Mesa.
Mesa.
Long wooden table set family-style with platters of food, hands reaching, golden hour light from the left

Panamanian Catering · Est. 2011

We cook like your family.
We serve like it's ours.

From backyard receptions to Sunday service for 300 — authentic Panamanian cooking, served on real platters, with the warmth your guests will remember.

Casco Viejo·Colón·El Chorrillo·La Cresta·Bella Vista·San Felipe·Casco Viejo·Colón·El Chorrillo·La Cresta·Bella Vista·San Felipe·
Woman cooking in a warm home kitchen, steam rising from pots, golden afternoon light
Close-up of colorful Panamanian street food dishes arranged on a wooden table
Hands kneading dough on a flour-dusted wooden surface in a home kitchen

Our Roots

The recipes came
from the street.

Our head cook, Marisol Tejada, grew up in Colón watching her grandmother fold empanadas de carne before dawn. The sofrito recipe hasn't changed since 1978.

In Casco Viejo, a neighbor taught us the right ratio of recao to cilantro. In El Chorrillo, we learned that ropa vieja needs four hours, not two. These aren't shortcuts — they're stories.

We brought those stories to every backyard reception, every office lunch, every Sunday service spread we've cooked in the last fifteen years.

Portrait of Marisol Tejada, head cook at Mesa catering

Marisol Tejada

Head Cook & Co-Founder · Colón, Panamá

Real Events

Your event in
someone else's story.

Long buffet tables set with platters of food at a church reception hall, guests serving themselves
Sunday Service Reception
“The arroz con pollo was the first thing to run out. Three hundred people and not a grain left. Guests kept asking for the recipe. We just said 'Mesa.'”
Portrait of Pastor Delroy Hutchinson smiling in a church setting

Pastor Delroy Hutchinson

First Baptist Church of Newark

280 guests

Quinceañera table decorated with flowers and candles, colorful platters of food in the background
Quinceañera
“I wanted my daughter's quinceañera to feel like a celebration in Panamá, not a hotel ballroom. Mesa made that happen. The carimañolas alone had people talking for weeks.”
Portrait of Valentina Morales-Cruz, a Latina woman smiling warmly

Valentina Morales-Cruz

Private Client

120 guests

Corporate lunch spread with colorful food platters on a long conference table, colleagues serving themselves
Corporate Lunch
“Our Latinx Heritage Month lunch was the most-attended company event of the year. People came back for seconds, thirds. HR is already asking about next year.”
Portrait of Diana Osei-Mensah, professional woman smiling in an office environment

Diana Osei-Mensah

Office Manager, Meridian Health Group

65 guests

Ready to Book?

Your gathering is
already on our mind.

We take on a limited number of events each month. Reach out early — weddings and large community events book out 3–4 months ahead.

Not ready to commit? Download our full menu and pricing guide. No pressure, just food.

Questions? Call us at (201) 555-0183 — we answer.

Catering team plating food at an outdoor event, warm golden light, platters of Panamanian food ready to serve

Booking for 2026

Spring & summer dates filling fast