Panama City, Panama is wonderful destinations in Central America, particularly for foodies. With its mix of historic charm, modern skyline, and diverse culinary influences, it’s a city where you can eat incredibly well—if you know where to look. We spent a week in Panama City last year, and while it’s more modern (and pricier) than many of its neighbors, it isn’t the easiest place to navigate as a first-time visitor. That’s exactly why starting with a food tour turned out to be the perfect introduction.
Dan in Casco Antiguo, ready to eat our way around town.
On our first full day, we explored Casco Antiguo—the city’s colorful historic district—on a walking food tour that combined Panamanian history with some of the best dishes we sampled all week. From a traditional breakfast with hojaldra and steak, to fresh tropical juices, market eats, ceviche at the most famous seafood market, and world-renowned Geisha coffee, this experience gave us a true taste of Panama City. In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything we ate, where to find it, and how to recreate this exact Panama City food tour itinerary on your own—perfect if you only have one day in the city or want to explore Panama City beyond the Panama Canal.
A street in colorful Casco Antiguo, Panama City.
STOP ONE: PANAMANIAN BREAKFAST
We began our walking tour with a traditional Panamanian breakfast at a local restaurant called Los del Barrio. This restaurant was full of of locals, which is aways welcomed. We received a special, off-menu breakfast consisting of very tender steak cooked with onions, a “hojaldra”, which is a simple fried bread that tastes amazing, and corn torregitas, which are like a thick fried corn tortilla. On the table was also, of course, Aji Chombo, or Panamanian hot sauce. This hot sauce is on every table, and it is incredibly tasty (I brought some home!). This one was no exception. We paired our breakfast with simple Panamanian coffee.
The breakfast turned out to be truly delicious – much better than it looks in photos. The hojaldra was my favorite, followed closely by the steak. We left very full.
Los del Barrio, in Panama City, Panama, welcomes guests with bright teal doors.
The simple menu at Los del Barrio.
A traditional Panamanian breakfast: hojaldra, steak and onions, and corn torregitas.
A bright red Panamanian hot sauce.
After leaving Los del Barrio, we walked by Cafe Coca-Cola, the oldest cafe in Panama City (allegedly). Cafe Coca-Cola is not related in any way to the Coca-Cola brand, but it is famous for its Coca Cola sign. The Cafe serves old school coffee and inexpensive local food. I definitely want go on my next visit to Panama.
The famous Cafe Coca-Cola and its Coca Cola sign.
STOP TWO: FRESH SQUEEZED TROPICAL JUICE AT THE MODERN SAN FELIPE NERI MARKET
Our next stop took us to the San Felipe Neri Public Market, which is an incredibly clean market right in Panama City. This marked was apparently refurbished in the recent past and it is heavily cleaned every afternoon (you can smell the cleaning supplies!). This was so crazy to me for a market in Central America (for example, Guatemala City’s is very different!). Selling fresh fruits, meats, vegetables, and seafood, among other things, San Felipe Neri market also has numerous stalls selling ready-to-eat food. We first stopped by Refresqueria Ines for a juice made with local fruits while strolling the market. I have no idea what I ordered in mine, but it was delicious. And yes, I did drink it with fresh fruit and local ice, and no, I did not get sick.
San Felipe Neri Public Market. Have you seen a cleaner market??
Eggs at San Felipe Neri Public Market.
Fresh, colorful fruits at San Felipe Neri Public Market.
Refresqueria Ines. The menu is in Spanish on the bright yellow sign.
A successful juice purchase.
STOP THREE: MORE MARKET FINDS
From our juice stop, we moved on to the hot foods at the market, particularly to a small stall making lots of tasty-looking things, including soup and lots of chicken. We ordered two dishes here at our guide’s recommendation. First, rice and beans topped with sweet plantains. This was a tasty dish, and not too unfamiliar. Our second dish was more out there, but also probably tastier. It was a chicken soup with a whole piece of corn and various microgreens, including one of my favorites, cilantro. This soup was really good, surprisingly hearty, and simultaneously refreshing on a hot day. Who would have guessed? Certainly try to find it if you are in Panama City.
