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Panama Hatty's

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MichaelJM
MichaelJM
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4 out of 5
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2
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Editor Pick

39) Panama Hatty's - Hats Off To Panama!

39) Panama Hatty's - Hats Off To Panama!

Panama - 30/06/09

Sleek and sexy, dim and discrete, Panama Hatty's was not what I had expected. I knew of its existence of course - a low doorway leading down into the ground on a side-street beneath a knicker shop, but had known of no one who had ever visited. I had actually suspected that it might be rather grim. How wrong I was!

There were clues of course. The side-street was just off King Street, Manchester's highest-end shopping street. Near neighbours are Armani, Diesel and Vivienne Westwood. The 'knicker shop' upstairs is actually Agent Provacateur. And Hatty's has a sister restaurant in Tarporley, well into the Cheshire stockbroker belt. But it was only once I'd descended into Panama Hatty's that I appreciated that the venue was a big cut above what I was expecting. Tessarae floors, dimmed lighting, staff just as sleek and sexy as the joint. There is a bar area, a lounge with comfy chairs and cushions, what looked like a private dining room set up for a party, and a restaurant of secluded booths with individual lamps. If this is what Panama is like, take me there now!

Of course, Panama Hatty's doesn't even try to be respresentative of Panama. It just clearly likes a pun. And its decor and menu are truly global, testament to "Hatty's" travels across the world. On the walls vintage interwar advertisements for Imperial Airways hang next to French sketches and Russian posters. In nooks and in table tops you can find Chinese Buddhas juxtapositioned alongside Moroccan tagines and South-East Asian woodwork. This may be fitting of course - due to its canal Panama is a nexus of global trade, particularly in the interwar years when if you wanted to travel, you had to go by sea. Though first impressions evoked to me a hidden Shanghai godown, where the well-connected would sip Singapore Slings and talk international finance.

I'm not sure if they actually serve Singapore Slings, though there is a cocktail list. The 'virgin' cocktails, mixes of various fruit juices, are very good at £3.50. Their beers range from France to England, Germany to Estonia. Deciding that the nearest I would get to Panama was Mexico I ordered the first of a couple of Coronas. £3.40 for a 330ml bottle is, I would say, rather over-priced.

The menu too is international, though it tends to focus primarily on the cuisines of Mexican (burritos, chimichangas, char-grilled steaks) and South-East Asia (lamb goreng, Pataya chicken salad, Indonesian chicken dama) - two very different views on the use of spices in cooking! Somehow appropriate for Panama's key role canal linking two worlds. So whereas Ana ordered fajitas, Paul went for Masaman Curry. Having checked out what 'Panamanian Cuisine' consisted of earlier on Wikipedia I could see nothing on the menu that I could really count as authentically Panamanian. Unless one considered that due to its position at the narriowest point of the isthmus separating the Pacific and Atlantic (specifically the Caribbean) it would have the best of both worlds for fish. So fish is what I went for - the Grilla Pacifica.

The Grilla Pacifica was, at £18.95, one of the most expensive meals on the menu, but I was impressed with the size of the dish that was brought out. Thick chunks of white fish, mussels in their shell, entire king prawns, and a grilled sardine were heaped over a mound of buttered new potatoes. There was nothing fancy in their cooking, just a squeeze of lemon over the top. The fish was succulent, the mussels full and juicy, and the prawns hot and tasty. Of course, the latter were a bit tricky to shell, but getting sticky fingers is part of the joy of eating them in my opinion. Only the sardine was a bit of a let down, just because I aways feel a little awkward with eating them skeletons and all, and so I found it a little bit fiddly. One final thing is that the fish was fresh not frozen; when I ordered it the waiter had to dart into the kitchen to check they had some in.

Ana's fajitas were pretty substantial too - a heap of chicken, onion and peppers fizzing on a sizzler plate, accompanied by soft tortillas. However, there were not really enough fajitas for what was provided; only four in fact. Ana had to order more fajitas, which came at a cost of £1.50, which I felt was a bit steep on top of the £12.95 she had already paid for the meal. Paul's Thai curry was also of a good size - as you'd hope for £12.25. The green curry was served separately to its bowl of sticky coconut rice, and accompanied by another bowl holding sliced naan breads.

