Istmo is known in Panama City, Panama because it brews its own beers! These beers are named after some of the Provinces of Panama: Coclé, Chiriquí, Colón and Veraguas. These beers are very tasty and with different alcohol percentage from 4.5% to 6% so you have a wide variety to choose from, though I noticed they don’t serve any other national beers.

When we first walked in I wanted to check out the interior; it is very cozy and relaxed. Then my friends and I chose to sit outside while we waited for a waiter come help us. One of my friends – who have been there before – told the waiter we were knew there and then he brought us complimentary samples of the beers. He placed them on top of an explanatory sheet which describes the kind of beer and then he mentioned the percentage of alcohol in each beer.

We ended up choosing Coclé beer which has been modified and now – according to the waiter – has been improved and has more alcohol than the other beers; we also liked Chiriqui beer but Cocle has a better taste, like an Irish beer taste so we went for it! Istmo menu also includes a variety of entrées, appetizers and sandwiches, some of which are also named after the Provinces of Panama.

Istmo is located at Ave. Eusebio A. Morales and Via Veneto in El Cangrejo, Panama City, Panama. In general, Istmo is a nice way to get away from the usual pickup scene! Their prices are very accessible and their service is good!

“La Terraza” or The Terrace for its English translation is a bar located on the famous Via Veneto in Panama City, Panama. Via Veneto is known because of the Hotel & Casino Veneto where a lot of locals and tourists go to party and to meet beautiful, sexy, wild Panama girls. There are a lot of places to party there, but last weekend I went to The Terrace. As I said, it is located at the end of Via Veneto close to Via España. The Terrace is a bar owned by a foreigner who never thought of having a business in Panama City, Panama, but that loved the place so much it didn’t want it to close. The Terrace has moved to many different places, but now is back to Via Veneto where Unplugged (a night club) used to be.

Even though it is not a huge place, I felt cozy and welcome as soon as I walked in. A person, whom I’m not sure if it’s the owner, welcomed me and my friends to the place. There are tables and chairs surrounding the bar area; further inside there’s a pool table and there are tables close to the sidewalk where you can smoke freely. The music is varied and a little after we arrived a nice gentleman started playing and singing live music with his guitar. It was awesome! This was a nice way to enjoy a couple of drinks with my friends, hang out without having to be in an overcrowded place, and enjoy some live music. Go to now The Terrace now, I’m sure it will soon become a new trendy spot in Panama City, Panama!

Well, El Pavo Real has turned out to be my favorite spot in Panama City, Panama. Its ambiance, the music, the food, the drinks, but most of all the staff really makes me love this trendy English bar. (Find more about El Pavo Real on my last week’s article).

I went back for the second time with some friends and few of my co-workers. We loved it that night! All the staff: Marli, Alex and Fernando remembered me right away! Marli and Alex were smiling and taking care of us the whole night. We started off pretty wild by drinking vodka. We sat there to talk and everyone was just so friendly, we couldn’t help but to talk about it. Later on another friend arrived and she wanted to play pool. The pool tables were busy but the people playing were so nice to let her play. OMG! I drank until I felt a little tipsy; luckily my friends and the staff took care of meJ. My friend wasn’t really good at playing pool but we sure had a blast! I met another waiter that night. His name is Ricky. He’s very nice and talks to everyone. Every time I go back Ricky, Marli and Alex are very pleasant and friendly. Every single person that works there is extremely nice, unfortunately because I’m really bad with names and don’t really remember everyone’s name but I can guarantee that anyone that helps you will truly take care of you.

