Café Panachocolat — Restaurant in Hicaco

After a long walk along the beach I was delighted to find Pana Chocolat, a cute little cafe in the heart of Santa Catalina. Next to the cafe is what some people would call a thrift shop (or in Australia with would call them op shop or opportunity shop). Here they have racks of clothes and secondhand items for people to buy. I can’t resist a good op shop! I browse through for a while but nothing grabs my eye, so went next door to Pana Chocolat and browsed the menu. The banana smoothie caught my eye and you have a choice of having it made with water or milk. I chose milk. I sat outside on the patio listening to the blender at work on my smoothie. A few other diners who appeared to be having brunch sat nearby and said “hola” acknowledging me. A chilled glass of frothy smoothie was served within minutes, a large reusable straw poking from amidst the froth. I was delighted to find taste that it was quite delicious and refreshing. The price was $4.25 US which I consider reasonable . As I was in no rush, I sat with my drink and my thoughts for 30 minutes and watched the comings and goings of this small town of Santa Catalina. The service was excellent. Entire place was very clean, disabled friendly and a lovely choice of other items on the menu for a snack or a meal Highly recommend.

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I went yesterday and ordered the Greek panini and the matcha (coconut). My fiancé ordered the smoothie bowl. We had a bad experience at this place. I was battling the flies to stay away from my panini and when I went to swat at a fly that came too close, I accidentally hit the metal straw that was in my matcha. The metal straw chipped the edge of the glass so the two servers came and took away my drink. I had only taken 3 small sips out of my drink and they didn't even ask if I wanted my drink in another cup. They simply took it away and never offered another drink or a different cup. We waited and waited, but the servers never even came close, so that obviously upset us. Not to mention a matcha is 5$ here, so it's already way overpriced. The sandwich was also extremely disappointing. The chicken was extremely dry, burnt, and tasteless. Not even exaggerating, but I could barely tear it with my teeth. Not sure why they charge 9$ for a sandwich that is not freshly made. We were starving so we just simply ate because we had a long drive ahead of us. The smoothie bowl was 8$, but also nothing special.

Cafe Panachocolat is a lovely spot with some real standout beverages! I popped in recently and was thoroughly impressed by their smoothies – they're made with fresh ingredients and hit the spot perfectly. I also tried a dirty matcha latte, and it was fantastic; a great balance of earthy matcha and a good kick of espresso. I also tried a banana smoothie with espresso, it was very delicious! The staff are very nice and always smiling.

They run on their own generator so if the power goes out, you are able to enjoy your coffee and lunch still.