KIBOU Japanese Kitchen & Bar in Bristol, City of - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

The food here was fantastic. While we did have to chase one persons food as the rest of us had nearly finished before it came, it made up for the wait with how tasty it was.

The staff were lovely and the food was phenomenal. Lots of veggie options and reassured that they don’t use any nuts in the cooking. Hope to visit again soon!

The place was absolutely beautiful and had a lovely atmosphere. I would 100% recommend this place to anyone. The food was astounding I felt as if I had died and gone to heaven. If I had gone to heaven I would not even be mad because this food absolutely slayed. The flavours were amazing and this will go down in history as the best meal I have ever eaten. (Written by my 17 year old daughter but completely agree. Great service as well)

Food looks amazing but not completely there with the taste. The sushi is definitely great but the rice bowls arent. I had a duck leg rice bowl....the rice was hard and the rice was completely drenched in a VERY sweet and overpowering sauce which I feel like is not great. As an asian restaurant, you SHOULD know how to cook rice.... Cocktails were innovating and tasty though.

Stepping into KIBOU Japanese restaurant in Clifton is like stepping into a vivid daydream conjured by the most inspired of culinary minds. It is, quite simply, now firmly my favourite place in Bristol. The food is very, very good. No, scratch that. The food is so delectable it borders on divine. Start with the soft shell crab tempura. Imagine a crustacean cloaked in the lightest, crispiest batter, as if it’s been kissed by angels before landing on your plate. Then there are the duck bao buns. Oh, the bao buns! Soft, pillowy clouds encasing rich, succulent duck that melts in the mouth. The pumpkin croquettes deserve a standing ovation all on their own: golden, crispy exteriors giving way to sweet, creamy interiors that taste like autumn in a bite. The list goes on, each dish a revelation, each bite a marvel. The stock options like sashimi and sushi are perfect. Perfect. It almost feels redundant to mention them, so flawlessly do they execute these staples. Fresh, vibrant slices of fish that sing with the clean, unadulterated flavour of the sea. Rolls that balance texture and taste with a precision that borders on obsessive. Next, let’s talk about the venue. Beautiful. Creative. Cool. Friendly. It’s a space that doesn’t just invite you in; it wraps you in a warm, stylish embrace and makes you never want to leave. Perfectly located in trendy Clifton Village, KIBOU feels like the beating heart of this vibrant community. The décor is a masterclass in modern aesthetics with a touch of Japanese elegance. It’s the kind of place where every detail has been thought out, every corner has a story to tell. The clientele? Refreshingly elegant. In an age where casual has become the norm, people actually dress up to come here. It’s as if KIBOU casts a spell, making everyone want to rise to the occasion, to match the restaurant’s own sophisticated charm. This, especially in Bristol, is nothing short of a miracle. The cocktails are good and interesting, each one a delightful concoction that complements the food perfectly. The service is efficient, and let’s face it, a well-oiled machine. Staff glide about with a grace and competence that’s almost balletic. I’m struggling to find an issue. Really, I am. Ah, there it is: it’s hard to get a table. But perhaps that’s not a flaw so much as a testament to KIBOU’s brilliance. It’s a place so exceptional that everyone wants a piece of it. Love this place.

So good. Rare to find a place that looks lovely and has amazing food and service. Lovely meal, thank you Kibou. ✨🌟💫

Great place to eat, super accommodating didnt catch his name but the gentleman that speaks French is a super star and made the night even better

My daughter wanted to go here following her graduation ceremony. The food was incredible, and thus, an expensive nuance was added to my culinary desires....BUT ! Well worth it if you want to experience something unique and utterly delicious.....

We had a lovely meal at KOBOU. The food is great and the restaurant is very pleasant inside. The service charge is not so pleasant and wholly unjustifiable. We have a minimum wage in the UK and tipping culture is something we should not be promoting. If the management want their employees to have more rewards for their work then they should pay them more, rather than relying on their customers to subsidize them.

Great atmosphere and staff, attentive enoguh to gently encourage along ordering but not pushy. Definitely gets marks for presentation and choice of fancy ingredients. Well prepared and delicious. Thoroughly enjoyable but you certainly pay for the quality. Definitely would recommend!

