Kintsu in Colchester

Kintsu is a haven for food lovers in North Essex. It has never failed to disappoint, and is our destination restaurant for celebrations. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, the menu always offers quality we don’t find anywhere else in Essex or South Suffolk, and the quality of the tasting menu (which regularly innovates) would not be out of place in London where I often eat out, save that few London restaurants offer such a personal experience, in proximity to the chef. Kintsu is genuinely a hidden gemstone in Colchester, and my only concern in recommending it is that it might make it harder to get a table.

Another visit to Kintsu, this time for a friend’s birthday celebration. As always the food was stunning, and having been to the 2 Michelin starred Clove Club just two days before I can yet again only wonder why this doesn’t have 1 Michelin star based on the food alone. The whole tasting menu was fabulous, brilliantly executed and exciting, which is what I want from a tasting menu. I don’t want 7 perfectly executed but slightly dull dishes (I’m looking at you Alain Ducasse!). If you’re used to Michelin starred restaurants, where you will see the difference is the wine list. But the market in Colchester is very different and I wouldn’t imagine they would sell many high 3 or 4 figure priced wines so they’ve pitched it for their market. I urge everyone to go to Kintsu. We’re very lucky to have it in Colchester and we should all support it.

We visited Kintsu restaurant in Colchester early last Friday evening for the 7 course taster menu with optional wine flight…..oh my goodness, it was absolutely amazing….each course a delight for the tastebuds. Hats off to the exceptional work of the chef, Paul Wendholt and his team. A few tasty canapés started us off, to be followed by five courses of savoury beauties and then two courses of dessert, one of which contained the best rhubarb sorbet I’ve ever tasted. There was also an optional cheese course with homemade seeded crackers and Golden raisin ‘jam’…delicious. The service was great, every course being explained by the waitress along with descriptions of the accompanying wines. A most unexpected and fabulous culinary experience….we will be visiting again.

We have been to Kintsu many times and this visit like all the others was excellent. Kintsu is a tasting menu restaurant and it is a real delight to see what delicious dish is in store for you next. Service is excellent. There were three of us for dinner and we each enjoyed every dish. We thoroughly recommend Kintsu, each time we've been we have had a fantastic experience.

Superb restaurant, great food unpretentious professional service and a relaxed setting. Tasting menu is a delight, no menu until you finish but great description given verbally per course.

Went for my 45th birthday, definitely the best place we’ve ate in Colchester. We went for the tasting menu which was 8 courses. It was stunning the ingredients were fresh and the meat and fish were delicious. Great flavours and we were glad that we didn’t have a menu to pick from. Would definitely recommend. We paid £110 pp with drinks.

I’ve been a fan of Paul’s creative cooking since the start of Grain, Kintsu’s predecessor. Sadly it’s too expensive for anything other than a rare visit but this time it was a special occasion so we splashed out for the full tasting menu. I’m so glad we did as it was exquisite, every bite a delightful surprise. The tiny portion of black pudding was the only element I couldn’t eat, evening else was delicious.

Exceptional! Delicious and creative food, wonderful wine pairings and knowledgeable and friendly staff. Highly recommend!

We tried this out with friends. I really liked the idea of not seeing the menu until the end. You maintained an open mind all the way through as each dish was presented. We went for the wine pairing, and each worked exquisitely with the dishes. Our waitress was friendly and explained each dish / wine competently. Would definitely recommend a visit.

Quite wonderful. No-choice tasting menu: divine amuse-bouche and plenty of them, perfect delicate cod on a marbled green sauce, scallop crisply caramelised, pork and mustard, pre-duck titbits, duck with liquorice, exceptional goat cheese, muscovado choux bun with Madeira. Portion size perfect. Wine flight carefully chosen and introduced by charming helpful server. It's all about the food, the restaurant is comfortable but not over fussy. Not busy Thursday evening. I believe this is the best restaurant in the area, at least as good as places with celebrity chefs. Can't wait to return.

Oh my goodness ... what can I say. Although Colchester was my home town, I am a tourist these days having left many years ago, so when I started to look for a decent 'treat' restaurant to eat at and discovered Kintsu, I was excited before I got there. From walking in the door we were looked after by Agape, I had the wine flight and there was nothing we could ask about the food or the wine that she didn't know. The food was amazing, there was nothing that wasn't perfect (and the wine was excellent as well). Fantastic evening, can't find the words to praise this place enough

Maybe it is me but the reviews I have read do not mirror my thoughts .Firstly the atmosphere and surroundings are great , much improved.. the sound much more subdued and conducive to talking to your guests in what was a previously loud environment ……this is the fifth time to the restaurant following it.s history when it started life as Grain. …. First experience of the tasting menu. I appreciate the purpose of a tasting menu but I do feel that certain dishes were a little lost on their way. For me discerning ,clever flavours are everything and some dishes in this seasonal menu were lacking .The pork I had was very fatty , seems to have been sous vide .. and the texture not right ..nor the flavours , disappointing to eat ….. The lamb again nothing special .The chicken tempura tasty but mine had gristle in ..not pleasant or expected- So for me hit and miss ..service great , venue good but it is an expensive evening and I came away not having a meal that I felt in parts was very mediocre and that I would not remember for the right reasons .. but to always end on a positive for cooking is an art and everyone can have a bad day …the sourdough breadcrumbs fried in butter that dressed the ice - cream were very good ..they had flavour that was recognisable and the little salad tomatoes great flavour .. so that proves there is the ability ..maybe a little re think on some of the dishes ……

We have been to Kintsu twice before and had been to its predecessor - Grain, 3 times too. This was our first tasting menu here, but not our first tasting menu, and so we’re looking forward to the experience. Kintsu have definitely fixed their sound issue. The restaurant could get quite loud and noisy, but they have put in acoustic measures to improve this, and so it is a much more pleasant space now. All of the food was well presented, and the majority was tasty. I have to say that the pork dish wasn’t as good as I would have expected - flavoursome, but not the best texture. Kintsu likely has aspirations on its first Michelin star, and it will probably get there, but with a few small tweaks to ensure consistency. I wouldn’t not recommend it, and I’ll probably go back at some point in the future. One thing I would hope for is an online menu so that diners can choose if it meets their preferences, as although the surprise element is just that, it doesn’t work if a diner has a thing they don’t like. Alternatively (as with other tasting menus) there should be a degree of choice of dishes.

Amazing taste menu experience. Great staff, multitude of flavours in each course. Hats off to the chef. Will be back soon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an interesting experience. My wife, myself and a friend went on a Thursday night at 6pm and by the time we left three hours later no other customers had visited. Given Thursday is meant to be the new Friday etc, this was a bit of a surprise although Kintsu is a little off the beaten track. Having said that, the food was lovely. It was an eight-course tasting menu with the stars being chalk stream river trout, cod loin, and a fabulous pea valoute. Pork and duck dishes also featured and although very tasty were quite rich on top of the other dishes. Service was excellent - it should be if there are only three diners, but there was a genuine enthusiasm in the description of the dishes and their ingredients. We had one bottle of wine and two additional glasses so hardly a "heavy" night but this was far from a cheap venture. Would I return? Yes, which is the proof of the pudding but I would hope for a much-improved environment.