Freshly launched for less than four months, Bandar Sri Damansara's neighbourhood restaurant Reuben's is a delightful destination for creative culinary comforts.
From Pomelo Prawn Pai Tee to Balinese Glazed Wings, Crispy Rambutan Salad to Nasi Lemak Sliders, Fish Amok to Steak Nusantara, Reuben's menu is playful and imaginative, ensuring a fun, fuss-free meal with lively Southeast Asian-inspired flavours.
Founder Reuben Devanesan, a Bandar Sri Damansara resident, has nurtured a venue where everyone can feel at home, sharing beautifully plated pleasures of prime produce at fair prices, with many specialities priced below RM30. You'll find an Argentinian Devesa rib eye steak for under RM100, plus charming cocktails with tantalising twists.
The Reuben's experience is a memorable, mouth-watering medley of cultures. While the foundation is familiar, spanning pastas and pizzas to rice and noodles, every recipe showcases a sense of genre-defying adventure, such as grilled chicken chop with a mango Mexican twist - a testament to how Reuben previously worked at top Italian and Asian restaurants in KL as well as gourmet burger joints, hotels and steakhouses.
Fun fact: Reuben's desire to run a restaurant of his own name developed from childhood. On vacation in London with his family, he saw a local hangout named Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar, sparking his dream to someday have a place of his own. It was an emotional moment when he saw the signboard finally go up at his restaurant this year.
Reuben, who lives in Bandar Sri Damansara with his wife, had been searching for somewhere to open his place for nearly two years. He loves how this location in Ativo Plaza's latest wing is breezy with plenty of natural sunshine, including both alfresco and air-conditioned sections.
An open kitchen gives a glimpse into the action-packed kitchen, while the bar showcases Reuben's team mixing up a storm of colourful cocktails and mocktails.
If you're seeking a cheerful space for a get-together with loved ones, take your family and friends to Reuben's, which cares about keeping every customer satisfied from start to finish.
Start with snacks like Reuben's signature Pomelo Prawn Pai Tee (RM26), an inventive interpretation of the popular Peranakan classic.
At first peek, this resembles the Nyonya staple, but one bite reveals a burst of interesting, invigorating flavours.
The pretty pastry cups are packed with plump prawns, grilled in garlic lime butter for an aromatic zing, brightened with Indian-inflected tomato chutney, Japanese-style pickled daikon and carrots, and bits of juicy pomelo.
Everything comes together with an exuberant chew - the perfect pai tee for seafood enthusiasts, with the prawns promising a fuller body than dried shrimp, while the pickles and pomelo lend a tangy sweetness that's punchier than conventional jicama.
Reuben's is a pork-free restaurant, so the Balinese Glazed Wings (RM28) channel a chicken lover's take on Bali's iconic sticky pork ribs.
The kitchen makes its sauces from scratch, including the star of these wings.
The sauce is elaborate, taking over 12 hours to prepare, conveying notes of kicap manis, lemongrass, lime leaves, turmeric and nutmeg, for a thick, sweetly tangy consistency, coating every centimetre of the chicken wings.
A green side dip of cili padi balances the nectarous glaze with tongue-tingling heat, making these wings wonderfully addictive.
From pomelo to rambutan, Reuben's makes nice use of local fruits.
The Crispy Rambutan Salad (RM22) is a smash hit among salad devotees seeking a unique concoction - it's health-conscious and wholesomely tasty, loaded with luscious slices of silky-smooth rambutan, lightly fruity, showered with crunchy wonton skin for textural contrast and subtly citrusy lime leaf drizzle plus yoghurt sauce on the side. If you crave extra protein, add crispy chicken (RM14) or garlic prawns (RM19).
A balanced platter, it's a complete light meal on its own, nourishing and revitalising.
The Nasi Lemak Sliders (RM26) put a rice-bun twist on Malaysia's national dish.
