Panama City has a lot of great restaurants and a lot of terrible restaurants. And, although it can be delicious, traditional Panamanian cuisine can also be pretty uninspiring in the wrong hands. Last night, we were in some very good hands when we were treated to a wonderful combination of traditional Panamanian staples prepared with a modern take in a great new restaurant in Panama City called Don Patacon.

The specialty of the house, patacones, are plantains sliced and twice-fried to resemble a hefty potato chip and have a consistency similar to french fries. The restaurant does them well: not too fried, not too soft, and serves them with various salsas and toppings. Our table also enjoyed the restaurant’s take on carminolas, another traditional Panamanian item which is basically a small goodie of yucca stuffed with seasoned meat. Unlike many carminolas in Panama, these had strong flavor, plenty of meat, and were lightly fried. Don Patacon is well-located near the MultiPlaza mall and has a contemporary interior design with some Panamanian flair. If you’re looking for a modern take on Panama cuisine, I highly recommend Don Patacon.

Patacones