Our search for Britain’s best sandwich has led us into some existential discussions.
What is a sandwich? Obviously fillings between two pieces of bread will qualify, but what about bagels, baguettes and Banh Mi?
If a pocket filled with delicious ingredients qualifies, then are pittas or wraps part of the sandwich canon? How about tacos? The possibilities are endless.
This conundrum struck us when JOE reader Scott Carey recommended the pork belly steamed buns from Kurobuta in London.
@tomvictor Lobster Roll from Smack Deli. Don't know if it counts but the BBQ Pork Belly Steamed Buns with Spicy Peanut Soy @KurobutaLondon
— Scott Carey (@scarey102) October 9, 2015
As we were trying to work out whether the buns qualified, we were given an offer we couldn’t refuse and headed to the restaurant in London’s Marble Arch to check out if they are worth all the fuss.
https://twitter.com/KurobutaLondon/status/652510670114701312
Kurobuta – Black Pig in Japanese – was dreamt up by former Nobu head chef Scott Hallsworth. Priding itself on ‘Rock and Roll dining’, it launched in Chelsea in 2013 with the Marble Arch venue following shortly after and a off-shoot ‘Kurochan’ arriving in Turkey in 2014.
Oh, and they’ll be opening up on the fifth floor of Harvey Nichols before the end of the year.
We met Hallsworth and his team to find out more about the concept, before tucking into the “big bunch of food” that our host ordered for us.
After trying some fantastic pork scratchings and sweet potato fries, as well as some wagyu sliders that are among the best I’ve ever tasted (but adding sliders and burgers to a sandwich contest opens up a whole can of worms), the main event arrived.
https://instagram.com/p/9CAfeAxTuM/?taken-by=visitlondonofficial
After one bite of Kurobuta’s creation you’ll forget all about the semantics of the word sandwich – in fact, you’ll forget about a lot of things.
The softness of the buns is surpassed only by the melt-in-the-mouth pork belly inside, with cucumber, onion and green chilli offering crunch and the spicy peanut soy a welcome change from the hoisin or sriracha you tend to see with other similar dishes.
I’ll be going back, not just for the pork buns but for the entire menu, and this is comfortably in contention for the title of Britain’s Best Sandwich.
£13 (for two) from Kurobuta, Marble Arch or Chelsea, London
Email us at Hello@JOE.co.uk with the subject line ‘Britain’s best sandwich’ to let us know your thoughts, and to suggest any other sandwiches you think we need to try.
