The Smoking Panda
5-7 Park St
Sydney CBD
The Smoking Panda is part of the Hotel Coronation on Park Street. Its newly renovated, chic, cool and its serving some serious cocktails, set to rival any bar in LA or across the globe for that matter.
The bar is upstairs from the hotel and is tastefully decorated with a retro look and stylish pink neon at the bar. Seating is ample with a large lounge type area around the side but also some booths at back for those her prefer a more intimate affair.
Upon arrival we were greeted by the bartender and after a few minutes of chatting to him, we quickly realised this person is a cocktail genius. Wasting no time, he started mixing a couple of cocktails for us straight away. With over 280 bottles on the bar and with the largest collection of bitters in Australia, The Smoking Panda mean business when it comes to cocktails.
We started off with an Amaro Vinagrette, a punchy and tart cocktail full of flavour served with a cinnamon stick which added heaps of earthiness to it. At the same time we also enjoyed a wake and flake – a twist on the corpse recover but with gin, milk, cornflake syrup chocolate bits.
We enjoyed these beautiful cocktails with some very tasty house made prawn and chive popcorn, which were covered in crispy tempura batter and served with maple syrup. We also dug into some amazing duck cakes. These fluffy steam buns were overfilled with duck breast, smoky sauce, pea sprouts and fresh chilli. They were so delicious, we were just picking them up with our hands and just devouring them in one bite.
Next we tried a hybrid cocktail / snack, the Pearfection. Slightly on the sour side, this drink is rum based and boasts a pear that has been poached in chardonnay. Great drink, great presentation and bonus you get to eat the pear at the end.
Despite eating the pear, we were still hungry for more food, which The Smoking Panda has plenty of, on their menu. We tried the salt and pepper squid and the Cajun chicken tenderloins. Both were delicious with crispy batter on the outside and succulent meat or fish on the inside. The chicken pieces were huge too.
We finished our lovely experience with two more cocktails. A classic Caprioska and a French 75. The Caprioska was exactly as you would expect it to be. Tart, refreshing and presented beautifully. The French 75 was just as good, probably even better but was served in a tall glass instead of a flute. We were very impressed.
The Smoking Panda boasts everything you would expect to find in an LA cocktail bar. It also has the charm of an eatery with Asian food, Bar favourites, both with contemporary twists. They know their drinks, they know their food. The service is amazing and they atmosphere is inviting. It won’t be long till we’re back. If you haven’t visited The Smoking Panda yet, we highly recommend you do.
The Counts visited as guests of The Smoking Panda.