Spanish Tapas and Paella in Panama City

How Spanish cooking works in Panama City: what tapas to order, how to tell a real paella from a rice dish and what to drink with them.

Spanish cooking travels well to Panama for an obvious reason: both places treat lunch as an event and dinner as something that happens late. Here is how to read a Spanish menu in Panama City without ordering three versions of the same thing.

Tapas, and how to order them

The mistake is treating tapas as appetizers. They are the meal, ordered in rounds, shared, with the table deciding what comes next as it goes. A workable order for four people:

• Something cured: jamon, cheese, or both, to start while the kitchen works.
• Something fried: croquetas, which are the real test of a Spanish kitchen. They should be liquid inside and hold their shape anyway.
• Something from the sea: gambas al ajillo or pulpo, the two that travel best.
• Tortilla espanola: potato and egg, and the eternal argument about whether it should have onion.
• Patatas bravas: the sauce should carry heat, not just tomato.

Paella, and how to spot a real one

Paella is a rice dish, not a seafood platter with rice underneath. Three signals separate the real thing: it is cooked to order and therefore takes half an hour; the rice is a thin layer, not a mound; and there is socarrat, the toasted crust at the bottom of the pan, which is the part Spaniards fight over. A paella that arrives in ten minutes was reheated.

What to drink

Tempranillo for meat and long dinners, albarino for anything from the sea, cava when there is something to celebrate. Sangria exists and it is fine, but it belongs to the afternoon rather than to the table.

Where it lands in Panama

Spanish kitchens are still a small category in Panama City for the size of the market, and most of them sit in Casco Viejo, where the buildings suit the format: high ceilings, long tables and rooms designed for dinners that do not end at nine.

Frequently asked questions

How many tapas per person?
Three to four small plates each for a full dinner, ordered in waves rather than all at once.

How long should a paella take?
Cooked to order, at least twenty five to thirty minutes. If it arrives in ten, it was not made for you.

Is sangria what Spaniards actually drink?
Not usually with dinner. It is a summer and terrace drink; with the meal a tempranillo or an albarino is the norm.

Santa Rita in Casco Viejo

Spanish kitchen and Argentine grill on Avenida Eloy Alfaro and Calle 11, in the heart of Casco Viejo. Open Monday to Thursday 5:00 to 11:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday 1:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Sunday 12:00 to 8:00 p.m. Phone +507 303-0991 · WhatsApp +507 6629-6315.

Book a table

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