Really delicious food and amazing staff. Definitely would listen to their recommendations as the cauliflower starter was devine. Will definitely come back to try out the rest of the menu

After visiting this place, I have no desire to come back again. First of all, the ratio of price and taste. Very simple dishes (I mean the ingredients too) with an overpriced price. Secondly, the percentage for service. As a standard, establishments charge 10% for service, here it's 12.5, and frankly, the service is not justified by such a percentage. The only thing that pleases me is the cleanliness and partly the interior, but £70 for dinner is not worth it.

Really good dining experience between me and two friends, we got a sushi platter to share and 5 or so small plates. They have good recommendations in terms of quantity to order for the size of your group. The fish roe was very fresh! Very nice decor inside as well giving it a great atmosphere

Lovely place did get quite busy so needed to make a reservation. Food was very fresh and tasty

First visit, food was really good.

Great! Clean upscale restaurant , friendly staff , tasty meal!

Great restaurant , lovely food. This is my first time visiting the restaurant and enjoying some high quality Japanese food. Very cool and relaxing environment. Clean toilets. Parking is always a challenge in the area. If you are in the Clifton area and in the place for some Japanese food then this restaurant is for you.

Sadly, it was more of a negative experience for me. I love ramen and had many ramens in many places, but I don't remember having one as oily as this. The tofu was delicious, but also on the oly side. Big piece of bak choi, hard to eat and very oily. The combination was an oil overload. The only truly enjoyable piece was the egg. The restaurant is beautiful but there are 3 tables in a dark gloomy corridor with no view or anything. Half a meter away from us, there was a projector showing a giant windows error. The rest of the restaurant was very spacious, cosy, and classy. These 2 tables have no place being where they were. A tall bar with tall chairs facing the rest of the place would have looked and felt much better, so you get a view. If you are placed on the bad tables, ask to be moved, and you can get a much better deal. Staff was super polite and nice, lovely people. But both food and drinks took ages. My meal took nearly an hour. It is worth saying that my partner enjoyed the food more than me and got it faster too. Also we both had vegetarian meals, maybe the meat ones are better. But I would give 4/10 to the overall experience. On the bright side the prices were decent for a classy place like that, unless you are sat at the bad tables.

Lovely place. Afternoon tea was small but very tasty. Food from the main menu was awesome. Nice atmosphere too

Came for my birthday meal and had a wonderful evening. My partner had chashu ramen and said it was amazing

We had such a lovely evening! The food was delicious & our waitress Erika made our visit very special! Highly recommend!!

The staff are nice and friendly. I wanted my ramen really spicy and the lady made it perfect! Love the crispy karaage ! Ramen (8/10) Karaage (9/10)

Love this place, some great vegan options especially katsu curry and a beautiful location

The food was really good especially for vegans - there was a bit of a wait, but it was a bank holiday weekend.....

Great menu with plenty of choice. We went for lunch and really enjoyed our poke bowls. The staff were very helpful and friendly.

Shocking! Sat at a table for 30 minutes without being acknowledged. There were at least 6 staff members walking around the venue and it wasn't even that busy. We left and saved ourselves some money as the cocktails weren't cheap. Avoid at all cost!

We booked online for an afternoon tea. Very cool to have a Japanese version of this experience actually! Booking process was easy, place looks very good. The sushi was delicious, sweet cakes good as well, but maybe a bit hard to associate ice cream or strawberry compote with Japanese tea. Quality of tea was ok. The service was not too good. The tea was served without any information about it or brewing process / duration. There was overall no info on the menu to be served and what's going to happen. The English waitress that brought the food made a nice presentation. Nobody asked the if we are ok, nobody came to take the savoury dishes as we moved to desert or even after finishing. Discretionary service charge of 12.5% definetely not worth it - one of the reasons for removing 2 stars instead of just 1 for disappointing service.

Lovely food as always, great ambience and would highly recommend

1st visit and will be returning. Fresh dishes and well priced. Great decor.

Venue looks great, staff are good. But the food just isn’t what you would hope. Average at best. I’ve been here maybe 5 times to ensure my overall experience was consistent. I travel a lot for work across the UK and eat in many restaurants. It’s below average honestly, which is a shame.

