Review The Smoking Panda - Sydney

The Smoking Panda has been my go-to place for my work trips to Sydney, so you can imagine my joy when I returned after 2 long years and walked through the very-familiar doors! Travis and team are friendly and welcoming, as always! Love their food and super cosy environment. Had their lunch specials (for ribs) and it's so good + value-for-money! Do pop by if you are near the Town Hall tram station - They are just a quick 3-mins walk away!

Stellar staff. Fun cocktails. Great food and decor. Reasonable selection of spirits and beer. Happy hour equivalent goes all night (at least on Mondays) which is pretty sweet. A little loud and hot but highly recommended.

This place is great for small groups, recommend booking if you are more than 4x as it is a smaller space & not exactly the type of place you would stand around and drink at. I’ve been here quite a few times over a few years. Cocktail list is rather small but if you request a cocktail that isn’t on the list they can normally accommodate the usuals. Food - the potato skins were nice however the portions was small. Chicken wings not too bad as well. Overall not bad place, however the table service could do with a little bit more attentiveness at some times. This place is accessible via stairs, not sure if there are lifts, but haven’t had to use them before.

Located a floor above the streets of Sydney, this joint is an easy and relaxing place to have a drink with some friends or by your lonesome at the bar itself. The staff are friendly and easy going, plus they make some excellent cocktails. The smoky glass concoction "Pearfection" was a lovely spice rum, with some chardonnay, a full pear, and served from a glass encased with smoke. Well recommended if you want somewhere to go around Town Hall and you're unsure of a place to head too.

Smoking Panda is a must visit cocktail bar in the heart of the city. The decor is a little odd, it reflective of an old school Chinese restaurant with a sprinkle of the sunset strip. They serve up some of the tastiest bar bites you will come across. Even better, they now have a specialty cocktail menu paying homage to a classic, the Old Fashioned. With 228 different types of Old Fashioned's to be precise. This is partly due to Smoking Panda having the largest collection of bitters of any bar in Australia. Smoking Panda is serving up the Old Fashioned with a range of spirit's including vodka, rum, gin and all types of whisky including a quality collection of scotch, bourbon and rye. There is surely an old fashioned to suit anyones taste. If Old Fashioned's are not your thing, there are plenty of other drink options, with beer, wine and a range of cocktails. If you are a whisky fan you are in for a real treat. The smoking panda 2.0 is a must, if you are an Old Fashioned fan. With Iain the bar keeper going all out on this cocktail, without blowing out the price. Not only does Somking Panda have an amazing drink list, the food on offer is sublime. The menu reflecting the decor, with a mix of American and asian selections, perfect to enjoy with a few bevvies. The sticky USA pork ribs were mind blowing, it would be almost impossible for the meat to be anymore tender. We were surprised the meat was still hanging onto the bone. The sticky BBQ sauce was damn tasty too. On par were the Panda Kuro prawns coated in a bamboo charcoal infused panko crumb, there bad boys were incredibly more-ish. Other notables include the sliders, the devil wings and the Panda San choy bau with a Smokey asian sauce, this dish perfectly sums up The Smoking Panda. With a great drink selection, including an impressive list of whisky and bitters. This combining this with some rediculously tasty food. The Smoking Panda is up there on our favourite bar list and is well worth a visit.

Up a somewhat non-descript set of stairs you will find this awesome cocktail bar that is open late. Great drinks are always made to order by the friendly and knowledgeable bar tenders. Food options are nice and there to help you keep drinking with a nice back wall of alcohol to choose from for the next concoction!

They are having 20% off on everything in the menu from 5-7pm everyday. Friendly manager, good crowd. Was there for one drink before our dinner. Ordered this gin based drink with absinthe, cereal and milk, interesting and I liked it a lot. Will come back to try their food.

Friendly service! Nice ambience. A nice spot to enjoy a nice cold icy beer with friends 🥰

Good ambience casual atmosphere and good food. Staff were a mixed bag of engagement for our Tuesday night visit. We have a variety of small plates to eat which were tasty and well priced for the serving size. Downside for me of the bar is the ‘contained’ smokers area which was indoor and not well isolated. Parts of the bar outside of this area were heavily ‘Smokey’ which for me was noticeable and a past life. That said it is avoidable if you move away which we did and overall I liked the vibe and will return in future to sample the cocktail menu.

