Panama Dining Room — Restaurant in Melbourne

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Panama Dining Room that left a lasting impression on me. From the moment I walked through the doors, I knew I was in for a treat. Everything, from the food & cocktails to the service and the venue, was nothing short of fantastic.

My partner started off with a Barrel-Aged Negroni that hit the spot just right. It was perfectly balanced, with that bittersweet goodness that makes you go "mmm" with every sip. I tried their yuzu sour. Talk about a flavour explosion! The tangy yuzu mixed with just the right amount of sweetness—it was like pure cocktail magic.

Alright, let's talk the food. Oh wow, every single dish that landed on my table was like a work of art. The flavours, the textures, the whole shebang—it was on point. The menu had something for everyone, and each dish was packed with flavour. We started with the Cured Mackerel - the presentation was simply stunning, with vibrant colours and artistic plating that made it almost too beautiful to eat. For mains, the succulent duck breast, cooked to a beautiful medium-rare, was perfectly seasoned and juicy. And then, oh boy, that sauce! The bitter chocolate and sour cherry sauce added a unique and tantalizing twist to the dish. The contrasting flavours of bitter sweetness and tartness danced together, and perfectly complemented the rich and tender duck. For dessert, the Pavlova was absolutely divine. The meringue was light and airy, and the dulce de leche filling was irresistibly gooey.

Now, onto the service. These guys were on top of their game, no doubt. The staff was super friendly, attentive, and they knew their stuff. They genuinely seemed like they loved what they were doing and wanted to make sure everyone had an amazing time.

In a nutshell, my time at Panama was absolutely awesome. The food was mind-blowing, the service was top-notch, and the whole vibe of the place was...

I had a very negative dinner experience tonight at Panama. We arrived and were told that they "just don't have time to serve " us right now "because we are very busy" and to grab a drink at the bar and "wait about 15min". There were numerous empty tables, in fact half of the tables were empty. We waited 45 min at a bar table and no one approached us. There were only 2 female waitresses on the floor and not that many filled tables so it was obvious we were waiting. I went to ask again about our table and was asked by the other female waitress who said it would take 15 minutes for a table as this seemed to be news to her. She then said she will "come and grab us in 5 minutes" for the table. By this time we were so hungry we ordered at the bar. 30 minutes later the food arrived at our bar section table. I wanted to leave before then but we had already paid and didn't want the fuss of a refund. The same waitress who said our table will be ready in 5 minutes delivered our food to us and had to be asked if we could please move to a dinner table again. She replied "we just don't have one right now", placed our entree and mains down and just left. The waitress seemed like she had no idea how to do her job. There were obviously tables because the same tables that were set up and empty when we first arrived were never filled and were still empty when we left the restaurant (and we were there a long time). I have never had the feeling of having a great day ruined by simply choosing to have dinner out at a restaurant before. It was a very disappointing experience. Not worth the $120 bill that I would have been more than willing to pay had it not been the worst dining experience of my life. What I regret most now is not leaving and getting a refund...

We recently had the greatest honour to celebrate our wedding at Panama Dining Room and couldn't be anymore happier! From enquiring more than a year ago to finally our wedding day, the whole process was smooth and super accommodating.

Special shoutout to Julia the Wedding and Events Coordinator. Her knowledge and expertise is evident as it shines throughout the wedding planning and she made us feel reassured every step of the way. She always answered all of our questions no matter how big or small, and we felt very happy to approach her with anything. Julia made the night run seamlessly as she took care of the details and made our wedding perfect. Thank you once again, Julia :)

The venue itself is just simply amazing - you can see how wonderful it is from the photos. Beautiful arch windows, delicious food and drinks, lovely staff, everything exceeded our expectations. My husband and I can agree that the menu tasting was one of the hardest decisions we had to make as everything was so tasty! We wished we could have had served everything on the menu. We already had a few guests commented that it was the best duck breast they've ever had.

Thank you to Julia, Luke, Tessa, Diego, the bar and wait staff, kitchen staff, Jason, and the team at Panama Dining Room. You all have gone above and beyond for us. We feel truly blessed to have had this amazing team for our wedding and can't wait to come back for our anniversary.

Everyone who is thinking about having an event here should definitely go for it. We can't recommend...