Great food, with lots of choices - really good for small plate sharing. Excellent cocktails, friendly and efficient service

Amazing place and location and delicious food and the service by the waitress (Lucy) and (Amy) was so friendly and positive and a nice smile Definitely a place to come again ⭐️

Amazing food! All was good but will have to return here soon because the food was so great

Amazing dinner with friends and welcomed in the most friendly and amazing way possible from Lucy :) She was so amazing and explained to us everything with details and we wanted to be her friends because she was very polite and smiled at us 💙 Thank you i will come here again. The food was so delicious.

Went for lunch on Easter Sunday. Utterly sublime. Second time we’ve been here - first time was for my partner’s birthday. Service is consistently impeccable. Thank you!

My husband had food poisoning after the volcano rolls. After he went to bathroom a few times, we submitted complaint through the website & made a call to the restaurant to remind them of potentially not fresh food ingredients. The food was tasty, but we're travelling in a few days and hopefully he can recover by then...

Good food and great customer service

A pleasant meal, nice time, good atmosphere but not the food experience we were expecting from a fresh, quality ingredients perspective, below par, we all came away bloated, feeling dehydrated and thirsty (a bit like the effect takeaway food can impact you) more attention needs to be paid to food quality for a true japanese food experience.

Amazing food and variety of options. Will definitely be visiting again

Excellent service by Taurus and the team.

Amazing food they just struggle with getting to you all the time

The Wagyu Sushi and other seafood sushi are good, but unfortunately, the beef TATAKI is too salty in the meanwhile the Chashu Udon is too sweet. And the services of the waiters are too slow, we were waiting for 15 minutes to check the bill, and what made me shocked was, it still took us more than 10% service fee. It was not a good experience for this meal.

3.5* Price index for me was a bit high, so expected a bit more in terms of quality. I remember enjoying the food at the time, but less than a week later, I couldn't remember what I had (didn't leave an impression). After looking at photos and my receipt, I remembered what I had, honestly, I've had individual pieces of each dish and enjoyed them more elsewhere in Bristol (other than the Saba aburi, which I've not had elsewhere in Bristol yet). So what I would say is, you SHOULD enjoy the food, the place looks really nice and it's a comfortable place to eat at in general (not sure about that big table upstairs by the toilet). About the toilet, the females was apparently not very nice, but the men's were very clean (see photos) Apologies, I only got one menu page here. To summarise: If the prices are fine for your budget (see menu), eat here, you shouldn't be disappointed!

SUPER Friendly staff, I came here on my first night to Bristol and was greeted by Lusi, she was beyond welcoming and sweet, gave my table amazing food recommendation. Overall very happy with her service

Very nice Japanese food. A bit on the pricey side but you get what you pay for. The restaurant has a nice, refined atmosphere (although I found the pictures they project on the wall a bit odd).

The decor and the atmosphere are great, I feel like I'm sat in a high end London sushi bar when I step into this place!

Very nice restaurant and staff, really well decorated, good selection of drinks. It was my girlfriends birthday and they brought us free delicious chocolate cake with candles.

This restaurant is really wonderful, a 10/10 for me. The staff were friendly and efficient. The atmosphere was lovely - really enjoyed the music to the point where I felt like they were playing my Spotify playlist 😄 It was at a nice volume where we could still enjoy our conversation. We sat upstairs and enjoyed the projected koi fish on the walls. We had the duck bao bun, and pork belly ramen. They were both the best we've ever had! The pork belly broth was amazing. The bao buns and beer is slightly pricey but probably reflects the location, etc. I'm looking forward to coming back here and trying other dishes.

Delicious vegan sushi & ramen, nice atmosphere, never been disappointed 😊

Love the place and food, can never get a servers attention or see one around to flag down

The ramen soup is not delicious. Ramen is not ramen. Serving time is very slow.😓

A weekend in Bristol always includes a trip to Clifton. By chance, and recommended, we learnt of Kibou. We immediately booked and within the hour were being welcomed inside. It looks so impressive externally, and unsurprisingly, the decor within is beautiful and so well appointed. It was quiet initially, but as our visit and meal progressed, we realised that despite it being a weekday, the restaurant was soon full with a lovely atmosphere and great music in the background. The service was exemplary, and despite being unable to see the menu without a mobile light on, we managed to order our food !! Good starters, but the selection of mains personally for me was limited and disappointing. Loved the ambience. Loved it all....but I thought it was overpriced, and the food and variety were no better than Wagamama. We will be back, though!!

