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Flesh & Buns is a lovely, cosy izakaya-style basement spot restaurant that’s all about shoving delicious, snacky fillings into fluffy steamed buns.
Let’s start with dessert, because the speciality kiniko doughnuts were an absolute showstopper. They were filled with a strangely nutty black sugar custard, brushed lightly with sugar; crispy on the outside, soft and bready on the inside. Another sweet treat everyone was ordering was the DIY s’mores, which came to the table with its own personal campfire (for toasting marshmallows). Once you’d got over the gimmick, the dish was a bit sickly (if only the passion fruit marshmallow had been a bit smaller), but hey, it’s still fun.
More hits: the miso-grilled aubergine was a brilliant vegetarian option; sweet, sticky and perfectly packed into a bun. Spicy chicken yakitori sticks and raw salmon tostadas (fresh fish smothered in mayo on a crunchy tortilla chip, yum) were also great. Order the sirloin steak with caution. One half was beautifully smokey and grilled to perfection, the other a tad fatty. It’s worth filling up on buns so you don’t go overboard with the smaller, pricier raw fish dishes. But don’t skimp on the doughnuts. They were worth the trip alone.