Kurobuta is here to stay in Chelsea

A couple of weeks ago, I finally managed to pop into Kurobuta on the King’s Road …

The Marble Arch Kurobuta had just opened and I thought I’d better hurry to Chelsea’s pop-up before it disappeared. Except that it is no longer a pop-up but a newly permanent fixture in Chelsea, which is great news.

And by the sounds of it, there are exciting plans on refurbishing the space because as you can see (below) the exterior still looks like it belongs to another restaurant.

Though when you walk past and look in the window, there is a little Kurobuta clue …

Stepping inside, there is obviously still that pop-up feel which I loved.

There was plenty of character …

And personality …

And as for the food, the lunch we had was fantastic.

We started off with the flamed endamame beans with sake, which were lemon zesty and salty at the same time. Very delicious and something very different.

We also had soft shell crab tempura maki …

Jerusalem artichoke chopsticks with truffle ponzu dip. I’d never tasted artichokes like this. A delectable surprise and I’m not going to ruin the fun for you. You have to try them.

The beef tataki with onion ponzu was pure succulence …

And the grilled aubergine with sesame seeds was a true feast for aubergine fans, which I most certainly am.

As for the Yellowtail Sashimi with Kizami Wasabi Salsa and Yuzu-Soy, very fresh and as you can see meaty.

And finally, these gorgeous BBQ pork belly in steamed buns with spicy peanut soy, which is one of many reasons why you need to try this place. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted pork like this before: light, flavoursome, succulent – just a pure joy to taste.

The desserts were a good balance. The passion fruit mochi ice cream, was refreshing. (I love mochi ice cream, which is the main reason I’m always in the Japan Centre) …

… whilst the Japanese carrot cake was very delicious in a not too sweet way.

Whilst enjoying all these fantastic dishes, I sipped on a couple of cocktails …

… whilst the OH enjoyed probably the most refreshing beer you can get because it had a frozen head.

So what did I think? And did lunch live up to the buzz? Yes, most definitely. There is imagination on the menu and we both enjoyed each of the dishes. The cocktails had depth of flavour whilst the OH’s beer had an element of fun as well as a ‘why hasn’t this been done before?’ factor.

It’s not a surprise because of the talent behind Kurobuta: Scott Hallsworth, ex-head chef of Nobu. But what is fantastic is that this restaurant is planning on hanging around SW3. 

Kurobuta, 251 King’s Road, SW3 5EL