Wow. We have been on a really good run of restaurants of late and Peppercorn @the civic is no exception. This joint is our new favourite Thai restaurant, although it’s really more Laotian. Our run of visits to good restaurants is partly due to some great apps on the market at the moment. We have used Pokitpal a number of times lately, no vouchers needed, just visit one of their venues use your registered mastercard and the discount amount will be credited to your account. This app is ideal for a business lunch situation.

Peppercorn restaurant is situated upstairs of the suave Civic hotel, close to World Square and Thai Town. We visited on a Friday night, the restaurant had a great atmosphere and was a hive of activity, with many groups enjoying a meal. The restaurant is described as Thai, however having recently visited Laos, we noted many of the dishes having Laotian influence, which is not too dissimilar given the Geographic location.

The menu has a number of Thai favourites and a heap of tasty Laotian dishes to add to the excitement. The meals all perfectly prepared. Seriously, you would be hard pressed finding a meal with more flavour anywhere in Sydney, the taste buds were in overdrive at this restaurant.

We ordered a couple of meals to share. The spicy crispy pork belly was a cracker of a dish, flavour exploding in our mouth and a good chilli kick with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and phrik khing curry paste. This dish is perfect for downing a few beers to quench the heat. The crispy rice salad was a standout, a mix of textures including the freshness from the mint leaves and lettuce cups, crunch from the crispy fried rice and peanuts the dish flavour enriched with crab meat, cured pork, curry paste, kaffir lime leaves, chilli, coriander and shallots.

We simply couldn’t visit this restaurant without ordering a curry. The red curry, crispy skin duck curry with crispy basil was spectacular. A rich, yet sweet curry with succulent duck. We bypassed a side of rice and went with Roti, this fluffy, crisp flat bread is always a winner when enjoyed with a curry.

A return visit is definitely on the cards, so many great menu items to conjure memories of our visits to Laos and Thailand. The service was super fast, the food ridiculously good and prices reasonable for the quality food on offer.

Peppercorn @ Civic

388 Pitt St, Sydney NSW

02 8080 7015