Flesh and Buns

Flesh and Buns | Covent Garden’s Subterranean Izakaya

We now present a short list of London restaurants whose names could also be strip clubs:

1. Shoreditch Grind
2. Dickie Fitz (RIP)
3. Flesh and Buns

The last of which – not at all by coincidence, we suspect – is owned by the same people behind Bone Daddies. Duck off one of the cobbled alleyways of Seven Dials in Covent Garden and you’ll find yourself in a moody, low-lit izakaya-style bar and restaurant filled with the gregarious buzz of diners feasting on pillowy bao and ice-cold beers.

The menu at Flesh and Buns boasts a variety of Japanese finger foods and bar snacks (soft-shell crab, sushi rolls, fried squid, etc.), but the main event here – as you’d expect – is the bao buns. More accurately known as hirata buns in Japan, these soft and fluffy rice flour buns are filled with perky, courageous meats (crispy piglet belly, sirloin steak, salmon teriyaki, duck leg with sour plus sauce, etc.), pickles, and salads. And at Flesh and Buns, you’re very much encouraged to play with your food: the deconstructed ingredients all arrive at your table ready for a build-your-own banquet.

Chances are your choice of restaurant has already earned you the undying affections of your companion(s), but just when you thought Flesh and Buns had played all its trump cards, the dessert menu comes along. Yes, it has the time-honoured classics. Fondant, brulée, pannacotta – all with their own Japanese twist. But Flesh and Buns also manages to squeeze in some new classics; the Kinako donuts are filled with black sugar custard, and the S’mores – served with a terracotta pot of red hot coals – will have you gleefully reminiscing about the campfire parties you were never part of.

Of course, all of this gets washed down with a sizeable sake menu, Japanese beers, some house cider, and cocktails like the Frozen Yuzu Margarita. Just don’t have them all.

Lest you be stripped of your dignity.

NOTE: Flesh and Buns is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. You can book a table by calling them on 0207 632 9500, or simply heading right HERE. You might also like to know that they have a second restaurant in Fitzrovia, Flesh & Buns Oxford Circus…

Flesh and Buns Covent Garden | 41 Earlham St, WC2H 9LX

Like Japanese food? Check out our guide to the best sushi restaurants in London