The izakaya good times keep rolling with another Bone Daddies opening in Central London. This one, Shackfuyu, is a pop-up in a failed pizzeria on Soho’s Old Compton Street. Is it worth a visit? Here’s a nuanced take on the Nippon inspired nosh I tried there last week.
Shackfuyu’s menu provides a delectably fun read but skews toward the expensive side of a casual dining. £2.50 each for the tasty but tiny yellowtail sashimi tostado with avocado shiso seemed especially egregiously priced. That said, if prices at most Zone 1 restaurants don’t make you wince these days, you should disregard completely such a critique. Also, if you’re apt to congregate often in Central London with a group of avid foodies keen to sample a range of treats over a few drinks, you probably wouldn’t find the Shackfuyu damage to be all that upsetting or unusually expensive.
Poor folk grumbling out of my system, the things I loved about my Shackfuyu visit were many. First off and as at Bone Daddies and Flesh & Buns, the mostly heavy metal soundtrack in the background was total ear candy for me. Walking into a restaurant right as Judas Priest’s Breakin’ the Law began to play made my meal seem chopstick-clenchingly epic. Yeah! Unlike other Bone Daddies joints though, the music was at a level low enough to actually be able to hold a coherent conversation. Cheers.
Booth seating was comfy. Service was swift and friendly.
As for the food, the USDA beef picanha with kimchee tare butter (200g, £12.50) came excessively recommended. It was good but not nearly as memorably delish as humbler and cheaper dishes like the ultra yummy beef hot stone rice with goma tare and chilli (£7.20) and the miso aubergine with bubu arare (£5.80). My meal ended well with French toast and green tea soft serve ice cream (£6).
Probably what I liked most about my visit was getting to try Koshihikari Echigo Beer (500ml bottle, £10.20) for the first time. Beer snobs who go nuts for mega ales might not see the point of this crisp and delicate rice beer (and yeah ten quid seems like a lot for beer, even 500ml of it), but I reckon it paired super well with Japanese flavours and certainly went down easy.
Shackfuyu is located at 14a Old Compton Street, W1D 4TJ. Find out more at bonedaddies.com/shackfuyu.
