Rey's Place, Surry Hills

It's a warm Friday date night for Matt and I and we are heading to Rey's Place in Surry Hills for dinner. Rey's Place is a modern Filipino tapas restaurant and Matt was very excited to check it out.

Rey's place is a cosy venue with a small bar at the back where all the cocktail magic begins. I'm really lucky as I've been invited by Zomato on this occasion and I'm really wanting a cocktail but we're on a budget limitation for this invitation and I'm also saving all my pennies for a House (Sydney House Prices ahhhhh) so I stick to water.

The bartender is doing wonders though and the cocktails look amazing. I look on with envy.

Rey's Place has a very simple menu and is tapas style so the intent is that you share the dishes. First off, Matt and I share the Sisig Bao Slider (2 for $14) which has braised pork belly with ginger, garlic and onion dressed with a smokey adobar aioli. The slider bread is soft and fluffy which encases the pork which is drenched in a slightly spicy and creamy sauce. Matt's looking pretty happy. It's very delicious.

The menu has a larger plates section and immediately Matt wants to order the Lechon ($25)  which is slow roast suckling pig with crispy skin, sarsa and chilli mansi dippings. That crispy skin is inviting me.  The lechon is perfectly cooked with really moist and flavoursome pork. The sauce and crispy skin all come together perfectly. This is a perfection dish. I only wish the portion was a little larger. This one might be hard to share due to the portion size but also, you won't want to share because it's so yummy.

For dessert, Matt and I share the Turon w Ube ($11) which is  sugar glazed banana roll with ube parfait (taro ice cream), jack fruit and calamansi syrup. That purple ice cream immediately gets my attention as I love taro flavours. It's sweet, rich and creamy. The banana rolls are like spring rolls with a sweet centre.

Summary: Overall I anticipate Rey's Place to be really successful due to the high quality of food. All the dishes were absolutely delicious and are must orders. That Lechon was my favourite for sure.

It's tapas style so expect to order a number of dishes to share as portion size is tapas style. I probably under ordered so would suggest you order 5-6 dishes for a couple.

I recommend booking due to the small location and popularity.

Price: $50ish per person

Location: 163 Crown St, Darlinghurst

Opening Hours: 
Closed Monday and Sunday
Tuesday 6pm to 11pm
Tuesday to Friday 12pm to 2pm, 6pm to 11pm,
Saturday 6pm to 11pm.

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of the venue or their representatives. All photos, opinions and words are my own.