Kosher food in Panama: how certification works and where to eat

Who certifies kosher food in Panama?

Kosher Shevet Ahim is the kashrut department of the Sephardi Shevet Ahim community, working under the community’s chief rabbi, Rabbi David Perets. It certifies essentially every kosher restaurant, caterer and kosher supermarket in the country, plus many locally made products, and it publishes each certified establishment on its own page with the details that matter: meat, dairy or pareve; Cholov Yisrael; Pas Yisrael; Bishul Yisrael; Glatt Beit Yosef; mehadrin; and any limits on branches or products.¹

We found no second local agency. Beth El and the Chabad houses run their own kitchens, but they don’t publish a separate restaurant hechsher, and Chabad of Panama City says all meat establishments are under Shevet Ahim.² Chabad’s own kitchen is itself on the certifier’s list.

How do I read the kosher seals in Panama?

Kosher Shevet Ahim uses four seals: Meat, Dairy, Dairy Jalav Israel (Cholov Yisrael) and Pareve. A product or menu item carrying one of them is approved. Its site also has a searchable list of certified local products, liquors and sodas, a Passover list, and a list of foreign agencies it accepts (143 at last count). That foreign-agency list notes that it does not address bishul akum, shechita, insects, Cholov or Pas Yisrael, chadash, fish or matzot, so it isn’t a blanket endorsement.³

In the kosher supermarkets, not every product on the shelf is under Shevet Ahim. Both stores tell shoppers to check each product’s own hechsher.¹

What varies from place to place?

• Meat is glatt (chalak) Beit Yosef across the board. Some restaurants add imported Beit Yosef beef and mehadrin poultry.
• Supervision differs. Chabad notes that not every restaurant has a full-time mashgiach.² The certifier states full-time supervision (mashgiach temidi) for Yoss Burger Bar and La Spezia.¹
• Cholov Yisrael is not the default. Many dairy places use regular dairy (jalav stam) or offer Cholov Yisrael only on some items. Places the certifier lists as fully Cholov Yisrael include Likeat, La Spezia, Shaki’s Pizza, Nice Slice, Pita Pan, Yoss Bakery, Bagel Spot and Oh Oui.
• Bishul Yisrael follows the Sephardi (Beit Yosef) standard. Many restaurants do it on regular production only, with other dishes on request, so ask when you order if you keep it.
• Fish and dairy. Many dairy kitchens fry cheese in the same oil as fish. The certifier flags this on each affected listing for people whose custom is not to mix them.
• Mehadrin. The certifier shows a mehadrin badge on only four places: Yoss Burger Bar, La Spezia, Food To Go and Club Hebreo.

Where are the kosher restaurants?

Most of them are in Punta Paitilla and Punta Pacífica, the same few blocks as the shuls and the main hotels, with more in San Francisco, Obarrio, Bella Vista, Marbella and along Vía Brasil.

Three certified places sit in Casco Viejo, the old quarter: Lula, a meat restaurant; the dairy café at Museo Casa Coronel; and Granclement, for dairy ice cream and sorbet.¹ The café is not Jewish-run and opens on Shabbat; Granclement also opens on Shabbat. At both, the hechsher covers the products only, not the shop operating on Shabbat. That is useful on a sightseeing day, since the old quarter is otherwise far from the kosher district. Check the certifier’s page for each before you go, because listings change.

Browse them all in kosher restaurants in Panama City, with the kashrut details for each, or narrow down to kosher bakeries.

Are chain cafés like Starbucks kosher in Panama?

Some branches and some items are. The certifier covers chains such as Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Krispy Kreme, Cinnabon, Pinkberry and Yogen Fruz only at named branches or for listed products, and each listing states the limit. Several of these shops are open on Shabbat; the certification covers the products, not a shop operating on Shabbat.¹

Where do I buy kosher groceries?

We found no source showing kosher sections at the general supermarkets (Riba Smith, Felipe Motta or El Rey), so we don’t list them. We also found no dedicated kosher wine shop. More in kosher supermarkets in Panama.

What about Shabbat food?

Chabad of Panama City hosts communal Friday-night and Shabbat lunch meals booked online, and sells take-out Shabbat meals (“Shabbos in a Box”) for people who would rather eat in their room. Communal bookings close on Wednesday evening or earlier when full.⁴ Several caterers certified by Kosher Shevet Ahim also prepare Shabbat food, and you can ask us to arrange Shabbat meals for your hotel.

Is there kosher food outside Panama City?

• Boquete: Chabad Boquete serves Shabbat meals and take-out dinners by reservation, and the certifier lists Morton’s Bakehouse and the dairy café Milk & Honey (Cholov Yisrael).⁵
• Bocas del Toro: Chabad’s Sababa meat restaurant in Bocas Town.⁶
• Everywhere else: Coronado, Playa Bonita, Colón and David have no certified food listing. Pack food for beach days and day trips; our day trips guide says what to bring where.

Is there kosher food at Tocumen airport?

Yes. A certified kosher grab-and-go shop with meat, dairy and pareve items is airside in Terminal 2, opposite gates 217 and 218. It publishes no hours, so don’t count on it for a very early or late flight.¹ Copa and United normally use Terminal 2; check your boarding pass, since other airlines use Terminal 1.⁷