They were queuing out of the door at Kibuka on the rain sodden night we scurried there huddled under our umbrellas. Yet, by some stroke of luck and being an odd party of three we were seated almost immediately, on the proviso that we were out of the door again in 90 minutes. Fair enough, the price you pay for queue jumping I suppose. 
So, like our feet in the puddles, we plunged straight into the menu and got cracking with a plate of kakiage vegetable tempura with a dipping sauce of the same name. Light and crispy yet rather cumbersome with all the vegetables lumped together before frying. Trying to dip those bad boys in the accompanying sauce using chopsticks was quite a feat.
‘Kakiage’ vegetable tempura
My companion recommended Kibuka as its fusion of Japanese food with international flavours allow her to indulge her love of sushi whilst avoiding one of her biggest food hells of fish. Hence the ‘Tori-Uramaki’ with fried chicken, lettuce, avocado and mayonnaise which surprised even this fusion cynic with its lightness and cleaness.
‘Tori-Uramaki’ with fried chicken
The dreary weather and my cold, waterlogged feet led me to something more comforting and I chose the plump Yaki-Udon noodles with vegetables and grilled duck breast, rich, saucy and unctuous that whisked me away from those numb toes, although on another occasion I’d like to sample the lighter options and a wider range of the sushi.
Duck breast ‘Yaki-Udon’
We asked for the bill and it appeared instantly, almost by magic. So they weren’t expecting us having dessert then. It was all a little rushed for my liking but we knew what we letting ourselves in for when we sat down so can hardly complain. However, lesson learnt to maybe give the Saturday night a miss when I next return so I can savour the experience and selection.
Kibuka, C/Verdi 64 and also at C/Goya 9, Gracia
