The Casco Viejo has Panama City's most interesting restaurant scene and arguably the best concentration of restaurants in Central America. The neighbourhood's restored colonial buildings provide a natural setting for ambitious cooking — high ceilings, internal courtyards, rooftop terraces looking out across the bay — and a generation of Panamanian chefs trained abroad have returned to open places that take local ingredients seriously.
Maito and Donde José are the most celebrated and most cited in international food press. Maito focuses on Panamanian ingredients with a modern approach; Donde José does a set menu using traditional recipes reworked with care. Both require reservations, especially at weekends, and both are worth the planning.
Across the neighbourhood there are many good options at lower price points: ceviche bars, Peruvian-Panamanian fusion, small Italian places that have colonised the quieter streets, and a proliferating number of cocktail-focused bars with food menus. The density of options in a small area means you can walk around and decide; outside of peak weekend evenings, most places will have a table. For the best spots, book ahead.