Invite – click here.

It hasn’t been long since the grand opening of Kibou a few months ago but I am already back!

During my last visit I was thoroughly impressed with what they have done with the place since it was a Pizza Express. At the time, we managed to have a few samples of their food but didn’t really get a chance to explore the menu properly, so I was very excited to get the opportunity to pop back and see what they can do.

As you may remember from my previous visit, Kibou is a very modern and stylish restaurant that manages to perfectly reflect Japanese culture (particularly traditional Japanese culture) in an expressive and artistic way. Your experience doesn’t start and end with the food like in a lot of other restaurants but from the moment you walk in the door. There truly is nothing in Cambridge quite like it. If you are looking for a unique restaurant in the city then this is it.

It’s a fun quirky place with lots to take in, with bold vivid colours and a great atmosphere. It is also very spacious and open, making it ideal for parties or large groups. We also noticed a lot of families with children that suggests that this is a very family friendly place and I can see why. Any child would enjoy it here as there is so much to look at, the food is great, and even a stunning tree in the centre of the main restaurant area.

The menu is quite large with a selection of sushi dishes on the back and the more traditional Japanese food on the front. There is a choice of cocktails, Japanese whisky and wine, as well as Kirin Ichiban beer on tap – one of my favourites!

Sushi

My wife is a huge lover of sushi, so we started off with a few plates. Within the sushi menu there is also a smaller signature menu with a few sushi dishes unique to Kibou. This might be something that hardcore sushi fans might want to explore (as I know there are many of you out there!).

We ordered the ‘ebi tempura futomaki’, ‘dragon rolls’, and the old faithful ‘salmon hosomaki’. These all came together, beautifully presented on a large plate.

The salmon hosomaki rolls are smaller than what I am used to at other sushi joints but they appear to have a higher salmon ratio. I presume this means that they use less rice giving it a stronger salmon presence. As you would expect, they came accompanied with wasabi and soy sauce.

Next was one of Kibou’s signature dishes mentioned above, the dragon rolls. These come in a portion of 8 and consist of spicy tuna prepared uramaki style (inside out) topped with kabayaki eel, avocado, and unagi sauce. I must admit, we were both big fans of these and we made very quick work of them. Delicious!

The ebi tempura is crispy prawn with avocado, mixed leaf, spicy mayo, in a tobiko roll topped with seared salmon. The mixed leaf really gave the ebi tempura a satisfying and refreshing crunch, with the roe offering not only a nice visual pop but a satisfying pop in my mouth too.

And lastly, we had the spicy tuna uramaki with cucumber. I have always thought that these are perfect for a sushi starter or newbie as they are fresh, mild in flavour, and have a spicy kick. I love how these melt in your mouth in one satisfying bite.

Mains

There is so much more to Kibou than just sushi, so we thought it would be a good idea to explore the other side of the menu. We started off by ordering a marinated duck bao bun in teri aki sauce. The bao buns are a type of steamed wheat flour dough that comes with finely sliced cabbage and beni shoga (red pickle ginger).

These come to £8.40 each, which comes across as a little steep but you are able to buy 3 for £21 saving you £3 and bringing each bao bun down to £7, which is much more like it.

The duck was absolutely delicious. It was rich and sticky, with the cabbage offering a nice crunch in the middle of a lovely soft bun. In terms of texture, this was perfect and delightfully unusual.

We also decided to try the ‘pork gyoza’ from their sharer menu. These lightly spiced pork dumplings come in a portion of 5 with a gyoza sauce that is traditionally half soy and half vinegar, occasionally with sesame.

These were fantastic and had a really bold taste. I particularly enjoyed the hint of spice and felt like having it on the sharing menu might be a bad idea because sharing something so good is just too hard! I recommend ordering a portion each! 🤣

The ‘katsu curry’ also caught my eye. This had an option of chicken, prawns, and two vegetarian options. One vegetarian option was broccoli, carrot, and beetroot and the other being pumpkin. I decided to go for the chicken which is served with steamed rice, Japanese pickles and their ‘sweet and savoury’ katsu sauce.

The presentation was excellent and I was quite taken by the chicken being presented on a leaf across the plate, though this did make it slightly more awkward to eat. The bread crumbs were nice and crispy and the katsu sauce was lovely. I would like to see slightly more sauce if I am honest but it was by no means dry. The pickles and green beans were a fine addition to the meal with the pickles particularly adding a fresh crunch and made the meal much more balanced.

Dessert

After a very filling and satisfying meal, we decided to share a dessert. There are 6 options to choose from ranging from ‘mochi ice cream’ to ‘hojicha creme brulee’ that all hovered between £6.50-8 each. We decided to pick the ‘apple gyoza’ which are mini apple and cinnamon dumplings with vanilla ice cream and a salted caramel sauce.

I am a big fan of proper vanilla ice cream and this was a fine example of what it can be. It was so flavorful and creamy and worked perfectly with the salted caramel poured over the dumplings. This was a real winner for me and one of the highlights of the experience. 👍

Both my wife and I had a blast at Kibou, as I knew we would. It’s such a vibrant and pleasant place to be with superb staff that were so friendly and attentive throughout. I would happily recommend this to anyone visiting the city, especially for larger groups.

I’ll be back! There is no doubt about that!

Thanks for reading!