This was a fantastic dining experience, everything was excellent and definitely well worth a visit... It's 5 thumbs up from me 👍👍👍👍👍

Lovely place perfect for dates! Really pretty decor and atmosphere. Food was pretty good and close to authentic. Cocktails were commendable.

Fantastic modern Japanese restaurant!

Food is amazing especially the Wagyu beef roll. The restaurant has a beautiful decoration and great service. It takes only few moment to serve all orders. Will definitely come back,

First time visit, great food selection, excellent service, and catered very well to both adults and 3 kids. Impressive

One of the most successful Japanese restaurants in the UK, the service and attention are excellent. In this magnificent city, Bristol is also a must-try place. Price performance ratio is very successful Japanese larger beer is perfect

Amazing vegan options and good service too!

I adored this place. We went for a birthday meal and it was made so special due to how lush everything was.The food was so good and so were the drinks. I forgot to take a picture, but the salmon donburi was insanely good.

Japanese restaurant with David and his wife

Fantastic food and friendly service

One of the best Japanese restaurants in the UK. The sushi platter was incredible, and loved the takoyaki. Atmosphere was very nice as well!

Amazing sushi !! Came for my birthday and it was gorgeous. Had the sharing platter and although it’s not cheap the platter is really good value for money! Plus lovely cocktails.

Great place for some great food!

Eh, it's not bad... It just feels a bit too dressed-up and not particularly authentic. Worth giving it a go but I much prefer Fujiyama down the road.

High-end restaurant installation Service level is good but Food quality is not suitable for Asian tastes And the price is expensive.

Would highly recommend the futomaki, it was so good we ordered it twice!

I come here all the time, absolutely adore this place. The food is delicious and the decor/atmosphere is so lovely and stylish. The staff take care of you and always make your evening really special.

This restaurant is surprisingly good. The food is delicious, the house sake is very good. Highly recommended!!!

Waking through the picture perfect entrance into a beautifully decorated interior, we were greeted by a friendly hostess and taken to our table. It was fully booked and there was a lovely atmosphere. The food was perfect from the start-drinks, starter, side, main and dessert! They even put a sparkler on my dessert for my birthday. We’ll be returning very soon without doubt.

Very very nice. Delicious sushi and very good takoyaki. An impressive selection of drinks. Beautiful space.

Lovely food and on a sunny October Sunday a beautiful sun trap outside!

Best Ramen outside of Japan! :)

I believe it's the best sushi place on Bristol. The restaurant is elegant and the food great. Staff is caring and professional.

Loved this place. It was recommended by a friend and it did not disappoint. Brilliant Vegan options

Another fabulous evening at this super Japanese restaurant. Love the food, cocktails, atmosphere & service. Only problem is what to choose on their extensive menu. Book well ahead to guarantee a table.

Absolutely amazing atmosphere, excellent food, perfect for a special occasion

I will only talk about the vegan menu, which I had. The California sushi and the Yasay volcano roll , were nice and fresh. What really made me rate it with 3 stars was the vegan Yasay ramen noodles which was tasteless. The broth was bland, didn't have any volume or even enough salt. The whole dish needs extra care and elements which will make it all nice and delicious, for example mushrooms pan fried with soy sauce or something else. The tofu on the top was the worst part as it was just plain tofu with a slightly pan fried( I guess) crust which wasn't even crispy enough, but even if it was crispy, it was a plain big piece of tofu. Tofu itself, is tasteless so it needs flavour. Soy sauce, agave, liquid smoke, miso, anything to add some flavour. The garlic edamame beans were very nice. Staff were nice and friendly.

Had a fantastic meal here - really friendly service, great tempura prawns, sashimi, the whole thing - set menu 2 - will definitely visit again :)

Nice food but not the best in class, but this is compensated with fare prices, so all good. Service was a bit bumpy and they accidently forgot to serve one dish for us... But the service charge was already in a bill and 12,5% saying discretionally - oh yeah, £25? Athmosphere, lights are terrible and really dark, I had to use my phone flashlights to read the menu and I am only in my 40th! Did not like the people shouting from other tables and laughing as we could not speak, nobody cared and nobody made them a comment, so was not great.

