Explore our curated restaurants, hotels, bars, and wineries in Panama City.
Accolades in Panama City
Panama City has two exceptional wine programs in our guide, at Corcho and 1739, both in Casco Antiguo. Lazotea in Casco Viejo holds the only Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
Corcho is a Mediterranean wine bar in Casco Antiguo with an exceptional wine program and a Star Wine List for 2026. The room pairs an extensive global wine selection with Mediterranean-inspired dishes, served as small plates and a la carte. It sits among the city's two exceptional wine programs in our guide.
1739 is an upscale French bistro in Casco Antiguo, housed in a historic French Colonial chapel. Its exceptional wine program includes an 1800-bottle cellar and a sommelier-led list, with an extensive wine list and an a la carte menu. In our guide it is one of two restaurants with an exceptional wine program.
Lazotea is a rooftop restaurant in Casco Viejo serving high-end Latin American cuisine under Chef Jorge Rausch. The wine program is curated, with an extensive wine list and craft cocktails, and the menu is a la carte and small plates. It holds the only Wine Spectator Award of Excellence in our guide, for 2026, and a Star Wine List for the same year.
Maito in Coco del Mar, La Tapa Del Coco in San Francisco, and Riesen in El Cangrejo each serve a tasting menu built on Panamanian ingredients.
Maito in Coco del Mar cooks Modern Panamanian Fusion. Chef Mario Castrellón draws on Afro-Caribbean, Asian, and indigenous influences, native ingredients, and an organic garden belonging to the restaurant. The restaurant serves a tasting menu and an a la carte menu, with a curated wine program and craft cocktails. Latin America's 50 Best placed it at number 18 in 2025.
La Tapa Del Coco in San Francisco is Chef Isaac Villaverde's Afro-Panamanian restaurant. Afro-Antillean and Afro-Colonial traditions inform a menu devoted to Afro-Panama's heritage. The restaurant serves a tasting menu and an a la carte menu. Latin America's 50 Best listed it at number 61 in 2025.
Riesen in El Cangrejo cooks contemporary Panamanian food as a tasting menu. The kitchen uses fermentation, wood-fire cooking, and local organic ingredients, and the wine program is curated. The restaurant is a house on a quiet residential street in El Cangrejo, and the cooking joins European technique with Central American produce.
Casco Antiguo holds both exceptional wine programs in our guide. Corcho, a Mediterranean wine bar in Casco Antiguo, pairs an extensive global wine selection with Mediterranean-inspired dishes and holds a Star Wine List for 2026. 1739, a Modern French bistro in the same neighborhood, has an 1800-bottle wine cellar and a sommelier-led list.
Panama City has 0 Michelin-starred restaurants in our guide, and the Michelin stars total for the city is 0.
Tasting menus in our guide are at both restaurants named Maito in Coco del Mar, at La Tapa Del Coco and Intimo in San Francisco, and at Riesen in El Cangrejo. Makoto in Obarrio is on the same list and serves omakase and a la carte.
Lazotea in Casco Viejo holds the only Wine Spectator award in our guide, a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2026.
By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards
Best of Panama City
Panama City
Selected entries from the current guide for Panama City.
Panama City, Panama
Umi Restaurante Bar Izakaya brings a refined Japanese izakaya format to Panama City's Plaza 54, pairing Japanese mixology with fine seafood and hand rolls under the Kome Hospitality Group. A new entry on Latin America's 50 Best list, it occupies a distinct position among the city's internationally oriented dining addresses. The bar program runs parallel to the food, making it equally viable as a drinking destination.
Panama City, Panama
Panama's most internationally recognised restaurant, Maito occupies a firm position on the Latin America's 50 Best list and ranked #9 on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list in 2025. Chef Mario Castrellón builds a menu around Panamanian ingredients sourced from indigenous communities, framing traditional cuisine through a contemporary land-and-sea structure. Open Monday through Saturday in Obarrio's Kenex Plaza.
Panama City, Panama
Cantina del Tigre at Plaza Centenario brings Chef Fulvio Miranda's reimagined Panamanian cooking to one of Panama City's most historically resonant addresses. The kitchen works within a tradition of local ingredients and regional flavour, presenting dishes with a visual boldness that has earned growing attention across Central America. It occupies a distinct position in the city's evolving contemporary-Panamanian dining tier.
Panama City, Panama
Spanish cooking in the middle of Panama City's corporate east side, Atope occupies a specific niche: upscale casual, European in reference, and positioned for a crowd that moves between international business and serious dining. Costa del Este gives it a particular kind of diner, and the kitchen responds with food that travels well across both registers.
