El Palenque

Portobelo


Located at the Casa Congo, the best feature of this restaurant is its location. There's ample open-air seating overlooking the beautiful bay of Portobelo. Whole fried fish, patacones (fried plantain) and coconut rice are prepared nicely, but the service can be woefully slow.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Portobelo attractions

1. Real Aduana de Portobelo

0.1 MILES

Under renovation at the time of research, the handsome, two-story Royal Customs House of Portobelo was originally built in 1638 to serve as the contaduría…

2. Mirador Perú

0.12 MILES

Atop a hill overlooking much of the bay is a small but well-preserved watchtower called Mirador Perú, which was built at the same time as Fuerte Santiago…

3. Fuerte San Jerónimo

0.16 MILES

Fuerte San Jerónimo, close to the center of Portobelo, was the largest fortress ever built to protect the bay. Some two dozen embrasures with 16 cannons…

4. Fuerte Santiago

0.16 MILES

Approaching from the west, Portobelo's first fort is Fuerte Santiago. Built in 1753, some 14 years after Vernon’s attack, some walls were 3m thick and…

6. Iglesia de San Felipe

0.18 MILES

This Roman Catholic church dating from 1814 is home to Portobelo's famed Black Christ; it's to the left of the main altar. The faithful attribute scores…

7. Fuerte San Fernando

0.56 MILES

In 1601 Fuerte San Felipe and Fuerte San Diego were built near the mouth of the bay but were subsequently destroyed by Admiral Vernon in 1739. Fuerte San…

8. Playa Blanca

1.75 MILES

A 20-minute, US$45 return boat ride from Portobelo will bring you to this lovely white-sand beach on a tranquil cove surrounded by dense wilderness. It…