Dining in Pedasi

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Dining in Pedasi

The small town of Pedasi on the southeastern tip of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula
has plenty of good dining options

Pedasi is a small town (population 2,400 as of the 2010 census) on the southeastern tip of the Azuero Peninsula on Panama’s Pacific coast. The area is known for world-class surfing and sport fishing. In recent years the town has attracted a small expat community. I spent a month in this quaint town and found it to be a friendly place where locals, tourists and expats intermingled. The pace of life is slow. People sit on their front porches in the evenings and visit. Families walk and go out together. Chickens and dogs roam freely through the streets. At the edge of town you’re likely to see a horse tethered to a tree. Within a couple of blocks you are in the countryside. It was a laid-back place to spend a month. The number of good restaurants was a delightful surprise.

Another surprise was the number of Italian restaurants, serving Italian specialties such as wood-fired pizza, home-made gnocchi and fettuccine, and tiramisu. My husband and I had a gracious and delicious dining experience at Ristorante Pasta e Vino, a house converted into a restaurant. The menu features daily specials and recipes use fresh herbs from the owners’ garden. My appetizer was ceviche, the first time I’d had that dish. Tasting it, I wondered why I’d never tried it before.

Ceviche is a traditional dish of raw fish cured in citrus juices and spiced with chili peppers, onions, salt and cilantro. A cooked version, ceviche frito, is also popular in the area. Battered and fried bits of fish are treated with lime and peppers and served over spiced citrus onions and peppers. I tried this at Los Vientos Beach Club just outside of Pedasi. It was also tasty.

Fish is found on many menus. Yellowfin tuna, Pacific sailfish, snapper, marlin and grouper are some of the fish caught in the area. Traditionally fish is fried whole and served with patacones, twice-fried plantain disks. Other traditional meals are based around rice, corn, beans and coconut. Arroz con pollo (chicken with rice) is a common dish. Yucca fries were served at many restaurants. I took to ordering them instead of potato fries. They were filing and usually made from fresh yucca. The potato fries were from frozen.

Dining in Pedasi: El Chichemito
El Chichemito fonda

There are several fondas (local restaurants) around town serving inexpensive, traditional food. Two popular ones are Mama Fefa and El Chichemito.

Dining in Pedasi: pescado frito entero
One of the best fried fish I had was at the restaurant at Playa Arenal beach

Smiley’s on the main street is popular with expats and serves a mix of American standards and Panamanian foods. The ceviche was a bit too tangy, but I enjoyed the tuna so well I ordered it again on a subsequent visit. (This area is known as the “Tuna Coast”) This is also the place to come if you are longing for American food, such as burgers, ribs, steaks and wings, American atmosphere and English conversation. There is live music on Tuesdays and Fridays. Band size varies and includes a number of expats. There is also a small bookshelf tucked into one wall where people can exchange books. We used this to find new English reading material when we’d finished the books we brought with us.

Bienvenidush is a funky bistro serving Mediterranean and middle-Eastern food. The bed and breakfast Casa Margarita is open to the public for breakfast and offers a good choice of hearty breakfast fare. I liked the muffins and croissants at The Bakery. Pizza and sandwiches are on the menu throughout the day, This was where we bought fresh bread to take home. Its patio was frequented by people with laptops and tablets accessing the free wi-fi available in the town. The Bakery is near a hotspot.

Dining in Pedasi; French toast from The Bakery
The Bakery French toast breakfast

Mare Bonvita, a fusion restaurant, was recommended by the owner of the house we rented. Chef Luis offers a menu which changes weekly. We went to this restaurant just off the town square one evening only to discover it was closed and items were being packed up. We were told they were moving to a larger location at the back of a hotel property at the north end of town. The next week we went to the new location and shared a plate of paella, a special that week not list on the chalkboard menu, and the tastiest coconut flan I’ve ever had.

Dining in Pedasi: Tortuga's
Tortuga’s

Tortuga’s is a Mexican restaurant owned by Canadians from Montreal, offering nachos, tacos and fajitas. I had chicken fajitas and my husband had fish tacos. Both were very good. I was thrilled to find a tasty guacamole accompanying my meal. I hadn’t seen an avocado in the stores and asked the waitress where they got them. She said they’d been in Chitre that day and had gone from store to store buying up all the available avocados. (Chitre was a little over an hour away.)

Fish tacos and chicken fajitas
Our Mexican meals

Restobar Maestra Vida is a creperie. Both my dinner and dessert crepe were delicious. A courtyard area contained a stage with karaoke set-up. We were the only diners in the restaurant when we first arrived. The owner turned on the system and played guitar and sang for us. He was quite good. Before we’d finished dinner, a larger group arrived and sat in the courtyard and he played for them too.

Dining in Pedasi: crepes

The Corner is a Spanish restaurant offering a selection of tapas and other Spanish dishes (with a few Panamanian items). It was recommended to us by an expat and we initially had trouble finding the place, located a couple of blocks off of town square. It was a good thing we did find it. We shared a charcuterie plate and enjoyed the cozy atmosphere. We went back the next day for lunch and had an excellent bowl of Sanocho, a traditional Panamanian chicken soup with Ã±ame (a type of yam), yucca and cilantro. The owner told us the free-range chicken came from a farm he owned in another part of the country.

Scenes of Pedasi
Scenes of Pedasi

For a small town, Pedasi had a lot of dining options. There are others we never made it to. And more great restaurants are found if one travels beyond town limits. (The top photo is from one of the out-of-town places, Villa Romana, a resort restaurant ten kilometres outside of Pedasi with romantic sunset views across the Pacific.)

A word of caution: Some Pedasi restaurants are closed on Mondays or Tuesdays or both.

PIN ITPedasi on the Azuero Peninsula in Panama has a great selection of restaurants and dining options


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25 Comments

  1. I saw the patacones in your photo and was instantly transported back to Central America! I loved them and it seemed like they came with everything we ordered. For a town its size, Pedasi has a surprising number of restaurants and it sounds like each one had some great choices. Trying new dishes is one of travel’s best perks! Anita

  2. For such a small place, Pedasi seems to be a culinary delight! So many choices! And they all look delicious.

  3. You’ve definitely opened my eyes to Panama. Thank you for explaining Ceviche. I would have never known what you were talking about! The french toast, by the way, looks delish!

  4. I once considered building a retirement home in Pedasi. The multitude of dining establishments is definitely a big plus, as is the driving proximity to other desirable places in Panama.

  5. Pedasi is definitely my kind of place – laid-back small town with lots of seafood dining choices – love it! I have only been to Panama City but would like to get back and explore more of Panama, Pedasi will be on the list.

  6. I’ve heard many good things about Panama, so I’m not surprised you had a good time in Padesi. This little town reminds me a lot about a place on the Black Sea shore back in Romania where I used to spend my summer vacations when I was in college. However, Padesi seems to have way more restaurants than we had back there. I wouldn’t have expected to find an Italian restaurant in such a small town like Padesi though. Perhaps they love pizza a lot.

  7. Oh Donna, my mouth is watering. What a wonderful selection of feasts you’ve shared with us. Made me hungry!

  8. What an adventure you’re having in Panama. Pedasi looks a wonderful spot to visit too, quiet and interesting – and we would totally love the food you’re describing.

  9. That fish and plantains made me instantly hungry! I love fresh fish prepared like that. I’ve never been to Panama but you’ve certainly shown that Pedasi should be on everyones list.