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The Buena Vista has been a staple in Bocas providing food, drinks, and local smiles since 1997. Located over the water in downtown Bocas (Isla Colón) and open daily from 7:30am until 9:30pm for breakfast, drinks, starters, sandwiches, burgers, salads, seafood, ribs, international fare, as well as our own twist on a few local dishes, using only the freshest ingredients. In addition to food and drinks, we offer local souvenirs, branded merchandise, and island-made gifts. We do our best to give you the prompt service you deserve! We’re proud of our all-Panamanian staff, some of whom have been with with us for over 21 years. By coming in, you are helping to directly support 10+ local families.
Address and Contact Information
Address: Isla Colon, C. 3a, Bocas del Toro, Panama
Phone: +507 757-9035
Website: http://www.buenavistabocas.com/
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Order and Reservations
Reservations: buenavistabocas.com
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Restaurante Buena Vista en Isla Colón, Bocas del Toro, Panamá
Buena Vista ha estado en Bocas desde 1997, ubicado sobre el agua en el centro de Bocas del Toro. Abierto todos los días de 8:000am a 9:30pm para desayuno, …
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The Buena Vista has been a prominent establishment in Bocas since 1997, located over the water in downtown Bocas on Isla Colón. The restaurant is open daily …
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Eating and drinking at Buena Vista directly supports 10 Bocatoreño families; many of whom have worked at the restaurant for over 15 years. Open every day 7:30am …
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Reviews
Isaac Land
Smallish place with a great view of the water, very elegant design and color scheme. I gave gone twice for lunch and found it not crowded at all. Fish tacos are good and the menu is varied. Laid back vibe, waitstaff don’t mind if you stay for a long time, there are deck chairs if you want to hang out close to the water. Unlike some other spots, the water taxis aren’t buzzing past—or if they are present, it’s at some distance, or they’ve cut the engine to dock somewhere. So it’s a quiet place to enjoy a marvelous view.
… moreGwen Blackwell
Never have I seen employees work in such rhythm and togetherness – no long waits for service either. Food was delicious and they offered a diverse selection. Ate breakfast here every day while visiting Bocas del Toro. My husband and I enjoyed both lunch and dinner here as well.
… moreRogel A. Garcia Jr.
I had this place on my list of restaurants to visit, but it was not what I expected. The ambience is great! Looks newly renovated, or well maintained, and has great over the water and indoor spaces.
The food, on the other hand, was just OK. We started with an appetizer, Chicken Satay. The sauce was not like a traditional Thai peanut sauce that I’ve had many times before. This one had the consistency and taste of just straight creamy peanut butter.
For our mains we had two dishes in a Caribbean Coconut Curry Sauce, a Fresh Fish Filet and Shrimp. While both dishes were ordered with the same sauce, the one on the shrimp was more watered down than the one on the fish. In either case, though, we were not hit with any depth of flavor you would expect from a coconut curry sauce. Just a mild, there I say, bland taste.
Due to the experience so far, we decided against any desserts.
I also want to add, the initial waitress that waited on us seemed very disinterested, almost annoyed that we were even ordering. When we were ready for the check, I caught her gaze at the bar and signaled for the check. She didn’t acknowledge me at all even though I know she looked straight at me, very dismissive! What she did instead was have a 10 minute conversation with a waitress that had just started her shift and that waitress came over with the check so she obviously knew I wanted the check. I don’t mind someone else waiting on us that wasn’t our original server, but it was just her entire attitude towards us throughout our meal that didn’t sit well with me.
I will say, though, the owner was friendly and very approachable!
… moreThe food, on the other hand, was just OK. We started with an appetizer, Chicken Satay. The sauce was not like a traditional Thai peanut sauce that I’ve had many times before. This one had the consistency and taste of just straight creamy peanut butter.
For our mains we had two dishes in a Caribbean Coconut Curry Sauce, a Fresh Fish Filet and Shrimp. While both dishes were ordered with the same sauce, the one on the shrimp was more watered down than the one on the fish. In either case, though, we were not hit with any depth of flavor you would expect from a coconut curry sauce. Just a mild, there I say, bland taste.
Due to the experience so far, we decided against any desserts.
I also want to add, the initial waitress that waited on us seemed very disinterested, almost annoyed that we were even ordering. When we were ready for the check, I caught her gaze at the bar and signaled for the check. She didn’t acknowledge me at all even though I know she looked straight at me, very dismissive! What she did instead was have a 10 minute conversation with a waitress that had just started her shift and that waitress came over with the check so she obviously knew I wanted the check. I don’t mind someone else waiting on us that wasn’t our original server, but it was just her entire attitude towards us throughout our meal that didn’t sit well with me.
I will say, though, the owner was friendly and very approachable!
Sylvia Yowe
Wonderful breakfast and super nice staff!
We got breakfast vouchers through our hotel for the Buena Vista. We weren’t sure what to expect and were extremely pleased with our experience.
I had the veggie scramble. Not only was it loaded with veggies and cheese, the toast came with my favorite… guava marmalade
My husband had the johnny cakes with banana rum sauce. Both dishes were absolutely delightful! Our server was very sweet, friendly and efficient.
We were looking forward to a do over on our second morning but had to catch the early ferry so we missed out. 10/10 we’d go back!
… moreWe got breakfast vouchers through our hotel for the Buena Vista. We weren’t sure what to expect and were extremely pleased with our experience.
I had the veggie scramble. Not only was it loaded with veggies and cheese, the toast came with my favorite… guava marmalade
My husband had the johnny cakes with banana rum sauce. Both dishes were absolutely delightful! Our server was very sweet, friendly and efficient.
