Miraflores Locks Restaurant is an extraordinary gastronomic experience that you cannot miss if you are visiting the Panama Canal. Last night I went with my family to celebrate my brother’s graduation party; he got his Master Degree, yeah!  We made reservations to dine at 8pm and we arrive just in time to enjoy an outdoor culinary experience that really rocked the boat.  Our table was located right outside on the deck with an impressive view of the Locks at night.  The restaurant offered a grand display of mix cuisines from North and South American dishes, Caribbean flavor and even some Italian and Japanese influences.  All this amazing flavors combined under the magnificent buffet party that was our dinner.

The main course included beef, fish and chicken in exotic flavorful sauces, pasta dishes, delicious rice, and desserts.  As an entry, I have ceviche that was delightful, and for my main course I was ecstatic with my selection of Corvina with mushrooms and huacaina sauce and a side of pasta.  We were very lucky to enjoy the passing of 8 ships while we were enjoying of our graduation party. Chef Stephane Dias is a great acquisition for the Miraflores Restaurant and our whole dining experience was even better from the magnificent view of the Miraflores Locks.

So, if you are wondering what to do for Christmas celebration and New Year’s Eve party, I’ll recommend you to check out this restaurant.  You need to make reservations if you want to dine here.  The price for the buffet runs at $21, the drinks are not included but they are very affordable.

Miraflores is the name given to one of the three sets of locks that complete the Panama Canal.  In this leg of the journey through the canal, vessels are lifted or lowered in three stages that allow them to transit to or from the Pacific Ocean into the port of Balboa.

Miraflores Visitors Center was open December 18, 2003.  Since then, it has become the place with the best view of the operations of the Miraflores Locks.  You can perfectly see how the locks open and close to let the water filled up or drained out the chambers that make possible this step to go to or from de Pacific Ocean. The Panama Canal is a channel that uses fresh water for operations, from which 26.7 million gallons of fresh water are necessary to operate the locks.

Depending on the size of the vessels the visitor can experience watching the transit of two to three vessels, or even more if they have simultaneous transit.  This transit, from the moment the vessel enters the canal to the end of the passing, takes only ten minutes to be completed.  

Miraflores Visitor Center is a 4 story building and is divided in four different rooms: The History Hall, The Hall of Water: Source of Life, The Canal in Action, and the Canal in the World.  The center features a theater, three observation decks, two snack bars, a restaurant, a gift shop, and a hall for special events. 

The Panama Canal is one of the best examples of modern engineering.  In spite of the predictions that in Panamanian hands the Canal would decay, today the Canal is in works of extension that will allow a 40% increment of the marine transit, allowing ships with bigger dimensions than the Panamax to be able to navigate through the Canal.