What a cool little spot and perfect for celebrating with friends. The food is awesome, really good bar food done extremely well. We had ribs, cheese burger cigars, sliders, salt n pepper squid, potato skins, sweet potato fries and churros. Amazing 5-7 happy hour For food and drinks makes it more affordable. Favourite cocktails we enjoyed were the kale drink, pina colada and Mai Tai.

I love the retro Chinese vibes of this place. Amazing cocktails and wine list, super friendly waiting staff and the food (which is all bar food) is damn tasty. I’ll be back! #barfood #sliders

We came here on a Tuesday evening and we were pleasantly surprised. From outside and the entrance, you wouldn't expect such cool decor inside. It was Happy Hour so some of the cocktails were on offer (and they were delicious) plus you can get $1 dumplings with a cocktail purchase (I think this offer is on Tuesdays only). Some of the dumplings were really good and others were average but for $1, they were definitely value for money. It's in a convenient location too so perfect for a catch-up with friends.

Describing themselves as "LA hip fused with retro China" - the menu does not disappoint but it is the showmanship, creativity and talent of the mixologists behind the bar that are the showstopper here on your next night out!   <br/><br/>I had the PANDAMONIUM (as well as a few others actually) - Vodka, Montenegro, Apricot brandy with lemon and peach bitters, egg white and flamed with Cinnamon in the shape of a panda. THE SMOKING PANDA is a real treat to watch as the signature concoction of Johnny Gold infused grapefruit, pineapple honey syrup, red berry infused vinegar and served in a smoked cloche! Cocktails with drama I LOVE IT!

If you haven’t ventured to The Smoking Panda​ yet you need to amend this culinary discrepancy ASAP. You need to go there with some cash, drink an ample amount of wonderful Old Fashioneds and compliment these amazing drinks with some Chinese inspired snack food that will blow your mind! The Devil Wings are next level, the duck bao delish and the salt and pepper squid will make you salivate!!<br/>I cannot wait to return!

The Smoking Panda is a bar and eatery located in the Sydney CBD. It is home to the largest collection of bitters of any bar in Australia, which are mixed with top-shelf spirits to create a vast, bespoke menu of Old Fashioneds. They also do a great range of bar food, so we decided to check it out one night for dinner and drinks.

Any unassuming pedestrian would never know about this gem hiding upstairs on Park street moments from the bus stop as it's not really sign posted. A waltz up the stairs will take you home to a dining room reminiscent of your suburban childhood asian takeaway. Wade through the moody lighting to the important stuff, ie the bar. This is the part of Smoking Panda that is taken quite seriously. The bartenders here are committed to craft and clearly strive for perfection and satisfaction with every move.<br/><br/>Noting themselves as wanting to provide the number one spot in Sydney to get an old fashioned, they are certainly doing a mighty job, with most of the menu dedicated to its variant and nearly every whisky available. Commitment I appreciate, which is why this accessible, non-pretentious small bar moved me, despite fall-down in the kitchen. Talk to the bartenders if you don't know what to pick. They are reliable (and also friendly) and will get you on your way. A DJ spins tracks in the corner gently to remind you it's the weekend, so the bar can catch your order and help you out if need be.<br/><br/>The commitment drops in terms of food, and it is identifiable the kitchen are here merely to sustain, when considering the commonalities between some of the food options. Flavours are shared between certain fillings and sauces, and overall the food just doesn't impress to the point it's the reason you would visit. And why would it be. With bartenders like these, who needs food?

A visit to The Smoking Panda is an education in the art of classic cocktail-making. And if you’re getting hot under the collar from all that cocktail drinking, rest assured there’s some seriously good American-Asian eats to balance out the alcohol.

A slightly hidden upstairs bar, serving the biggest range of Old Fashioned's you could ever desire! The drinks are strong, the bar staff are super knowledgeable, the interiors are moody and the bar snack menu is packed full of delicious Asian items from dumplings to San choy bau to sticky lamb ribs. A great spot you've probably walked past a hundred times and never realized!

