A Comprehensive(ish) Guide to Vegan Restaurants in Panama City, Panama
Panama City is full of contradictions. It’s a mix of modern skyscrapers and charmingly old neighborhoods. Extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Modernization and tradition.
When I think back on my time in Panama City, I have a hard time putting all of the experiences together into one. Every area is so distinct that my brain wants to categorize them as completely different cities. The vegan options in each area are equally unique.
There were a lot of options I enjoyed, but overall, the vegan food scene didn’t blow me away. There were only a handful of restaurants that specialize in plant-based cuisine, but in a lot of the other restaurants, the vegetarian/vegan options seemed like an afterthought.
Beyond that, food in Panama is significantly more expensive than some other Central and South American countries. The Panamanian currency, the Balboa, is tied to the US dollar. You can even use US currency instead of converting dollars to the Balboa. Because of that, the prices in the country are on par with what you pay in the United States.
Regardless, let’s dive into the loves, likes, and disappointments.
The Loves
El Trapiche
El Trapiche has locations throughout Panama City and for good reason. It is one of the few restaurants that features vegan versions of Panamanian cuisine. Wherever I travel, I always want to try the local cuisine, so it was nice to find a restaurant with an entire section of plant-based versions of Panamanian dishes.
I ate at the restaurant 3 times, and tried two different locations. Because it was my only option for trying Panamanian cuisine, I wanted to take advantage.
Over the three visits, I tried the empanadas, hojaldra, carimañola, the vegan emparedado, the garbanzos al ajillo, and the garbanzos a la criolla.
The emparedado is a sandwich where the bread is actually empanada dough. Because the dough is fried and all ingredients in the filling were sautéed, I found the overall effect to be a bit greasy for my taste. There wasn’t enough flavor dimension in it to balance out the fattiness of the cooking oil.
I really enjoyed both of the garbanzo dishes. The ajillo was more of a garlic sauce while the criolla had a coconut curry flavor. Of the two, I preferred the ajillo. I did have to ask if they cooked it in butter because it had a distinctly buttery flavor, but they said it wasn’t.
As for all of the appetizers, they were variations of fried items. My favorite by far was the carimañola because it was the most unique to Panama. It’s a yucca dough filled with a lentil and nut ‘meat’. If I had to build a meal again from all of the items I tried, I would do the carimañola and the garbanzoa al ajillo.
Mahalo Snack Shack
Mahalo isn’t an entirely plant-based restaurant, but they do feature a decent selection of vegan and vegetarian options. There are not a ton of plant-based options in Casco Viejo, so just having a restaurant that has more than 1 or 2 options is nice.
I opted for the Vegetable Coconut Curry. The portion size was filling, and the flavors and textures were everything I was hoping for in a red curry. One thing I really loved was that the carrots weren’t fully softened, so it gave the dish a little bit of textural variation.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is sorta like a Tiki bar, and a the seating is mostly open-air. In a place as humid as Panama City, it was pretty hot even with the fans running. So this isn’t the restaurant to check out if you’re wanting to escape the heat a bit.
Rock and Rolls Vegan Sushi
A fully vegan sushi restaurant?! I was so happy to try it. It was the second fully vegan sushi restaurant I encountered during my Central and South American escapades (the other being Helecho in Medellín, Colombia).
On one of their signs, they advertise for a lunch special: a soup, ½ a roll, and a natural juice for $10. I would have absolutely gone that route, but it’s only available Monday-Friday and I went on a Sunday.
Instead, I ordered the Smoke on the Water roll and 2 Nigiris (the tomatoro and the spicy mango). One thing I loved was the presentation. All of the food is beautifully plated. The sushi roll was good overall, but I wish that it had a bit more acid or spiciness to balance some of the salty and sweet flavors.
The nigiris were excellent: very simple yet flavorful, and the attention to detail was really nice.
Update: As of February 2024, this restaurant is listed as temporarily closed on Google. Fingers crossed it reopens!
Antiburger
Antiburger isn’t a vegan restaurant, but they have a few vegan offerings available. There are 2 vegan burgers, but unfortunately, I wasn’t hungry enough to try a full meal when I went. I opted for the kimchi fries instead.