Panama City, Panama
Caleta operates inside the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo, positioning itself at the formal end of Panama City's seafood dining tier. Led by Michelin-starred Executive Chef Lorenzo Di Gravio, the kitchen draws on Pacific Ocean sourcing and applies European technique to Panamanian ingredients. It is one of the few addresses in the city where that combination carries documented international credentials.
Panama City, Panama
A wine bar in the heart of Casco Antiguo, Corcho takes its name from the Spanish word for cork and positions itself squarely within Panama City's growing interest in serious wine programming. The colonial neighbourhood provides a atmospheric backdrop for an evening that moves between glass pours and the broader food and drink scene concentrated in this UNESCO-listed district.
Panama City, Panama
Fonda Lo Que Hay occupies a spot in Casco Antiguo where Panamanian culinary history meets a deliberately modern frame. The kitchen draws on the country's layered food traditions, while the bar program treats local mixology with the same seriousness. For anyone tracing where Panama City's restaurant scene is headed, this is a useful reference point.
Panama City, Panama
La Tapa Del Coco operates at the intersection of culinary preservation and contemporary technique, bringing Afro-Panamanian gastronomy into formal dining conversation. Led by Chef Isaac Villaverde, the project treats Afro-Antillean and Afro-Colonial traditions as living reference points rather than museum pieces. It sits among Panama City's most purposeful dining addresses, alongside places like Maito and Caleta, where national identity is the actual subject on the plate.
Panama City, Panama
Lazotea occupies a rooftop perch in Casco Viejo, Panama City's colonial district, serving high-end Latin American cuisine shaped by the culinary direction of Chef Jorge Rausch. The restaurant divides between an open-air rooftop and an enclosed dining area, offering two distinct ways to read the same city skyline. It sits at the premium end of Panama's restaurant scene, where regional technique meets contemporary ambition.
Panama City, Panama
Los Años Locos San Francisco brings the Argentine parrilla tradition to Panama City's Calle 74 Este, anchoring a menu of substantial meat cuts within a spirit that reads more Buenos Aires than Panama. The kitchen works across a wide range of dishes beyond steak, making it a practical choice for mixed groups. For visitors comparing it against Panama City's local-ingredient-led options, it occupies a distinct lane.
Panama City, Panama
Maito Restaurante on Calle 50 is Panama City's most discussed address for contemporary Panamanian cooking, where indigenous ingredients and Afro-Caribbean techniques are reframed through a modern kitchen lens. The restaurant sits at the centre of a broader conversation about what Panamanian cuisine actually is, drawing on the country's agricultural interior and coastal diversity to build a menu rooted in provenance rather than performance.
Panama City, Panama
Patagonia Grill brings Argentine asado tradition to San Francisco, one of Panama City's most food-forward districts. The kitchen specialises in Argentine meat cuts, while an owner-curated wine program treats the bottle as equal partner to the plate. It occupies a distinct position in a neighbourhood that already draws serious diners from across the city.
Panama City, Panama
Siamo a City, per questo locale fondato da Marco Carlesso e Leonardo Carrero. A farla da padrone in questo locale è la tradizione napoletana, quella del cornicione poco pronunciato, con l’impasto morbido e scioglievole. Proprio la passione è il motore importante di questa piccola e curata pizzeria. Passione per Napoli e l’Italia, che portano a rispettare la tradizione e la materia prima, vi consigliamo di provare senza alcun dubbio i grandi classici come margherita e marinara, fatte con Pomodoro San Marzano, ottimo olio extra vergine d’oliva e, nel caso della margherita anche una spolverata di Pecorino Romano, così come vuole la tradizione. Tra le pizze base bianca vi consigliamo di provare la Salsiccia e funghi. Tra i dolci invece da provare il tiramisù. Buona anche una piccola selezione di panini, molto essenziale la carta del bere. Allegria e convivialità in una pizzeria che potremmo definire di quartiere, così come si dice a Napoli, solo che siamo a Panama City. We are in City, at this restaurant founded by Marco Carlesso and Leonardo Carrero. The dominant feature in this restaurant is the Neapolitan tradition, with a slightly pronounced crust, soft and melt-in-your-mouth dough. Passion is the driving force behind this small and well-kept pizzeria. Passion for Naples and Italy, which leads to respecting tradition and high-quality ingredients. For dessert, don't miss the tiramisu. There is also a small selection of sandwiches, and the drink menu is essential. Joy and conviviality in a pizzeria that we could define as a neighborhood one, as they say in Naples, only we are in Panama City.
