Restaurante El Trapiche | Bella Vista — Restaurant in Bella Vista

This restaurant got very good reviews on Google so we sought it out for traditional Panamenian food.

Let's start with the good stuff. The Ceviche was lovely. And the calamari was perfectly fine, though I suspect out of the freezer but nothing wrong.

By accident, we ordered the prawn cocktail, and if you like the taste of almonds / marzipan with your small Prawns, you're gonna be raving. Unfortunately, that wasn't to our taste, but that might be a pallet thing, rather than anything else.

And breathe... to the main courses. My partner had Prawns in pineapple. It was literally grey on the plate and the Prawns disintegrated. Somehow the pineapple wasn't sweet either. I had the Fish Stew, and it wasn't great either. Same issue with the Prawns and I didn't want to chance it.

We asked for something else and to the credit of the waiter there were no issues and we both got the steak. It was perfectly fine, nothing to complain about.

Overall, the food was really not great. Props to the waiter for changing the food when we had an issue.

Maybe we got a bad day, but we wouldn't recommend...

Bring an ear plug in case you find the music is too loud!!

If you are going to watch the folklore show, make sure to make a reservation. We booked it via Whatsapp (they can chat in English). For a Fri night, the show started at 8pm, we booked 7:30pm so we could get seated and begin ordering/eating prior to the show. It's $8 a person extra to watch the show (so you will be seated in the show room). They messaged us on the day of our reservation to confirm the booking.

Food prices are very reasonable, service speed was reasonable too. They have a group ~30 people with reservation and seems like they have pre-set menu items for them, they got seat at 8pm. Almost all tables at the dining room were occupied, so if you do want to watch the show, you definitely want to have a reservation.

The show started 8:15pm and ended 9:15pm. The music was VERY LOUD! I would suggest to bring ear plugs just in case you need them. They explained the custom in both Spanish and English which was very informative.

Overall, we enjoy the food and the show and will recommend anyone visit Panama to...

El Trapiche in Panama City is a must-visit! Just a 7-minute Uber ride from our hotel in Casco Viejo, costing about $4, it was the perfect breakfast stop before our hike at Metropolitan Natural Park. The staff was incredibly welcoming and friendly, making a genuine effort to communicate in English while appreciating our attempts at Spanish. This warm exchange felt authentic and kind.

The menu, listed in Spanish with excellent English descriptions, made ordering easy. Tons of vegetarian options which included plant-based options and very family friendly. The food was delicious and reasonably priced (breakfast for two with two rounds of cappuccinos, plus 18% tip, totaled approx. $26 USD).

I had the empanadas, which were authentic and flavorful, while my husband enjoyed the bistec con huevos (steak with eggs), served with a tasty salsa, Panamanian cheese, and a yucca fritter. Everything was amazing, and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to our day!...