We were looking forward to a do over on our second morning but had to catch the early ferry so we missed out. 10/10 we’d go back!
Ancel Mitchell
Excellent! Really classic space with warm and friendly staff. Vegan options are good!
… moreLaine Alan
One of my favorite places in Bocas Town, if not my favorite. The space is low key cool and comfortable. The staff is friendly and accomodating. It feels like comfort here, because it is. Near the bottom of 3rd Av, but in the heart of Bocas, it serves some the freshest and tastiest foods. The menu is everything you know with a seafood / caribbean bent, plus classic gastro pub eats. Great waterviews, as its open air. Watch the water taxis come and go as you enjoy a meal, a drink, and the company of your choice. If your staying on the outer islands, you can have your water taxi pull right up dockside. Its a great place to be and be lost in Bocas. And yes, the food is very, very good btw.
… moreLockie Hunter
First, the atmosphere is excellent. Beautiful interior; we arrived by boat, and it was easy to access the restaurant.
I will detail the food a bit later but wanted to start with the drinks which were terrible and the reason for this bad review. My margarita was white. There was no fresh-squeezed lime or lime at all. It tasted like triple sec (or some sort of other syrup) and some sort of lime syrup. It was really just syrupy and liquor. We also had a rum punch which was basically rum (and a lot of it, it was strong) and pineapple. It was bright yellow. So I took some of my son’s smoothie and improved the flavor. A true rum punch is not just Pineapple and rum. For the prices, all the drinks were very disappointing.
The food was good. Some dishes were better than others. I had the special fish and it was amazing and served on some puréed beets. My daughter had the Montadito de patacon, another Bocas specialty with shrimp, and she said it was excellent! The nachos we shared for the table were OK. Nothing special. My husband had a hamburger and he said it was just OK.
I read another review that the server did not seem particularly interested in serving, and we found that to be the case here as well. We definitely had to track her down when we wanted dessert and I wanted to try a margarita to see if the restaurant could redeem itself from the rum punch (it didn’t).
With so many wonderful restaurants in the area, I may try this again to see if they were experiencing an off-day or I may not. They were only two people in the restaurant, so I assumed our server was also the bartender, which may have been why the drinks were so poor.
The atmosphere is five stars though.
And the brownie with ice cream was very good.
An off-day? I hope.
… moreI will detail the food a bit later but wanted to start with the drinks which were terrible and the reason for this bad review. My margarita was white. There was no fresh-squeezed lime or lime at all. It tasted like triple sec (or some sort of other syrup) and some sort of lime syrup. It was really just syrupy and liquor. We also had a rum punch which was basically rum (and a lot of it, it was strong) and pineapple. It was bright yellow. So I took some of my son’s smoothie and improved the flavor. A true rum punch is not just Pineapple and rum. For the prices, all the drinks were very disappointing.
The food was good. Some dishes were better than others. I had the special fish and it was amazing and served on some puréed beets. My daughter had the Montadito de patacon, another Bocas specialty with shrimp, and she said it was excellent! The nachos we shared for the table were OK. Nothing special. My husband had a hamburger and he said it was just OK.
I read another review that the server did not seem particularly interested in serving, and we found that to be the case here as well. We definitely had to track her down when we wanted dessert and I wanted to try a margarita to see if the restaurant could redeem itself from the rum punch (it didn’t).
With so many wonderful restaurants in the area, I may try this again to see if they were experiencing an off-day or I may not. They were only two people in the restaurant, so I assumed our server was also the bartender, which may have been why the drinks were so poor.
The atmosphere is five stars though.
And the brownie with ice cream was very good.
An off-day? I hope.
Myke Reinhold
Great service, great breakfast and beautiful view. Very well priced! Going back for dinner tonight.
Update from dinner – drinks good, nachos good, dinner good, staff good, vibe good. This place is a must stop for travelers. Met the owner and she was awesome. Thank you Buena Vista staff, you f’ing rock.
… moreUpdate from dinner – drinks good, nachos good, dinner good, staff good, vibe good. This place is a must stop for travelers. Met the owner and she was awesome. Thank you Buena Vista staff, you f’ing rock.
Cheryl O
I didn’t realize that I haven’t reviewed Buena Vista before now. It may not be a bad thing, however, because I have almost 2 years experience of eating at this particular restaurant & my feelings are no different from day one.
The food is always consistent here. We eat breakfast & lunch here the most.
For breakfast, I love the Happy & Healthy, the Caribbean scramble and the classic as well.
For lunch the Fish taco, the nachos (shredded chicken & shredded beef), the Caesar salad, the teriyaki burger, chicken satay, basically everything, is great here.
Beyond the food, during early 2021 (COVID), they were one of the only restaurants that had consistent hours so that’s how we discovered them.
Now, let’s talk about the service. If you want a place that makes you feel welcome & at home, like a second family, this is your place.
… moreThe food is always consistent here. We eat breakfast & lunch here the most.
For breakfast, I love the Happy & Healthy, the Caribbean scramble and the classic as well.
For lunch the Fish taco, the nachos (shredded chicken & shredded beef), the Caesar salad, the teriyaki burger, chicken satay, basically everything, is great here.
Beyond the food, during early 2021 (COVID), they were one of the only restaurants that had consistent hours so that’s how we discovered them.
Now, let’s talk about the service. If you want a place that makes you feel welcome & at home, like a second family, this is your place.
Michael Perez
Angie and the team here are amazing! We looked at several menus before choosing Buena Vista and we’re so glad we did. Fantastic passion fruit margs and delicious fish sandwich. And don’t forget that view! Highly recommend.
… more