Panama City, Panama
An Italian-rooted restaurant on Calle 57 in Panama City's Marbella district, Vinoteca pairs a wine-forward approach with a menu shaped by Italian culinary tradition and the owner's personal connection to Italian food culture. The kitchen draws on family roots rather than hotel-style polish, placing it in a small tier of Panama City's independently run European dining rooms.
Panama City, Panama
Panama City, Panama
American Bazaar belongs to Casco’s old-quarter dining circuit, where Panama City’s cooking is shaped by port history, Caribbean supply routes, and a growing interest in provenance. With no public awards or chef-led tasting format attached, its value sits in how it fits the neighbourhood: a restaurant to read against the city’s market-driven, cross-cultural table rather than as a trophy booking.
Panama City, Panama
BRIO Brasserie on Calle Uruguay sits inside Panama City's most concentrated dining corridor, where European brasserie format meets a cosmopolitan local crowd. The room rewards those who understand how a well-run floor operation — attentive service, considered pacing, a wine list aligned with the kitchen — can matter as much as the food itself. It is a reliable address in a city whose restaurant scene has grown considerably more serious in recent years.
Panama City, Panama
On Calle 51 Este in Panama City, Casa Alejandro Restaurante sits within a dining corridor that has become one of Central America's more closely watched addresses. The restaurant draws on Panama's position as a crossroads of ingredients and culinary influence, placing it in a conversation about where the country's restaurant scene is headed and what sourcing from this particular geography can actually produce.
Panama City, Panama
Casa Stizzoli - Gastroteca Italiana brings the Italian gastroteca format to Panama City's Calle Matilde De Obarrio de Malex, occupying a niche that sits between casual trattoria and considered fine dining. In a city where Italian restaurants tend toward either pizza-and-pasta informality or generic continental menus, the gastroteca model signals a more deliberate relationship with Italian regional produce and wine culture.
Panama City, Panama
On Vía Argentina in the Bella Vista corridor, El Trapiche has served as Panama City's most consistent address for traditional Panamanian cooking for decades. The menu anchors on dishes that most of the capital's upscale restaurants have long since retired: sancocho, carimañolas, ropa vieja. For anyone mapping the city's dining heritage before moving on to its newer voices, this is the logical first stop.
Panama City, Panama
On Calle 72 Este in Panama City, Intimo draws a loyal local following that returns not for novelty but for consistency and a particular kind of intimacy that larger venues in the city rarely sustain. The room operates at a register that rewards repeat visits, where the experience accumulates meaning across multiple evenings rather than delivering everything in a single sitting.
Panama City, Panama
KAVA sits in Obarrio, one of Panama City's most active dining corridors, at Downtown Plaza on Calle 59 Este. The venue operates within a city where the dining ritual has grown considerably more considered over the past decade, and its address places it among a cluster of restaurants that take format and pacing seriously. Details on cuisine type and booking remain limited, making a direct inquiry a reliable first step.
Panama City, Panama
On Calle José María Icaza in Panama City's financial district, La Casa del Marisco holds a focused position in a city whose seafood tradition runs deep through both Pacific and Caribbean influences. The address places it within easy reach of Casco Viejo and the modern towers of Punta Pacifica, making it a practical anchor for anyone mapping the city's serious seafood options.
Panama City, Panama
Lung Fung serves Authentic Cantonese Dim Sum at Palacio Lung Fung on Av. 7aC Norte, with Har Gow, Siu Mai, Peking Duck and Roast Pork for breakfast or brunch.
Panama City
Selected entries from the current guide for Panama City.
Panama City, Panama
Occupying the former Union Club in Casco Viejo's UNESCO-listed waterfront district, Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo opened in 2022 as one of only six properties in Accor's rarefied Legend sub-brand. The 159-room hotel pairs a Belle Époque colonial facade with a peninsula position, the district's largest outdoor pool, and a dining program that draws produce from Panama's Pacific provinces. La Liste ranks it at 90.5 points for 2026.
Panama City, Panama
Set in a restored Art Deco building in Panama City's Casco Viejo, American Trade Hotel occupies one of the neighbourhood's most architecturally significant addresses. The property combines boutique scale with serious design credentials, placing it in a distinct tier among Casco Viejo's hotel options. Its position on Avenida Central España puts guests within the historic district's core, where colonial streetscapes and active cultural programming define the immediate surroundings.
Panama City, Panama
The Santa Maria sits within a gated residential estate on Panama City's southern corridor, operating at the upper tier of the capital's luxury hotel market. A global winner in the Luxury Hotel category and a continental winner for Luxury Golf Resort at the 2026 Star Wine List awards, it combines a championship golf course with the full-service infrastructure of the Marriott Luxury Collection. For travelers who want distance from the city's older colonial core, this is the address that delivers it.
