All photos this page: ©2007 Scott Doggett, Special to WhozHereNow.com

The Reef is pure Bocas. Expect a waiter to frequent your table as regularly as high tide returns to The Reef and not a minute sooner. In Panamanian hands, service tends to be on a pace far removed from the heading-for-a-stroke course most norteamericanos are on. And when the food arrives, it’s really no better than mediocre and it’s pricey for what you get, but something about waiting up an appetite (CQ,) makes the food taste better.

The only suits allowed at Yarisnori are of the bathing variety.

©2007 Scott Doggett, Special to WhozHereNow.com
This spacious open-air restaurant on a field of sand at the edge of the sea makes for a super-casual, super-relaxing all-day destination. Its owner loves her customers and doesn't mind if you occupy a table for hours, mixing light drinking and eating with refreshing dips in the sea, sunbathing and short snorkeling excursions, perhaps a stroll along the beach. There's some heady brain coral near the point, and the current is safe if you stay close to shore.

 
All photos this page: ©2007 Scott Doggett, Special to WhozHereNow.com

Some people come from as far away as Costa Rica to enjoy seafood soup at El Pirate. On days when you’ve been really active or otherwise deserve a treat, consider ordering a bowl of the soup and a big red snapper. It’ll arrive with a heap of patacones (plantain slices fried in vegetable oil and salt) and a little salad. Toss it back with a beer and you’re still out the door for less than $15. And now you can put it on your credit card, so it’s practically free!