Restaurante El Trapiche | Albrook Mall — Restaurant in Ancón

Wanna try Panamanian food (comida típica ~ teepeeka)... El Trapiche is what you are looking for. It has two locations (vía Argentina and Albrook Mall), both can acomodate somewhat large groups and have wheelchair access. The places are decorated in panamanian folklore, waitresses and waiters are dressed in such manner too. As for the food: is tipically good (get it?). They have a variety of dishes for breakfast and lunch/dinner. As for breakfast you should try fried goodies: hojaldres, tortillas, almojábanos, cari-ma-nyo-las (carimañolas). Wanna go nuts? Try the meat, chicken, pork sandwiches made with hojaldre or tortillas as bread... they are delicious. And if you are looking for something unbreakfast-ish they have liver, ropa vieja (like pulled pork but it's beef), steaks usually served with rice, salad, fries. In the drinks department: try chichas which are fruit based beverages sweetened with sugar special one: limón con raspadura (lime fruit with solidified sugar cane juice -raspadoora). After going to El Trapiche and if someone asks you if you tried panamanian food: you can say sure I did OR you just have that in your bodily...

The resturant was decorated nicely. The lights need to be dimed a bit as they were way too bright. We got a nice waiter who took our order as both of our language was limited we had a little difficulty communicating. It was disappointing that he never came back to check to see how was our food. Their famous soup was something to be desired as it only semi warm, with two chunks of hard dark meat chicken pieces weren't very tasty. The soup lacked flavor and the lack of heat didn't help it. We tried the fish ceviche, not very impressed, too sour and the fried flatted plantains- tostones that came with it were cold. Yikes. The ropa viego was ok but only warm. The fried yuccas were not cooked and seasoned properly. The shrimp curry was way too sweet and the shrimp were overcooked making them hard and rubbery. My Margerita was good. Even though the prices were low, the food taste was not impressive. I rather pay a little more bit get and get better food. A bit disappointing. Maybe my expectations was set too high as it was recommended to us by our hotel for traditional...

Delicioso. The food was fantastic. I had my new co-worker choose something from the menu from me and he had a platter with multiple things on it (Fiesta Panamena). I wasn't super crazy about the fried pork rind (not a fan of those in general) but everything else was fantastic. A nice place to eat at the mall. I would definitely plan on coming back again. Lots of things on the menu. I thought the portion was more than filling, though maybe it depends on what you get. Friendly service, I would recommend coming here. Just a tip for those like me who come from a place where they remove the bones before, they can sometimes still be in there. This is not at all a knock as they leave them in for the flavor, just be careful when eating the sancocho (my first time having it in the country and it...