What started life as a pop-up is now a restaurant proper, with the Shackfuyu format proving popular enough to warrant its own bricks and mortar site.
Just a five-minute walk from both Covent Garden and Tottenham Court Road stations, this private dining room is the perfect spot for bringing together groups of friends, family or work colleagues who live all over the city. While the front might be a casual, please-all restaurant, tucked away in the back is a snug private dining space which can cater for up to sixteen people – perfect for both lunch and dinner events. The in-house team are well versed in making sure you and your guests are carefully looked after and are on hand to chat through special requests or tailored meal formats.
While the menu is Japanese in its building blocks, the chefs here have fun with their versions of classic dishes, unafraid to play with flavours and techniques to create contemporary versions of much-loved menu items. Kick things off with small plates that include miso baby aubergines and spicy sour fried wings with a sesame sauce. Slightly larger sharing serves include crispy squid with a chilli and yuzu mayo as well as the now-famous prawn toast, which is tweaked to look like an okonomiyaki pancake.
Elsewhere there are other various menu sections to build your meal from – including fluffy filled bao buns, a raw bar serving sashimi and Japanese tacos, and a selection of classic sandos. The latter are filled with unusual ingredients like rabbit with a homemade tonkatsu dressing or Iberico pork with the house sauce and crisp lettuce.
When it comes to pudding there’s a short but sweet selection. Our advice? Make sure to leave room for the incredibly Insta-friendly French toast with its topping of pale green matcha tea-scented soft serve ice cream. This unusual pairing is oddly addictive and will make for a nice photo op for guests too.