28 Mar 2014

KUROBUTA

London, UK

What started as relatively low-key pop up restaurant on Kings Road has quickly become one of London’s most sought-after dining destinations, with tables booked weeks in advance. Kurobuta is a gem of a place, rare in its breed in London’s food jungle, serving fresh quality Japanese fusion food in a cozy and comfortable setting. It’s indeed very fitting to its location; it screams Kensington and Chelsea, in that it is small, charming, charismatic and the people are just beautiful boasting the latest designer fashions as they walk through its small inconspicuous door. Kurobuta came to my attention by coincidence while walking on Kings Road and I stopped to chat to a friend I ran into, otherwise it's very easy to miss as its store front is very low key, which let's face it makes it even more endearing. I immediately booked a table. As I write this post I have been to Kurobuta twice already within a 2-week time period and the culinary highlights include the Tuna Sashimi Pizza that comes served with a truffle ponzu sauce. The flavours of this dish ignite fireworks in my mouth. Next up are the Wagyu beef sliders at £20 for two, which are bite-sized patties of pure delight and quality; the texture of the beef is unparalleled. The Maki Rolls are also phenomenal, their take on the spicy tuna roll is refreshing and equally delicious; on both dining occasions the spicy tuna was ordered twice! The beef fillet tataki and yellow tail sashimi were also excellent and spurred flurries of joy and delight; each bite drew a smile on my face. We also ordered spare ribs and pork hirata buns, neither of which were good. In an otherwise perfect meal, these pulled the impression down. Special mention must be made however to a snack that is so often taken for granted and overlooked in Japanese restaurants: Edamame. The edamame here is unmatched by any that I have had; it's flamed with Sake, lemon, butter and maldon salt. An innovative approach to such a simple dish, this is testament to the finesse and reinvention of many dishes prepared at Kurobuta. With many new restaurants always opening, Kurobuta jumps to being one of our London favourites, and we are just anxiously awaiting our next meal there and very much look forward to their main restaurant opening in summer. An interesting fact: none of the chefs are Japanese.  
   




































































































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