London & South East

More than just flesh and buns

Flesh & Buns- 41 Earlham Street, Covent Garden

Situated at 41 Earlham Street, Covent Garden, Flesh and Buns is the latest restaurant from the team behind the ever popular Bone Daddies. Inspired by Japanese izakayas (an informal eatery) Flesh and Buns is the first London restaurant to specialise in hirata buns.

Flesh and Buns is the second London opening from chef proprietor Ross Shonhan and continues to showcase his love for Japanese food. The kitchen at Flesh and Buns is headed up by Joe McCafferty, formerly of the acclaimed Roka restaurant and runner-up in the National Chef of the Year Awards 2012.

Following the success of first site, Bone Daddies, Ross aims to spark fresh passion amongst Londoners for Japanese cuisine in a friendly and unstuffy environment. Commenting on Flesh and Buns, Ross Shonhan, said:

“I want to inject a bit of fun and humour into London’s Japanese restaurants and love seeing people kick back, relax and enjoy some great food and drink that’s not too serious.”

The menu at Flesh and Buns is divided into four sections; raw, small plates, flesh and buns and desserts. Raw includes a choice of sashimi and oysters, served with Japanese flavours, whilst small plates includes a selection of maki rolls and Japanese bar snacks such as chicken yakitori, prawn tempura with lemon ponzu; and fired squid karage with shansho salt. Guests can enjoy some innovative desserts such as kinako doughnuts with black sugar custard; smores; and crispy banana with yuzu mojito sorbet.

Designed by Fredereck Sage, the interior of the 140-cover restaurant embraces the building’s original features, with red and white painted brick walls and wooden recycled furniture. Additional features include an eclectic collection of graphic and photographic artwork which lines the walls, whilst a projector beams images to greet diners on entry.

Below street level, the restaurant features stripped-back interiors, long tables, stools and booths, providing the ideal setting for Flesh and Bun’s delicious menu. Meanwhile, the bar, which is situated at the back of the restaurant, serves signature cocktails such as frozen yuzu margaritas, home infused sakes as well as speciality beers, varied wines, Shochu and Japanese whiskeys.

Flesh and Buns opened in July 2013, following a five-week construction programme. Kass Kreative worked closely with Fredereck Sage on creating the perfect design for the single-level restaurant.

Discussing the design, Kass Kreative Director, Vic Kass, said:

“The concept behind Flesh and Buns is about sharing and presents Japanese street food. This is not a standard Japanese restaurant; it is instead very energetic, with loud music playing in the background and, with the exception of Bone Daddies, is completely different to anything else in London. The emphasis is on fun and the atmosphere is quite akin to a London street market.

“The interior reflects the concept perfectly and includes brick arches, cast iron columns and is enhanced by a great lighting scheme, a fantastic soundtrack and a bold colour scheme.”

The furniture at Flesh and Buns has an industrial feel to it, with a bar constructed using scaffold boards, exposed bulbs and cladding.

Vic commented:

“There is currently a trend within the hospitality sector for restaurants and bars to showcase simplified interiors, often with a warehouse-like feel. Whilst we always aim to keep sites on trend, it really wasn’t something we had to worry about with Flesh and Buns as this style of interior is suited to the concept.

“Flesh and Buns is quite unique and we are very excited about this new restaurant.”

For more information about Flesh and Buns, please visit: www.fleshandbuns.com.

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Roma Publications