FLESH & BUNS, COVENT GARDEN

I had a really good weekend - shopping, theatre and lots of eating!! Pascal and I went over to Covent Garden on Saturday and it is wonderfully Christmassy, sparkling lights and Christmas trees everywhere and even Santa in his sleigh with all the reindeer built out of Lego. We saw The Woman in Black which was just as scary as it was when I saw it 20 years ago (gosh I am getting old) and wonderfully acted…Pascal did amuse me as he thought we were seeing a musical…obviously never listens to a thing I say!!

We went for supper at 6.30pm and despite the early hour all the restaurants were heaving, thankfully we had made a reservation at Flesh and Buns as I had wanted to go there for ages. As we were shown to our table, Pascal's face dropped - they wanted to seat us at a HUGE central shared table - Pascal's idea of hell (I am not too keen either). We asked if we could sit elsewhere which they thankfully quickly arranged - knowing how much we normally eat, we would have annoyed the other diners by taking up too much room.

The menu is full of sushi staples such as maki rolls, sashimi, ceviche and so on and then they also serve "flesh and buns" - a meat or fish, sauce, lettuce all in a Bone Daddies bun. (Bone Daddies is their hugely successful sister restaurant, both created by the ex head chef of Zuma and Nobu).

Like always we could have ordered the whole menu but actually we were quite restrained (for us). We started with chips and dips of rice crackers, avocado shiso and tomato jalapeño.

This was absolutely delicious - a perfect way to start a meal, light but tantalising for the taste buds. We then had the tuna tataki jalapeño ponzu and garlic chips. 

I was slightly worried when it arrived that Pascal wouldn't like it as he doesn't like sauce but it was very fresh and full of flavour - a favourite of mine.

We then had the fried squid with Japanese pepper and lime.

These were good but had quite the kick to them. Surprisingly Pascal adored them but they were a little spicy for me - at least they increased my water intake!!

We then had the chicken yakitori which are Pascal's favourite - these were great, very tender chicken with a sweet and spicy, sticky sauce.

I could have ordered every maki roll on the menu but ended up just ordering the soft shell crab one with jalapeño mayo and chives, as I was trying not to overdo it. 

These were incredible and I resented sharing them!! 

For "mains" we had the flesh and buns - the crispy piglet belly with mustard miso and pickled apple and the crispy duck leg with sour plum soy and beetroot pickle.

The pork was the best I have ever tasted, so moreish - it was crispy yet also melted in your mouth. Unbelievably good. Unfortunately the duck didn't fare as well - it was a bit dry and tasteless - I would have much preferred to have more maki rolls or the tuna tataki again.

Unfortunately we were too full to order pudding which was a massive shame as the majority of people in the restaurant were toasting marshmallows over their own personal "fires" and it looked delicious, especially when they were then squeezed in between chocolate crackers - I think orgasmic is the only word…..

Anyway an AMAZING meal, I would really recommend this place, delicious food, efficient service, buzzy atmosphere and a great venue for groups. There is no reason not to go!!

Flesh and Buns

41 Earlham Street
London
WC2H 9LX
Tel: 020 7632 9500