There are plenty of foods that travelers associate with Panama: ceviche, sancocho, patacones, arroz con pollo and an almost endless supply of tropical fruit. But there is another food that deserves far more attention from visitors with a sweet tooth: the humble churro.
In Panama, churros are not simply something you occasionally find at a Spanish restaurant. They have become a deeply established snack and dessert, particularly in Panama City, where specialized churrerías have been serving them for decades.
And Panama has developed its own preferences. While the classic Spanish churro is generally associated with dipping into thick hot chocolate, Panamanian churros are particularly famous for being heavily coated in sugar and filled with sweet fillings such as manjar blanco, condensed milk or chocolate.
Churrería Manolo: A Panama Institution
If there is one name visitors should know when talking about churros in Panama, it is Churrería Manolo | Vía Argentina.
Manolo has become something of a Panama City institution. The business has been associated with churros for decades, and its specialty is not limited to one particular type. You can find traditional churros, filled churros, mini churros and versions served with thick Spanish-style hot chocolate.
One of the most interesting varieties is the churro relleno — a churro filled with something sweet rather than simply coated on the outside. Manolo's filled versions are particularly associated with manjar blanco, the creamy caramel-like filling known elsewhere as dulce de leche.
At some locations, you can also encounter fillings such as apple with cinnamon and pastry cream, while specialty flavors can appear from time to time.
And Manolo isn't just one little churro shop. The brand has locations around Panama City, including Churrería Manolo | Obarrio, Churrería Manolo | Costa del Este, Churrería Manolo | Centennial, Churreria Manolo | Casco Viejo and Churreria Manolo Albrook Mall.
That makes it surprisingly easy to encounter the famous Panamanian churro while exploring the capital.
What Makes a Panamanian Churro Different?
The basic idea is wonderfully simple: dough is extruded through a star-shaped nozzle and dropped into hot oil, creating the characteristic ridged shape.
But the experience can be considerably more extravagant than a basic sugar-covered churro.
A churro can be:
Plain and crispy, covered in sugar.
Filled with manjar blanco, creating a soft, creamy centre.
Filled with chocolate or another sweet cream.
Served with thick hot chocolate for dipping.
Covered with additional sauces or toppings.
Combined with ice cream for a much more substantial dessert.
The contrast is part of the appeal. A good churro should have a crisp exterior while remaining softer inside. When the filling is warm or creamy, the result is essentially a miniature fried dessert with a surprise waiting in the middle.
Churros for Breakfast?
One of the charming things about Panama's churrerías is that churros aren't necessarily restricted to dessert.
Manolo operates more like a traditional café and restaurant than a specialized dessert kiosk. Its locations can open early in the morning and remain open late into the night, allowing people to stop in for coffee and churros, breakfast, lunch, dinner or a late-night sweet snack.
That makes the churro surprisingly versatile.
A traveler might have one with coffee in the morning, grab another while exploring the city in the afternoon, or finish a late-night meal with churros and hot chocolate.
The Spanish Connection
The connection between churros and Spanish food culture is particularly obvious in Panama.
The classic combination of churros con chocolate remains popular, with thick hot chocolate designed specifically for dipping. Manolo's Costa del Este location, for example, currently lists mini churros with its thick house-style hot chocolate for around $4.95.
But Panama has clearly made the churro its own.
Instead of treating it exclusively as a Spanish café pastry, Panamanians have embraced the filled and heavily sweetened versions that make the dessert particularly indulgent.
ChurroOlé: Another Place to Find Them
Another interesting option is ChurroOlé - Albrook Mall, located inside Albrook Mall.
This is much more of a dedicated churro-snack concept. The churros are made to order, and customers can watch them being prepared and finished. The menu includes traditional sugar-coated versions, glazed churros and filled varieties.
There is also ChurrOlé - Altaplaza Mall, another mall-based option where freshly prepared churros and different toppings are the focus.
