Shackfuyu, Soho

Ive been dying to head to Shackfuyu after hearing so much about the latest venture from the guys behind Bone Daddies and Flesh and Buns. Finally I got my chance after a day of museum hopping with my favourite partner in crime, Tilly. 

After perusing the gross but fascinating specimens at the Hunterian Museum  (and almost fainting in the process) we wandered down through the sunny streets of London to Somerset House to get a peek at the Beard exhibition in its last few days.

A day of culture really makes one work up and appetite, and after a few seconds of running through the internal restaurant list I have in my head it was an easy decision to head to up to Soho and Shackfuyu.

Situated on the old site of the Made in Italy restaurant on Old Compton Road the vibrant green and red outside was hard to miss. We were so keen they weren't open for supper for another hour so we settled ourselves in the nearby Benefit Pop-up Curl's Best Friend for a sneaky glass of champagne. 

The advantage of the early supper was beating the rush and being able to sit down straight away. By 6.45pm the place already had a 45 min waiting list! However the food is speedy and the service snappy so I could imagine that the turn around is fairly quick! 

We started off with choosing the cocktails, which came in adorable Alice in Wonderland type bottles. 

Tilly opted for the BoneDaddies Punch and equally delicious mix of rum, fresh passionfruit and pineapple juice. 

Whilst I opted for I chose the Ringo Starr, a moreish mix of gin, apple and sake. We cheers'ed to our Tuesday and set about deciding what we wanted, which was everything.

The concept behind the pop-up is Japanese fusion using the old wood fired pizza oven from the sites Italian days.  

We finally whittled down what we wanted, I mean it wasn't that hard, the menu isn't gigantic and I think with 3 hungry people to 4 you could easily order the whole menu. It's all sharing dishes, perfect for being able to sample everything! 

The food appears as and when its ready, and first up were the Korean fried wings. Smothered in a sticky hot sauce, they were not a delicate affair but when are wings ever?

The miso and bubu arare marinated aubergine topped with seaweed was delicious. I honestly could have eaten a vat of these.

We ordered one of the specials, the miso cured duck, which came as thin slices of cold duck which surprised me but was delicious especially when eaten with the pickled kumquat. 

The star of the show arrived, the prawn toast. Everything Ive read about this place has beyond raved about this dish and no one has been lying. It was insanely good. Topped with dashi flakes and drizzled in sauces, that I forget the name of now. 

Heres another close up. After the first bite we already contemplating ordering a second round. This would have been highly greedy but totally worth it. 

The mac and cheese arrived and I have to say, that although this was nice and tasty I wish we had ordered something else as it fell flat against the other superior dishes. Topped with fish eggs and bacon and cock scratchings it was a melty pot of loveliness but like I say I wish we had chosen slightly better, I was lead by my obsession with mac and cheese. 

The final dish to the party was the beef picanha smothered in a kimchee tare butter and simply melted in your mouth. Once couple with the little pot of Japanese mayo that had been given to us, well I mean, we ate the entire meal in silence which is no mean feat for us. The only sound we made were mmmmm and ahhhh and nodding in agreement. 

We ordered the perfect amount of food and sat back at the empty dishes were cleared. We ordered another cocktail to sit and digest. 

Digesting meant only one thing, there was room for dessert and for once I was incredibly keen to order it. A huge slab of french toast with a big pile of soft serve green tea ice cream on the side. 

We nibbled our way slowly through it. It was excellent, the ice cream was a real winner for me. 

The pop-up is around for a year, and as it is still in its first month you have a while to get to it. I honestly cant wait to go back and it really deserves all the praise that its received so far. The dishes will be evolving as the year goes on so even more of a reason to go back again and again. 

One of the best meals I had in a long time and incredible value for money, all of the above plus 4 cocktails only came to about £40 each. Even if you get there and there is a massive queue I implore you to get on the waitlist and grab a seat at the downstairs bar for as long as in necessary because its so worth the wait!