La Tapa Del Coco — Restaurant in San Francisco

La Tapa del Coco, if you're finding this review without experiencing it in person, STOP READING AND HEAD DRIECTLY THERE NOW.

I came to Panama City knowing that some part of every day would have La Tapa involved. Much like the Bat Signal, when you enter into San Francisco and see the coconut on the well lit signage high into the sky, you know you've found the spot. There's an energy always present. From the rythym of the music to the laughter from guests enjoying their time, you can't help but fall in love with La Tapa del Coco.

Super friendly staff greet you as you walk up or help get you parked or a car. It's something you don't realize is so helpful, especially as a visitor. You get checked in and seated at either a patio table or inside their limited space dining area. After a bit of a walk, the AC inside was welcome my first visit. No matter where you sit, you have a view of the kitchen. Beautiful subway tile, bright and vibrant colors pop from the sun or under the lights. Fans create a nice breeze on the patio. Many of the servers do a great job with English, and all of them will go out of their way to say hello and welcome you.

Whether it be an ice-cold beer at lunch, a delicious cocktail paired with dinner, or their delicious iced tea beverage any and all the time, the bar here has lots to offer. Day 1, round 1. We tried out the house favorites. Salt cod fritters, ceviche, curry clams, patacones, and a whole fried fish. The fritter was awesome. Light, crunchy, lots of tasty fish, and the right amount of salt. Theirs a couple of sauces served with them, a tartar and a hottie berry. Chombo peppers blended with blackberry, the sweet and the heat. Cool it down with a dip in the tartar. I couldn't get enough of the curry clams. I definitely don't mind a little work for reward when it comes to food. The shells make a great tool to spoon the sauce. Tip to tail, this fish with the traditional pigeon peas and rice was a great plate. Fun to pass around and share with friends. Now, everyone was going to need to get their own ceviche. No sharing this one for me. The sea bass was lightband bright. Citrus really made it pop, chilis gve it some heat. Have a spoon handy, easiest way to load up a patacone each bite. The last house specialty was an assortment of patties. We had berry, pulled pork, and beef patties. Baked to perfection and extra flaky, the filling was hearty and well seasoned. A box of 12 of these bad boys and you're good to go for the day. Sharing only if you choose to do so.

On another visit, we picked some of the things we missed. Cheetah wings were sweet and spicy, meaty with a great crunch. The smokey dog lived up to its name, topped just right and served on fresh baked rolls. La Tapa del Coco won the best burger in Panama City 2023. Smashburger style patties, buttery brioche bun. Then once we learned they had souse on the menu, pickled pigs feet, we had to get them. Soo good. I know they're not for everyone, but if you're thinking maybe, just do it.

I have a lot of respect for owners who walk around their restaurants and interact with their guests. Knowing they're there not only protects the experience they want a guest to experience but also shows a lot of pride in the product they've created. In today's age, having a 10 year old restaurant shows dedication to your work. La Tapa del Coco has a great foundation they don't plan on abandoning while they to look to grow and evolve further.

The staff at La Tapa refer to themselves as a family, and you're quickly given the feeling you're part of it as well. Chef, owner, television show host, and the greatest smile on the Pacific coast, Isaac Villaverde does two things right. He cares about what he does and who he has doing it with him. Family. A large supporting cast helps catapult the real star of the show, the food at La Tapa. Get in here and give it a try for yourself. You won't be...

First of all I’d like to say that the food was delicious delicious in every way and the best Bacalao croquetas i have ever had … ceviche was delicious as well and the hot sauces and patty de puerco was fire.

As someone who works in this industry I had expectations coming into what looked like a beautiful space for dinner …and the food delivered it was delicious … I am only writing this review because I hope that it can offer some constructive insight.

But our service experience was absolutely TERRIBLE …. I’m sorry to say … confusing, rushed , non attentive, lacking so much detail … did not match the level of the food at all … I understand they were busy but as a service team there needs to be cohesive work to ensure your guests do not feel this stress.

The kitchen was out of a couple of things but or server had a hard time knowing what they were and weren’t out of. I asked server a few questions about the menu but our server was just staring at the IPad they use to punch things in without responding or even acknowledging that I had spoken or asked a question … just complete silence …. Put the I pad down and remember you are speaking to people. If you need a minute to gather yourself just acknowledge that and say so so the guest doesn’t feel ignored. Was a very strange interaction because they were out of the first three things I ordered and when she came back I asked if they actually had them and she ignored me before confirming just confusing from a guest point of view

2 a person came over to bus and remove stuff from our table twice and took our side plates and cutlery and water glasses when we had not received all our food … took them but did not replace them … shows there is little communication and understanding to what’s happening on the floor… the 3rd time he came around to clear he asked if we were waiting on more food ? And we had to ask for more side plates and cutlery

3 we ordered a burger for burger week and when we received the food we’re told to hold on as they wanted to explain part of the sandwich and what were the accompaniments were but told us to hold on and went and served a tray of drinks while we sat with our food in front of us confused and did not return .. we asked another server what she had been wanting to explain and he did not know what we were talking about in the slightest … again just a confusing strange interaction for guests

4 throughout the interaction with our server because there had been things ordered that they were out of she told us she needed to make sure she punches our order in correctly because service staff are made to pay for mistakes made on the floor …if this is true it’s just a shameful and lazy practice by ownership …instead of just training your staff correctly and giving them the right tools and support to excel as a team they are more focused on not making mistakes than giving proper service …

I think this restaurant is a gem and the food was delicious interesting and really told a story which is beautiful … but damn did the service ever just miss in every way …again i write this because the food was SO GOOD but it’s so hard to create return customers with such low quality service … it’s hard...

La Tapa del Coco is a hidden gem that's a must visit for lunch. While its ambience is very casual, its food is top notch - perfectly cooked and innovative AfroPanamanian flavors.

We tried several different dishes: 3 were out of this world and one was very good.

For appetizers we ordered Patty de Pollo al Curry and Ceviche de Pulpo. The chicken patty was an empanada filled with chicken curry. It was fabulous! The empanada was deliciously flakey and buttery and the chicken was moist and bursting with a variety of spices. The ceviche was different than a typical ceviche in that the marinade had a sweeter flavor from the mango that wasn't overpowered by the acidity of the citrus. It was accompanied by homemade plantain chips and a camote puree (which also tilted towards a sweeter flavor) that was delicious on the chips and topped with the ceviche juice. We didn't leave a drop of the marinade behind 🙂.

For mains, we tried the One Pot Colonese and Medio Jerk Chicken. The One Pot Colonese was amazing! It had both pork and shrimp with coconut, pickled vegetables, onions and plantains served over rice (not crispy) all mixed with a special sauce that was incredible. The shrimp was also perfectly done. The Jerk Chicken was also moist and well seasoned and came with a sweet sauce. All the flavors from the dish were good, but for me I would have liked the jerk seasoning to shine a bit more; I thought the sauce flavors were a tad too dominant. I chose Yucca fries for my side and they were delicious; they were small cut yucca slices perfectly browned (not mashed and reformed). Both main courses were quite large.

Service was also excellent. Everyone was friendly and they tag teamed as they were training a new waitress when we were there.

The outside terrace is nice with lots of plants around (although it does look into their parking area). Inside there are a handful of tables with orange plastic chairs. It was comfortable but it's definitely a very laid back,...