STM’s Panama Social restaurant review: Welcome to Northbridge’s hacienda of fun

If you could bottle the vibe at Panama Social, it’d sell like hot cakes. Atmosphere oozes from the walls. Warped mirrors shine over dens paying homage to Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and Latin pop star Ricky Martin.

Round tables in watermelon and tangerine hues dot the main floor, and wait staff get about in zany printed shirts and messy hairstyles, as experimental jazz roars through the speakers. You just want to be there.

There’s little surprise it’s a hit. The duo behind Mary St Bakery outlets and hip bar-eatery Tiny’s also lead this one. Paul Aron and Michael Forde can’t seem to put a foot wrong.

This bustling hacienda — with the greenery on the inside — takes its cues from the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Stepping in, it feels like the whole place is moving, and that’s not just because they have the ceiling fans on full tilt with the doors flung open to Perth’s summer radiance.

The space is a Wonderland-style rabbit warren, with a people-watching balcony out front, a sunken dining room out back and rooms in between.

The food is deliberately inauthentic, taking inspiration from right across the neotropical realm and mixing it up. Crisp empanadas ($14 for two) fuse octopus shavings with black bean gravy wrapped in a thin pastry shell. The pricey blend is pleasingly non-fishy, and loves the mass of mayo and fresh lime provided. A slug of house-made chilli sauce takes it to other heights.

We should’ve jumped on the pao de queijo, AKA Brazilian cheese donuts ($8 for five) immediately. Minutes pass and they cool to doughy balls that fatigue the jaw. The fried cheese flavour is there, even the crisp shell, but ultimately, they’re unappealing.

Peruvian special, ceviche ($19), comes in the form of kiss-soft fish bathed in coconut cream and topped with tiny green tomatillo slices (a gooseberry-like tomato) that add acidity to the milky mix. That hot sauce helps inject needed oomph.

Burning hot, brine-salty Trinidad roti triangles ($3) pair nicely with a bowl of chunky, perfectly poached seafood in green curry sauce so mild it’s a pastel shade ($32). The hot sauce comes out again, cutting through the Caribbean creaminess.

Tender beef cheek ($34), sliced and fanned, delivers the decisive flavours we’re missing elsewhere, bringing blackened edges, glossy jus and fresh, zingy pineapple cubes to the party.

I’m not convinced the textural mush of pureed mango works in the tomato and mint salad ($11). The dressed heirloom wedges are already soft without emphasising it.

We finish with dense, gluey creme caramel, hinting orange tang and surrounded by ginger crumble ($8). The price is right.

Overall, the food here is good, but it doesn’t shout as loudly as it might. There’s a fair chance punters won’t mind. This is a place for clinking cocktail tumblers across the table and yelling hooray. But I think it could be better.

PANAMA SOCIAL

245 William St, Northbridge, 9227 6153

Panamasocial.com.au

OPEN: 4pm-midnight, Sun-Thur; 4pm-2am Fri-Sat

BOOKINGS: Yes.

LICENCED: Yes

FLEUR’S VERDICT: The food plays second fiddle to the tropical interiors and fiesta-feel vibe. It’s good, but it’s not the main event. A very fun place.

14/20