Food quality is low comparing to a good Japanese restaurant. Then very expensive ?
PostcardfromCambridge !
Lovely restaurant, fantastic food and professional staff. Really impressed about the lunch menu… i high recommend this
Warren
Tldr; beautiful decor, but terrible communication and lack of any oversight resulted in one of the worst bowls of ramen I have consumed in recent memory. I would suggest avoiding if in a group.I should probably start with the fact that I hardly ever write reviews, I've probably written 10 in the last 10 years, generally those instances where I leave a place so ecstatic from the meal I feel compelled to write something. This is one of the rare times I find myself writing because I am completely baffled how my experience could've been so bad at such a beautiful location.When you arrive at kibou it is gorgeous, sleek, beautifully decorated, seems organised and my expectations went way up - we were clearly going to have an enjoyable evening and some great food. I'd been looking forward to it all week.I was in a group of about 8, the waitress seemed attentive, most of the table were so excited to try different food options we made the mistake of ordering some starters as a first course and then additional starters as part of the second. The waitress took the full order, and even repeated back the order, so far so good.Then the starters arrived, most were pretty good so no complaints there, this included the additional starters that had been ordered as part of the second course. We sent these back since we had been clear this was supposed to be part of the main course, suddenly the staff were very confused, why aren't we taking the starters? Eventually they comply. Then everything goes horribly wrong.Suddenly there is a revolving door of different waitresses and managers delivering different food items. The food we sent back ends up being brought out again, now as cold as the grave, ever tried cold tempura or bao buns ? If you haven't they taste like disappointment. We had to send these back and ask for new ones, this obviously caused more confusion, why aren't the guests eating the cold food we served them?Then the mains start rolling in, both myself and a friend had ordered chicken ramen, she receives hers 15 min before me, she proclaims that the chicken tastes like fish, I thought she was joking. Then I eventually get mine. Firstly it looks terrible, a bloated, tepid mess. There is next to no broth, I have to dig to the bottom to convince myself I hadn't mistakenly been given another dish but yes, there is a bit of liquid. Then the breaded chicken looks almost deconstructed as the breaded skin hangs loose and soggy around the thin fillet - it does taste a bit like fish, the noodles are over cooked and barely warm. At the time I naively thought this must be how they serve ramen here, since I could not conceive of a world where someone would serve this bowl without absolutely meaning to but on further reflection this must've been sitting in the kitchen for ages and I had just stupidly assumed there would be some kind of quality control in a high end restaurant. I can only imagine if this bowl of ramen had been served in feudal Japan - heads would literally have rolled, wars would have been started, but thankfully these days you just write a two star review and get on with your life.Instead of leaving you in this pit of despair I will finish by saying it was still a pretty good evening - the majority of starters were delicious, the company was exceptional and the cocktails and wine were pretty good.
Ralston Pereira
Food was fantastic and everyone enjoyed it. The kitchen was quite slow as they took around 40 minutes to bring our food. The serving staff were good.
Vickimai
This restaurant is amazing. It's such a beautiful place. The staff were attentive and friendly. The food was spot on. We didn't try the sushi, but being vegetarian, there were plenty of options.I recommend a visit 100% worth it. The prices are very reasonable for the experience and quality of food.
Chris Bacon
Simon, from Cambridge Foodies, recommended Kibou and it did not disappoint. Beautiful decor, fantastic staff and lovely food. Best restaurant in Cambridge. Thank you and see you again!
Nish Kotak
Great for and cocktails, service was excellent too!
Noel Smyth
Stunning food, atmosphere and service. Huge thanks to Beatrice for being totally fabulous. We visited from Norwich for a special occasion. We will be back as soon as we can.
Richard Fine
Beautiful place, but the food was not a total hit; my sashimi platter was excellent, but my "lantern roll" was disgusting (I think there was something wrong with the tempura soft shell crab, it was mushy and bitter/metallic-tasting, not what I expect from crab meat at all - and I did get some stomach cramps by the end of the evening). One of my friends also ordered an oat milk matcha latte which was somehow simultaneously too bitter and too sweet. Waitress didn't do any quality checks - even when faced with a mostly-uneaten roll and a barely drunk matcha latte - and was generally very slow and inattentive. Ended up at ~£60 per head, which is a bit high for what we got.
Stefano R
Nice evening, some communication problems between staff and kitchen.
Food overall was delicious, kind staff, and good ambience from the place. But we were somewhat disappointed with the service during our pre-booked dinner. Despite requesting to be seated together and ordering dessert discreetly for a birthday celebration, we were placed at a regular two-seater table facing each other. While the staff was friendly, I couldn't help but compare this experience to previous ones where other restaurants have accommodated such requests, some even going the extra mile by offering a complimentary small cake with a "happy birthday" message. We ordered the four course meal for £25/pp, but the order of the food came out randomly and we ended up trying to finish some plates quickly because our table was getting too full. Although the food was delicious, expected a more organized approach for a "four-course meal" experience. We might have set our expectations too high based on the positive reviews and the impressive appearance of the place, but the service fell short of what we had hoped for.We ordered a dessert at the end, we got the green tea crème brûlée and it was divine. A definite must try from the KIBOU.