If I have to choose a style of French Fry, I will choose a curly fry every day. I loved them. Add kimchi, a vegan white sauce, and green onions. I’m sold.
The kimchi that they used was so vinegary and had a strong fermented flavor. It’s everything I want a kimchi to be. It was delicious. The acidity of the kimchi paired with the creaminess of the sauce and the fattiness of the fries. I loved every bite.
Just based on these fries, I would be interested to try their vegan burgers because I’d expect them to be flavorful and high quality.
The Likes
Planticería
Planticería is located relatively close to the Panama Canal, about a 7 minute drive, so it’s a great option if you need something near the Miraflores Locks entrance to the canal.
It is a fully vegan restaurant, and as a company, they produce all of their meat substitutions. The staff was incredibly friendly and the restaurant feels like a very inclusive environment.
Their menu is stacked. There are so many options that I had a hard time choosing. After getting a recommendation from the staff, I went with the Best Vibes Reuben. It’s a massive sandwich filled with their homemade vegan pastrami, kale, caramelized onion, kimchi mayo, and a vegan cheese.
I like this sandwich in theory. Listing everything out, all of the ingredients work for me. But when I was eating it, I just didn’t find it to be cohesive. There seemed to be something missing to tie it all together. The kimchi is a great alternative to sauerkraut, but I found myself missing the actual sauerkraut that comes in a traditional reuben.
I have no doubt that on a menu this large, there is something that can appeal to most plant-based eaters.
The Vegan Shack
This is the only fully vegan restaurant in Casco Viejo, so I absolutely appreciate their existence.
The staff was so nice, and the space is beautifully designed.
The menu is a nice healthy alternative to a lot of the other, heavier vegan options available in Panama City. It’s a nice palate cleanser. I was definitely craving these healthy options after a few days in the city. They also offer breakfast, which is pretty rare for vegan restaurants in this area.
Because I was craving something lighter, I chose to go with the abundance bowl, which had rice, beans, plantains, fruit ceviche, roasted veggies, and salsa verde. All around, I thought it was fine, but there was nothing special that made me want to eat it again. It’s nice, light, healthy, but not memorable.
I was also a little surprised at the portion for the cost. At $13 for the plate, I was expecting quite a bit more. It’s definitely filling for a meal, but a bit expensive for what you get. I think that comes with being in a touristy area such as Casco Viejo.
I would have liked to try more of the menu, especially the breakfast options, because I don’t think the abundance bowl was a good representation of the menu.
Café Unido (Via Argentina)
This is a great coffee shop right beside the El Trapiche location on Via Argentina. I went to do some work and to enjoy some Panamanian coffee. They have locations throughout the city, so it’s easy to find them.
As I was ordering, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had a few vegan food items. The item that I was most excited about was the Vegan French Toast. It was a great breakfast option. I found it to be a little sweet for my taste, but it was still a nice surprise to find this option.
The Disappointments
New York Bagel Café
After traveling through Central/South America for a few months, I found myself having strong cravings for a bagel. I wanted a bagel loaded with hummus and vegetables (I know, not the traditional way of eating it, but I love it!).
I found New York Bagel Café not too far from where I was staying, so I made it my first stop.
Their menu lists a veggie bagel sandwich with purple hummus, Gouda (you can leave it off if you’re vegan), grilled tomatoes, and spinach.
The ingredients: sound great. The sandwich: was terrible. I mean, truly awful. The ‘purple hummus’ was more like a jelly than a hummus. It was so sweet, and didn’t give a ‘sweet/savory’ flavor combination. It just tasted like it wasn’t meant to be there.
The veggies on the sandwich were not what was listed on the menu. It came with mushrooms, peppers, onions, and tomatoes. No spinach in sight. I love pretty much all vegetables, but a restaurant has an obligation to have “truth in menu”, which means that what they list on the menu is what they serve.
The bagel itself was pretty good, though slightly smaller than what I’m used to in the US.
Overall, I was really disappointed in what I received. Even with a strong craving for a bagel, I wouldn’t go back.
