Review: New KIBOU Lunch Menu

If you’ve followed us for a while, you will probably have seen we have made a few visits to Kibou since it opened. It really is a restaurant a lot of the team have visited on their own steam, not for reviewing purposes, which is testament to how good our experiences have been!

This review will focus on the fantastic new Teishoku lunch menu that is available Tuesday to Friday, 12 – 3:30pm, and costs £17.50.

Let’s start with the food selection.

At first glance, you could be fooled into thinking the options are limited, but you get all the appetisers and sides that are listed, which includes edamame, miso soup, rice and pickles. You then choose from one of the eight dishes taken from their larger menu. I went for one of their ‘signature dishes’ the KIBOU Volcano Roll.

Out first, comes the edamame and miso soup.

You get a choice of seasoning on your edamame, I went for the black salt, which complemented the warm, soft beans really well. The miso soup was light and flavourful with silky tofu pieces.

I was so glad I went for the volcano roll, which is quite a spectacular sight on the plate when it arrives.

I thought it was an amazing combination of textures and flavours. I really enjoyed the slight crunch of the tempura batter, with the rich sweetness of sauces and creaminess of the avocado. The pickles were crunchy and refreshing, and the Gomae Wakame (seaweed salad) was a great addition that brought some fresh sweetness to the experience. You also have the Tamagoyaki (a Japanese layered omelette) that comes as a side dish, which is something that I haven’t tried before.

Overall, I think this new lunch menu provides a great mix of value as well as quality food. It also provides a great introduction to Japanese cuisine if you haven’t tried it before or feel intimated by the larger menu.