After spending over five years on Bondi Road, Panama House has moved much closer to the iconic golden sands, which now lay in the shadow of the 120-seater restaurant and bar. Perched above Campbell Parade, the Latin American venue is now charging into their new life with a refocused and reimagined offering that includes everything from takeaway coffee and all-day brunch to share-style dinner and evening cocktails.
Featuring a glass balcony overlooking the beach, the breezy new venue should fit right in with the glitzy Campbell Parade picture, setting itself apart with a Latin American twist on just about everything locals have developed a taste for. Think all-day brunch options like corned beef hash brown on a bed of spinach, topped with a poached egg and served with roast tomato and chipotle hollandaise. Or about how about gumbo omelette stuffed with prawns and chorizo and served on a bed of habanero corn bread with black beans and salsa verde. There are also takeaway treats like Mexican chocolate cookies and breakfast burritos.
As each day rolls on, brunch falls by the wayside and Head Chef Sean Kiely leads the kitchen into dinner with the likes of chargrilled WA octopus with chorizo esquities and salsa verde; slow roasted mojo marinated pork belly with celeriac slaw, jalapeno cream, desiccated red chilli and chervil; and a Jamaican jerk spatchcock with edamame beans, black beans, borlotti and rocket salad, charred corn and chimichurri.
Drinks wise, Panama House is sitting on a 50-strong wine list built with both Australian and South American options while cocktails pull inspiration from 80s, an example being the signature PH margarita which essentially takes the team two weeks to make. It’s a complex process of infusing Jim Beam Rye with orange peel, cardamom, clove, black pepper, and a few other secret ingredients to create a homemade curacao. After which, the team add hibiscus flowers and mix with a turbinado sugar syrup to create a liqueur, which is then combined with Arette Blanco tequila, fresh lime juice, and oleo saccharum over a rock of ice with a homemade salt rim.
Panama House
Address: The Pacific Bondi, 180 Campbell Parade, Bondi
Website: www.panamahouse.com.au
Hours: Mon-Sat 7am-11pm; Sun 7am-10pm
Featured image: Fiora Sacco
———-