Delicious dumplings, which are a smudge greasy (no biggie) and a fabulously stocked bar. Try the chicken katsu bao! <br/>Beverages a little overpriced, but I would go back.

Delicious food and drink, great ambience to the restaurant, and not too overpriced (considering the feel of the place you might expect more damage to your wallet). Some very interesting dishes and cocktails.<br/><br/>The only downside was the wait staff's insistence on trying to do that wanky thing where they don't write anything down and just remember it all. That's fine, if it works. But our waitress didn't inspire us with confidence, having to recheck with us a few mins later and demonstrating that she'd forgotten some items. Just write it down from the get-go!<br/><br/>They also stated that they couldn't make a Long Island Iced Tea, when it was inquired about. Their bar has more booze than most small liquor shops. They'd have been able to. Just couldn't be bothered. Struck us as quite lazy.

I check out the Smoking Panda recently with one of my gal pals MS. We join a small group of foodies to drink and eat the night away. MS and I both love cocktails so it was a good opportunity to check out what's on offer. I've walked past the dingy pub below but I didn't realise this little bar existed above.

The smoking panda on park street can  be found upstairs of the hotel coronation. Open til late, has a fully stocked bar with a huge variety of drinks, in particular, cocktails and mocktails that the bartenders or mixologists make like they’re a piece of art. It also has bar food, quality bar food that the chef devised and it is presented beautifully. Bar tables and also a seated area. They even have an aquarium with jellyfish. Great for a date or with group of friends.

3rd time at The Smoking Panda and each time it gets worse and worse. I should have learnt from the 1st time and 2nd time but I keep hoping for the sake of the delicious dumplings that the service will get better....it doesn't. Sat down at 5.20pm and ordered 5 serves of dumplings, at 6.30pm, we were still waiting on them. Realising it was going to be a long wait we ordered another 5 serves again and asked the waiter to please bring them out soon as we have been waiting such a long time, to which he replied he doesn't know if the kitchen can. There were only 2 other tables in the restaurant at that time.  Tap beer is warm as it takes time for them to get cold as they are closed Mondays....did not have half of the bottled beers on the menu. They also ran out of spirits to make certain cocktails. The servers are awful, they seemed intoxicated and forgetful sense our food being forgotten. I could go on and on about why you should not go here.  Do not put yourself through this torture.

Rude manager!! We came in on a Saturday night and had a large group. The bartender/waiter seated us and starting moving the tables so that we could sit together. Less than 10 min later the manager comes over to us and yells at us for moving the tables. We explain to him that it was his staff that moved the tables. He didn't apologise but continued to rudely accuse us. I have never been spoken to like that and a manager should know better than to speak to customers like that when it wasn't even our fault. We left shortly after feeling extremely upset and angry.

Great venue, with amazing cocktails and asian snacks. The location is also perfect for those finishing work in the city. Staff are very hospitable and friendly.  Best cocktails in Sydney

Coolest cocktail bar in Sydney. Great space and vibe. The no lock out laws also makes this venue a hot spot. I love the cocktails they have on offer. Staff are also very cool. Coming back this week.

Smoking Panda could be described as having lunch with an old high school friend who went to study abroad in China for a few years - it’s a familiar conversation with the addition of Asian adventures and a couple of drinks. This small bar is located upstairs and has chill vibes with a detailed oriental decor, perfect for a couple of cocktails with mates. Service was lovely and attentive.