Anyways, writing about it I realized that this is not much of a wild party itself. You’ll have to go to El Pavo Real in order for you to understand what I mean when I say that this is the best place to hang out with your friends and have a great time! If you love rock music, this is the place to go! If you want the best customer service in a bar in Panama City, Panama, this is the place to go! If you want the best food and drinks in Panama City, Panama, this is the best place to go! If you want to be surrounded by beautiful, sexy young Panamanian and latin girls, this is the place to go! El Pavo Real is definitely the best bar to have the best fiesta in Panama City, Panama. It really has nothing to envy from the wild party in strip clubs. The only thing you will NOT find there is a striptease show or lap dance; Nevertheless, it’s a party you will not want to miss. I never do! It truly gives you the best value for your buck in their drinks and food. It gives you free live music every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and, once again, the best service ever! I keep going back almost every week because I know that Stefan, Fernando, Ricky, Marli, Alex and everyone else there will always greet me as their friend and help me relax. It’s always nice to have someone to talk to when you are having a stressful day and to enjoy a cold beer on tap to relax. You can find all of these and more in El Pavo Real. Come and enjoy the best Panamanian-English party only at El Pavo Real. If you’re bold enough you might even meet a lot of wild girls or guys right there! Keep your hopes up! And, I’ll see you at El Pavo Real!

The “Peacock” or El Pavo Real for its name in Spanish is an English pub that plays mostly rock music, which just recently moved to Via Argentina in Panama City, Panama. It was first located in Calle 50 since it first opened in the 80s. El Pavo Real has a lot of story and even though is not really a dance club, you can have a lot of fun playing pool, watching TV or just by delighting your sight with the sexy panamanian wild girls that go there.

I went there the other day and had the pleasure to meet Stefan who’s a manager in El Pavo Real. He told me few anecdotes from the place and why it had to move from its original location, which is because of some leasing problems. He was very nice and polite as is the rest of the staff from El Pavo Real. He started telling me the story of the success of El Pavo Real. Stefan explained to me that yes, it was true that John Le Carré, the English writer who wrote “The Tailor of Panama”, did used to go there to write his novels and eat their signature dishes accompanied by his favorite drinks. Nevertheless, El Pavo Real did not become famous because of him; El Pavo Real was famous way before John Le Carré first stepped into that place. It was very well known since it starts because of its strategic location in Area Bancaria (Banking Area) in Panama City, Panama, it’s excellent customer service, delicious food specially its fish n’ chips and their delicious onion soup (truly, still THE BEST onion soup in Panama City) and great variety of imported and local beers. All the business people used to go there to close very important business deals and have business meetings. One very interesting anecdote was that their famous “fish n’ chips” was not served on a plate like is done now a days, no, it was served on the financial section of the New York Times. Yes, you read it right! It was served on a newspaper. Truly, truly amazing! Unfortunately, this can’t be done anymore because of health department requirements.  The other dish, the onion soup is the best of its kind. No other onion soup can be compare to theirs, guarantee!

Anyways, too much story already so let me tell you how I found out about this quite but crazy and wild place where I go to party a lot.

My best friend and I were driving around one day and wanted to stop by for a drink. We found El Pavo Real right on a corner in Via Argentina where the club Korcho’s used to be located at. We hadn’t even walked in when the administrator and the owners greeted us very politely and courteously. I still remember what Fernando (that’s the name of the administrator) told me: “welcome, this is your home” Whoa!!! I couldn’t believe I was receiving such a nice service in a bar in Panama City, Panama. We sat down outside because we wanted to smoke and chat. Yes, they have a patio area where you can drink, eat and smoke if you want to. We ordered some drinks and we stayed there for a while. The bartenders/waiters were very polite and Fernando treated us like we were old friends.

We had to leave but I knew I was going to go back.

I went back a couple of weeks later with some friends from work. And now is when the real party really started.  Find out what did my friends and I did that night at El Pavo Real on my next week’s article… meanwhile, remember to Party a lot in any of the spots I’ve talked about…
Oh! Just a tip, if you want to have an extreme wild party, The Crazy Horse Panama is having new strippers this weekend, go and watch them perform amazing striptease and lap dance! Or if you want something lighter, El Pavo Real has live music Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays… Trust me; you are going to want to know more about my Latin fiesta in this wild English Club…

Here’s a great party celebration. Why? It was my office friend’s birthday! And it’s another excuse to party in panama or like we say in Panama “arrancarnos” (start up).  She wanted to try something new, something fresh. A very close friend suggested we try a new place at Via Argentina in Panama City, Panama that had just opened up. We went there and the place was packed inside and outside.

