Award-winning KIBOU Japanese Kitchen & Bar is to open on Birmingham’s Temple Row next month.

The new site, previously home to Riva Blu, will accommodate up to 200 covers across a bar and lounge, an open sushi kitchen, a main restaurant, and a private dining space. A standalone bar will also serve KIBOU‘s Japanese-inspired cocktails alongside a curated list of Japanese whisky, sake, and umeshu.

The menu spans classic and contemporary Japanese sharing plates, ranging from chicken karaage, spiced pork gyoza and crisp tempura to sushi and sashimi, A5 Joshu wagyu beef, steaming ramen, katsu curry, and teriyaki. A standalone bar will serve KIBOU’s Japanese-inspired cocktails alongside an ambitious list of Japanese whisky, sake, and umeshu.

The restaurant will be designed by Q&A Interior Design Ltd, who have been responsible for creating the interiors across all KIBOU sites to date, and will feature original hand-painted and digital murals by Gloucestershire-based artist Martyna Sabadasz.

Guests can expect bold, colourful, Japanese-inspired interiors that ‘evoke a sense of escapism and stylishly capture the brand’s spirit of discovery and adventure.’

The Temple Row opening marks a significant step in the brand’s expansion, adding to the existing Midlands site in Solihull, along with restaurants in Battersea, Cheltenham, Clifton (Bristol), Cambridge, and Oxford.

Nestled in the heart of the Colmore Business District, facing onto Cathedral Square, the new KIBOU restaurant will be open seven days a week.

Gemma Hutchinson, Senior General Manager at KIBOU, says: “We’re so excited to be finally opening our doors in Birmingham. The team is busy putting finishing touches to the restaurant, and we can’t wait to show people what we’ve done with the place.

“We’re very much looking forward to welcoming our first guests through the door in October, whether they’re quick enough to secure a spot on one of our soft launch sittings, or they join us from our official opening date. For now, we hope you enjoy a first taste of KIBOU on Temple Row next week, good luck!”

Kibou’s Temple Row restaurant will officially open Mon 12 Oct. Bookings are open now.

Image credit: Nic Crilly-Hargrave