The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals.
When Coloradan Carlos Henriquez moved from Evergreen to Panama City, Panama, two decades ago, he did so with a dream: to open a fish taco restaurant.
Like most big ambitions, it took a few years to come to fruition. But Maagoo Fish Tacos—inspired by the word one of his sons used for his bottle as a baby—finally opened its doors seven years ago.
I walked through those doors on a warm afternoon after spending a few hours watching a quartet of rescued sloths sleep, eat, and goof around at the Gamboa Sloth Sanctuary. I was famished, and my guide suggested lunch at one of his favorite local eateries on our way back into the city. I immediately felt at home in Maagoo’s bustling industrial-chic restaurant, which sits about five miles northwest of Casco Viejo, the historic center of Panama City. With a line of servers scooping toppings and rolling burritos behind a counter and chalkboard menus hanging above, I felt as if I’d walked into my local Chipotle.
Of course, Maagoo is nothing like those homegrown, fast-casual eateries. Nearly all of the fish served at the eatery is caught by Carlos and two of his sons, Aaron and Charlie, who operate Maagoo along with Blue Adventures Panama, their charter company that takes guests on fishing and other ocean excursions, primarily around the nearby Pearl Islands.
“It was a family dream,” Charlie says. Carlos, the patriarch, was born in Jamaica (his father is Panamanian) but grew up around the Florida Keys. Even while living in landlocked Colorado, the family often traveled to the coast and spent a lot of time on the water. “For [restaurant] clients who weren’t able to make it out with us on the boat, Maagoo Fish Tacos is kind of a continuation of our experience—not so much on the ocean but through our food,” Charlie adds.
The daily menu features an array of sustainably caught options that are either grilled or smoked on the premises. I chose grilled mahi mahi, though grilled yellowfin, smoked mahi, and smoked almaco jack were also on offer. Other days you might find snapper, grouper, and wahoo. No matter what the ocean served up, smoked jerk chicken thighs, grilled eggplant, and grilled tofu are always available.
From there, it’s a choose-your-own adventure approach. Opt for a burrito, bowl, burger, or tacos. My overstuffed burrito was rolled into a handmade corn tortilla with shredded cheese, pineapple pico de gallo, grilled bell peppers, and a smoked poblano sauce, which I chose over the cilantro and house hot sauce options. A margarita helped temper any unexpected spice. The team squeezes around 500 limes by hand each day for margaritas, rum and cokes, and other refreshers.
“There’s not another fish taco restaurant or sustainably caught fresh fish restaurant like this around Panama,” Charlie says.
Packed with locals, the restaurant practically buzzes during the lunch hour—and, I imagine, during the daily happy hour, too. Gyotaku prints (a Japanese art form that involves applying ink to a whole fish and then pressing it against paper) and replicas of fish Charlie and his family have caught adorn the eatery’s walls. “Most of these are the fish that we serve at the restaurant as well, so clients have a good understanding of what’s on their plate,” he says.
On their plate—and in their shopping bags. Clients and diners can also visit Maagoo to pick up fresh fish they can take home and prepare themselves. Another reminder that I wasn’t in Colorado anymore.