Chris London
Second time we’ve been and really impressed. Great food and service in a fantastic
On1lfc tv
Nice people good
David Skelton
We booked Kibou as our daughter had always wanted to go. As my wife and daughter were in town for some shopping I decided to book it for a lunchtime slot.We arrived a bit earlier than we expected but we were still welcomed and shown to our table. We were asked if we would like complimentary still or sparkling water for the table and then given the menu's.There is a choice of the lunch special (teishoku) menu or the standard full menu. My wife and I chose the lunch menu while our daughter chose from the standard menu. The Teishoku menu is fixed at £14.90 per person and is a fair and reasonable price.Miso soup arrived before the main courses and was very tasty. Edamame beans in a variety of flavours then followed. The mains then appeared.My daughter had chicken noodle ramen which was, according to her, fantastic. The wife had chicken teriyaki and I had chicken yakitori. They came with Japanese pickles, gomae wakame (seaweed salad), salmon tataki and tamagoyaki (egg omelette) and rice. All were freshly prepared and lovingly presented.Deserts were apple goyoza, yuzu cheesecake and hojicha creme brulee, all very tasty indeed.We washed the main meal down with a Mai Tai cocktail for my daughter, a glass of Red wine for the wife and a Japanese beer for myself.We finished off with a coffee and green tea.The booking was for 2 hours which was plenty to enjoy a relaxed atmosphere and not be hurried into eating multiple courses of food, something the Japanese are renowned for. Music was not Japanese but Korean K-Pop according to my daughter, but this didn't ruin the atmosphere.Please be aware that there is a 12.5% service charge added to the bill. We didn't think this was unreasonable and were happy to pay.Would we go again? Yes, would we recommend it? Yes. ?
Hannah
My experience at KIBOU was nothing short of delightful. I highly recommend this spot to anyone looking for ???-????? ????? ??? ???????. It's a dining experience that's bound to impress and one that I'm eager to repeat.While KIBOU's menu includes other staples like ramen and donburi, and as good as they might be, ⭐️⭐️the sushi and sashimi⭐️⭐️ are the true headliners here. ?? ??? ???? ?? ????, ?'? ???????? ??????? ?????? ????? ????????? ????? ?? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ? ???. You can almost taste the diligence and passion that goes into the preparation.
Food quality is low comparing to a good Japanese restaurant. Then very expensive ?
Lovely restaurant, fantastic food and professional staff. Really impressed about the lunch menu… i high recommend this
Tldr; beautiful decor, but terrible communication and lack of any oversight resulted in one of the worst bowls of ramen I have consumed in recent memory. I would suggest avoiding if in a group.I should probably start with the fact that I hardly ever write reviews, I've probably written 10 in the last 10 years, generally those instances where I leave a place so ecstatic from the meal I feel compelled to write something. This is one of the rare times I find myself writing because I am completely baffled how my experience could've been so bad at such a beautiful location.When you arrive at kibou it is gorgeous, sleek, beautifully decorated, seems organised and my expectations went way up - we were clearly going to have an enjoyable evening and some great food. I'd been looking forward to it all week.I was in a group of about 8, the waitress seemed attentive, most of the table were so excited to try different food options we made the mistake of ordering some starters as a first course and then additional starters as part of the second. The waitress took the full order, and even repeated back the order, so far so good.Then the starters arrived, most were pretty good so no complaints there, this included the additional starters that had been ordered as part of the second course. We sent these back since we had been clear this was supposed to be part of the main course, suddenly the staff were very confused, why aren't we taking the starters? Eventually they comply. Then everything goes horribly wrong.Suddenly there is a revolving door of different waitresses and managers delivering different food items. The food we sent back ends up being brought out again, now as cold as the grave, ever tried cold tempura or bao buns ? If you haven't they taste like disappointment. We had to send these back and ask for new ones, this obviously caused more confusion, why aren't the guests eating the cold food we served them?Then the mains start rolling in, both myself and a friend had ordered chicken ramen, she receives hers 15 min before me, she proclaims that the chicken tastes like fish, I thought she was joking. Then I eventually get mine. Firstly it looks terrible, a bloated, tepid mess. There is next to no broth, I have to dig to the bottom to convince myself I hadn't mistakenly been given another dish but yes, there is a bit of liquid. Then the breaded chicken looks almost deconstructed as the breaded skin hangs loose and soggy around the thin fillet - it does taste a bit like fish, the noodles are over cooked and barely warm. At the time I naively thought this must be how they serve ramen here, since I could not conceive of a world where someone would serve this bowl without absolutely meaning to but on further reflection this must've been sitting in the kitchen for ages and I had just stupidly assumed there would be some kind of quality control in a high end restaurant. I can only imagine if this bowl of ramen had been served in feudal Japan - heads would literally have rolled, wars would have been started, but thankfully these days you just write a two star review and get on with your life.Instead of leaving you in this pit of despair I will finish by saying it was still a pretty good evening - the majority of starters were delicious, the company was exceptional and the cocktails and wine were pretty good.
