Dolfy's on Freret Street is turning its wood-fire kitchen over to a family reunion on Nov. 17, bringing together chef Adolfo Garcia Jr., his father and a mentor who shaped his career in Panama for a single night of ceviche, fried oysters and fry bread. The one-night-only Panama Gold dinner is set for Nov. 17, with staggered reservations and an à la carte menu built around Panamanian culinary traditions filtered through Dolfy's signature wood fire.
According to myneworleans.com, the evening is described as “a deeply personal collaboration” pairing Garcia Jr. with his father, longtime New Orleans restaurateur Adolfo Garcia Sr., and his former mentor, Panamanian chef José Carles. As reported by Biz New Orleans, Garcia Sr. has operated a string of notable New Orleans establishments over the years, including RioMar, La Boca Steakhouse, High Hat Café and Ancora. Carles mentored Garcia Jr. while the younger chef worked in Panama in 2017, and the two will reunite for the collaboration at Dolfy's.
A Pop-Up Series Returns for One Night
Garcia Jr. created Panama Gold originally as a way to celebrate his culinary roots before he opened his own restaurants in New Orleans, per Biz New Orleans. The series had been a pop-up, and Garcia Jr. had told Viva NOLA that he planned to revive it through collaborative guest-chef events. This dinner marks that revival with a one-night event at the restaurant he now owns and leads.
“Panama Gold celebrates the culinary roots and traditions that shaped me as a chef,” Garcia Jr. said, according to Biz New Orleans. He added that reuniting with his father and Carles is “a full-circle moment,” and that he's excited to share their heritage and a taste of Panama with New Orleans.
What's on the Table
The à la carte menu highlights Panamanian cuisine through the lens of wood-fire cooking, Biz New Orleans reports. Listed dishes include Panamanian-style ceviche finished with ají chombo hot sauce alongside fried oysters, cobia cooked in banana leaves, sancocho made with a smoked seafood stock, and hojaldres, a traditional Panamanian fried bread that myneworleans.com also described as a popular Panamanian fry bread.
Reservations are staggered from 5 to 8:45 p.m. and are available through Resy, the outlet's report notes. Dolfy's sits at 4508 Freret St. in New Orleans, per nola.com.
José Carles' Cross-Border Résumé
Carles is partner and executive chef of Si! Mon in Venice, California, and founder of Panama City's Fonda Lo Que Hay, according to the same myneworleans.com account. Fonda Lo Que Hay has since ranked among the 50 Best Latin American restaurants, as noted by Irresistible Magazine. Carles teamed with Los Angeles restaurateurs Louie and Netty Ryan to open Si! Mon at the end of 2023, and before that, he opened the destination restaurant Donde José in 2014, the magazine reports.
Dolfy's Own Rising Profile
Dolfy's opened in March 2026, founded by Garcia Jr. and his partner Sophia Petrou Garcia, according to the restaurant's own site. It's the couple's second restaurant after Chi Chi's Chicken & Beer, which opened in 2024. The kitchen describes its food as Spanish-inspired and shaped by the Basque Country, built around fire-roasted meats, seafood and vegetables, and it has said its menu leans into the coastal and mountainous flavors of northern Spain rather than traditional paellas.
That approach blends traditional Spanish cooking techniques with Louisiana and Gulf Coast ingredients, specializing in wood-fired meats, seafood, vegetables and shareable small plates. The restaurant was named one of the New York Times' 50 Best Restaurants in America in September, a distinction that has helped raise its profile just months into the Panama Gold revival.