How not? Mrs. Mendoza (that’s the restaurant name) is a tex-mex, Mexican restaurant with a very Panamanian and Latin soul. It has a patio and two tables just outside the restaurant where you can also smoke. The staff greeted us very fast and cordially. Their politeness and efficiency was amazing! We didn’t have to wait more than ten minutes for our table.

We sat down and ordered margaritas and beers. I also ordered some nachos because I knew we were going to get a little hungry after we started drinking. (By the way, we’d already had dinner). The margaritas arrived and they were huge! The glass were they are served them are really big, fancy margarita glasses, not just regular martini glasses like some other places use. I had a sip and it was amazingly good. They use Jose Cuervo tequila for this drink and the ratio of ingredients was perfect! (This is a lot to say considering I’m not a big fan of margaritas).

At the same time, the nachos arrived. They were really, really good. They were crispy and fresh. What they served us were not store bought tortillas, they were homemade tortillas chips and the pico-de-gallo that we ordered with it was also fresh and well seasoned. If just the nachos were that good, imagine the rest of their menu!

Anyways, they also had live mariachi who were nice enough to sing “las mañanitas” (Mexican b-day song) to my friend. And when there’s no mariachi, they play a great selection of Latin music.

It was a nice twist, something different… Most importantly, my friend loved it! And so did us. I had a blast! Mrs. Mendoza is a really nice place to hang out, eat some very good tex-mex or Mexican food and a great place to bring your love one for a unique serenade.

Mrs. Mendoza has nothing to envy from any night club or bar or even those show clubs and strip clubs. You can set your own ambiance. From sexy and wild party to just a true Latin fiesta; their music, their drinks and their food are the key ingredients to have a great Latin night, Mexican night. Most importantly, their service has been the best service I’ve received in a restaurant/bar in Panama so far.

 If you have already wandered around the city, and find you wanting to step into the wild night, Calle Uruguay is the place to go.  Calle Uruguay is a street with the most trendy and funky night clubs in the city.  From a DJ to live music it is sure you will find something to satisfy your craving for night life in Panama.

People Bar:  For those wanting to explore their wild side, why not try some salsa dancing!  Every Wednesday night, salsa dancing is the main attraction at People.  On weekends you would not only find the beautiful people of Panama gathering in this night club, but a DJ would be spinning the latest of Reggaeton, hip hop, and electronic music.  The party starts after 11pm.

Sahara:    This restaurant and bar is the ideal place to enjoy during the week nights.  Live music is played from Wednesday to Saturday, although a DJ is also playing on the weekend.  Sahara has a great atmosphere, friendly people, and you won’t only enjoy great food but also dancing that can be done at the bar.  You cannot miss their outdoor patio and the 80s music that they play. Enjoy the fiesta!

Moods:  It is a great little place where there is not cover on Wednesday nights.  Moods has a great music selection of diverse variety from reggaeton to salsa and everything in between.   It is not too crowded on the weekend and it is a good spot for people watching.  Put on your best party dress and come to play.

One:  The newest addition to the hot nightclubs in Panama for the party monster who likes to try new places.   It has a nice lounge area and nice attentive people working to give you the best time.  Best of all, there is no waiting list like in the other more selective places.   This is the place to find great looking girls in Panama, or even some well concealed escorts.

Anemos:  Swanky night club, where you find something unexpected:  open space.   Anemos is not the most budget friendly place to drink, but it is absolutely worth going.  Watch out for the wild party girls, Panama women are everywhere. With exquisite red couches and a bohemian look, you can sit outside, at the lobby, or dance inside.  It is like a dance party all night long in this singular night club.

The Londoner:  A British pub right here at the heart of Panama City.  The bar has a great selection of imported beer and the service is great.  This is the place if you want to enjoy your draft in peace.  And of course, fish and fries are in the menu to enjoy with your favorite beer.  And the best is that you can book your private party here.

Unplugged:  It is not as swank or luxurious as the other bars and night clubs.  However, it has a nice vibe to their shabby furniture and pool table.  A little off place, it can get lost between the more flashy places around.  Not the typical panama fiesta, but a nice change for the most bohemian crowed.