KIBOU Japanese Restaurant & Bar - Solihull — Restaurant in Metropolitan Borough of Solihull

We had the Afternoon Tea and the sushi was delicious but the meal was not in the slightest filling. The sushi portions were more suited to one person and the sweet section was mediocre and we finished it all within 10 minutes. We had to order an extra Cali roll off the main menu as we didn't feel it was enough.

Service was mixed - staff were friendly but they all basically forgot about us several times. At one point I was turned from my chair trying to get their attention for what felt like a good five minutes, I shouted excuse me across a table to one and was not heard and they served/cleared other tables around us but had no awareness of us. So I ended up having to get up to grab someone (to ask for our tea again). I wouldn't mind if they were busy or short-staffed but they weren't. We got our tea well after we had finished our meal, with no apology. And they forgot to bring our bill so we got up again and paid at the till. The same waitress we had asked for it rung the register and didn't seem to appear to have any recollection that we'd asked for it. We probably could have walked out without paying as the staff, were there, but seem to be daydreaming.

They took the money without showing the bill and admittedly we could have asked but you don't expect to need to check in a place like this and for a fixed price afternoon tea - anyway, it meant we were charged a 10% service charge for a routine afternoon tea for two on a quiet afternoon which we were ignored for most of the time, so this was really disappointing. Especially as it was for my birthday - I'm not someone who looks for special treatment but basic service levels would have been nice, for a bill that came to £90 lunch for two. My friend paid and I hadn't realised this until after we left as I would have asked them to take the service charge off... And there is also the awkwardness of making a fuss when my friend is trying to treat me.

Having said this, the sushi was lovely and overall vibe was good, so I would probably go here again but I wouldn't recommend the afternoon tea or expect any real attentiveness from the staff. Also, reading some of the other lower rated reviews, the responses/mannerism from KIBOU management are concerning, so it doesn't look like giving feedback gets...

TL;DR Staff were friendly and helpful. Atmosphere was cosy. Food was good. Order a sharer first as food is served when ready, not altogether.

Was out looking for somewhere to eat, about 2pm on saturday, with a firend when we noticed Kibou. It looked busy, but we decided to check it out as it seemed something different.

The staff initally said there would be a table free in 15 minutes and asked if we wanted drinks whilst directing us to a place to wait. Fortunately a minute later they came back and we were sitted at a table. We had a dedicated server who was polite and friendly and even once our meal was complete the staff were friendly and thanked us for the custom.

The atmosphere, again during a busy period on the weekend, did feel a bit cramped on the way to the table, but I didn't have to serve or sway around other customers. Once at the table I also didn't feel croweded despite my eariler impression. I'd say the layout provides room for the customers, but is also fully ultilized. If you want lots of space around you, you'll feel croweded, but otherwise I'd call it cosy.

Once we sat down we got completmentary water and given time to order. We ordered three sharers and a Chicken Katsu and noted the warning about the dishes coming out as they are ready to keep them fresh. The meals were staggered with the first sharer being quite prompt, whilst the Chicken Katsu was the last dish to be brought out by itself. I found that having a sharer first was good, since it gave us something to talk about while eating. I did enjoy trying them while they were fresh and didn't have to worry about the other meals being less fresh.

If you were to order in a group, I feel it would be best to get a sharer(s) that everyone could enjoy in addition to whatever else everyone wanted separately.

As being a Japenese Restuarant, Chop sitcks were on the table, but you could ask for forks.

I'm not an experienced consumer of Japenese food and so I cannot say much about it, other than the Chicken Katsu was pretty much like Chicken Katsu I've had once or twice elsewhere and I found the sharers to be tasty.

The price was a bit higher than I would like for two people, but I feel it's a good price for a special occassion or rare gathering of friends rather than a...

I am really indecisive about this restaurant: there are good (even very good) but some negative points that penalize the overall experience. First of all, decoration of the restaurant is really nice and create a specific atmosphere The welcome and service were good. We do like menus : a large choice of « starters / sharers », mains, sushis and drinks (including good Japanese whiskey) We ordered different sushis and sharers. Sharers : Bao buns are delicious (duck and chicken), pork Gyoza are tasty. Sushis : fresh and tasty fishes, large selection and attractive mixed platters. My kids and myself, we do like sushi a lot and can eat a lot. So we ordered our usual number of sushi. But we did not expect so large rolls (California and special). You could say : and so what’s wrong ? Indeed as I said sushi’s were good (nigiri, hosomaki, gunkan) but finally Rolls are a bit too large to be fully appreciated : quantity takes over quality. It is really annoying because, again rice and fish are good. There is only one roll that I did not like, it is the volcano roll (too much, too fatty and difficult to appreciate taste / combination of different ingredients) The red wine menu could be better as well, it needs more subtle red wines to accompany sushi (personal opinion from a French customer…) By clearing the table, the waitress unfortunately spilled soy sauce on the table and on us (accident can happen, no problem) but she did not apologise and did not bring anything to help us clean up. And finally, the bill ….. ok we ordered a lot and too much considering the size of the sushi roll but this is definitely not a cheap restaurant. To pay a bit more for very good sushi, I’m ok with that but may be it is a bit too...