Esencias Panameñas Authentic Panamanian Cuisine

Our New Kitchen Location Is TastemakersDC Located at 2800 10th Street NE, Washington, DC 20010.

No Walk-In, No Sit-Down. Online Pre-Orders Only!

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Shippable Menu

We ship our authentic Panamanian cuisine nationwide.

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Blog

"Culantro is a tropical perennial in the Apiaceae family that is widely used as a seasoning in many of our dishes. It is native to Central and South America and not well known in the United States..."
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Posts & Recipes
Best Of DC 2023

Awards

Best of D.C. 2023 - RUNNER UP (Best Empanada)
Best of D.C. 2018 - WINNER
Best of D.C. 2017 - WINNER
Best of D.C. 2016 – RUNNER UP
"Best Latin American Restaurant"
Washington City Paper

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About Us

Esencias Panameñas Catering is like no other typical Latin cuisine catering. We provide a unique combination of authentic Panamanian food with a Caribbean flair at value pricing. Chef Yadira is a native from Panama, and she pays tribute to her place of birth through traditional dishes made with staple food products, such as Corvina fish, which she imports from Panama, hominy corn, coconut, culantro (not cilantro), and rice.

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Some Desert food on the table
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Roasted beef, Chicken pattie and cottage cheese
Cookbook Promos (2)

Order Your Copy Now

Chef Yadira's inaugural cookbook, Panama On A Plate, offers a genuine taste of Panamanian cuisine with Latin American and Caribbean cuisine fusion that will keep you coming back for more.

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What Our Customers Say

1/12/2022

"A belated note of thanks, Chef Yadira! Everything was delicious, and my friend was SO EXCITED to be able to celebrate Noche Buena with food that reminds her of home. You will hear from us again with more orders this year. Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2022!"
AllisonG
Arlington, VA

1/25/2018

"Great experience/ food/ drinks/ service from Sia/ environment/ clean restaurant is always a plus and hey everyone why not try something different? Give it a try here I highly recommend it I'm definitely coming back to try new food menu items."
MiguelP
Hyattsville, MD

4/17/2017

"The arroz con pollo presentation and taste was original, carrimanolas were unique accompanied with a tamarindo sauce that blended the beef flavors just right. The (Corbina) became my favorite, always juicy, not grease neither falling apart. My daughter top it off with a special Caribbean Juice and I had plain water wanting to enjoy every bite. Owner and Waiter were both Fancy and Friendly : No place like this in South Texas.......going back home now, but will be bragging about this place for years to come......this place is "fancy and food is fresh", check it out, I think you will like it too."
GilbertoG
San Antonio, TX

10/10/2017

"This place blew me away! My boyfriend and I stopped in on a Monday night for a celebratory dinner and the owner of the restaurant took such good care of us. She gave us recommendations and even advised us to split one of the main dishes because it came with enough food to share. The carimañolas are a must-have and the Plato Típico came with a little of everything. We finished off the evening with the rum cake (sooo tasty) and she threw in some coconut balls for us to try as well. Let me tell you that everything we tried made us stop mid-conversation in order to savor the flavor of each dish."
LillyC
Washington, DC

3/13/2016

"Had the pleasure of trying this place for this first time today and I'm so glad we did! My family is 100% Panamanian so when we heard that Esencias opened, we were very excited. Side note, this is and has been the only authentic Panamanian restaurant in the area for years. We were not disappointed, the food tasted like it came right out of my mom's kitchen and that is not easy to accomplish. Everything was superb, from the fresh baked ojaldres to the pollo served with arroz con guandu. Freshness from beginning to end. We WILL be back soon."
LiselleT
Centreville, VA

8/30/2016

"I love this place! My family is from Panama and Panamanian food is my favorite, and I'm so glad we now have an authentic restaurant in DC. I've gone twice now, and have been satisfied both times. The food is tasty - I love the tamales -- taste just like they are supposed to; fried chicken is to die for - very moist; patacones, yucca, and carrimanolas are fried to perfection...and I'll be back for more! The owner is extremely friendly. I will definitely visit regularly."
MoniqueB
Washington, DC

12/27/2020

"Thank you Chef Yadira for such delicious tamales and rosca. We enjoyed them very much!
Best wishes for the year to come!!"
AnalissaB
Winter Garden, FL

9/2/2021

“I just had one of each [beef and vegetarian] and both of them were delicious. My son wasn’t convinced because he likes beef pastelitos, not vegetarian. After eating one, he asked for 2 more 😊
 

As always, everything was GREAT!

Wishing you all the best,”

 
AnalissaB
Winter Garden, FL

10/14/2018

"Excellent Food!!! Great Service!! In love with Panamanian food!! So Delicious!!!"

ElfyA
Maryland

2/11/2019

"Prompt and very reasonably priced catering service. Everything we ordered was excellent - in particular the chicken with capers and olives and the plantains!"

KathyO
Washington, DC

5/24/2019

"Dear Chef Yadira,

On behalf of the DC Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders, I want to express our thanks to you for your efforts in making our Panama In Adams Morgan Night a success. A lot of people commented to me about how good was the food. Thanks also for drawing in some participation from your own network.

Please advise me and the chapter when you open at a new location"

DarrellT
Washington, DC

6/22/2019

“Hello Chef Yadira-

Sorry for the delayed response, we had a busy week. Everyone enjoyed the food immensely! They were talking about it days after the event.  I have given your information to some of our guests so you may get some extra business. Everything was delicious, absolutely no complaints, it was authentically Panamanian!   We will certainly use your services again in the future.

Thank you,”

NatashaB
Columbia, MD

9/12/2020

"Llegó!!! Y está delicioso! Se partió un poco pero lo meto en la refi y queda como nuevo! Muchas gracias!,"

SloeyH
Plantation, FL

10/4/2020

“Me encanto todo!

La verdad he estado muy melancolica por no poder ir a Panama en el 2020 y el poder probar un poquito de los sabores de mi tierra me ha alegrado mucho. Estaremos en contacto para las fiestas de fin de año 🙂

Muchas gracias,”

EvisabelC
Annandale, VA

11/23/2020

"Very happy with my order. The empanadas and carimañolas were delicious and took me back to Panama. The Ron abuelo cake was amazing! I will definitely be ordering again, especially when my mother is able to come and visit again."

LizaA
Upper Marlboro, MD

11/24/2021

I received the box today. The presentation is excellent.  I am soo glad to have found your business and I will make sure I let others know.

Happy thanksgiving!

MitzyR
Bristol, CT

1/4/2022

"Hi Chef Yadira,

The food you delivered on Christmas Eve was fabulous. We all enjoyed it so much and our au pair was so happy to have Panamanian tamales on Christmas. Thanks for fitting in my last minute order. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!"

ErinS
Washington, DC