PANAMA (GREEK) ★★★★

789 Rue Jean-Talon Ouest, Montreal, QC H3N 1S3 ( Multiple Locations)

514-276-5223

The Greek nationality seems to be very prominent in this part of town. So much so that on the park extension historical Society website they have pages about Greek immigration to Montreal in the 50s and 60s. It basically says that in the 19 century there was a huge rise in new immigrants. A chunk of the Greek population left Greece in the 1960s as well as the number of greek people in Montreal rose from 3000 to 15 times that in 1967. I was really excited to find a Greek restaurant in Park Ex so I could finally have a real taste of Greece.

MENU

Panamas menu is separated and organized very well. It starts off with cold and warm appetizers. Salads come next, you have a choice of two salads. A huge chunk of the entree menu is souvlaki and grilled dishes. They then have specialties such as grilled chicken, a half grilled chicken and finally they have grilled meats such as grilled pork, grilled veal, steak, etc. Finally, they have two types of fish on the menu and dessert.

APPETIZERS

FRIED EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI

I hadn't had fried eggplant in years so I was really excited to try it again. The eggplants batter was super flaky and buttery. Even kind of crunchy. They cut the eggplant very thin but still had enough thickness to have a little bit of a bite to it. I really liked the eggplant. The zucchini was the same thing, but tastes a bit stronger in flavor and was a lot softer. Overall I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would ​

SPANAKOPITA

Spanakopita has got to be one of my favorite Greek dishes of all time. Although I've never quite had it like this. Instead of being individual small wrapped pastries. This was one big one cut into pieces, this is the more traditional way of having it.

It was soft but had a flaky, slightly crunchier outside. Although it wasn't hard. The spinach was nice and wilted, which made it easier to eat. I also tasted mozzarella and I really enjoyed the texture and flavor it added.

MEAL ONE CHICKEN FILLET

The chicken was super well cooked on the barbeque and it was smoky because of that. It's really juicy and warm and tender and the meat just pulled apart. It didn't have too much seasoning although it was slightly peppery. I really enjoyed the chicken dish and would definitely be returning to try it again.

We got rice and potatoes with both of our dishes and I'm pretty sure it's served with all souvlaki and grilled meats.The rice was super soft and buttery and kind of reminded me of the same rice I had at the Mexican restaurant (Mexico). It had veggies in it, they were still soft but slightly crunchier than the rice, therefore, it added a nice variety of different textures to the rice. As for the potatoes, they were very soft and tangy, this is because there was lemon juice over top. The skin of the potatoes wasn't crunchy therefore it was really easy to eat without the skin getting stuck in your mouth. They still have a little bit of bite to them which gave the entire potato a cool texture. I really enjoyed these side dishes.

Finally, I got to enjoy the house salad which was a simple green salad that had a tangy citrusy dressing and carrots. All in all, it was very simple and tasted very good. It added a fresh aspect to the rest of the meal which I really appreciated.

MEAL TWO: PORK SOUVLAKI

The pork souvlaki was very delicious. It was barbecued and chard very well adding a crunchy outside while the meat still remains soft and tender. It was cooked very well and although it didn't have too much seasoning it went perfectly with the rest of the powerful flavors that Greek cuisine has. Often times you're supposed to eat souvlaki with tzatziki which I don't personally eat all that often so even by itself it tasted very good and I feel like if you would have it with the tzatziki it would be even better.

DESSERT LOUKOUMADES

Last but certainly not least we ordered a dessert. I am not particularly sure what it was called and it doesn't seem to be on the menu online. It was basically fried dough sort of like Mr. Puffs and it was very cinnamony and warm. It had honey flavors. It was kind of savory though as the dough didn't have too much sweetness in it such as a cake batter or cookies, it was more like a bread dough with desert seasonings on it. It had a hard, crunchy outside and very soft inside. I would definitely eat more of it if I could

OVERALL

Overall I really enjoyed this restaurant. Panama was the first Greek restaurant I had been to in a while and it made me try a bunch of things that I hadn't had in ages. I learnt to appreciate the Greek cuisine more than I had in the past and I definitely like Greek food more than I did before.