The Smoking Panda

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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

A cosy little cocktail bar in the heart of the city. The cocktails are absolutely delicious and the dumplings are super tasty. Definitely recommend going on a Tuesday for $1 dumplings for the best value for money.

Amazing Selection of Spirits and they have mastered their cocktails. Food is fairly decent and enjoyable!

Nice little cocktail bar situated on top of the criterion hotel, I ducked in for a quick drink and a bite to eat on my lunch break with my mate. I enjoyed the overall vibe, the decor was nice and the food represented good value for money. The staff were friendly and did a good job of keeping the place clean. The Food servings were quite big and it was presented quite nicely on the plate. I dint love what i ordered (American beef Roll), but I will definitely be back to try out some new menu items and a few of their cocktails. Cheers Bullet!

Very friendly staff who remember you and your order when you go there on more than one occasion. Always down for a chat and some banter.
The drinks are slightly more expensive than the bar down stairs but are still better price than other bars in the city.
The atmosphere here is fantastic and creates great vibes.

This is a really nice bar. I booked a table so my friend and I could get a drink after her birthday dinner. The staff wished her a happy birthday, were super easy to talk to, and it's a really friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Cocktails are good too!

Cute bar, cocktails was nice. I had the toblerone which tasted like a dessert with almost no alcohol flavours which is exactly how I like my cocktails. Music wasn't too loud so you can have a conversation with friends and it is also a nice date night spot

Top bar with tremendous service and also shares a menu with the downstairs pub so can grab a decent feed here regularly as well. Only criticism is that the venue is quite cosy and fills up quickly so would recommend getting in early or making a reservation, especially if going in on a Thurs-Sun. Would also benefit from table service, but otherwise a great venue which I would definitely recommend and will certainly return to.

Small bar with great staff. I'm a regular at this place, they have a good variety of spirits and liquor with some signature cocktails. I love unwinding here after work on Friday with asian snacks before heading out to dinner. Every staff we've encountered has been great to deal with, most of the bartenders are skilled and mixes well. Not too busy, not too quiet just perfect as a kick off bar. Keep up the good job!!

Nabin makes the absolute best espresso Martini's and old fashioned. He puts the utmost care into every cocktail and it comes out amazing each time! Great vibe, great drinks and great food. All around worth it👍👍👍

Best bar in Sydney cbd by far. Drinks are awesome. Staff and service even better. Every single time I come here they go above and beyond for us. The manager is so so nice! Cool setting, ambience is 10/10. There’s a smoking area. You can’t go wrong coming here. 10/10 every time, never disappointed. My Sydney cbd favourite!!!

Smoking panda is the best spot in Sydney!! Service is always on point, fresh drinks and amazing ambiance. The service here is so friendly and personal. You’ll be taken care of every time. The music is always a vibe, and the venue is colourful enough for a big night out, but also has cozy booth spots for a cheeky date. They really know what they’re doing honestly, if you’re ever looking for a night out, come to the smoking panda!!

What can I say about this amazing bar. A friend of mine had his birthday there and I loved it. So I decided to host an event there to which I had around 50+ people.... Rick the events manager is a legend and we all had an amazing time. Great customer service.great bar staff. Millhouse (apologies on the spelling of his name) is a very skillful barman and the rest of the staff were just as freindly. I will be hosting more events here in the future ❤

Love this place. Good size bar (though mostly smaller tables). Excellent selection of beers and spirits. Cocktail choice on the menu is small and varied - no navigating of multiple pages of odd selections here. Knowledgeable staff can make and suggest other drinks. Great bar food - chicken wings and sticky ribs are fantastic. Happy hour is 20% off drinks 5-7pm tues-sun, each night had a discount bar snack e.g. $10 sticky ribs on thursdays. Vented smoking room in the bar makes it easier when gathering a mixed group of smokers and non-smokers. Great location for most transport options.