Great atmosphere, fantastic food, beautiful service. We'd preferred some more traditional music but I understand this might be a bit old fashioned of me.

We had an enjoyable dinner for my son's birthday. Food was delicious, service 5* . Special thanks to Tess for the dynamic and non.exhaustive energetic service , yet always served us with smiles. Also we were touched by the gesture - a birthday cake piece! Thanks to all team in Kibou!

Food, amazing. Atmosphere and decor, spot on. Service....wow! Well done Kibou Bistol, we WILL be back!

Amazing experience was my first time, and I really enjoyed it. The dynamite prawns are mind-blowing in flavour. Really recommended it.

Sadly average sushi, very very slow service and over priced given that (cost was £75 a head. 2 drinks each). Can eat at some of Bristol's best restaurants for less!!

My favorite sushi restaurant in Bristol!! Always fresh and so delicious! And they take a lot of care to ensure that as a celiac sufferer that I feel safe in my food there. They are a bit pricey but are worth it for the quality of the food.

Kibou is an excellent Japanese food restaurant. I wanted to try it purely because it was Japanese and my expectations weren't super high as generally these places tend to lose some of the actually japanese type of quality due to ingredients but I was so wrong in this instance. Kibou ended up being an excellent traditional japanese restaurant. Their Chicken Katsu took me back to the times I was in Japan and I felt like all those memories came back to me. It is unbelievable how it took me back in time to quickly with just the 1st taste. The staff was amazing. From start ti end they were attentivr and helpful and they always wanted to give us the best and to make us feel as comfortablr possible. Amazing hard workers! I loved the design of the place. Their wall drawings were really cool and their menus had a great japanese style. In terms of prices, by the looked of the place, it looked really expensive but I was also wrong as it is affordable and the food/service is worth every single pound of it.

Excellent service, great atmosphere and the food was amazing. I got the chirashizu and it was excellent! Will recommend

We celebrated our ten year anniversary here and we felt great. The restaurant has such a vibe.. loved all the details! very cinematic, instantly transporting you, and the food was so delish. Went with the chef selection sushi platter and some favourite starters Takoyaki and edamame beans. The japanese garden for dessert was good but a bit big for one person, we should have ordered just one for two people. I was very surprised about how good the non alcoholic cocktails were! And mezcal margaritas for the win! Pricey but worth it! #bristolfoodies. Payed parking available nearby.

Highly recommend Kibou. Great service, very friendly and helpful regarding allergies. Food is delicious! I live locally and visit pretty often.

We were pleased to get a table whilst visiting Bristol late on a Sunday evening, having failed in our last visit in April. Cocktails were really good (Singapore Sling is my go to, so have a high expectation). Starters of miso aubergine, unagi nigiri, and bang bang prawns - wow! - you have to try. Amazing. My curry udon didn't come with broth, which was unusual, but I probably just didn't read the menu properly. My wife's teryaki salmon was delicious. The decor, atmosphere, service and food were all excellent. We will return without fail 🤗

High quality at a reasonable price. All the staff were very welcoming and gave good food recommendations.

Great spot great food great staff

Very good food. Fast and efficient service. Highly recommend the bao buns and sushi!

Tried booking for a group of 8 on Christmas Eve and my reservation was cancelled. When I called up to get an explanation I was told they don’t take big group bookings on certain days. I asked if it would make a difference if we booked two tables of 4, they said no. Doesn’t make any sense because two tables of four people that didn’t know each other would be ok? Really wanted to try this restaurant but this weird rule has put me off.

Yep very nice place with a good vibe, sushi good also.

Had a fantastic birthday meal for the Mrs here. Food was genuinely incredible. Service was fantastic. Any they brought out a slice of cake with a sparkler which was the cherry on top. We'll be back again very soon.

Great food, incredible service & amazing cocktails! What more could you ask for!

I thought this place was amazing. Drinks were great, food was awesome, not a cheap eat. Bao buns my first try of these and they were superb