Panacea

bar — Auckland CBD · Auckland

About Panacea

Panacea is an innovative cocktail kitchen located in Auckland CBD, created at the beginning of 2023. Breaking away from traditional bar setups, Panacea operates without a physical bar counter; instead, drinks are meticulously prepared and batched in small quantities ahead of evening service, echoing how a Michelin-starred chef approaches an intimate chef's table.

The kitchen takes culinary techniques, kitchen-grade infusions, and inventive flavor pairings and channels them into glassware. Alongside an extensive roster of low-alcohol, zero-alcohol, and spirit-forward drinks, guests can enjoy a focused selection of bar bites and snacks in an intimate, welcoming setting.

Panacea Auckland: The Cocktail Kitchen Reimagining Liquid Dining

Hidden away on Level 1 along O'Connell Street in the heart of Auckland CBD, Panacea introduces a bold reimagining of what a night out can look like. Established at the start of 2023, this distinctive venue proudly defines itself not as a traditional watering hole, but as a dedicated cocktail kitchen. The most striking element guests notice upon arrival is simple: there is no physical bar counter.

Instead of watching bartenders shake drinks behind a row of speed rails, Panacea operates on a kitchen service model. The team borrows directly from the philosophy of a Michelin-starred chef’s table, trading plates for glassware. Every drink is engineered, batched, and refined in limited quantities ahead of evening service, prioritizing consistency, depth, and creative balance.

The Philosophy of the Cocktail Kitchen

The driving force behind Panacea is a collaborative team featuring owner and head chef Dany Chai Keith, alongside Leon Sittisart, whiskey specialist Ryan Oliver, and liquid chemist PJ Renaud. Together, they channel culinary techniques into liquid form, drawing on fermentation, fat washing, clarification, and botanical infusions.

This culinary outlook extends across a vast, imaginative menu organized by drinking style rather than basic spirit categories. Guests can ease into their visit with Incipio starter serves like the Kiwi Onion Dip cocktail or a One Shot Martini before exploring broader flavor landscapes. Categories range from playful Highballs to bold, spirit-forward Boozy selections, rare Vintage pours featuring spirits from the 1980s, and an entire section devoted to Native New Zealand ingredients.

Culinary Cocktails and Grounded Comfort Food

The cocktail list showcases extraordinary creativity, especially within the Chef's Table and Experimental menus. Offerings like the Black Miso Cod bring together kombu distillate, sake, white miso, and dashi, while Cut My Life In 2 Pizzas experiments with bacon fat-washed rum, pineapple, tomato, and parmesan. Those wanting local nostalgia will find playful Kiwi twists in drinks such as Sip Me Baby One More Time, featuring Kakapo Gin, pineapple lumps, and hokey pokey.

To balance the liquid innovation, Panacea serves a thoughtful menu of savory comfort dishes. Guests can share plates of potato rostie with sriracha aioli, sweetcorn croquettes, truffle mac & cheese bites, crispy fried chicken with pickled onions, or a rotating board of New Zealand cheeses and sliced charcuterie.

Whether dropping by for a spontaneous after-work drink or settling in for a multi-course tasting journey across the menu, Panacea delivers an intimate and boundary-pushing hospitality experience in central Auckland.

Signature items

  • Black Miso Cod
  • Tim Tam Slam
  • Above the Earth
  • Sip Me Baby One More Time
  • Vintage Sazerac
  • Kiwi Onion Dip

Menu

Low

  • Island Gin Vermouth — Island Gin | blood orange & eucalyptus | rhubarb root | lemon
  • Port Charlotte Amaro — Port Charlotte 10 year old | cacao nib | clove | wormwood
  • Sherry Said Knock You Out — Manzanilla Sherry | cardamom | stone fruit | Sake
  • Straight Outta Compote — Manzana Verde | granola | pomegranate compote
  • Forgot About Cuvee — White Port | Champagne acid | lychee
  • Core Values — Coeur de Breuil Liqueur Calvados | de-alcoholised Montenegro
  • Don't Stop Be-Leafin — Sweet Vermouth blend | olive & bay leaf | tonic
  • Livin La Vida Mocha — Tia Maria | cola nut | coffee | walnut | chocolate bitters

