Piqu

Newtown’s King Street doesn’t exactly specialise in subtle – but Piqu is giving it a crack anyway. Blink and you might miss the teeny, unassuming dining room slotted into number 194 – but step inside, and you’ll be met with a creative, spice-loaded menu that feels like a trip overseas.

From chef-owners Jihwan Choi (ex-Momofuku Seiobo, Callao) and Nicola D’Angela (ex-Osteria di Russo & Russo, Callao), Piqu is a Southeast Asian-leaning diner built on serious technique and a shared passion for Thai flavours. The name riffs on “piquant” – sharp, spicy, intriguing – and that energy runs through the menu, from street-food style snacky starters to a punchy coffee-laced parfait to finish.

The menu kicks off with tasty street food-style snacks like fried chicken skin with pineapple nam prik ($9) and golden moneybags packed with seriously spicy prawn-based filling ($12 for three). In the kitchen, you’ll find mortar and pestles working overtime, pounding galangal, chilli, coriander root and garlic into punchy pastes that form the backbone of the menu. It’s a labour-intensive and hands-on approach, and it shows – there’s a real kick to the dishes that can be hard to find in a lot of Sydney’s mid-range Asian eateries.

Starters include perfectly fall-off-the-bone lamb ribs ($28) and raw tuna reimagined through a Thai laab lens – bright with orange nam jim, earthy with beetroot, and built for wrapping into crisp lettuce cups ($26). Then come the heavier hitters: hearty osso buco stew ($44) and fried spatchcock slicked in red curry ($38). If you order one thing, I’d recommend the whipped salted cod roe from the snacks section of the menu: laced with lemongrass and crowned with a halo of salty “fish floss” flakes, it’s a perfectly complex hit of umami to start the meal ($14). 

On the drinks list, expect playful, regionally inspired cocktails (“Peanut Coladas” and zingy Lemongrass Margaritas) and a relatively tight but considered wine list – curated by Alice Massaria of Wine Concept (The Gidley, Bistecca) – that leans towards sharper drops to pair well with the spice-forward food.

The space itself is understated but thoughtful. Sketches of chillies and limes dot the walls, and an irreverent Last Supper-style artwork (complete with a few Pulp Fiction cameos) adds a wink of personality.

It’s early days, but Piqu feels like a delightful addition to King Street – a low-key newcomer with high-impact flavour, right in the thick of Newtown’s chaos.

You can book over here.

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