When traveling through Panama City, Panama, you simply must make a stop at the Panama City fish market. The Mercado de Mariscos is a popular place for tourists and locals alike, and for good reason! You can’t find seafood more fresh than this!
Update: We originally visited Mercado de Mariscos 8 years ago or so, when we first published this article. Recently, we visited again and have updated this post.
No, it’s not glamorous.
No, it’s not chic.
And it sure as heck doesn’t smell like a charming little bake shop. We are talking fresh seafood, after all!
But Mercado de Mariscos, the Panama City fish market, is one of those authentic stops that marks a true visit into Panama City.
If you are one who can’t handle the smell of raw fish, this might be one traveling suggestion you back away from. However, if you can muster through it, you will be glad you did.
Joey, the marvelous new friend we made at PTY Life, suggested the place to us. We had no reason to argue with him because all of his other suggestions had been on point. So. On. Point. In fact, check out my Panama City, Panama tours post I wrote, detailing our tour with Joey!
There are two options at Mercado de Mariscos. One of them is to go the upstairs restaurant and order your freshly chosen seafood to be cooked by a chef. The other option is to purchase the seafood of your choice downstairs in the fish market and then take it upstairs to the restaurant to be cooked however you want it. Then, you can choose your own sides to go with it. We went with this second option on our visit.
Buying Seafood at the Panama City Fish Market
On the outside of the market, there are some food stands. Ceviche, a popular cultural food in Panama, seems to be the popular hot item out there. So what is ceviche? It is kind of a seafood salad, of sorts. It typically has white fish mixed with citrus flavoring (like lime juice), olive oil, various spices, and salt and powder. The fish is raw but is cooked in the citrus juices.
Joey took us around the inside of the market to the various vendors to look over the fresh seafood options.
The prices seemed quite reasonable, as well. We saw various types of fish, lobster, oyster, and shrimp.
I guess I’m not used to seeing fresh seafood in person these days, but I was shocked at how big some of the shrimp were!
Eating Fresh Seafood for Lunch or Dinner at Mercado de Mariscos
There is a restaurant upstairs of the Panama City fish market in which you can order your freshly-purchased seafood to be cooked for lunch or an early dinner. The hours of the restaurant are the same as the market – 6 in the morning to 5 p.m.
The upstairs dining area is a casual set-up with a waitress who takes orders and drops off food.
The food came around and was served family style. We had ordered fried yucca, patacones (fried plantains) and rice to accompany our sautéed shrimp and our Dorado fish. In total, the food price was quite reasonable, especially given that it involved fresh fish and shrimp.
It was sooo good. I mean the flavor was top-notch, which had me thinking we need to buy fresh seafood to cook at home much more often than we do.
If you find yourself in Panama City, treat yourself to this authentic experience!
Danielle
Seeing all that fish would make me think I need to buy my fish from there to cook at home too!!! I mean, it looks beyond fresh and like it was the best fish ever. Wow, I need to take a trip there ASAP!
Danielle | http://www.FollowMyGut.com <3