Rey's Place, Darlinghurst - Sydney

I can’t help but feel proud when a Filipino restaurant opens in Sydney. I love the comfort that I get from Filipino food with every bite. I was so excited when I found out Rey’s Place opened in Darlo.

  

The place is owned by Jon Bayad and named after his dad, Reynaldo. Some of you may remember Jon from Osaka Trading Co. The man behind the delicious food is Chef Shaun Oligo. Rey’s Place takes a modern approach to beloved Filipino classics. It was all familiar flavours but done in a very innovative way. The restaurant has a ground and basement floor. The space has a moody “en casa” style interior that’s also reminiscent of classic Spanish tapas wine bar with some touches of Filipiniana.

The inihaw na pusit ($18) is a chargrilled smoky squid stuffed with delicious chorizo paella. It also comes with a refreshing sweet mango salad. This was amazing! It’s pretty much a tapas style Filipino dish that you can easily pair with a fruity rosé or Sauvignon blanc style wine.

Another tapas style dish is their sisig bao sliders($14)! Braised and chopped crispy pork belly with ginger, garlic, and onion dressed in smoky adobar sauce in a soft housemade bao bun.

The lechon ($22) is their take on slow roast suckling pig. It comes with sweet liver-based housemade sarsa (sauce) and soy calamansi dipping sauce (toyo mansi). This is probably one of the best lechon-style dishes I’ve had in Sydney with it’s crispy crackling and tasty tender meat.

The kare kare ($25) is not presented in a traditional way but the main components and flavours are very present. It had chunks of braised buttery and tender oxtail with thick flavoursome peanut annatto sauce, umami packed shrimp sauce, braised eggplants and greens.

For dessert, we tried their modern take on turon ($10). It is a sugar glazed fried banana in filo pastry with ube parfait, shards of toffee and jackfruit. The turon was crisped on the outside with sweet soft banana on the inside . The housemade ube parfait was smooth and tasty. It was a great way to end our dinner.

It’s about time that refined-style Filipino food is introduced in Sydney. There are no gimmicks here. Just quality dishes, excellent service and a good range of booze.

Rey’s Place
163 Crown Street
Darlinghurst NSW
Ph: 02 9631 5938

Hours:
Tues to Sat 12:00 to 11:00pm