The appeal of these places is different from Manolo. Rather than sitting down for a full café meal, you can simply grab a box of hot churros while shopping and continue exploring.
Churromania Brings the Fast-Food Version
Panama also has Churromania, an international churrería concept that has appeared in several shopping centres.
You can find Churromania | Metromall, for example, as well as Churromania Los Andes Mall.
The concept is closer to a fast-food dessert shop. Traditional sugar-coated churros are available alongside glazed, filled and heavily topped versions. Nutella and dulce de leche are among the combinations associated with the brand.
For travelers who like the idea of taking a simple churro and turning it into an enormous dessert covered in sauces and toppings, this is the direction to explore.
You Can Even Find Churros in Tocumen
Churros aren't confined to Panama City's tourist districts.
Around Tocumen, businesses such as Helados La Vecina | Nuevo Belen Tocumen combine churros with ice cream and other desserts.
That combination makes perfect sense in Panama's tropical climate. A plate of hot, freshly fried churros alongside cold ice cream creates the classic hot-and-cold dessert contrast.
How Much Do Churros Cost?
One of the nice things about churros in Panama is that you don't necessarily have to spend much money to enjoy them.
At Manolo's Costa del Este location, current menu listings show simple churros around $1 each, filled churros around $2.10, and mini churros with chocolate around $4.95. Another current menu listing shows four classic churros with a choice of flavors for about $5.30.
Prices vary by location, size, filling and toppings, but a traveler can generally expect:
Simple churro: around $1
Filled churro: around $2
Small serving with chocolate or toppings: roughly $4–6
Large specialty portions: potentially more
That makes churros one of the easier ways to get a substantial sweet snack without spending much money.
The Secret Is Eating Them Fresh
There is one rule that matters more than almost anything else:
Eat the churro while it is fresh.
A freshly fried churro has that magical combination of crisp exterior and soft interior. Leave it sitting around for too long and the texture can change dramatically.
This is why made-to-order churrerías can be particularly rewarding. ChurroOlé, for example, specifically emphasizes churros fried fresh to order.
Even reviews of Panama's churrerías frequently make the distinction between excellent hot churros and disappointing ones that have been sitting around.
So if you have the choice between a churro that has been sitting in a display case and one that is being dropped into the fryer while you wait, wait for the fresh one.
Churros Are Surprisingly Important to Panama's Food Culture
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Panama's churro culture is that the food doesn't always receive the attention it deserves from international travelers.
Tourists often arrive expecting to find ceviche and tropical fruit, yet something as simple as a churro can become one of those unexpected foods they remember.
Panama has taken a food with strong Spanish roots and adapted it to local tastes — particularly the love of manjar blanco, chocolate, condensed milk, sugar and increasingly elaborate toppings.
And unlike many traditional foods that require a special trip or reservation, churros are wonderfully accessible.
You can find them in cafés, shopping malls, churrerías and neighborhood businesses.
You can eat them for breakfast.
You can eat them as an afternoon snack.
You can eat them after dinner.
Or you can simply smell them frying while walking through a shopping mall and suddenly decide that Panama's diet can wait another day.
The Best Way to Experience a Panamanian Churro
For someone visiting Panama for the first time, the ideal experiment is to try three versions.
Start with a plain sugar-coated churro while it is still hot. This lets you appreciate the basic dough and crispness.
Then try a churro relleno de manjar blanco. This is where the Panamanian interpretation really begins to shine.
Finally, try churros with thick hot chocolate or ice cream and turn the humble snack into a full dessert.
It is a remarkably simple food, but Panama has managed to make it surprisingly diverse.
And perhaps that's the real beauty of the Panamanian churro: it doesn't try to be sophisticated. It is hot, crispy, sweet, messy and ridiculously satisfying. In a country full of elaborate tropical flavors and exotic ingredients, sometimes one of the best discoveries is simply a freshly fried piece of dough covered in sugar.