Panamanian Fusion Restaurant
An Epicurean adventure…
During my tour on Monday, we were standing in Plaza Herrera, Casco Viejo and Goran was telling me all about this restaurant called Fonda Lo Que Hay and that if the restaurant reopens with the newly relaxed COVID restrictions that I should give this restaurant a try and that it is one of his and his wife’s favourite restaurants in Panama City.
Funnily enough just as he was telling me this…he stops mid sentence and says “Oh it’s reopend! There look…that girl walking down the street is wearing their shirt, she must be on her way to work.” It was almost as if it were fate…so based on that sign…that coincidental moment, I knew I had to go there for lunch.
So…I strolled back to the location and it was about 11:50am when I arrived. There was the nicest gentleman standing outside and he said that they opened in 9 minutes. So naturally I waited because I need to eat here…it was written in the stars.
Literally from the moment I walked inside, I felt like family. EVERYONE said hello and welcome…You know when you arrive at the airport and all the people are standing in the arrivals lounge waiting to pick up their homecoming people…well imagine that you are arriving home and everyone in the arrival lounge was there for you. Ya! That was totally my experience, I was family.
I sat outside in the internal courtyard that was green and lush and surrounded by glass…it really has the perfect ambience whether you are looking for a romantic meal with your partner or just a lunch with the girls…the space really is whatever you need it to be in that moment. For me, it was just lunch for one and still it fit me like a glove…
(The old Donde Jose location between Calle 8 & 9
near Plaza Herrera)
Fonda Lo Que Hay!
Where your taste buds go to have a lusty affair
I ordered a Margarita Criolle, a house cocktail. The restaurant manager brought it over to me, personally welcomed me to the restaurant and told me all about the cocktail I was about to enjoy. Now, I don’t know if all this hospitality was because I was in fact the very first customer after being closed for months and months and months from the COVID restrictions, but it was so authentic I feel that this is really just who they are.
I ordered the sea bass dish but had the patacones replaced with cassava chips because I am allergic to bananas and plantains and when the food arrived I ordered another house cocktail…named after the restaurant: Lo Que Hay. Now while the first cocktail was great…it was a sweet and spicy margarita…but this second cocktail was true craftsmanship. I have no idea what was in it, but it was fresh and green and not too sweet with maybe green apple and mint? I really have no idea, but I LOVED it. I smiled inside and out after my first sip and I am pretty sure I gave it an audible of some sort…I think it went something like this…”oh wow…mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm” HAHAHAHA. Good thing I was alone!
When they delivered my food, my incredible friendly server very graciously described the dish and how to best eat it…taking the chips and piling on each of the sauces then topping it with the fish and eating it like a tostada. My first bite was (insert adult words). Yes, it was incredible…the flavour combinations were a true epicurean experience. It was luxurious and it felt gluttonous…the word gourmet doesn’t do it justice. The most incredible thing is that the prices are totally average prices. My cocktails were $6 each, the Sea Bass dish was $18 I think. Yes, USD but super reasonable.
Perhaps a little lesson on what the word “Fonda” actually means. Apparently a ‘real’ fonda, in the old-fashioned sense is a small mom-and-pop joint with just a few tables; simple and unpretentious eateries serving great food at inexpensive prices. So I suppose it is right in the name…that this is a place for the people.
My final word…if you do not eat here at least once you are a fool. It’s that simple.
Jackelyn Approved 
