Twist Restaurant – A little bit of everything

Twist Restaurant
Bella Vista, Ave Federico Boyd approaching
Ave Balboa, right hand side
Tel.: (507) 302-7997
Food: ****
Ambience: ****
Service: ****

Twist opened a few years ago when Panama City, along with its restaurants, began to take that big upturn towards becoming an international destination. The city’s eateries became not simply places where you could have a great meal, but took on their own egos and turned in to decorative destination restaurants. Twist is one such spot, where you wouldn’t be surprised to see a photo shoot for a glossy magazine taking place while enjoying your meal.

Greek Salad at Twist Restaurant

Located on the Balboa Avenue end of Federico Boyd, it is tucked into the ground floor of an antique yellow building, on the right hand side before one reaches the Miramar. The owners named their restaurant “Twist” because they wanted to put a “twist” on the traditional restaurant. They have built an original menu which combines something to please any taste, from burgers to thai and from Italian to steaks.

To begin our meal, we shared Langositnos a la Madrileña (Prawns a la Madrileña), $11, which brought three big shrimp in a savory garlic, shallot and cabbage broth with toasty crostini which were great for dipping. The shrimp were plump and fresh. Next, the Ensalada Griega (Greek Salad), $9, was an original take on this classic dish. Instead of finely chopping the ingredients, the chef left them in a large cuts, making a lovely display of the colorful peppers, cucumber and feta cheese. The lemon and oregano dressing was excellent.

But the best appetizer was definitely the Panko Machego (breaded and deep fried Machego cheese; “panko” means “bread crumbs” in Japanese), $8. A great choice for sharing, it came served with a simple and delicious tomato reduction with olive oil and just a little spice. The breading was perfectly crispy and golden brown. We also enjoyed Ceviche Classico (Classic Ceviche), $7. It was well prepared, with a perfect amount of cilantro and the lemon was not overpowering.

For our main course, we first tried the Tartín de Salmon (Salmon Tartín), $8. Perfect for a light lunch, it is a small pan-seared salmon steak atop a crostini with lettuce, tomato and garlic aioli. It came served with a crisp, fresh lettuce salad dressed in a wonderful vinaigrette. Next was the Pato al Tamarindo (Tamarind Duck), $17. Like a traditional teriyaki dish, the meat was cut in thin strips and topped with the sauce, except this tasty duck was topped with sweet tamarind instead. The rice was great, with coconut milk and perhaps another ingredient that made it sweet and tasty.

Then we had the Pollo Cha Cha Cha (Cha Cha Cha Chicken), $13, which was a chicken breast stuffed with basil and feta cheese. The rolled meat came sliced and topped with cherry tomatoes. The simplicity of the chicken was complimented by the tangy cheese. The dish came with a nice salad and waffle fries. The fries, unfortunately, were not made in-house.

With such excellent accompaniments and side dishes reflecting a talented chef at each step of the way thus far, it was disappointing to notice that we were now eating something out of a freezer bag. The restaurant would do well to prepare its own homemade fries. We rounded out our meal with the Entraña Steak (a thick skirt steak cut), $23. The meat was cooked to perfection on the grill and served with chimichurri and steamed vegetables.

Service at Twist is superb. Not only are the waiters attentive, but well-trained. Upstairs is a more recent addition to the restaurant. The second floor lounge-bar is a great spot to take in the view and enjoy the carefully-prepared cocktails and a special appetizer menu for this area. Another notable feature about Twist is that some of the dishes available are Thai. And though we did not try any during this visit, the Pad Thai at Twist all but makes up for the lack of a Thai restaurant in the city.

Article courtesy of The Visitor Newspaper, Panama’s Tourism Newspaper.

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