This is a robust recipe with a base of compressed Japanese rice, santan-saturated with coconut cream, fabulously firm but creamy, layered with cucumber, grilled otak-otak and sambal mayo, lip-smacking to the last bite. Great for Malaysians of all generations!
Reuben's carves out its own special fish-with-crustacean otak-otak, flowing with the naturally rich flavour of sea bass and prawns in each fleshy, flaky mouthful.
The Fish Amok (RM36, served on banana leaf with japonica rice and pickles) borrows from Reuben's travels in Cambodia - he fell in love with the cherished Khmer classic, which single-handedly changed his former hesitation towards fish.
Reuben honours Cambodian tradition while putting a contemporary spin on his rendition, grilled to crisp up the barramundi's skin before it's blanketed in coconut cream sauce that speaks of lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, fish sauce and lime juice. Authentic Cambodian allure, remodelled for a modern Malaysian restaurant.
The Garlic Prawn Spaghettini (RM29) is for aglio olio fans who want more garlicky, buttery goodness in their favourite pasta.
The spaghettini, admirably al dente, is tossed in Reuben's house-blended garlic butter emulsion, potently pronounced, sweet with springy prawns, balsamic-glazed onions and gently seared cherry tomatoes that burst with ripe smokiness.
A recipe that a respected trattoria would be proud to cook up.
The Grilled Chicken with Mango Relish (RM30) is another of Reuben's bestsellers.
If you're tired of typical chicken chops, sink your teeth into this gorgeous grill, layered with a double dose of deliciousness - an uplifting herbaceous coriander pesto, nutty and cheesy with almonds and Parmesan, pierced through with tropical mango relish that lends a fruity vibrance to the salsa sensation of Mexican pico de gallo. A knockout combo of colourful condiments!
Beef buffs, bookmark Reuben's for the Steak Nusantara (RM98), a steak unlike any other in the Klang Valley.
The steak would be brilliant on its own, but Nusantara-inflected sauces on the side kick things up - a powerful kicap manis sauce and a spicy-sharp vinegar-based sauce of ginger, garlic and chillies. A far cry from bland brown sauces.
For dessert, tempt your sweet tooth with the Basque Cheesecake (RM20).
Reuben's infuses a one-of-a-kind Malaysian nangka touch by pairing the cake with house-made jackfruit coulis, featuring nangka flesh cooked with butter and cream into a vividly complex sauce.
The nangka coulis is a surprising companion that enhances the cake, which is impeccably baked with a precise caramelisation and melt-in-the-mouth centre.
Reuben's is also a full-fledged bar that's capable of equally enticing cocktails.
The Asamboi Rita (RM30) is a perky play on margaritas - Jose Cuervo tequila is infused for several days with asam boi, in a magical marriage of sweet, salty and sour, coupled with Cointreau, angostura bitters, lime juice and egg white. The result: An adult indulgence laced with the sour plum beverage memories of childhood nostalgia.
The Signature Negroni (RM32) pours fizzy flair into the Italian-origin standard - if you're a Negroni hunter, you'll want to try this take, synergising Roku gin with Campari and sparkling elderflower, buoyant with a floral summertime feel.
Shy Tan (RM28) is Reuben's exclusive cocktail, a genuine made-in-Malaysia marvel of Borneo-sourced tuak with Stoli vodka, well-tuned with rose rambutan infusion and lemon zest, for a fermented depth underlined with fruity-floral delicateness.
Fun fact: The cocktail's unusual name references the shy nature of rambutans, with their fruit hidden under the skin's hairy spines.
Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar
B-G-16, B-G-17 & B-G-18, Ativo Plaza Block B, Jalan PJU 9/1, Damansara Avenue, Bandar Sri Damansara, 52200 Kuala Lumpur.
Open Tuesday-Thursday, Sunday, 12pm-10:30pm; Friday-Saturday, 12pm-11:30pm;
Tel: 019-266-0270