Rich flavours and colourful setting make Birmingham-based Japanese restaurant a must-see

Japanese food is something that can take a while to get used to, but is worth the ride once you get there.

For those who don’t have a great knowledge of it, it can be easy to think that the cuisine from the Land of the Rising Sun consists of just raw fish, rice and a bit of seaweed.

However, open your eyes and you will encounter a rich tapestry of flavours, with fish dishes at the forefront through sushi, sashimi and tataki, but also rich chicken and beef dishes coated with rich sauces.

It can be a challenge to replicate those flavours in the west, but a lot of places have worked hard to capture those flavours and keep them as authentic as possible.

One chain which has done this very well in KIBOU, an award-winning Kitchen & Bar chain which, nearly a month ago, opened its seventh restaurant in Birmingham on Temple Row on the site of Riva Blu.

Sitting in the heart of the Colmore Business District and facing Cathedral Square, the restaurant sits in a prime location near offices and businesses, as well as sitting on the edge of the night-time scene near Temple Row.

I was invited to come down and take a look at the restaurant following its opening and, being a fan of several types of Japanese food, I thought it would be good to take a proper look and a proper taste of what was on offer.

It has an understated look on the outside, with a few signs displaying the name, but a walk through the doors reveals a bright and very colourful restaurant, with a long bar stretching around a curve into the restaurant.

KIBOU consists of a bar and lounge, open sushi kitchen, main restaurant, and private dining space and the menu spans classic and contemporary Japanese sharing plates, from chicken karaage, spiced pork gyoza and crisp tempura to sushi and sashimi, A5 Joshu wagyu beef, steaming ramen, katsu curry, and teriyaki.

I was led to my table, still taking in the bright surroundings, with bright panels and wooden frames above and below the bar, colourful seats consisting of booths and tables and decorations such as flowers draped from the ceiling.

The restaurant has the feeling of being intimate, with the private dining area having a sliding door, but also felt open, with plenty of space for people to walk around and not feel crowded while sitting down.

At my table, there were all the tools you would want to see at a Japanese restaurant, including chopsticks with the small stand, a bowl (which, honestly, I still can’t work out what it is for), a plate and a menu with all the goods within.

I chatted with the serving staff about what their favourites were and made a choice based on that selection. I loved sushi and ramen, so those were always going to be part of the meal, but never hurts to have some help.

From the Kibou Signature Sushi menu, I selected the Volcano Rolls, which was a 10 piece futomaki, salmon, avocado & tobiko, dipped in tempura batter, fried and drizzled with sriracha mayo, sweet chilli & unagi sauce.

In the Small Plate Sharers section, and based on the selections given to me, I picked the Chicken Karaage, which is traditional Japanese fried chicken with sriracha mayo, Dynamite Prawns, which were tempura battered and cooked with miso sweet chilli sauce, and Spicy Chicken Zangi, which was Hokkaido-style deep-fried chicken with a crispy coating & spicy seasoning.

As I’d never tried it before, I selected the Wagyu Tataki, which is made from A5 Joshu wagyu beef, then I looked at the sushi menu and asked for the negitoro Hosomaki, which is traditional wrapped sushi, bluefin tuna chutoro Uramaki, which is inside out sushi roll with bold flavour combinations and scallop Temaki.

Finally, I went for the Crispy Chicken Ramen, which is lightly battered fried chicken in the signature umami-rich chicken broth, slow-simmered for depth and aroma.

The food menu is fun to read and pick food from and is complemented well by the drinks menu, with high-end sake, whisky, gin and other spirits alongside Japanese beers, a range of cocktails and some very good alcohol-free cocktails.

While I was driving and picked a Pitchi Iced Tea, made from cold brew Jasmine tea and peach, one of the waiting staff also gave me, on the house, a small glass of the Hakushu 12 Year Old Single Malt as I had been admiring the whisky selection. Take it from me, it was a lovely touch and a really nice dram.

With the way the food is prepared and cooked, the restaurant doesn’t follow the convention of just bringing out starters and mains in order, but rather when the food is ready to be brought over.

This meant that the Hosomaki sushi came first, replete with ginger and wasabi, followed by both chicken dishes, the Dynamite Prawns, the Uramaki and Temaki, the Volcano Rolls and, finally, the Wagyu beef.

The sight was a wonderful one, with colourful sauces and garnishes over beautifully cooked food, with an aroma that filled me with endorphins and made me feel better and, above all, excited to dig into the food in front of me.

The sushi dishes were all excellent, with the fish well-seasoned and combining brilliantly with the sharp ginger and potent wasabi, as well as the tangy soy deployed to mix things up, and I more or less hoovered up the Hosomaki (being as they were small dishes) and the two excellent Temaki.

As soon as I bit into the wagyu beef, I suddenly realised what the hype was about as the pieces melted in my mouth like butter, full of texture and rich flavour and leaving me wanting more.

That also corresponded with my feelings about the two chicken dishes and Dynamite Prawns, with the Chicken Karaage crisp and mixing well with the sriracha mayo, the Chicken Zangi zinging with spice and sauce and the Dynamite Prawns, which were huge and packed a punch.

Finally, the Volcano Rolls managed to combine everything together into one big, tasty and packed meal, something that might actually have been ok on its own as a meal. Indeed, I ended up going home with quite a few leftovers from the dishes I ordered.

Then, finally, came an enormous bowl of Ramen, with the crisp and soft chicken expertly complemented by the firm Hakata noodles in a rich broth, topped with mirin & soy marinated egg, bamboo shoots, pak choi, naruto, spring onion, ginger, nori, sesame & crispy onion.

I have to admit that I took my time with this. It would have been enough on its own, such was the density of it, and it proved to be very rich, tangy and full of flavour and prime ingredients, with the end result being a piece of pak choi, a dribble of broth left over and me sitting back and waving the white flag.

This is without even describing the mocktail I ordered, which was a creamy, sharp and very tasty drink and went extremely well with the meal I enjoyed.

KIBOU has brough the flavours of the Orient to the UK and, in doing so, provided a rich tapestry of culture and flavour, all served in a warm and happy environment by friendly and attentive staff.

It was also very busy on the Tuesday lunchtime I went along, with families, friends and business lunches all coming and going in the time I was there, with youngsters trying out new flavours and their parents challenging themselves as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to KIBOU and would heartily recommend going there, even if just for the Wagyu.