Review: Flesh & Buns, Oxford Circus

Anyone familiar with shopping on London’s Oxford Street will know peace and quiet is a precious and rarely found commodity.

There’s a frenetic, boundless energy to this part of the city, where oversized high street outlets vie for attention from an increasingly youthful crowd.

There are though, pockets of escape. Such as Berners Street, not far from Tottenham Court Road Station. Turning onto this road from the noise and harried human traffic is like passing through a sound barrier. One minute you can barely hear yourself think, the next…ahh, calm.

It’s here that the famed Sanderson interiors brand built its lavish design-led hotel.

And a hop and a skip away is Flesh & Buns, which has a further outlet over at Seven Dials, and slots neatly into a family that includes Bone Daddies and Shackfuyu.

This place is all about izakaya. A term just starting to creep into the British consciousness, and most notably popularised by chef Tim Anderson, who loves to wax lyrical about his adoration of this kind of Japanese soul food, doled out in bars alongside cold beer and sake. He even wrote a book about it, Your Home Izakaya.

Flesh & Buns offers an affordable inroad to the izakaya way of eating, and has the look and feel inside of a modern Asian underground speakeasy. All moody, light-absorbing blues, hanging greenery and wooden screening. A classy-looking bar runs the length of the place, looking out to a series of curvaceous screened booths which, in turn, peer into the open kitchen.

Staff, as we found out, thankfully know the menu like the back of their hand, and are pros at helping customers navigate what looks like a tricky pathway to choice. There are small plates, big plates, skewers, platters of sushi. Where to begin? How many to pick?

As it turns out, three to four bits from the left-hand side of the menu, and a couple of big plates will suffice for two people…who, we can attest, will not be able to move afterwards, especially if pudding’s involved.

There’s a cool drinks menu. One lifted by bright infusions of jasmine tea syrup, lychee, colour-changing butterfly pea extract and the uber popular yuzu.

And you can earn your stripes learning about sake via an ice boxed flight, taking in a floral, apple and melon-scented sparkler, a still, malty peach flavoured variety, and one which coats the tongue in creamy, vanilla, almost Oreo-like notes.

As for the main menu? Japan is definitely out there. But it dips its toes into other cultures too, from Korea, to South America and even dabbling in a spot of Americana.

We started strong. With sweet tempura corn balls to be dunked in a citrussy ginger dip, charred scallop yaki coated in a Peruvian-style amarillo butter, all sweet and sharp, and Korean wings so unbelievably at once tender, crisp and fierce with fermented chilli heat, they defied words. You will need the house wet wipes for these. And lots of them!

Star of the show, though, was a recommended dish of seared tuna sashimi. Just simply exquisite. Flashed across the robata grill for smoky depth, the fish was silky, buttery and melted in the mouth. That buttery quality was perfectly matched by a pool of peppery, soy, sesame and truffle dressing, and pops of crisped rice. Kudos for adding slivers of black truffle shavings on top too.

At £55 for two to share, the barbecue platter was a sight to behold. An Asian ssmorgasbord of crunchy chicken, fatty, golden nuggets of duck, cured, savoury smoked pork, and soft pieces of smoked brisket and short rib, aged to the point the flesh was almost purple.

That’s not to mention the sticky rice, the huge array of pickles, and dipping sauces ranging from sweet soy-infused mayo, to plum, spicy-sour chipotle barbecue, and bright spiced honey. Oh and the buns. The buns! There’s only one word for them. Floofy. Popping these in your mouth is like getting into a freshly made bed. Absolute comfort.

Puddings in these types of joints don’t usually inspire, but Flesh & Buns hits the nail on the head, pulling out the stops to satisfy sweet-toothed Brits.

What can we say about the doorstop-sized French toast, cuddled by thick miso custard and finished with a spoon of Japanese whisky ice cream? Not a great deal other than ‘yum’.

Even this beauty, though, was usurped by the s’mores, which we’d describe as fun…if a bit scary. It’s not every day someone puts a hollowed out flaming rock on the table in front of you! Armed with skewers, homemade strawberry mallows, rectangles of dark chocolate flecked with almond nibs and snappy digestives, diners are encouraged to get stuck in, flaming the mallows until burnished and at the point of collapse, before smooshing them into the biscuits with chocolate. It’s a joyful, playful bit of restaurant theatre. Just try not to get it all over your face. And that’s a dare!

Flesh & Buns has a lot to offer. Good vibes, great food and drink, a touch of showmanship, the element of sharing, and most of all value.

Find out more at fleshandbuns.co.uk