Easy

  • Juice Wayne — Hendrick's Gin | bitter orange | fluffy pineapple
  • Busta Limes — Toasted coconut Plantation Rum | vanilla wine stock | graham cracker | citrus oil
  • Tim Tam Slam — Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel | tim Tam cream | triple chocolate
  • Jean Claude Pandan — Flor de Cana | soursop | brioche | pandan | lime
  • Marshmallow Miami Vice — Appletons Estate Rum | strawberry & coconut Cream Sherry | fluff | pineapple
  • Japanese Slipper — bee pollen Pisco | kumquat | Midori | calamansi
  • Don't Go Breakin My Tart — Disaronno Amaretto | croissant | kirsch | citrus stock
  • Gin Stefani — duck fat Papa Salt Gin | torched rosemary Cointreau | cranberry
  • Cereal Killer — Elijah Craig | Cocopops milk | cold brew

Food

  • Sweetcorn Croquettes — sweet chilli | spring onion
  • Potato Rostie — sriracha aioli | spring onion
  • Sausage Rolls — sundried tomato ketchup
  • Bread & Butter — our bread offerings change daily
  • Marinated Olives — green pitted Greek olives
  • Mac & Cheese Bites — truffle | pesto mayo | parmesan
  • Charcuterie — A rotation of sliced meats
  • Fried Chicken — pickled onions | srirarcha mayo
  • "Scooby Snacks" — honey and dijon soy chips
  • Cheese Board — A selection of New Zealand cheese
  • Croquetas de Jamon — honey | onion dip | prosciutto

Boozy

  • Chai Generation — Chantilly cream Metaxa | spent coffee | chai | charcoal
  • Panacea Old Fashion — Michter's Rye & Bourbon | jaggery | blended bitters
  • Panacea Negroni — Bulldog Gin | Campari | Duncans apertif #7 | strawberry gum & wattle
  • Next Episode — Scapegrace Gin | Manzanilla | second chance wine | citrus stock
  • Redrum — Appleton Estate Jamaican Rum | sweet banana | Guinness | chocolate
  • Rhubarbra Streisand — Monkey Shoulder Whisky | pear | sour rhubarb
  • The Real Slim Sipper — Jura 12 year old | Kamahi honey | passionfruit | Absinthe | rhubarb bitters
  • XO Gon' Give It To You — Remy XO | apricot | mandarin | peach stone Champagne acid

Native

  • Sip Me Baby One More Time — Kakapo Gin | pineapple lumps | hokey pokey
  • Tea Pain — Last Light Rum | Zealong oolong & jasmine tea | tamarind
  • Peach, I Said What I Said — Pokeno Origin Whisky | dried lychee | Hawkes Bay peach
  • Moloko — Reid & Reid bitter apertivo | tamarillo cordial | white apertif
  • Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Bee's — Waiheke altered carbon Whisky | honey | acidified chamomile | kanuka | carrot
  • Quince Charming — Rose Rabbit Quince | passionfruit | rooibos
  • Huckleberry & Fig — Elsewhen Applejack | Mr Mug Vermouth | pomegranate wild berry miso | fig
  • Catalyst — Sum-Yum Kumara Soju | blueberry | kumura | marmite saline
  • Denzel Lamington — Chi Chi Vodka | lamington | strawberry | coconut

Incipio

  • One Shot Martini — Gin | Vodka | Cocchi Americano
  • Bellini — Gin | Aperol | white peach
  • Modern Love — coffee | Cognac | tonka
  • Juan Jovi — Mezcal | ginger | calamansi
  • Only Friends — passionfruit | quince | Vodka
  • Kiwi Onion Dip — Vodka | onion dip | dry Vermouth
  • Lil Kimchi — kumara Soju | Sherry | kimchi
  • Big Dilly Style — Gin | dill pickle | Vermouth

Vintage

  • Vintage Sazerac — Michter's 10 year | c.1980 Remy VSOP | c.1980 Pernod
  • Vintage Vieux Carrie — Octomore Whisky | Muscat | smoke and creole bitters
  • Barrel Aged Mint Eastwood — Fernet | white chocolate | hojicha | creme de menthe
  • Such Great Heights — salted Cynar | Amir Picon | Michter's Rye | Saison black walnut
  • Bitter Called Saul — bees wax aged Campari | spent coffee bean Mi-To
  • Henny From The Block — Mexican corn Whisky | barrel aged cola | c.1980 Hennessy VSOP | cinnamon
  • Goji Bryant — Stonyridge Larose Unchartered Barrel Aged Gin | Byrrh | Genepi | goji
  • Cohiba Libra — Diplomatico single vintage Rum | fig & cigar bitters | honey | truffle
  • Little Italy — Pokeno Savanna Rum Cask | Amaro Ramazzotti | Vermouth