Dark, cheap Chinese yum char style seating.... Trying hard but fails. <br/><br/>Food was ok! Sliders edible and tasty. <br/><br/>Wine list overpriced for what is was...$55 and over.<br/><br/>We asked for a knife and they said they don't own any? Wtf <br/><br/>The cbd is getting very depressing but not as depressing as the bar tender. <br/><br/><br/><br/>

We luuuuuurve our cocktails. Ask anybody. This officially makes small, moody, cocktail bars the best types of place for us to hang out. In Australia specifically, we've noticed three things wrong (more often than not) with these types of venues. <br/>1. They're pretentious. 2. They serve bad food. 3. They're overpriced. 4. They're pretentious... Okay... so maybe 4 things. <br/><br/>The Smoking Panda have managed to create a cool atmosphere to drink a few cocktails without adhering to what is fast becoming the norm for Inner CBD small bars in Sydney. The cocktails are on point, the staff don't roll their eyes at you when you ask them their favourite cocktail and the food... it arrived on the table and we almost ate our arms while trying to take photos... it smelt that good. <br/><br/>This place has been on our list for a while and we are so glad we finally gave it a go. This comes highly recommended for anyone who is after good vibes, good food and COCKTAILS! 🍸🐼

Lovely little bar! Came with a large group for a birthday, and it was clearly too small for us. I'd come again with just a friend or two. Asked the male bartender for a cocktail recommendation, and he whipped together an absolutely amazing passionfruity drink! Yum.

$1 dumplings on Mondays are amazing! Went with a group and we all ate A LOT & it only ended up being about 8 dollars per head. The dumplings themselves were really tasty and the atmosphere was perfect for casual post work drinks.

Came here for a Baiju tasting class with Moutai (China's national drink). <br/><br/>By golly Moutai is preeeettty strong! Holy moly! I tried it in a cocktail called the Golden Dragon spritzer and it made it very easy to drink. <br/><br/>A few food samples were also provided so i got to try the chicken dim sum, salt & pepper calamari, the spring rolls that were massive and the pork dumplings! All food was soo tasty and hot! (oven hot) <br/><br/>The interior of the place has a bright neon lighting in the ceiling which almost makes me think i'm in a club in Hong Kong. <br/><br/>Knowlegeable bar staff with tasty cocktails to boot! <br/><br/>Also they have jelly fish! YES! Jelly fish! So different to any other bar i've been to!

Definitely a great space to hang out with friends for a couple of drinks and eat delicious asian inspired tapas. Get there early because the space fills up quickly.  I highly recommend getting one of their signature sliders and one of their delicious cocktails.

One of the best and amazing restaurant to hang out with friends on weekends. The spirits and tequila was really awsuum. Firstly Aussie mates are really weak in preparing tequila, but after having this bang drink it made my day. Great one

Great hidden bar in the city, make sure to get here a little early if coming on a Friday/Saturday night to secure a table as this place gets very busy, and they don't take bookings for less than 6 people. I came here with a group of 4, so I made sure to arrive just before 5pm so we can get a place to sit.. Luckily we were able to sit at a booth by coming in a little earlier, if we arrived 15 mins later there was no way of getting a booth!! The place filled up in no time, and it gets quite loud here as well.<br/><br/>The Smoking Panda has an awesome quirkiness to it, the Chinese decor to the jelly fish tank, their wooden chopstick-fork fusion & very own glass "smokers room", all dimmed in neon-pink lighting. We all fell in love this place quite quickly! <br/><br/>I have to say their Delicious Sour lives up to its name of being delicious, especially if you like your cocktails sweet. I didn't get to try the other cocktails but this one was definitely my kind of cocktail, so I stopped here! For the food, it comes out in tapas style so great for sharing with groups. The corndogs were yum, all dumplings were pretty good, except they came out in a set of 3 (where there was 4 of us) and we asked the waiter about this beforehand and he said he would sort it out.. But never happened. Oh well, thats a minus 1 point. Their Soft Shell Crab Slider was a highlight, juicy and in a large bun. Lastly the fried green tea ice cream topped it off, a little small in serving though, but still worth ordering if you are a green tea ice cream fan. <br/><br/>Overall the service at this place is very friendly, a little hard catching the wait staff at times but you just need to be patient. The interiors are very funky and dim, and food/drinks good, just a little on the pricey side so don't come here completely hungry or else you'll be paying a fat bill. Also the chopstick-fork combination thing didn't really work for us, it was extremely hard to use.. I would suggest just asking for regular chopsticks if using for dumplings, or you will just be dropping your food everywhere like the sloppiest person on earth. <br/><br/>Make sure to say hi to the jelly fish before heading out!