Dodó Bon Pan Café
This is a cute French inspired café, and I wanted to check it out because they have a decent number of vegan options. I opted for the Mini Toasts. It comes with 6 pieces, and you can choose what combination you get. There are 3 vegan flavors and 3 non-vegan, so I went with 2 of each vegan flavor. The flavors were garbanzo and avocado; olive tapenade and vegan cheese; and avocado and tomato.
I can’t even lie: I disliked all of the flavors. The ‘toast’ was just cold bread, the avocado was a very unappealing yellowish color, and the vegan cheese was just sprinkled on top instead of melted. There needed to be more acid and salt for both of the toasts with avocado. The one I like the most was the olive tapenade (because the olives added a nice brininess), but the vegan cheese was just off-putting.
It felt like this wasn’t created with much thought or care. I was really disappointed, especially considering the price point of the restaurant.
Maybe the other vegan options on the menu are better, but nothing I tried while I was there would make me want to return.
Natural Spice
Natural Spice was perfectly fine. Not great, not bad. Just fine.
Because of the time of day that I went, they were out of a few of the options I was interested in, particularly the menu del día. I ended up going to one of the burritos instead.
Everything about it was fine, but it was a little lackluster. There were no dominate flavors that made it memorable. The rice did have a little bit of crispiness to it, which gave it a fried rice feel (in a good way). The temperature of the burrito was lukewarm when it was served, which I was surprised about because they made it to order.
I just felt that everything from the location to the service to the food was just middle of the road. Not bad, but also not great.
Vegano-O-No
I was really looking forward to trying Vegano-O-No, and I made a trip into the area just to try it. Unfortunately, when I tried to go, they were inexplicably closed.
No signage, no social media post. They were just closed for the day. I talked to one of the other restaurant owners in the complex, and they weren’t sure why Vegano-O-No wasn’t open.
Oh, well. I would have loved to try it, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The ‘You Get What You Pay For’
Ok, so real talk. While I love nice restaurants that make each meal a special experience, sometimes that’s not the reality of what you need that day. On days when you need fast, easy, and cheap these buffet style restaurants are a solid choice.
El Jardin Vegetariano
El Jardin is located near the El Carmen metro station. If you’re just in Panama City for a short amount of time, it’s unlikely that you’ll visit this area. But it’s still nice to know about options in case you’re around the area.
This restaurant is not elaborate at all. It has a bit of a cafeteria feel, and there isn’t much natural light, especially in the main eating area.
The food is buffet style and rotates daily. You go through the buffet and get to choose from quite an array of options. For the most part, each item you choose costs $0.80, so it’s a very reasonable deal. All together my plate cost around $6.
There are both pros and cons to eating in this style.
A huge pro is that your plate is customizable, so you are able pick and choose what items you’re in the mood for that day. Another is that the cost for the quantity makes it cost effective. The price of food in Panama is comparable to that in the US, so to find a full meal for less than $10 is fantastic if you want to stick to a budget.
That’s not to say that there aren’t cons. I went at 2:45pm because of my schedule for that day, but I regret not going earlier. All of my food was lukewarm to cold even though they keep it in chafing dishes, and nothing was particularly well seasoned. The food was perfectly fine, just not exciting.
After having gone through food safety classes in culinary school, I was acutely aware of the fact that the food was cold. For the less popular items, they could potentially be sitting out for more than 4 hours, putting them into the temperature danger zone. Hopefully they keep an eye on those temperatures to ensure food safety.
Some buffet restaurants such as this offer a microwave to reheat your food. I didn’t see one, but perhaps it was behind the counter.
Regardless, for the price that you pay, it’s a decent amount of decent food.
Loving Hut
The above review could easily be copied and pasted down here. One thing to add is that Loving Hut has locations throughout Central and South America.
The price for Loving Hut is slightly more expensive: $1.50 per portion, and there are fewer options than at El Jardin. I thought the food was pretty similar quality: not great, but not bad either.
As the title of this section states: you get what you pay for.
Final Thoughts
At this point, I wouldn’t say that Panama City is a ‘Vegan Paradise’. There’s definitely enough available to feed yourself for a trip, but I wouldn’t visit here just for the food. I didn’t stay for long, but I did do quite a bit of cooking in my Airbnb to compensate for the lack of options.