Food was fantastic and everyone enjoyed it. The kitchen was quite slow as they took around 40 minutes to bring our food. The serving staff were good.
This restaurant is amazing. It's such a beautiful place. The staff were attentive and friendly. The food was spot on. We didn't try the sushi, but being vegetarian, there were plenty of options.I recommend a visit 100% worth it. The prices are very reasonable for the experience and quality of food.
Simon, from Cambridge Foodies, recommended Kibou and it did not disappoint. Beautiful decor, fantastic staff and lovely food. Best restaurant in Cambridge. Thank you and see you again!
Great for and cocktails, service was excellent too!
Stunning food, atmosphere and service. Huge thanks to Beatrice for being totally fabulous. We visited from Norwich for a special occasion. We will be back as soon as we can.
Beautiful place, but the food was not a total hit; my sashimi platter was excellent, but my "lantern roll" was disgusting (I think there was something wrong with the tempura soft shell crab, it was mushy and bitter/metallic-tasting, not what I expect from crab meat at all - and I did get some stomach cramps by the end of the evening). One of my friends also ordered an oat milk matcha latte which was somehow simultaneously too bitter and too sweet. Waitress didn't do any quality checks - even when faced with a mostly-uneaten roll and a barely drunk matcha latte - and was generally very slow and inattentive. Ended up at ~£60 per head, which is a bit high for what we got.
Nice evening, some communication problems between staff and kitchen.
Restaurantji Recommends
Food overall was delicious, kind staff, and good ambience from the place. But we were somewhat disappointed with the service during our pre-booked dinner. Despite requesting to be seated together and ordering dessert discreetly for a birthday celebration, we were placed at a regular two-seater table facing each other. While the staff was friendly, I couldn't help but compare this experience to previous ones where other restaurants have accommodated such requests, some even going the extra mile by offering a complimentary small cake with a "happy birthday" message. We ordered the four course meal for £25/pp, but the order of the food came out randomly and we ended up trying to finish some plates quickly because our table was getting too full. Although the food was delicious, expected a more organized approach for a "four-course meal" experience. We might have set our expectations too high based on the positive reviews and the impressive appearance of the place, but the service fell short of what we had hoped for.We ordered a dessert at the end, we got the green tea crème brûlée and it was divine. A definite must try from the KIBOU.
Second time we’ve been and really impressed. Great food and service in a fantastic
Nice people good
We booked Kibou as our daughter had always wanted to go. As my wife and daughter were in town for some shopping I decided to book it for a lunchtime slot.We arrived a bit earlier than we expected but we were still welcomed and shown to our table. We were asked if we would like complimentary still or sparkling water for the table and then given the menu's.There is a choice of the lunch special (teishoku) menu or the standard full menu. My wife and I chose the lunch menu while our daughter chose from the standard menu. The Teishoku menu is fixed at £14.90 per person and is a fair and reasonable price.Miso soup arrived before the main courses and was very tasty. Edamame beans in a variety of flavours then followed. The mains then appeared.My daughter had chicken noodle ramen which was, according to her, fantastic. The wife had chicken teriyaki and I had chicken yakitori. They came with Japanese pickles, gomae wakame (seaweed salad), salmon tataki and tamagoyaki (egg omelette) and rice. All were freshly prepared and lovingly presented.Deserts were apple goyoza, yuzu cheesecake and hojicha creme brulee, all very tasty indeed.We washed the main meal down with a Mai Tai cocktail for my daughter, a glass of Red wine for the wife and a Japanese beer for myself.We finished off with a coffee and green tea.The booking was for 2 hours which was plenty to enjoy a relaxed atmosphere and not be hurried into eating multiple courses of food, something the Japanese are renowned for. Music was not Japanese but Korean K-Pop according to my daughter, but this didn't ruin the atmosphere.Please be aware that there is a 12.5% service charge added to the bill. We didn't think this was unreasonable and were happy to pay.Would we go again? Yes, would we recommend it? Yes. ?
My experience at KIBOU was nothing short of delightful. I highly recommend this spot to anyone looking for ???-????? ????? ??? ???????. It's a dining experience that's bound to impress and one that I'm eager to repeat.While KIBOU's menu includes other staples like ramen and donburi, and as good as they might be, ⭐️⭐️the sushi and sashimi⭐️⭐️ are the true headliners here. ?? ??? ???? ?? ????, ?'? ???????? ??????? ?????? ????? ????????? ????? ?? ??????????? ?????? ??????? ? ???. You can almost taste the diligence and passion that goes into the preparation.