Restaurant group · Panama City
Afro-Panamanian cuisine, in the world’s top league.
La Tapa Group is the restaurant group founded by Isaac Villaverde in Panama City: restaurants, kitchens and brands with one purpose. To take Afro-Panamanian cuisine from everyday kitchens to its place among the great cuisines of the world.
No. 61Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 · La Tapa del Coco
Read the storyCondé Nast TravelerHot ListBest New Restaurants in the World 2025 · La Tapa del Coco
Read the storyEaterTop 26The 26 Best Restaurants in Panama City · La Tapa del Coco
Read the storyFood & Wine en EspañolBest New ChefsCentral America 2025 · Armando Bramwell
Read the storyWhy we exist
The group’s purpose
Afro-Panamanian cuisine was born from the migrations that built Panama: from the Antilles and the Caribbean, from the Pacific, from the north and the south. It is a cuisine of Blackness and diaspora, geography turned into identity and flavor.
For generations it lived in everyday kitchens. La Tapa Group exists to give it the stage, the team and the standard to earn its place among international cuisines, with its essence intact.
Read our storyBusiness units
The group’s seal, at every table
La Tapa Catering
The group’s flavor, at your event
Platters to order with 48 hours’ notice and full-service catering with our team. La Tapa Catering lives inside La Tapa del Coco and brings the same standard to your table.
or write to ventas@latapagroup.com · WhatsApp +507 6414-4333
The story
“What unites La Tapa Group is not a structure: it’s a standard.”
Isaac Villaverde, chef and founder
In San Francisco, Panama City, Isaac Villaverde opened La Tapa del Coco: a restaurant that turned Afro-Panamanian roots cooking into a chef-driven experience. The restaurant became a reference, the cuisine became a movement and the name became a seal.
Our impact
Economy, culture and country
Direct team members
Business units
Growing brands
Panamanian cuisine and culture
We are a Panamanian creative industry. Every dish, every job and every story strengthens Brand Panama, the culinary tourism promoted by ATP and Promtur, and the orange economy led by the Ministry of Culture. Our work is aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals 4, 8 and 10.
Press
What they say about us
- 2026ForbesInside Salazón, the hot dog festival becoming a culinary summit for Latin America’s best chefs
- 2026Panorama EconómicoPicadera Latina Vol. 1 reúne a chefs locales e internacionales en una gran fiesta gastronómica
- 2026La Estrella de PanamáPanamá será sede de ‘Picadera Latina’, un encuentro culinario con invitados internacionales
Join our team
More than 60 people cook, serve and create at La Tapa Group. Send your CV to people@latapagroup.com: we want to meet you.