Panama, Old Town: A Table to Return to — Fonda Lo Que Hay

I think Noah had read about Fonda Lo Que Hay in Eater, and fortunately for us, it was only about three blocks from our apartment in Casco Viejo.

So, naturally, we went.

And then we went back.

And then we went back again.

Lunch. Dinner. Another lunch.

It became our place.

Fonda Lo Que Hay has become one of Panama City's best-known restaurants, appearing several times on the Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list. Chef and founder José Olmedo Carles Rojas is one of the chefs putting modern Panamanian food firmly on the culinary map, taking the flavours and ingredients of Panama and giving them a contemporary, playful twist.

But none of that makes the place feel stuffy or overly serious.

Quite the opposite.

It's a lively, relaxed fonda tucked into Casco Viejo, and it felt exactly right for us.

We were staying in a beautiful top-floor apartment just a few blocks away, with views over the old rooftops. Every day we would head out and wander the streets, looking at the extraordinary architecture, listening to jazz drifting from doorways, stopping for a drink and discovering another layer of the neighbourhood.

And then we'd get hungry.

Luckily, Lo Que Hay was right there.

The tostada de atún became an instant favourite. Crispy toasted yuca topped with tuna carpaccio and onion ceviche. The combination was sensational. Crunchy yuca, silky tuna, sharp, fresh onion. It was the kind of dish that makes you stop talking for a minute because everyone is concentrating on eating.

Then there were the Sexy Clams.

Yes, that's what they're called and boy are they sexy and soooo good.

We had the Sexy Coctelito de Camarón, Caribbean ceviche and other dishes to share, all full of the bright tropical flavours that make so much sense in Panama: coconut, passion fruit, green mango, papaya, herbs, seafood and citrus.

And we ordered the A.P.C., short for Arroz, Porotos y Carne — rice, beans and meat.

For two or three people, it came with skirt steak, sexy beans and bone marrow sauce, white rice with concolón, seasonal salad and sweet plantains.

The concolón was, of course, fought over.

Because crispy rice from the bottom of the pot is one of life's great pleasures.

What I loved most was that Lo Que Hay didn't feel like a restaurant performing Panamanian food for visitors. It felt confident. It was playful with the food, but deeply connected to where it came from.

And perhaps being three blocks away made it even better.

We didn't have to make a reservation into an expedition.

We didn't have to get in a taxi.

We could simply look at each other and say:

"Lo Que Hay?"

And off we'd go.

Sometimes the best restaurants you find while travelling aren't the ones you visit once and tick off the list.

They're the ones that become part of your neighbourhood, even if you're only there for a few days.

For us, Lo Que Hay was that place.

If You Go — Casco Viejo

• Stay in the old city if you can. We stayed in a top-floor apartment and loved waking up to the rooftops and old buildings below us.
• Wander. The architecture is the point. Look up at the balconies, doorways and restored facades.
• Museo de la Mola is tiny but beautiful and worth an hour. The hand-stitched Guna textiles are extraordinary.
• Panama Canal Museum is worth visiting for the history and context.
• Go looking for jazz in the evening. Casco has a wonderful music scene.
• Look for the Chinese influence. It is another fascinating layer of Panama's history.