Restaurants in Panama City
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A
Siete Mares
Artful lighting and a few impressionistic paintings scattered along the exposed brick walls sets the mood for some serious seafood dining, which attracts suits from all corners of Panama City's financial district. The speciality here is lobster, though if the sea hasn't been bountiful, you can choose from a wide variety of options including sea bass, jumbo shrimp and red snapper.
Despite the fact that the street is lined with countless other eateries, the crowds flocking in front of Siete Mares are testament to the fact that seafood here is about as fresh as it gets.
reviewed
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B
René Cafe
With an unbeatable location underneath the shadows of the Iglesia Catedral and overlooking the Plaza de la Independencia, this relative newcomer is primed to become one of the most popular restaurants in the city. Drawing on the successes of Manolo Caracol, René Cafe also offers prix-fixe five-course lunches and seven-course dinners that change daily.
However, the difference is that René emphasizes the international nature of the capital by infusing traditional Panamanian favorites with influences as broad as Pan-Asian and Continental cuisine to create some truly unique tapas.
reviewed
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C
Restaurante Las Bóvedas
This utterly unique French restaurant is set in the vaults of a 300-year-old fort that housed political prisoners for most of the 19th century - fortunately for the crowds who converge here on the weekends, the ghosts of the past haven't had a deleterious effect on the cooking. Specializing in local seafood with a French twist, the menu varies daily, subject to the catch of the day, but always includes a fish fillet, mixed seafood and a cut of steak just to round things out a bit.
A guitarist performs in the last vault nightly except Friday and Saturday, when there's jazz; the music usually starts around 21:00.
reviewed
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D
La Cocotte
Fine Parisian cuisine reigns supreme under the stewardship of chef Fabien Migny, who studied at the Ecole Hotelliére Belliard while simultaneously training at the renowned Restaurant Jamin de Joel Robouchon in Paris. Appetizers like pâté de canard (duck pate) meld nicely with entrées of confit de canard (roasted duck) or fresh salmon in a red wine sauce, and everything is expertly topped off with crêpes soufflées au chocolat (chocolate crepes soufflé).
The fixed-price lunch is a good way to sample Migny's cuisine without breaking the bank, though there are certainly less enjoyable ways to spend your hard-earned money.
reviewed
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E
Martín Fierro
For top-quality sirloins, porterhouse cuts and filet mignon, there is only one name in Panama City, and it's Martín Fierro. The quality of meat served here is unparalleled - top selections include the best in US-imported New York rib steaks, grass-fed Argentinean fillets and locally-raised Panamanian cuts. And of course, nothing washes down braised beef quite like a deep and bold glass of red wine, and Martín Fierro has no shortage of Chilean standards to round out your meal.
reviewed