It was a pop-up over the labor day long weekend, so the menu was pretty different.
Dry aged duck was definitely my highlight, thought it was cooked really well. The crying tiger sauce was too funky for the duck (IMO), but otherwise a really great dish. Duck korokke was good too, loved the truffly bulldog sauce. Steak had good dry aged flavor, but was a little too cooked for my taste. Nice touch pickling the peppers before grilling them.
Concurring opinion that duck was a highlight. Enjoyed it best by itself. My other highlights were the mango dessert, the fish (but Iām biased towards fish these days), and the stone fruit salad (though I donāt know if this is all that different from other offerings around town and just speaks towards my enjoyment of a good peach salad). The steak was also cooked more than Iād like to see in a steak.
Pretty satisfying meal overall! Would be tempted to go to a pop up again but would have to see. I went back and it looks like his pop ups can sell out in under 20 minutes, which is not too surprising as he has a very strong social media following.
Budonoki is?
Iāve only had really fun meals here with dishes that punch above their weight class given the price there.
Iām not sure what itās rated, so hard to assess.
PSA: there is a mute button
Heās back, baby.
I believe heās been muted.
Your duck photos are perfection @PorkyBelly.
I see a lot of articles going around about Budonoki so reviving this thread with a review of my most recent visit. Overall, Iām adding this to my list and totally going back to try new dishes.
Overall the food was a delicious fusion of Thai and Japanese flavors. I think the best way to do Budonoki is to order one of everything with a large group of 4-6 people so each person gets a bite. We were a party of 2 and the amount of food was overwhelming. We wanted to try everything but we couldnāt do it 
Another tip, personally I thought its better for two people to either stick to all Thai or all Japanese dishes than to combine both but getting a mixture of the two could work for large groups.
The staff was very accommodating and super friendly. There was a longer wait than usual for our reservation so they compāed our first round of drinks. 
Hard to capture the whole front but the sign is up high and the menu posted outside.
They call them snacks but these are all the food items. Portions are meant to be shared.
The pressed sushi is āwhat theyāre known forā.
Naem - The server recommended this to start and it really hit the spot! Third favorite.
Joshikai - āGirlās night outā drink that comes with a cute mug. The drink was great but definitely on the sweeter side.
Wings - Great but not really worth it for a party of two. Only need a piece each.
Negima skewers - Pretty good!
Grilled pork jowel - Another great dish. Second favorite!
Aburi Salmon pressed sushi - I thought this was meh. Maybe if you come just to eat the pressed sushi then youāll enjoy it more. You can also come with a group and share it so its not overwhelming. I thought it was too heavy when combined with everything else we ordered for two people. It also didnāt fit very well with the Thai flavors of the other dishes.
Close up of the pressed sushi (looks great though!)
āBudo-gnocchiā - Named after the restaurant, this was my favorite dish. The texture and temperature of the rice cake felt perfect on a cold night. The cheese and truffle tasted so good! I wish I had this earlier in the dinner. It was so unique and you canāt really find this anywhere else so I would come here just to eat this dish!
Strawberry milk soft serve - a great ending!
Stars were out at Budonoki tonight, a restaurant Iāve really come to like. Jordan Okun was eating with Phil Rosenthal, and Daniel Levy came in without a resy so he had the worst seat in the house smh.
Love the Thai dishes here, specifically the naem and pork jowl. Prefer the build your own hand rolls to the pressed sushi. Adore the chefās salad.
Really fun food, in a way we perhaps donāt see a ton of anymore. Pretty affordable, though Iād pay an extra 20% to listen to some Phoebe Bridgers or Mazzy Star or Kendrick Lamar.
