Japanese is now one of the London's most favoured cuisines, offering everything from rustic cafes that let you dine out for under a tenner, to some of the priciest spots in town. Kibako sits somewhere in the middle, with its quality ingredients, top level service, and a slightly less hefty bill than you might find elsewhere in the city.
To kick things off, we chose from an impressive selection of small plates, including an edamame taco with caviar and unagi with Parmesan and crunchy tempura flakes, but it was the seared premium fatty tuna with a red jalapeno sauce that stole the show. Presented as four slices of tuna in a vibrant orange pool and topped with wasabi, it had nowhere to hide, but thankfully, it didn't need to either. The tuna was so soft it barely required chewing, whilst the sauce was deeply rich, silky, and had the perfect level of spice to it. This is a dish worth returning for alone.
Next came the premium omakase selection, that arrived as a wooden box of twelve compartments, three of which were for soy sauce, ginger and fresh wasabi (which is grated in front of you at the table). In the other nine were immaculately presented pieces of sushi and sashimi, such as a nigiri duo with caviar, soft scallops with ponzu sauce, and even fried rice squares with steak tartare and caviar. The quality of the ingredients is undeniable, as is the attention to detail that goes into creating each dish here.
For mains you can expect options like grilled aubergine with saikyo miso and favourites such as black cod. At Kibako, the cod is marinated for 48 hours, longer than most other versions of the dish. Whilst we appreciate the commitment to flavour, and its incredibly soft, flaky texture, it was a little too punchy for our liking.
For dessert, we tucked into a small bowl of fresh mango and chilli which was the perfect, light way to finish a delicious evening.