Panama is a surprisingly good place to satisfy an Italian food craving.
And this isn't just about finding a slice of pizza when you are tired of hostel food.
There is a proper Italian food scene here, with restaurants serving handmade pasta, wood fired pizza, risotto, gnocchi, lasagna, seafood, tiramisu and all the other wonderful things that happen when carbohydrates, cheese, tomatoes and olive oil get together.
For a traveller, Italian food is almost impossible to get tired of. It can be a quick pizza after a long day, a giant bowl of pasta shared with friends, or a slow dinner with wine and dessert.
And after spending the day sweating through the Panamanian jungle, there is something wonderfully ridiculous about sitting down to a plate of steaming carbonara.
Your body says it needs electrolytes.
Your brain says it needs parmesan.
Your brain wins.
🍕 Ciao Pescao
Ciao Pescao is a great option if you want Italian food with plenty of personality.
The menu mixes Italian favourites with seafood and other Mediterranean influences, making it particularly appealing in a country surrounded by the ocean.
Fresh seafood and Italian cooking are a pretty unbeatable combination.
Think pasta with seafood, pizzas, rich sauces and dishes designed for people who don't believe dinner should be boring.
And let's be honest, pasta tastes even better when you can smell the ocean somewhere nearby.
🍝 La Locanda
La Locanda is another name worth remembering for Italian food lovers.
This is the sort of restaurant where you can settle into the classic Italian comfort zone with pasta, pizza and other traditional dishes.
The beauty of a good Italian restaurant is that you don't need to understand half the menu.
See pasta?
Good.
See pizza?
Excellent.
See tiramisu?
Order immediately.
Italian food has somehow perfected the art of making very simple ingredients taste like they have been conspiring together for centuries.
🍕 Lucca
Lucca is a popular choice for people looking for a more polished Italian dining experience.
Pizza is obviously part of the attraction, but Italian cooking is about far more than pizza.
A good pasta dish can be almost ridiculously satisfying when the pasta is cooked properly and the sauce is allowed to do its job without being buried under twenty unnecessary ingredients.
And then there is risotto.
Creamy, rich and wonderfully comforting, risotto is the Italian equivalent of a warm blanket.
Except you eat it.
🍝 Casa Stizzoli
Casa Stizzoli is another strong option for Italian food and is particularly appealing if you want to go beyond the standard pizza and spaghetti combination.
This is where you can start exploring things like gnocchi, risotto, traditional pasta dishes and Italian style appetizers.
Gnocchi deserves special attention.
Those little potato pillows have an almost supernatural ability to disappear from a plate.
You think you're eating slowly.
You look down.
Gone.
Someone should investigate.
🍕 Napoli Mia
If pizza is your priority, Napoli Mia is a name that should be on your radar.
This is the kind of place for travellers who believe pizza should have a proper crust, good ingredients and enough flavour that you don't need half a bottle of sauce to make it interesting.
A good Neapolitan style pizza is wonderfully simple.
Dough.
Tomato.
Mozzarella.
Basil.
Olive oil.
Heat.
Magic.
And suddenly you are sitting in Panama wondering why you ever thought frozen pizza was acceptable.
🍝 Pastissima
Pastissima is particularly interesting for serious pasta lovers.
The name gives away the mission.
Pasta.
Lots of pasta.
Different shapes, different sauces and plenty of traditional Italian combinations make this a good place for anyone who wants to explore the world beyond spaghetti.
Because once you discover that pasta comes in approximately seventeen million different shapes, you start to understand that Italian cuisine is much more serious about noodles than you previously realised.
And yes, the shape actually matters.
Some sauces cling better to certain pasta.
Which means ordering the wrong pasta is technically a scientific mistake.
🍕 Il Grillo
Il Grillo is another option for classic Italian flavours, with pizza and pasta featuring prominently.
It is the kind of place that works particularly well when travelling with a group because everyone can find something they want.
One person wants pizza.
Another wants pasta.
Someone else wants meat.
And the vegetarian is wondering why everyone suddenly thinks cheese is a vegetable.
Problem solved.
Order several things and put them in the middle.
Italian food is built for this.
🍷 Azahar
Azahar offers a more sophisticated take on Italian and Mediterranean influenced cuisine.
This is the sort of restaurant to consider when you want dinner to feel like an occasion rather than simply something you have to eat because your stomach is making noises.
Beautifully presented dishes, wine and a slower meal can make a welcome change after days of backpacking.
Sometimes you need adventure.
Sometimes you need pizza.
And sometimes you need to sit somewhere nice and pretend you are a sophisticated European for two hours.
🍕 Ciao Bella
Ciao Bella is another friendly option for Italian classics and is particularly appealing when what you really want is uncomplicated comfort food.
Pizza, pasta and Italian favourites are exactly what many travellers are looking for after a long day.
Because there is a special kind of happiness that comes from seeing a pizza arrive at your table when you are absolutely starving.
You don't even say thank you.
You just stare at it.
🍰 And then there is dessert...
Italian food becomes particularly dangerous once dessert appears.
Tiramisu is obviously the celebrity.
Coffee soaked layers, mascarpone, cocoa and just enough sweetness to make you believe you are being sophisticated rather than eating cake after a giant plate of pasta.
Then there is panna cotta.
Gelato.
Cannoli.
And various other desserts that make the phrase “I'm too full” completely meaningless.
There is always room for Italian dessert.
This is an internationally recognised law.
🇮🇹 So, where should you start?
If you are craving pizza, look toward places such as Napoli Mia, Lucca, Casa Stizzoli and Ciao Bella.
If you are more interested in pasta, try Pastissima, La Locanda or Casa Stizzoli.
If you want something a little more sophisticated, Azahar is worth considering.
And if seafood sounds better than meat, Italian cuisine and Panama's seafood are a fantastic combination.
But perhaps the most important piece of advice is this:
Don't order spaghetti and meatballs just because you think that's what Italian food is.
Italy has an enormous culinary universe waiting for you.
Try carbonara.
Try amatriciana.
Try pesto.
Try gnocchi.
Try a proper risotto.
Try a pizza with a beautifully charred crust.
Try something you've never heard of.
Then finish with tiramisu and pretend you are only ordering it “for the table.”
Nobody believes you.
And after a few weeks of buses, beaches, waterfalls, jungle hikes and backpacker adventures across Panama, a plate of fresh pasta can feel almost luxurious.
Especially when you have spent the day sweating like a politician at a tax audit.
Panama has plenty of tropical adventures. But sometimes the best adventure is following the smell of garlic, tomato, basil and melted mozzarella. 🇮🇹🍕🍝😋