Tonique Campbell Bouji In London
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I have been wanting to try out Kurobuta for ages and I finally got to a few weeks back! Taking their inspiration from the Izakayas of Japan, Kurobuta serves Japanese inspired tapas-style dishes that are great accomplishments with your drinks. I was amazed by the interior of Kurobuta, as the inspirations from Japan this can also be seen through their choice of interior, with brights lights and beautiful paintings on the walls. To start my experience at Kurobuta, I definitely had to have a sparkling yuzu sake. I absolutely love yuzu sake! The tangy, lemon taste is the best way to start and end a Japanese meal, in my opinion. The only downside is that it does quickly become quite expensive. When ordering my starters, I was a little confused as the menu is quite jumbled up, I had to read eat menu section as the menu is not split into Japanese style i.e. sashimi, tempura, etc. The menu for me was quite a mix match and confusing. However, to start I finally chose the salmon gravadlax and avocado with dill mayo. Salmon is always my favourite choic e for fish, so I was bound to ensure that I tried a salmon maki roll. I also ordered the shrimp tempura dragon roll with unagi sauce and soba crunchies. I absolutely loved this starter as the maki rolls are so crunchy and moreish. This is a must-have dish to start with! I had finished my yuzu sake, I ordered an East Side, which is a Bombay sapphire gin-based cocktail with cucumber, mint and lime. This is cocktail is sweet but more so refreshing as the mint and cucumber are quite prominent in the taste. I could not go to a Japanese restaurant without ordering sashimi, so I went for the tuna, salmon and yellowtail sashimi platter. The platter is beautifully presented and the sashimi is fresh! From the Robato BBQ section of the menu, I also ordered the BBQ pork belly buns with peanut soy. This came in a set of two pieces and is an ideal dish for sharing between two individuals. The pork belly is dewy, full of flavour and melts as it hits the mouth. For my final drink, I ordered the Kurobuta smash, again this is a Bombay gin-based cocktail, with grapes, apple, mint and elderflower liqueur. I prefer this cocktail rather than my first cocktail as it is sweet and fruity with a sharp kick of alcohol. The combinations of ingredients in this cocktail, really impressed me as the Kurobuta smash is Japanese inspired and you can taste this with one sip of this cocktail.
Overall, I enjoyed eating at Kurobuta, I arrived around 7 pm, and the place started to fill up around 7:45pm/8pm, so these are buzzing times to go. I would advise going to Kurobuta with an old friend for a catch-up.
Price:££
(But the drinks do get a bit pricey, once they start to add up).
Ambience: Laid back, with friendly staff
What to wear: Casual
(I was going out after, so I was in heels, but Kurobuta is very casual
