Cafeography
Panama City · Casco Viejo

Cafés in Casco Viejo

The walled old town of 1673: Geisha bars on Avenida Eloy Alfaro and Calle 9, delis on Plaza Herrera.

Photo: Luis Quintero, Pexels License

Casco Viejo, officially Casco Antiguo, is Panama City's second site. After Henry Morgan sacked the original city in January 1671, a new one was founded on January 21, 1673, on a peninsula protected by the sea and by walls; three large fires in the 18th century mean that most of what stands dates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.1 The district covers about 294,000 m² in the corregimiento of San Felipe.1

For coffee it is the Geisha quarter. Sisu Coffee Studio at Calle 9 and Avenida B belongs to Lamastus Family Estates of Boquete, and Geisha Terroir is on Avenida Eloy Alfaro.2 Grand Deli Gourmet on Plaza Herrera pours Kotowa, also from Boquete, and Siete Granos has a branch inside the Panama Canal Museum building, entered from Calle 6 off Cathedral Plaza.3

Local tip: On a Monday, when Sisu is shut, start at Café Unido on Calle 9a Oeste at 07:00 and walk to Geisha Terroir on Avenida Eloy Alfaro, which opens at 09:00 every day.2

At a glance

16Cafés listed
4With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
18:30Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Super Gourmet, from 08:00 (Mon–Sat 08:00–17:00 · Sun 10:00–16:00).
  • Closes latest: Geisha Terroir Specialty Coffee Shop, until 18:30 (Daily 09:00–18:30).
  • Most listed streets: Avenida A (2).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (19%), specialty (13%), brunch (13%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Panama City.

Coffee chains in Casco Viejo

Getting to Casco Viejo

Metro Line 1, opened on April 6, 2014, ends at Albrook; the stop before it, 5 de Mayo, is where the pedestrian stretch of Avenida Central starts its walk into the old town.45 A ride has cost US$0.35 since the line opened, and the fare was unchanged as of August 2025.6 Trains run from 05:00 (07:00 on Sundays) until 22:00.5

Taxis have no meter and charge by zone, so agree the fare before you get in; Uber and inDrive also operate.5 Inside the old town, the café streets are close enough to cover on foot.

Plazas, fires and a cathedral that took 108 years

The old town has four main squares: Plaza de la Independencia (the Plaza Mayor), Plaza Bolívar, Plaza Herrera and Plaza de Francia.1 Plaza Herrera was laid out on ground cleared by the fire of 1781 and was called Plaza del Triunfo until 1887.1 The Metropolitan Cathedral went up between 1688 and 1796, and the Palacio de las Garzas is the president's office and residence.17

The district mixes colonial, neoclassical and Afro-Antillean buildings, and has gentrified into the city's hub of restaurants, boutique hotels and museums.7

Geisha on Calle 9 and Avenida Eloy Alfaro

Sisu grew out of Bajareque, the café Wilford Lamastus opened in Casco Viejo in 2013 and closed during the pandemic; Sisu took its corner in mid-January 2022 and borrowed its name from a Finnish word for resilience.82 It serves only the family's estates, among them Elida, Luito, El Burro and Trompo, and runs cuppings for groups of up to eight, with lots from different plots side by side.2 A 120 g bag of its Geisha beans cost US$40 in October 2026.2

Geisha Terroir, open daily 09:00–18:30 with Wi-Fi, air-conditioning and outdoor tables, took the coffee-education award at Coffee Geeks Panamá's Best Coffee Shops gala in October 2026.9

Early starts and closing days

Café Unido on Calle 9a Oeste opens first, at 07:00 Monday to Saturday and 08:00 on Sundays, and closes at 19:00 Monday to Saturday. The chain's Casco Viejo branch began as a small counter beside the American Trade Hotel's restaurant before moving to larger rooms next to the hotel.10

Super Gourmet on Avenida A runs 08:00–17:00 Monday to Saturday and 10:00–16:00 on Sundays, and The Vegan Shack on Calle 4ta Oeste opens Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00–17:00. Sisu is closed on Mondays.2 Leto HiFi, which Leto calls Panama's first listening vinyl coffee bar, is on Calle 9a Este and closes on Wednesdays.11

Sources

  1. Casco Antiguo de Panamá, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  2. Sisu Coffee Studio: Panama's coffee, told from its origin (locations, hours, shop), Sisu Coffee Studio, accessed October 2026
  3. Casco Viejo Coffee Shops, CascoViejo360 (James P. Rice, 2026), accessed October 2026
  4. Panama Metro Line 1, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Panama City, Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
  6. Debate por alza tarifaria del metro: usuarios temen impacto en sus bolsillos, La Prensa Panamá (August 30, 2025), accessed October 2026
  7. Casco Viejo, Panama, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  8. Sisu Coffee Studio is the Place to Try Geisha Coffee!, Panama Casco Viejo, accessed October 2026
  9. Las 12 mejores cafeterías de Panamá en 2026, La Prensa Panamá (Katiuska Hernández, October 24, 2026), accessed October 2026
  10. Cafe Unido Casco Viejo is the Second Location of the Panamanian Coffee Chain, Panama Casco Viejo, accessed October 2026
  11. Leto Coffee: cafetería, brunch y café Geisha en Panamá (locations and hours), Leto Coffee, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Panama City

El Cangrejo & Vía Argentina

8 cafés

Obarrio & Marbella

9 cafés

San Francisco & Coco del Mar

10 cafés

In Casco Viejo, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi

FAQ

Casco Viejo cafés: questions

Where can you drink Geisha coffee in Casco Viejo, Panama City?

Sisu Coffee Studio, at Calle 9 and Avenida B, serves Geisha only from the Lamastus family's Boquete estates and runs cuppings for groups of up to eight. Geisha Terroir on Avenida Eloy Alfaro opens daily 09:00–18:30, and Siete Granos has a branch in the Panama Canal Museum building, entered from Calle 6.

How do you get to Casco Viejo in Panama City by Metro?

Take Metro Line 1 to 5 de Mayo, the stop before the Albrook terminus, and walk the pedestrian stretch of Avenida Central into the old town. A ride costs US$0.35, unchanged since the line opened in 2014, and trains run from 05:00 (07:00 on Sundays) until 22:00.

What time do cafés open in Casco Viejo, Panama City?

Café Unido on Calle 9a Oeste opens at 07:00 Monday to Saturday and 08:00 on Sundays. Super Gourmet on Avenida A opens at 08:00, or 10:00 on Sundays, and Geisha Terroir and Sisu open at 09:00. Sisu is closed on Mondays and Leto HiFi on Wednesdays.

For café owners

Own a café in Casco Viejo?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design