RQ Restaurant
Darlinghurst NSW, 2010
Phone: (02) 9360 8688
Website

We went to RQ Restaurant on a whim. Although we’d agreed to catch up for a beer at Surry Hill’s Dolphin Hotel after work, neither of us had a meal in mind. After a few beers we decided to walk towards Oxford Street with dinner in mind. We walked past Billy Kwongs, deciding that for a Tuesday night it was too busy. Although, we toyed with the idea of a few old favourites such as Thainesia and the Tandoori Tavern, but settled on RQ because of its menu which sounded absolutely terrific.

According to Matthew Evans in the Sydney Morning Herald, RQ is part of the “modern Asian food movement”, epitomised by restaurants such as Wockpool, Longrain and Billy Kwong, which is now evident in Sydney. Evans says The food is usually true to its roots. It’s not trying to do East murders West. Instead, it’s often food that has been cooked by the owner’s families for generations. In many ways, it is more authentic food but served with a Western aesthetic. Most of the new breed don’t drown everything in coconut cream. They’re lighter of hand, serving the kind of food you can eat every day. Vietnamese food is certainly making its mark. It’s yummy, fresh and fragrant.

The menu was an update from the previous time I’d been there. We started off with two terrific entrees: deep fried prawns which had taken on the texture of whitebait and a Thai style spicy beef salad with basil and shallots (although it wasn’t actually what we ordered).

For mains, we chose the most gorgeous barramundi fillet accompanied by beens and a braised pork dish accompanied by whole boiled eggs.

The wine we had – the Pierro LTC from Margaret River – was the perfect accompaniment. A blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the wine was characterised by authentic lime qualities which went very well with the food.

Although we have read some negative reviews of RQ on one website, in particular we were both really happy with the customer service, the food and the price.

James