El Ultimo Refugio
$$$
Fodor's choice
For a break from plantains and battered fish, this darling tin-roof restaurant with live music and a menu based on the freshest-of-the-fresh, is truly the “ultimate refuge” from the typical Bocas culinary scene. Strings of bulbs dangle above wooden tables on wide-plank floors perched over the water. Vegetables are refreshing and vibrant, and salsas are sweet and tangy atop mahimahi and tuna tartare served with homemade chips. The beetroot salad with blue cheese is excellent, as are mains like octopus on white bean puree or creamy shrimp risotto with sun-dried tomatoes and fried pumpkin seeds. The chef caters to vegans with flavorful yellow curry on coconut jasmine rice. The peanut butter Snickers pie has been known to make repeat customers out of those only in town for a week.