Decent music and a large selection of spirits makes this drinking hole a good option in this part of the city. A better atmosphere for a younger crowd than hotels but not too packed that you feel like a sardine waiting 20 minutes to get a drink. One of the places that stock Milagro tequila which you don't need to mask with lemon and salt. <br/>Add me or comment if you love or disagree with my tales as I hope to guide you on Sydney's culinary and aperitif offerings.

The charm of Smoking Panda lies in how it manages to capture and transform some of the playful, cheeky essence of ‘monkey bars in the playground and ice cream sundaes of wonder’ childhood into a more modern, sophisticated incarnation, without the stiff-backed seriousness of more official ‘adult’ bars, where a suit, tie and exhaustion feel like they are prerequisites of entry.

The Smoking Panda is one of my favourite bars in the CBD. The location, cosy interiors and amazing choice of drinks at the bar makes it a winner in my books. The bar was originally inspired by the Chinese American bars popping up in Los Angeles and the food associated with the Chinese diaspora in the late 20th century.

Trendy deep fried grub in the dark. The glow-in-the-dark jellyfish tank, kitsch Chinese decor and considerable American-inspired cocktail menu were cool at this trendy downtown restaurant/bar. Eating in virtually pitch black (note: must have flashlight app installed on iPhone to read the menu) from a selection of almost all deep fried fare and then being told our table was turning over in 15 minutes was not. We ordered the Chairman's wings, prawn & chives dumpling and duck spring roll.

Tucked away above Hotel Coronation on Park Street, it took us a couple of minutes of pacing before discovering discreet new late-night haunt; The Smoking Panda. At street level, a black sign featuring a panda monograph is the only indication of what unfolds above. Upon entry, howling souls and blues tunes play in the background. The mix of pink backlighting, Chinese lanterns and vintage neon signs only add to the venue’s intimacy and mysteriousness.  A large illuminated jelly fish tank, doubling as a room divider, makes it clear that The Smoking Panda, has just the right measure of kitsch. We’re intrigued.

The Smoking Panda is a sultry place upstairs on the first floor above the Coronation Hotel that has a kind of East meets Las Vegas style to it. Think coloured fluoro lights mixed with Asian lanterns. Yes - it's eclectic but it ends up with a nice feel to it and the place is certainly memorable! The seating, the booths, the whole decor is true to theme.This space has undergone quite a transformation from its former life and it's now a small bar that has a mysterious feel to it.It's a place that is a little bit hard to find because it's upstairs off Park Street but it's worth finding. Venture up the stairs and you'll discover another world there. It's been open a while but recent changes gave them a great opportunity to show what they'd done through a media launch - and boy was it popular.It's such a prime location, right in the heart of the CBD, but being upstairs makes it also a bit more private.

Sounds like the Bar Fly babe Amie Barbeler found her spiritual home this week... I was eyeing up the maple and bacon-infused bourbon when a suit-clad silver fox sidled up to me and said: “If you drink that, every man in this bar will fall madly in love with you.” I stared into his eyes for a minute… and shuddered, opting for a cocktail instead.The Smoking Panda has a hip L.A. vibe to it, with a retro Chinese twist

Did not enjoy the cocktail at all. I got the one with gin Campari and a big rock <br/>Sounds like a good combo but it was way too sweet but weird. The place though is not too bad as its not too crowded. Ok place to chat. Average price

I think smoking panda needs to learn some honesty and good service . The worst place in town to have a cocktail , worst staff they never give the drinks change back they charge $17 dollars for a pint of beer . My review the worst and worst place in town

So, it's nice to finally have a smokin' (literally) small bar on this side of George Street. Tucked away on the upper level of the Coronation Hotel lies a seventies inspired asian bar. It's aptly named, The Smoking Panda, after Asia's most loved creature, complete with cigarette in tow. Don't expect to see a big Panda sculpture, this is more a panda-cave, than panda-shrine.

It took no time at all for The Smoking Panda to start clogging up my Instagram feed when it opened late last year. The cool cocktails were enticing enough but I must admit it was the name alone which really had me intrigued. Such a kitsch name had me there in no time at all in what can best be described as an all American bar with an Oriental twist. Asian flair in the decor and food but all American cocktails on offer which were seriously bangin’.

