26 April 2014

Kurobuta

Japanese Pop Up Goes Permanent in Marble Arch 


After hearing rave reviews about Kurobuta's pop up in Chelsea, I thought it best that I visit Scott Hallsworth's new permanent establishment in Marble Arch. A few friends and I popped in on Easter Monday, a mere 5 days after the restaurant had opened. And it seemed, well, unfinished.

The restaurant's decor is very basic. I'm talking wooden tables and benches with some bar style high chairs in the corner too. There is some interesting detailing and lighting above the bar but this restaurant is all about the service and food.



The waiting staff were extremely pleasant and attentive and unsurprisingly, they are all from Australia. We started off with some cocktails as they had run out of Coke... *awkward silence*. Definitely an indication of a newbie in town! I went for the Saketini which was strong but sweet and one of my fellow diners opted for the Porn Star Martini with a shot of champagne.



As with most Japanese restaurants in London, the food is designed for sharing and each dish arrives as and when it is ready. We ordered snacks such as the sweet potato fries... "Japanese?!" I hear you ask. Well, at least they were accompanied by a spicy ponzu-esque sauce which was tangy and delicious. The sweet potato fries themselves were crunchy and the perfect start to the meal.


We also ordered the Flamed Edamame with Sake, Lemon, Butter and Maldon Salt and the Broad Bean Tempura. Unfortunately the Edamame had been overly seasoned with the Maldon Sea Salt which caused winky faces amongst all of us and the Broad Bean Tempura had an odd after taste.



The meal definitely improved throughout the evening and we opted for a variety of dishes.

The Tea Smoked Lamb with Spicy Korean Miso - too smoky for my liking but some interesting flavours nonetheless! It was definitely different to the famous lamb chops served up by Zuma and Roka.


Miso Grilled Baby Chicken with Spicy Lemon Garlic Sauce - tender and sweet.


Spicy Tuna Maki Rolled in Tempura Crunchies - soft, spicy and superb.


Soft Shell Crab Tempura Maki with Kimchee Mayo - once again soft, which sounds like an odd way to describe sushi, but it really was "melt in your mouth" kinda stuff. However, it was a little messy on the plate.


Baby Shrimp Tempura with Spicy Mayo - it didn't compare to its equivalent at Nobu, but that's a hard act to follow! Credit where it's due, it was still an excellent dish.


I was really looking forward to the Tuna Sashimi Pizza which has come over from the Chelsea pop up and has been blogged and reviewed galore. Although we ordered it, it never arrived and unfortunately I forgot all about it. Perhaps one too many cocktails by that point in the evening!

Whilst ordering I was informed that the restaurant was out of the Yellowtail Sashimi. Yellowtail Sashimi is my absolute favourite dish in a Japanese restaurant. A little disappointing, but I lived!

For dessert, our waitress recommended the Japanese carrot cake, but we were surprisingly(!) full and went for some lighter options; the Pistachio Cream dessert and another Pistachio concoction which involved mini Doughnuts and a Lime Jelly. So not that light really! And a tad heavy on the Pistachio. The desserts were beautifully presented but the Pistachio Cream dessert was so-so. I will be sure to trust the waitress's recommendation next time around.




There are definite teething problems but Kurobuta has a lot of potential. I am keen to visit the restaurant again in a few months time and I'm sure it will be really successful in the interim and beyond.

If you're looking for a chilled non-glam evening with genuinely good food - Kurobuta is the place to go.

Rating 3.5/5

Kurobuta on Urbanspoon

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