If you are ever in the West End be it for a show or just to meet friends and looking for a fun place which serves Japanese food and has a buzz about it, then I highly recommend Flesh & Buns. Set in Oxford Circus with another venue in Covent Garden Flesh & Buns offers a great selection Japanese cuisine from ribs to bao buns to tantalise anyone’s taste.
What is the meaning behind the name Flesh & Buns though?
Well the flesh represents a variety of meats, seafoods and vegetables all of which have either been grilled, fried, roasted or smoked and served with their unique sauces and pickles.
The buns represents their fluffy steamed bao buns in which they serve as bao buns are popular within Southern Japan as well as Northern China and Taiwan.
I went along to check out Flesh & Buns on a press related basis to sample a selection of their Japanese delights as well as their bao buns.
Flesh & Buns
Flesh & Buns is from Daddies Group and can be found within Covent Garden and London’s West End.
Flesh & Buns is known for their Japanese cuisine and brings to London a lively, social place, offering drinks and a cross section of dishes designed for sharing with friends.
Their restaurant in Oxford Circus is their flagship restaurant which differs slightly to their one in Covent Garden.
The one based in Covent Garden focuses on food from Tokyo, whilst staying true to a Izakaya Japanese style pub experience.
Flesh & Buns in Oxford Circus offers a variety of additional unique dishes such as a Chilli-Miso Smoked Brisket which is created using a wood smoker and unique to the restaurant. Also serves up a range of Peruvian cuisine.
Flesh & Buns Japanese delight
Walking into Flesh & Buns me and my friend we was warmly greeted and taken to my seat for the evening. I was impressed by the size of the restaurant which can dine up to 170 people. It has a real Japanese feel to it, dark interior, but yet swanky, plush seating and has a wall lined with maneki-neko’s.
Looking over the menu there was a great selection of Japanese food to choose with a mix of sushi, seafood, meat and vegetarian dishes. We opted for a few small plates, bao selection and desserts.
Whilst waiting for the food I chose to have one of their famous cocktails Lucky Cat which came within a cat mug in the style of a maneki-neko. It was a mix of Vodka, reach, cranberry and topped with Prosecco. My friend opted for the F.A.B. Punch which came served within a fish mug. It was a mix of rum, cherry, passion fruit and pineapple. However before we both could start to sip on them the waitress added a few sparklers to our drinks which gave it that added fun element.
Starting with a few Small Plates we opted for the Korean Wings and Fried Squid.
The Korean Wings were a real fiery delight. The chicken was topped with sesame seeds and marinated in a fiery gochujang sauce making them a sticky delight. They were very tangy, sour, succulent and spicy.
The Fried Squid was a mix of baby squid and calamari served with a Japanese pepper and red chilli lime sauce. The baby squid were wonderful, mild in flavour but succulent and crisp. The calamari rings though even though coated in a nice breaded batter they were a little too rubbery for my liking. The sauce which was served with the fried squid though was lovely and had a real creaminess to it and a great hit of spice.
Now it was onto Flesh & Buns for a bao time. All dishes come with two steamed bao buns, but for me personally I think they should come with four as two was not enough for each dish.
The Bao Buns were a real delight as they were a perfect size and very fluffy. However we was only served four bao buns which was not enough for the selection of meat we opted to load into the baos.
For filling the baos we opted for Japanese Fried Chicken which were huge, maybe a little too big for the baos but wow they tasted great. Marinated in a buttermilk coating and served with a chilli BBQ mayo. They were succulent, packed with white chicken meat and crispy.
Also for the bao buns we ordered Beef Short Ribs. However we both were a little disappointed with them as we expected the meat to come on the rib which could be shredded off but the dish was slices of barbecued meat next to some bones. The meat was a little overpowering and too smoky in flavour. The chipotle miso BBQ sauce which came with it was nice, creamy, sour and tangy.
Before ending the night with a few desserts me and my friend we enjoyed a few more cocktails. I opted for the Espresso Martini as I just love Espresso Martinis and it did not disappoint, it had a great head of foam and a great hit of coffee. Check out their selection of drinks click here.
Plus if you love Pisco cocktails there is a Pisco button in the middle of each table within Flesh & Buns. However at present the buttons are not active due to Covid 19 restrictions. Generally though if you press the Pisco button a waiter will come over with a gold trolley displaying a variety of ingredients to make a Pisco.
Now onto the desserts, which to me is my favourite moment as I just love sweet desserts and they did not disappoint.
The Kinako Donuts were a sweet sugary delight. Coated with sugar and loaded with custard. Sweet, sugary, fluffy, and creamy.
The S’mores came with slabs of strawberry marshmallow, almond chocolate slab and Graham crackers. This was a super fun experience and yet very messy as well. Starting with the marshmallow I fired it over the mini fire which was bought over to our table, before layering with the chocolate slab and sandwiching it in between the Graham crackers. I got into such a mess with marshmallows all over my fingers but what fun it was and they tasted amazing. A truly sweet and sticky delight.
It was a great night at Flesh & Buns and ending with the S’more was the perfect end to a wonderful night, bringing fun, mess and laughter.
Apart from the small plates, bao bun dishes, and the desserts which Flesh & Buns serve they also have a great selection of Sushi, Poke Don, and Rice to choose from. Click here to check out their menu for their Oxford Circus restaurant. To view the Covent Garden menu click here.
Plus apart from their restaurants within the West End and Covent Garden you can also enjoy their bao buns at home via Restaurant Kits.
Read my blog on Flesh at Home by Flesh & Buns via clicking on link below.
Want to watch me get mucky?
If you want to have a laugh like my friend and see me get into a mucky mess whilst eating a S’more click on link below which will take you to my Instagram page.
Verdict
All in all Flesh & Buns is a lovely restaurant with a buzzing atmosphere and a fab selection of food and drink to choose from. I will certainly be visiting again.
So if you are looking for a restaurant with atmosphere and food which you can get hands on with then Flesh & Buns is the place to eat.
Flesh & Buns, Oxford Street – Book your visit
Flesh & Buns
32 Berners Street
London
W1T 3LR
Email: oxfordcircus@fleshandbuns.com
Telephone: 0203 019 3492
Opening times:
- Monday – Tuesday – 12:00 – 22:00
- Wednesday – Saturday – 12:00 – 23:00
- Sunday – 12:00 – 21:00
Thank you to Flesh & Buns for a great time. All views are my own honest opinion.
“I love going out discovering new and existing restaurants, theatres, immersive experiences and so much more but I also love staying in and discovering new gadgets, gaming and cooking.