Take a journey up the stairs of the Hotel Coronation on Park Street and introduce yourself to The Smoking Panda. Think old school 1970's west coast meets the orient. This chilled  east-meets-west bar specialises in world class cocktails, has a superb wine list and irresistible pan-asian bites. Harvey’s Headbanger’  $17. Our first (of many) cocktail of the night made with gin, green chartreuse, maraschino, fresh lime this zingy drink is served straight up with candied lime. Old & Spiced ($17) Due to the fact that I'm usually in bed by 9:30pm on any given night I've earned the nickname 'Old Soul'. So when I saw the Old  & Spiced on the menu it was a no-brainer. Comprising of aged spice rum, Chinese 5 spice, house made ginger beer and candied ginger the old spice mug it was served it made me feel like one of those old drunks who hide their booze in their coffee mugs getting drunk and 9 in the morning. A future I hope to one day be apart of... The ‘Blue Lagoon’ ($17) Another great cocktail made with gin, vodka, blue Curacao, lychee, dragon fruit, and lemonade foam and served long and blue. While I was a little disappoint it didn't come with a half naked Brooke Shields or Christopher Atkins the popping candy made up for it (kinda). Panda Negroni  ($18) A new spin on an old fashion favourite, the usual gin has been replaced with and aged tequila then mixed with panda house made spiced campari syrup and dolin sweet vermouth.  Served short over chipped ice with candied orange. Smoked ‘Whiskey Sour’ An interesting drink with some theatrics to it. Composed of cherry soaked bourbon, sweet and sour, fresh citrus. Served short over ice the cocktail is placed in a smoking chamber and pumped with  bourbon infused cherry wood smoke. While you might think its all just for show, I tried one with and without the infusion and I can honestly tell you it make a big (and delicious) difference

...I was intrigued by the fusion of retro LA style, that quintessential down and dirty west coast charm with a Chinese focused menu...it’s easy to see yourself settling in for a night of cocktails or knocking back one of the 65 Bourbons on offer. To kick off our Saturday evening we started with the ‘Harvey’s Headbanger’ comprising of Gin, green chartreuse, maraschino, fresh lime – served straight up with candied lime. $17. This was described to me by the barman as more of a ‘fellas’ drink. Which I don’t quite know what he was implying…. Oh well, it was very tasty and I would happily swig back a few of these in the future.

Drinks were flowing throughout the night so it was a little bit difficult to keep track but they were all really good, asking the bartender for a ‘surprise’ drink resulted in a great bourbon on the rocks which was very smooth. Georgia Peach & Coconut & Lychee Cooler Strawberry ‘Milkshake’...

The Smoking Panda is a wonderful venue for cocktails. Dunkin' Donut martini and Panda Colada are your must have!

We’re very distracted by the jellyfish propelling themselves slowly around their circular tank. This is not just because we’ve had too many cocktails. Against the Panda’s dark and moody vibes—somewhere between late-night LA hideout and retro Chinatown—the illuminated fishtank and its hypnotic inhabitants are glowing bright blue. The commitment to an East-meets-West theme is evident everywhere, from the décor to the food. I imagine it’s one of the few places you can have both San Choy Bau ($5) and a Corn Dog & Onion Rings ($15) . From a huge and varied cocktail list, I try the Smoked Whiskey Sour ($18) . Billows of impressive cherry smoke aside, it’s smooth and tangy, but my hand creeps across the bar to steal my date’s amazing Hot Smokin’ Mexican Jerk ($17) . Made with smoked tequila, capsicum and chipotle, and garnished with crispy bacon, it’s the best of The Smoking Panda : inventive, spicy, and surprising.

The Chinese theme returns with the food menu, which is a mixture of snacks and dim sum. We kick things off with a braised short rib san choy bao. The meat has been pulled off the bone and piled up in the middle of a circular piece of iceberg lettuce. The pulled beef is a bit different to the usual finely chopped filling and is rather saucy, so it makes for messy eating but is tasty nonetheless.