One tip I will give you is to leave room for dessert. They do have a good pudding menu, even if none of the options are actually very exotic at all - we're talking the level of Bramley apple pie, chocolate fudge cake, and Belgian waffles. I ordered a £5.75 baked cheesecake. And it was fine if not out of this world. The menu had stated it came cream or ice cream and 'seasonal berries in a pool of pureed raspberry sauce'. In actual fact this proved to be a solitary strawberry, and a zig-zag of raspberry coulis. For the price it was rather underwhelming. Especially when compared to Ana's dessert. She had ordered a Toffee Rocky Mountain for the same price. This turned out to me a massive pile of meringue, ice cream, toffee sauce and whipped cream. It had pretty much the same dimensions as a rugby ball!

Looking back, I can't believe I thought Panama Hatty's might be a bit of a dive. It aims at the upper end of the market, and is certainly on the more expensive end of a scale (for comparison: the price I paid for just my main course would have got me a five-course banquet in Koreana or an all-you-can-eat meat feast in Tropeiro). The food is good though. The place is seductive and stylish - definitely a place to come to impress. In fact, I even returned the very next evening with a date for a night-cap...

From journal Around the World in 80 Meals! (part 4)

Editor Pick

Panama Hatty's Before 7 Deal

  • August 12, 2008
  • Rated 4 of 5 by MichaelJM from Nottingham, England
Panama Hatty's Before 7 Deal

Panama Hatty’s

Out for a stroll and on the lookout for a new place to eat I spotted Panama Hatty’s which was offering an early diner special deal for £10.95. This was a single course and a glass of wine or a bottle of beer and despite the fact that it was only five minutes before the cut off hour of seven there was no problem with the special still being on offer.

Panama Hatty’s is a basement restaurant in a quiet part of town and I was cheerfully welcomed and invited to choose my preferred table. There were only three other tables occupied when I arrived and the subdued lighting was easy on the eyes. I guess later on in the evening this would be truly romantic, but as a single diner it just made it difficult to read by. Modern chandeliers threw out little light as they were illuminated somewhat ineffectively by "Christmas fairy lights."

The restaurant seats around 100 people and most of the tables are "boothed" with swivel table lights dimly illuminating the tables through their orange glass shades. There’s a real modern feel to the place with huge floor standing wicker lamps emitting a reddish glow. The chequered tiled floor gives a crisp and clean appearance and the walls are decked out with a plethora of mirrors an interesting change to pictures and allowing the dim lights to be reflected around the restaurant. Shelves are bedecked with a variety of huge designer ceramic vases and mysterious rush blinds obscure the view of the pavement above. The modern ambience is completed with steel pillars unashamedly supporting metal lintels and reassuring me that the ceiling above would not collapse on me.

Service was efficient and the front of house staff were smartly dressed in black. The menu for the special meal included fajitas, slow roasted ribs, masaman chicken and rib-eyed steak. Somewhat predictably I opted for the steak with an additional serving of Angelino topping, which was fried mushrooms, onions, peppers and Emmental cheese over the top of a perfectly cooked steak. A large portion of French fries came as an accompaniment. I’d decided to opt for the merlot as my "free drink" and asked for a glass of tap water to go with my meal. I was brought a large jug of iced water with lemon and lime and was gratified that this was delivered with no attempt to sell me bottled water.

Music quietly thudded out and there was so much base on it that I couldn’t really identify the genre of music. Indeed after a time the thud merged into the background and became part of the restaurant’s ambience. I thoroughly enjoyed the main course and when offered the sweet menu decided I would have a look to check out the options.

Whilst considering the options I overheard "the boss" speaking to a group of diners. "I understand that you lost a watch when you last visited us in March" he said to a young man, who looked real grateful when it was returned to him. "The problem is" he quipped "I’ve now lost my father’s Christmas present."

Now I really had not intended to "have a pud" but when I saw the choice decided that I would be weak. I’d had a tortuous day at the office and rationalised "my weakness" by telling myself that I needs a hit of sugar. The melted chocolate fudge cake hit the spot and there was a nice balance of "sickliness" in the fudge cake doused in a rich creamy chocolate sauce and offset by the cold bite of the vanilla ice cream.

What a nice way to finish off a great meal.

Everything in this restaurant was individually prepared and the vegetables were fresh and nicely prepared. No pre-packaged stuff here and I enjoyed a great meal in pleasant surroundings.

From journal Summer Dining In Manchester

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