For just over five years, Flesh & Buns has been serving up its edgy take on modern, Japanese-inspired dishes, boasting two restaurants in the capital. The brand is known for its feasting-style take on the cuisine which encourages guests to go maximalist when it comes to ordering and enjoying their food. You'll also likely recognise Flesh & Buns' anime branding, which helps curate an immersive feel, and nowhere more than the Oxford Circus branch.
Located just a short walk from Oxford Street, the restaurant isn't quite in the thick of it, while still benefiting from an extremely accessible location. Inside, the space has everything you'd expect from a chic Japanese restaurant with decor that uses natural materials and minimalist furniture, while heroing a glamorous, central bar. The Oxford Street restaurant serves up all of the much-loved, signature dishes, starting with small plates like Korean fried wings and scallop yaki with Amarillo butter and asparagus. When it comes to raw plates and sushi, we like the sound of salmon ceviche with red onions, avocado, bubu arare, red chilli and lime chilli dressing, as well as prawn tempura and the avocado miso with asparagus, carrot pickle and barley miso.
Now, it wouldn't quite be Flesh & Buns without some flesh in buns, would it? On the large plates section you'll find some dishes to really get stuck into, such as crispy duck leg with plum sauce, beetroot pickle and cucumber pickle, as well as miso grilled aubergine with sweet miso, sesame, carrot pickle and cucumber pickle.
If poke don is more your thing, strap yourself in because there's lots to choose from. For us, it would have to be the spicy pork with sesame ponzu, fried egg, nori, sesame, crispy noodles, avocado shiso and steamed rice. Oh, and we couldn't forget about dessert. Why not try the Nutella croissant TaiYaki with cherry soft serve ice cream, or how about the Kinako donuts with black sugar custard.