The chickens. There are also shrimp being cooked up.
Here is the soup that we ordered. She made sure that every bowl contains a sizable piece of corn.
Rice and beans with sweet plantains. This is a good “intro” dish if you are iffy on Panamanian food (which you shouldn’t be!).
Another of the delicious corn soup. This was seriously so good.
STOP FOUR: MERCADO DE MARISCO
We moved from San Felipe Neri Public Market to another market, and probably Panama’s most famous market, Mercado de Marisco. Mercado de Marisco is Panama City’s famous, and chaotic, seafood market. It is right in the heart of Panama City, within walking distance of Casco Antiguo. The market sells fresh, raw seafood for cooking, both to local families and to restaurants. Luckily for tourists without access to a kitchen, and locals wanting super fresh seafood, Mercado de Marisco is also home to numerous casual seafood restaurants along the outside of the market. We visited Restaurante Terraza and sat indoors (it was too hot to eat outdoors). At Restaurante Terraza, we sampled two types of local ceviche, both of which were fresh and incredibly good (although not as good as Peruvian ceviche…). One was made with fish, the other with shrimp and octopus. We paired the ceviche with local saltine crackers and the a Light Panama beer. I ended up being a huge fan of this beer.
The iconic blue Mercado de Marisco. Tourists should be very careful crossing this street.
Panama Light beer.
The menu at Restaurante Terraza.
Fish ceviche in Restaurante Terraza at Mercado de Marisco.
Shrimp and octopus ceviche. I preferred the fish but this one was more colorful. I also loved that the ceviche was served in little parfait dishes.
STOP FIVE: THE FAMOUS GEISHA COFFEE
From Mercado de Marisco, we walked back to Casco Antiguo to our final stop, Casa Sucre. Located on a colorful historic street in Casco Antiguo, Casa Sucre is well-known for serving Panama’s Geisha Coffee. And what is that you may wonder (I did)? Well, originally from Ethopia, Geisha Coffee made its way to Panama in the 1960s. Since then, and especially since 2000, Panamanian Geisha Coffee has won numerous awards and garnered record high prices. You can read about it online.
A news article on Panamanian Geisha Coffee.
We drank the Geisha Coffee black, prepared from a Chemex (which we have at home!). The Geisha Coffee was good, but certainly not the best coffee I have ever tasted. Then again, I am probably not the most particular coffee drinker (I love Dunkin, LOL). We tried a Geisha Coffee Martini later in our trip at Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar, which I found much tastier!
The interior of Casa Sucre.
Casa Sucre. I loved the painting behind the espresso machine.
The Chemex and Geisha Coffee.
Real Geisha coffee in Panama City. It almost looks red.
Geisha Coffee Martini at Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar.
STEAL OUR TRIP
Los del Barrio: C. 12 Oeste, Panamá, Provincia de Panamá, Panama. Open daily from about 8:00 AM – 9:00 PM. Breakfast served until about 10:30 AM. Super casual. No reservations. Bring cash.
San Felipe Neri Public Market: 9, Panamá, Panama. Open daily 5 AM – 4:00 PM. The market is more active earlier in the day. Speaking Spanish will help here. Bring cash.
Mercado de Marisco: Ciclovía Cinta Costera, Panamá, Provincia de Panamá, Panama. Open 24 hours. The actual market is very commercial; Spanish is a must if you want to buy from the real market.
Restaurante Terraza: Mercado del marisco, Av. Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, Panamá, Provincia de Panamá, Panama. Open daily 10 AM – 11 PM. Casual. Reservations likely not needed.
Casa Sucre: Calle 8 y Ave. B, Calle 8a Oeste, Casco Viejo, Panama. Open daily 7:30 AM – 5:00 PM. Casual. No reservations.
Pedro Mandinga Rum Bar: Avenida A Street, Casco Antiguo, between Plaza Herrera and 8A Street, Panama City 0802, Panama. Open daily 4:00 PM – 11:30 PM, opening around 12:00 PM on the weekend. Books up but you can likely get in without a reservation (call or contact via social media if you want a reservation).