Restaurante Las Orquideas For Local Cuisine

After moving across the river and into town, this tipica restaurant has made a huge hit with visitors and locals alike.

The Restaurante Las Orquideas is located just one door from the popular Machu Picchu Restaurant, but is far different in menu and price.

Our daughter Kirsten had just returned to Boquete for a holiday visit and we were looking forward to showing her one of the new restaurants in town.  She likes typical Panamanian food and dining al fresco, so we knew she would like Las Orquideas.

The seating is unique in Boquete, with half the 10 tables located on the small front entrance patio, just far enough away from the traffic so as not to be a distraction.

When coming into this friendly restaurant, we were greeted with a smile and a rundown of the day’s 10-12 freshly-prepared dishes.  You may choose any 4 items to be included in your “plato del dia”, or plate of the day.

While waiting for our lunch, we noticed that the tables were decorated with holiday tablecloths and tiny Christmas trees trimmed with take-home candies.  Most of the tables were filled with diners enjoying lovely plates of delicious-looking dishes and orange drinks.

In only about 5 minutes, our lunch was served hot and fresh on matching blue-rimmed plates.

My selection was just what I ordered; chicken asado, fresh broccoli and carrots and red beans, including an unexpected garnish of sweet plantains placed carefully atop a generous mound of white rice.

This was a lunch worthy of a photo. The light-orange iced drink reminded Kirsten of the Tang she loved so much as a child.

Everything tasted as good as it looks. So good that we’ll be back again and again, especially when the entire check for the 3 of us was $6.75!