Tours and Places

Jaleo Bar & Bistro

Tapas in a great atmosphere

By Jacob Ehrler

Jaleo Bar & Bistro made a big entrance onto the Panama City dining scene earlier this year when the gorgeous Spanish tapas bar and restaurant opened in Bella Vista next to Eurasia and Weil Art. The grand open-air terrace is so welcoming that on the weekends, Jaleo stays open past 2 am as patrons promise that “this will be the last round” until late into the night. The restaurant opens from Monday to Saturday at 11 am and stays open until the last guest leaves.

Brandy Prawns
The winning dish: Brandy Prawns.

The house specialty drinks are Kir Royale (Champagne with a touch of casis) and the various Martinis. There are three indoor seating areas: a large air-conditioned bar with floor-to-ceiling glass providing a perfect view to the terrace, a wine cellar-themed dining room and another dining room with a fish-bowl view of an intricately decorated garden. The ambiance alone is enough to keep people coming back again and again.

For starters we had Croquetas de Jamon Serrano – Serrano Ham Croquettes ($11.00), tasty fried morsels that are great for sharing. The smoky Serrano flavour came through as long as one didn’t use the tartar sauce that accompanied the dish. Next, the Pulpo a la Raspadura – Octopus a la Raw Panamanian Cane Sugar ($8.50) was super sweet, and combined well with the bitter “berro” greens that accompanied it. The Portobelo Relleno de Camarones – Shrimp Stuffed Portobelo ($7.75) was the best appetizer, a great combination of flavours with the shrimp swimming in a parsley and bechamel cream sauce in the mushroom’s cap. Conchuelas Envueltas en Bacon – Bacon Wrapped Scallops ($10.50) came with a Parmesan glaze, though the delicate flavour of the scallops was overpowered by the bacon. But we were at a Spanish restaurant, and it’s still a great dish with fresh scallops that were cooked just right.

Jaleo Bar & Bistro

Calle 48, Bella Vista
Tel.: (507) 393-7072
Food: **** ½
Ambience: *****
Service: *** ½
With Five Stars as the highest.
For our main course, the Rissoto Langositnos y Hongos – Prawn and Mushroom Risotto ($18.50 was fine. The Entraña Steak ($21.75) was a cut of well-seasoned skirt steak cooked to perfection and served with grilled eggplant, zucchini and tomato. The Atun Rojo con Crosta de Anjojolí – Sesame Crusted Red Tuna served us up two very sizable fillets of tuna seared in a crust of black and white sesame seeds atop a vegetable hash with a sweet glaze. It also came accompanied by tartar sauce and was garnished with finely sliced potato chips. The dish was a bit busy for my taste, but I am willing to compromise when faced with such a generous portion of high-quality tuna steak as a prime ingredient. The last dish was Langostinos al Brandy – Brandy Prawns ($17.50). Four of the most enormous prawns I have ever seen came smothered in a rich creamy brandy-based sauce and accompanied by a large flat fried plantain. It was our favorite dish for its quality of ingredients, flavour and great presentation. Whoever orders this dish for the table on a visit to Jaleo is sure to shine.

For dessert, the Hot Apple Pie with its granola crust was very, very good but largely overshadowed by the Hot Caramel Covered Mango Slices. This dessert was absolutely spectacular.