Kowboy Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Sydney

What a delightful discovery through Google search, of this Pinoy restaurant in the Blacktown Area (along Blacktown Road). They have been in business for about a year now but it's our first time visit to check it out.

Even though the place is called 'Kowboy', there were no live horses roaming around. I guess because it's Kowboy with a K (not C)? lol But the overall atmosphere is so cozy and vibrant. There's a mini stage for scheduled performers (predominantly imported from the Philippines). However, the let down for those who are vertically challenged would be the use of their dining booths because the tables are quite high whilst the chairs are low. You can either bring some extra cushions to sit on, or sit on single chairs for the longer tables (for large groups). There's also a spacious VIP room for important functions.

With regards to the food, there are so many Filipino known dishes to choose from. Actually, there are a variety of food selections (not necessarily confined to traditional Filipino food only). For instance, Kowboy steaks, burgers, pizzas, hot chips etc. Their pork and isaw BBQs are so tasty and generously served in skewers. Interestingly, one of their starters is chicken bulaklak. So tempting to order it but we didn't have it. Other tables did order it. Apart from the fact, they smell great, the portion serving per plate is so generous. Same goes with Kowboy Crispy Pata and Pansit.

We ordered Kare-Kare because they are using Oxtail. I have no idea what Kare-kare bagnet looks and tastes like. According to staff, their highly sought dishes or all time favourites are sisig (served on a hot plate), lechon kawali, crispy dinuguan and tortang talong.

Apart from Kare-Kare, we ordered Palabok, pork BBQ ($5) & isaw ($5) on sticks, and of course halo-halo ($12) for deserts. We were so stuffed (halfway) and had to take home the rests. We have had Kare-kare elsewhere but can confirm, none of them can be compared to the one we had in Kowboy. Their kare-kare was served with generous oxtails and vegies (e.g. chokboy, string beans & egg plant). I did say 'generous' because one plate can practically feed 4-5 people.

With regards to Kowboy's version of Palabok, it had a great taste and served with a generous amount of lechon kawali and chicharon + 2 pcs of large prawns.

Now with their Halo-Halo, I have to say, it is definitely a winner considering the current whether. How Kowboy serve their Halo-Halo would remind you of the traditional Halo-Halo back home. The ingredients did not taste as if they came from the bottled fruits & root crops. Don't expect an ice cream on top but instead expect a generous amount of leche plan, purple yam and evaporated milk.

The workers are great. They are very friendly and so prompt with their servings and with the clearing of the tables. Nothing to fault really. No awkward moments during our whole dining experience.

Few weeks back, they had Sara Geronimo (not necessarily to perform but simply dined). Last week, Dennis Padilla was there and soon, we are returning to see a Filo stand-up comedian the star 'ATAK'. The lounge area was already fully booked so one of the booths on the second level is reserved for me and my companion.

On normal days (Mon-Thurs) Kowboy is open from 11am-2pm and then reopens again from 6pm. But heading to the weekends (Fri-Sun) Kowboy is open on longer hours (10am-9pm). It would be exciting to see their mini trading outside the restaurant from 6pm, as apparently they make 'puto bumbong' in time for the festive season of BER months. They also have tables to showcase a galore of native delicacies. Customers are also allowed to bring the food inside the restaurant to consume them.

Lastly, parking is not a hassle....

My family and I have eaten here quite a few times. We believe Kowboy is a hit or miss kind of restaurant, and that its better to dine here during peak times. Otherwise, you don’t get the same quality of food.

We went here last February, I remember the Kare-kare tasted sour. Meaning, its about to go off. I did tell the reception before leaving. That really turned us off. We never wanted to go back. But sometimes, we do crave filipino food. So we decided to come back yesterday around 6pm. We ordered Sinigang, Bbq, Bistek and Garlic Rice. In fairness, the Sinigang was really good and hot, as it should be. But, the rest of the food were really cold, just like how it was the other times we went here. The Bbq was quite hard, the Bistek was so dry it looked like Tapa, and it didn’t have much flavor in it. I asked the waitress nicely to re-heat the food. She did naman. But as she went back to the kitchen she kept yelling “malamig daw”/“they said its cold” a few times. When she came back to us with the food, she made a sarcastic backhanded comment saying “oh, nakakahiya naman sa asawa mo”. Its hard to translate it in english with the same tone, but its like saying “we did something embarrassing for your husband”. For context, I am a Filipina with a foreigner husband. So I find it rude that she said that cause obviously my husband couldn’t understand.

Service was really slow too as there was only one person doing the reception, taking orders, giving food to the uber drivers and drinks. She forgot about our drinks, so I had to remind her too after she re-heated our food. Mind you we only ordered 1 regular coke and water.

I’m not being a Karen for nothing. The food is not cheap, plus you don’t get the value of your money. I suggest you dine with them at a peak time or if they have events going on. Maybe then they can...

We dine in as family. The kare-kare and sisig were good. The tapa and the vinegar sauce that came with it is also good. But the sinangag was not that garlicky. We ordered pork bbq and isaw too. They are not too bad but it took them a while to serve and when they served it, it was not even hot or freshly grilled. We also ordered nuggets and chips for our kid and it says it comes with ice cream. We have to do multiple follow ups for the ice cream. We were finished with the dinner and still the ice cream has not been served. When I went to the receptionist to pay, they told me that they don't have any ice cream at all. I said that it comes with the meal. So, they asked me to go to the bar to ask for alternative. The lady at the bar offered apple or orange juice but before she served it, another lady was rushing holding a tub of ice cream. So the ice cream was served but it took ages. We dine there with our 1 yr old kid. We requested for a high chair when we called them for reservation. When we got there, we still have to ask for the high chair. Then they provided a wooden high chair that is dirty and dusty. When I was about to pay, I gave the table number and their order system does not reflect what we ordered. So I have to mention all the food we ordered to get our bill. One staff was even saying that we should pay as we order. But no one handed the docket to us. The band playing that night was good, they were entertaining. They just opened a week ago so there is still room for improvement with regards to service. They seemed to be overwhelmed when people starts to arrive and fill...