Panama City, Panama
In Panama City's financial district, Bristol Panama occupies a quieter register than its address might suggest. Double-glazed windows seal out the banking corridor's noise, while 130 rooms across two towers deliver Egyptian cotton sheets, Abuelo rum-stocked minibars, and a spa on the 25th floor with unobstructed views across the Pacific and Metropolitan Park.
Panama City, Panama
Latin America's first Waldorf Astoria, positioned in Calle Uruguay within walking distance of the Cinta Costera and less than 15 minutes from Tocumen International Airport. The 127-room property carries a 2025 Forbes Recommended designation and offers a spa, rooftop pool terrace, and three dining and bar venues including Peacock Alley and the Spanish-focused Matiz. A coherent urban wellness anchor in Panama City's most active commercial and social district.
Panama City, Panama
Hotel La Compañía occupies three historically distinct wings in Casco Antiguo, spanning structures built between 1688 and 1904 on the original Jesuit settlement site. The property sits among Panama City's most architecturally specific luxury addresses, with five in-house restaurants and two bars, and walkable access to the UNESCO-listed district's cathedral, plazas, and colonial streetscape.
Panama City, Panama
A Michelin Selected hotel occupying a restored colonial building in Panama City's Casco Antiguo, Hotel la Compañia offers one of the district's most architecturally considered addresses. The property sits at the junction of Avenida A and Calle 8, within walking distance of the neighbourhood's Spanish colonial plazas and 18th-century churches. For travellers who prioritise design and location over resort scale, this is a reference point in the Casco Antiguo accommodation tier.
Panama City, Panama
A MICHELIN Selected hotel occupying a restored colonial building on the edge of Casco Viejo, Las Clementinas places guests inside one of Panama City's most architecturally compelling neighbourhoods. The property sits in the boutique tier of the city's heritage accommodation market, where building character and neighbourhood access matter as much as room count. It is a reference point for travellers prioritising Casco Antiguo immersion over tower-hotel convenience.
Panama City, Panama
A former radar tower converted into a natural history lodge inside Soberanía National Park, Canopy Tower occupies one of the few places on Earth where a single structure puts birders directly at forest canopy level. The lodge draws serious ornithologists and wildlife photographers from across the world, positioning itself in a narrow category of purpose-built, access-first wilderness properties that trade comfort amenities for ecological proximity.
Panama City, Panama
Le Méridien Panama occupies the Torre Vista Marina on Avenida Vasco Núñez de Balboa, positioning it at the intersection of Panama City's Marbella financial corridor and the Bay of Panama waterfront. The address places guests within walking distance of the Cinta Costera and a short drive from Casco Viejo. For travellers who want proximity to both the city's commercial centre and its historic quarter, the location carries practical weight.
Panama City, Panama
Sortis Hotel, Spa & Casino occupies a prominent position in Panama City's Marbella district, combining full-service accommodation with a casino floor and spa under one roof. The property sits within the city's established business and entertainment corridor, making it a practical anchor for travellers who want after-hours options without leaving the building. For a wider view of Panama City's hotel scene, see our full city guide.
Panama City, Panama
Tántalo occupies a converted colonial building in Casco Viejo, Panama City's UNESCO-listed old quarter, operating as a hotel, ground-floor kitchen, and rooftop bar across three distinct registers. The property sits in a neighbourhood where adaptive reuse of Spanish-era architecture has become the defining development pattern, placing it in the same conversation as larger flag-bearing properties without replicating their scale or formula.
Panama City
Selected entries from the current guide for Panama City.
Panama City, Panama
Umi Restaurante Bar Izakaya brings a refined Japanese izakaya format to Panama City's Plaza 54, pairing Japanese mixology with fine seafood and hand rolls under the Kome Hospitality Group. A new entry on Latin America's 50 Best list, it occupies a distinct position among the city's internationally oriented dining addresses. The bar program runs parallel to the food, making it equally viable as a drinking destination.
Panama City, Panama
A compact wine bar and retail shop on Avenida 1a B Norte, Olivo brings natural, organic, and biodynamic bottles from both Old World and New World producers to Panama City's emerging wine scene. The format pairs a considered wine list with tapas for sharing, positioning it closer to a Barceloneta-style bodega than a conventional Latin American cocktail venue. For wine-led evenings in Panama City, it sits in a distinct tier of its own.
Panama City, Panama
Panama City, Panama
Panama City, Panama
Panama City, Panama
Panama City, Panama
Panama City
Selected entries from the current guide for Panama City.
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