiscus. Service was outstanding overall, and the ingredients are truly farm to table. I highly recommend this place and thank my friend, the Panamanian chef from New Orleans, for recommending it to me. 

Kaandela is definitely the most-go-to place for dinner in Casco Viejo, Panamá. The food is delicious, and the service is excellent. You won’t regret it.

Oh. My. God. My first time in Panama and I would come back for the food and staff alone. From the moment we pulled up, they opened the door to our Uber and helped us out of the car. They offered us to sit inside or outside even though the reservation was made minutes prior. We opted to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful lights and bar design. We also had a view of the busy kitchen, which made us appreciate the food more. After we were seated, we ordered drinks. They were NOT stingy on the alcohol. Everything was beautifully presented, drinks were filled to the brim and well tasty. Once the drinks started, they made sure we had appetizers to go with. The fish fritters were better than my mom’s (sorry mom!) and were hot and crispy with. Soft doughy inside. Omg, so much flavour. When we ordered, Daniel gave us a bit of story about the dishes, the inspiration, the flavours and the process to make them. We felt like we were in the kitchen with the staff as he spoke, and when the food came, we had so much more appreciation for the hands that prepared it. I had the oxtail and rice and peas. Perfect. No notes. My husband had the steamed fish with creamy escovich. Again. No notes. The West Indian/Caribbean/African influence jumped out and kissed me on the lips. I have never had such an experience before. God bless the entire staff at La Tapa Del Coco and I cannot wait to come back!

Good service although right next to us were two long tables that held about 20 young adults each who were having a rowdy time. The food was fine -- I had a grilled white fish that was prepared well and tasty.

All of the food was great. The waiter was attentive to details and the menu wonderful. The portions are huge so a stray dog had a wonderful price of steak after dinner.