Highball

  • Banana Champagne — Jack Daniel's Bonded | Mount Gay Rum | chai spice | banana
  • Blink Juan 82 — Herradurra Tequila | lingonberry | calamansi | ginger beer
  • Apple Bottom Greens — Sake | green capsicum | green apple | yuzu distillate
  • Origin — Aperol | peach | blood orange
  • Fresh quince of Bel Air — Skyy Vodka | passionfruit | quince | rooibos tea | yuzu soda
  • Cause It Feels So Empty, Wasabi — Mezcal | wasabi | pink grapefruit | apple
  • Gin 'n' Juice — Marmalade Farmers Gin | clarified orange | methode traditionnelle
  • The Big Lebrewski — Dalmore 12 year old | Cacao nib beer | pretzel salt

Chef'S Table

  • Pulp Fiction — Busker Irish Whisky | dorris plum | burnt shallot & brie
  • Black Miso Cod — kombu distillate | Sake | white miso | dashi
  • One More Thai — lemongrass Vodka | roasted Thai spice | coconut
  • Kenan & Mezcal — Tortilla infused Sotol | avo pit | mole | Mezcal | olive oil
  • Mango Unchained — Flor de Cana Rum | lacto fermented mango | coconut kefir | sticky rice
  • No Bun Intended — yellow mustard Mezcal | clarified ketchup | chorizo citrus oil | hotdog saline
  • Cut My Life In 2 Pizzas — Planteray 3 star bacon fat Rum | Hawaiian pineapple | tomato | parmesan
  • It Wasn't Ghee — Remy Martin Cognac | butter chicken | ghee

Experimental

  • Above the Earth — Herradurra Tequila | lingonberry | calamansi | weaver ant
  • Mel Gibson — pickled onion Wild Turkey | red capsicum Sherry | Vermouth
  • Moon Waffle — Elijah Craig | brown butter | waffle | Werthers Original
  • R Jelly — Elijah Craig peanut butter Whiskey | jelly Vermouth | bitters
  • No Whey, Jose — goats cheese washed Mezcal | forest berry compote | lemon oil wine
  • Street Corn & Oil — Carmel Popcorn Michter's Bourbon | Corn Dust | Chilli and Cheese
  • Grilling Me softly — salt egg yolk Vodka | black pepper stock | kangaroo jerky
  • Artichoke Me Daddy — Cynar 100 | toasted macadamia peach bitters | pecan | lime

Zero-Alcohol

  • Matcha & Pineapple — fluffy pineapple | matcha
  • Elvis Parsley — fluffy pineapple | parsley
  • Livin On A Pear — king coconut | pear
  • Olive & Herb — thyme | citrus stock | olive
  • Coffee — maple | cola nut | cold brew
  • Apricot & Ginger — calamansi | ginger | apricot
  • Thai Tea — condensed milk | tea | vanilla

Frequently asked questions

Where is Panacea located?
Panacea is located on Level 1, 23 O'Connell Street, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010.
What are Panacea's opening hours?
Panacea is open Monday through Saturday from 4:00pm until late. It is closed on Sundays.
Do I need a reservation to visit Panacea?
Panacea takes bookings and also welcomes walk-ins. Private events and functions can also be booked subject to availability.
Why is there no physical bar at Panacea?
Panacea operates as a cocktail kitchen modeled after a chef's table. Drinks are prepared and batched in small quantities in advance, removing the need for a traditional front bar counter.
Does Panacea offer non-alcoholic drinks?
Yes, Panacea offers a dedicated Zero-alcohol menu section featuring handcrafted mocktails made with house-crafted infusions, teas, and fresh ingredients.
Is food served at Panacea?
Yes, Panacea offers a food menu including sweetcorn croquettes, potato rostie, sausage rolls, fried chicken, charcuterie, and New Zealand cheese boards.

Tips

  • {"body":"Begin your evening with a bite-sized starter cocktail from the Incipio menu, such as the One Shot Martini or the savory Kiwi Onion Dip drink.","title":"Start with an Incipio Serve"}
  • {"body":"If you enjoy culinary experiments, sample the Chef's Table creations like the Black Miso Cod or Cut My Life In 2 Pizzas, which translate full culinary recipes into a glass.","title":"Explore the Chef's Table Menu"}
  • {"body":"While table bookings are available, walk-in guests are welcomed, making it an easy central CBD stop starting from 4:00pm.","title":"Walk-ins and Bookings Welcome"}