Most popular food in Panama

In most blogs about food in Panama you will find what the typical dishes are that you can eat here. This is however not all you can eat here. In fact, we have come across many other cuisines and dishes than just typical Panamanian. In addition, we often looked for options without red meat or completely vegetarian. Curious about whether eating in Panama is for you, and what options you have? In this blog you will find the answer to this question.

Panamanian food

A lot of dishes in Panama are made with rice. Most dishes are actually very simple. You will especially find many 'pollo con salsa': chicken with sauce and rice. Or 'arroz con pollo': rice with chicken. You also have variants of these dishes with fish, pork or beef. 

They also eat a lot of Patacones in Panama. This is actually a dish from Costa Rica , but you can eat this in most countries in Central America You can get these with every meal, from breakfast to dinner. Patacones are made from green plantains. These are sliced, flattened and then fried. We didn't think they were very special on itself, but they are delicious with some vegetables and chicken on top!

Furthermore, ceviche is a dish that you can eat anywhere in Panama. This is usually made with fish, but can also be made with shrimp or mushrooms. It is a special preparation method in which raw fish is prepared in tiger milk. This often consists of garlic, pepper and lime or lemon. However, we've also heard that it can be made with vinegar. The lime or lemon cooks the fish a little and adds flavor. This is again a dish that you can eat a lot in Panama, but which does not come from Panama. We only tasted this once with mushrooms and didn't really like it.

Other popular dishes in Panama

As you have read above, there are not many specific dishes in Panama. Because of this you will also find many other cuisines. Especially Mexican cuisine. You can eat Mexican food everywhere in Panama. Think: tacos, burritos, empanadas, enchiladas, tortillas, and quesadillas. Very tasty and they are also very good at preparing it. The only thing to keep in mind is that they use a lot of cheese. Sometimes you can't see your dish because of the cheese.

This is not only the case with Mexican dishes, by the way. Fast food in Panama is also flooded with cheese. Fast food is next to Mexican the most you will encounter in Panama. You can eat burgers, pizza and lots and lots of fried chicken everywhere. This is also often eaten by the locals themselves. Fast food restaurants here tend to be the best stocked and busiest, along with Mexican restaurants. 

After a while, all these dishes give you the feeling that you are getting fatter. Fortunately, Panama also has trendy places with healthier food. You will mainly find these in the old tourist part of Panama-city. Here you can eat acai bowls, poke bowls, avocado toast, poached eggs, smoothies, pancakes, sushi and much more. You pay extra for this, even though the food is already not very cheap in Panama.

Meat, fish, or vegetarian food in Panama

In Panama they eat a lot of meat. You can expect a lot of meat not only at lunch or dinner, but also at breakfast. The breakfast at the hotel varies a lot. Guests from abroad are often taken into account, although this is not always the case. As a result, you can often also get bread, boiled eggs, or yogurt. Yet there are always options with pork, chicken or beef for breakfast.

In addition, they often put ham or bacon in your egg, pasta or on your sandwich. Even if you take a chicken sandwich or a shrimp pasta! It is therefore important that you clearly indicate if you do not eat (a certain type of) fish or meat. We don't eat red meat ourselves and that's why we always indicate 'sin jamon', 'sin cerdo, or 'sin carne'. They often think this is pretty crazy if you ask. Therefore, always check it before you start your dish! For example, it sometimes happened to us that there was ham or bacon on a sandwich when we asked without it. 

In addition, it is also useful to indicate when it is not stated on the menu that there is meat in the dish. Even then there is a chance that you will get bacon or bacon with your dish. For example, I ordered a shrimp paste, where the menu only stated 'pasta, garlic, white sauce, and shrimp'. Then I got the dish and there were 3 times more bacon than shrimp in my pasta 🙁 .