Cafeography
Panama City · San Francisco & Coco del Mar

Cafés in San Francisco & Coco del Mar

Brew bars on the Calles 70s, Café Unido's roastery at SF69 Plaza and Coco del Mar's new seafront park.

Photo: Angela Chacón, Pexels License

San Francisco became a corregimiento on August 9, 1926, and covers 5.6 km²; its parish church, San Francisco de la Caleta, built by the Claretians, opened on July 2, 1933.1 At its center is Parque Omar, a 56-hectare park created in 1974 under General Omar Torrijos.2 A 2019 neighborhood guide called San Francisco the heart of the city's food scene.3

Its cafés follow the numbered streets. Café Kotowa is on Calle 71, Leto's brew bar is in Plaza 76 on Calle 76, and Café Unido is on Calle 79 Este.4 Unido Roastery sits in SF69 Plaza on Calle Mario Rognoni, and Tosto, on Calle Benito Reyes Testa, serves until 22:00 most nights.

Local tip: For coffee after dark in San Francisco, Tosto on Calle Benito Reyes Testa serves until 22:00 Tuesday to Sunday; on Mondays it closes at 15:00.

At a glance

10Cafés listed
3With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
22:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Cafe Kotowa, from 06:00 (Mon–Sat 06:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Tosto Coffee, until 22:00 (Mon 07:00–15:00 · Tue–Fri 07:00–22:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–22:00).
  • Most common features: specialty (30%), wi-fi (10%), open by 6am (10%).

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

Coffee chains in San Francisco & Coco del Mar

Parque Omar, Paitilla and ATLAPA

The park has football and basketball courts, a pool, outdoor exercise machines, playgrounds and a library, and its walking circuit runs about 5 km.21 The library is the Biblioteca Nacional Ernesto J. Castillero, Panama's national library.1

The corregimiento also takes in the high-rise sectors of Punta Paitilla and Punta Pacífica, with the Centro Médico Paitilla and the Hospital Punta Pacífica, which is affiliated with Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.1 The ATLAPA convention center, about 8 hectares and the largest in the country, is here too.1 In Punta Paitilla, Café Unido keeps later hours than most, until 20:00 from Monday to Saturday.

Roasters and brew bars on the Calles 70s

Leto's Plaza 76 bar opens daily 08:00–17:00 and adds sourdough bread, all-day brunch, free Wi-Fi and a terrace to its Geisha from Finca Mil Cumbres.4 Leto says it has roasted its own coffee for more than five years, and that in 2016 it became the first café in Panama to serve a flat white.5

Café Unido told Daily Coffee News in 2022 that it roasted on a 15-kilo Giesen in Panama City and a 10-kilo machine in Boquete.6 Siete Granos, founded by the chef and barista Amael Candanedo, won the signature-drinks award at Best Coffee Shops Panamá 2026.78 It runs four branches in the city, one of them on Vía Argentina.9

Coco del Mar's seafront

Coco del Mar got a public seafront in April 2026, when Coco Parque opened: a park of almost one hectare on a state-owned seafront plot that had been closed for about two decades.10 Residents said a private building had blocked access, and one recalled a shipyard on the site; the project was valued at US$700,000.10

Early and late hours

Café Kotowa on Calle 71 opens at 06:00 Monday to Saturday, the earliest start in San Francisco, and closes at 18:00. Tosto opens at 07:00 on weekdays and 08:00 on weekends, stays open until 22:00 from Tuesday to Sunday and closes at 15:00 on Mondays; it has outdoor tables and step-free access.

Cremapan is on Calle 76 Este, the same street as Leto, and Le desserts is in the Edificio Taimatí on Calle 70.

Sources

  1. San Francisco (Panamá), Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  2. El Parque Omar, uno de los más codiciados, Panamá América (October 24, 2022), accessed October 2026
  3. Panama City Neighborhoods, Kraemer & Kraemer (Johana Sum, March 14, 2019), accessed October 2026
  4. Leto Coffee: cafetería, brunch y café Geisha en Panamá (locations and hours), Leto Coffee, accessed October 2026
  5. Menú y precios, Leto Coffee (menu as of October 2026), accessed October 2026
  6. Cafe Unido Puts Panama on a Pedestal in Washington D.C., Daily Coffee News (Howard Bryman, December 2, 2022), accessed October 2026
  7. Best specialty coffee shops in Panama City (2026 guide), FLTR Magazine (Andy Anderson, June 16, 2026), accessed October 2026
  8. Las 12 mejores cafeterías de Panamá en 2026, La Prensa Panamá (Katiuska Hernández, October 24, 2026), accessed October 2026
  9. Las 11 mejores cafeterías de especialidad en Panamá 2026, Sugarbmd (November 11, 2025, updated May 2026), accessed October 2026
  10. Coco Parque: abren al público un espacio frente al mar cerrado por décadas, La Prensa Panamá (April 22, 2026), accessed October 2026
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In San Francisco & Coco del Mar, also browse: Specialty coffee Outdoor seating Wi-Fi

FAQ

San Francisco & Coco del Mar cafés: questions

Which cafés open earliest in San Francisco, Panama City?

Café Kotowa on Calle 71 opens at 06:00 Monday to Saturday and closes at 18:00. Tosto on Calle Benito Reyes Testa opens at 07:00 on weekdays and 08:00 on weekends, and Leto's brew bar in Plaza 76 opens at 08:00 every day.

Where is Café Unido's roastery in San Francisco, Panama City?

Unido Roastery is in SF69 Plaza on Calle Mario Rognoni in San Francisco. Café Unido said in 2022 that it roasted on a 15-kilo Giesen in Panama City and a 10-kilo machine in Boquete; its San Francisco café is on Calle 79 Este.

What is Coco Parque in Coco del Mar, Panama City?

Coco Parque is a seafront park of almost one hectare in Coco del Mar, in Panama City's San Francisco corregimiento. The state-owned plot opened to the public in April 2026 after about two decades closed; residents said a private building had blocked access.

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