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London is a great city for dating. I can guarantee that no matter how hard you try, you will never be stuck for an idea, particularly when it comes to dining out.

Personally I always prefer a casual dining experience when it comes to dating as I find stuffy service awkward at the best of times and I would say the best areas in London for this are Soho and Covent Garden, the Kings of casual dining.

My newest date spot is Flesh & Buns, which I visited last week with my mum. Yes, I know that it technically wasn’t a date, but the thought about it being a great date venue was in the back of my mind throughout the meal.

Flesh & Buns is the second restaurant by the guys behind Bone Daddies in Soho and is situated just off Covent Garden’s busy Neal Street. The basement restaurant screams cool from the minute you set eyes and ears on it as the unmistakable logo protrudes off the side of the building and music blares out of the speakers on the walk down the stairs.

Once inside the restaurant diners can choose between a booth, a round table, or a seat on the long bench, which sprawls across the length of the room, all of which offer a view of the impressive open plan kitchen and bar areas at opposite ends of the restaurant.

The menu is split into sections – raw and snacks, small dishes , flesh & buns and sides. We wanted to try as much as possible so ordered asparagus, broccoli with yuzu kosho mayo, soft shell crab, flat iron steak and enough buns for two. I was tempted by the lobster tempura special, but at £35 a portion, I thought better as I preferred to have more dishes to try. The broccoli and sashimi were the stand out dishes, the sashimi some of the freshest I have ever had the pleasure of tasting. The flat iron steak was tasty, but ever so slightly chewy, which made it hard to eat once inside the bun. We weren’t complaining, though, it just meant our buns were better eaten deconstructed.

As well as a pretty amazing food offering, Flesh & Buns serves a good range of drinks, including Japanese beer, sake, cocktails and for the none drinkers out there, some pretty delicious non alcoholic juices, in particular the ginger and honey nectar.

The restaurant is slightly on the pricey side compared to sister restaurant Bone Daddies, but for a hot date, Flesh & Buns is the way to go. Just go easy on the sake!

Flesh & Buns
41 Earlham St
London
WC2H 9LX