Panama 66

We've been here a few times and it's a great spot to stop for a drink when visiting Balboa Park!We always order at the bar and then head to the sculpture garden, where the vibe is super calm and zen. Great music!We ordered the peach sangria, which has passionfruit and strawberries--super refreshing! They give you a nice pour too.Love bringing friends here when they're visiting San Diego! The bartenders are always fun too! :)

After visiting the Natural History Museum today l, we decided that we were all a little hungry. We wandered around and ended up at Panama 66, I am so glad we did. It's an open air restaurant that you get the menus and seat yourself then go up and order once you have decided. There are plenty of seats and also a lot of shade so it's perfect on a a nice day to sit outside enjoying the fresh air and people watch. Their menu has lots of different options including vegan and gluten free. We decided to get the chicken banh mi, adobo chicken entree and, the kids grilled cheese. Also threw in an order of truffle parm fries. The food came out relatively fast, which was nice because you could get back to the museums or exploring Balboba Park faster. The Chicken Banh Mi was grilled chicken breast with pickled onions and carrots cilantro and jalapeño on a toasted baguette served with a mixed green salad. (You can get fried instead but a salad sounded good) the chicken was moist and well flavored and went well with different things on the sandwich. The baguette held up nicely and was crunchy. It was a very filling sandwich but it didn't weigh you down at all. The salad was lightly tossed with balsamic dressing and went really well with the sandwich. The Adobo Chicken was well cooked and the veggies were perfectly done. The apples added a nice surprise touch. The truffle fries were hot cheesy and crispy. Very addicting little buggers. The seven year old devoured his grilled cheese and fruit so that was a win for us. Over all it was a great place to take a break from the museums and exploring. Its location is perfect and the added bonus of people watching was fun. Next time we come to the park and need food this will be top of the list. It's nice and casual and the service fast and friendly.

Balboa Park is absolutely beautiful and what a treat to get to enjoy a meal within the park with incredible views of the California Tower. Panama 66 is a special place. This outdoor eating area serves both food and drinking. The ordering set up can be a little confusing, but follow the people and the lines. I have enjoyed great food here including the caesar salad with salmon and the trufle fries! They also have great drinks. You can rent out Panama 66 to host your event. We looked into this as a possible wedding venue and if price wasn't an issue, this would've been a top contender! It's stunning. At the back of the dining area is a grassy field. You'll often see kids running around and the backdrop is incredible. Check the instagram as they often have live music.

Outdoor seating at this place with a great view of Balboa Park. We ordered at the counter some drinks and a burger. Got her food pretty quickly. The Park burger was pretty good. Fries were excellent. I definitely enjoy this outdoor restaurant since the food, drinks and view were excellent.

Love the patio seating & the location inside Balboa Park. We checked in and then ordered before finding a table. I had the Park Burger and it looked great, just tasted underwhelming. The fries I had were great! My husband had the fish taco special and he said it was good. I'd come back if at Balboa Park, but would try another dish.

I've been to Panama a number of times, great place to get a drink and usually the food is great. I had brussels sprouts last evening and they were flavorless. Hopefully whoever is doing their social media sees this and has a conversation with the chef. There are so many ways to cook delicious brussel sprouts these days, there shouldn't be any reason for them to be flavorless.

Besides the great park location and ambiance, the cocktails and lunches were equally excellent! Despite the counter service ordering, staff were very friendly and helpful. Daily special fish tacos were phenomenal.

Fun atmosphere with the sculpture garden and Balboa park as the background. The food was good, and the guys behind the bar were very attentive.

TL;DR - Drinks and ambiance, yes. Food, meh (with exceptions). Service, yes. Came in on a Wednesday evening. Not too busy. Got checked-in about 15 mins after we joined the line. Note: There are (2) lines, one for food, one for bar. But you can order your drinks in the food line. Self seatingDrinks:Paloma, Negroni. Both were pretty tasty. No complaints. The food:Chicken BanMi - Friend said 3.5/5Very bare bonesTofu BanMi - 3.7/5I appreciate that the bread was nice, if not, this would've been a dry @$& experience. Burger - Friend said 4.8/5He said the burger was done well, although I am not sure if this was his attempt to balance us outJerk Shrimp -4/5Shrimp was good. Yes, very 'wet' bowl. Presentation could've been a lot better. It felt like a soup honestly, and I don't know how I feel about that. Cookies - MehI tried the vanilla w/lime sugar - not a fan 2/5, it was less sweet, so I would be willing to bump that to 3/5 if that's your preference. Friend had the last chocolate one available - 4/5I would encourage a visit. The art garden and live music are a vibe.

Okay I walk through Balboa Park frequently but I really didn't know this spot existed and so glad I was introduced to it for lunch. I love that it is outside seating so when it is a nice day you can really enjoy it a bit more, they also had plenty of umbrellas so you weren't getting burned in the sun as easily. It is walk up service so you walk up and order and get a number to put at your table and the food came so fast. We all ordered something different and the menu actually had a wide variety of options, I panic ordered since I was running late to meet people but I have to come back soon to try out some of the other items. And my favorite part, they have a bar you can sit at as well and enjoy some drinks with your meal. I overall am so excited to turn this spot into a go to spot for me since it is pretty close! Can't wait to come back soon!