Kikubari - 50490 Kuala Lumpur

Been here a couple of times and every experience is better than the last. Extremely good French Japanese fusion fine dining, with a very tasteful and elegant touch. And in-house sommelier Danny gives the best recommendations when it comes to food and wine pairing. Desserts are simply delectable.

Disappointing experience overall. Overly priced for mediocre food. Poor kitchen. Service is ok. Decent ambiance. Decided to give this place a go for its tasting menu. First thing that throws me off was the way the chefs (or shall I say student cooks) in the kitchen. They were all dressed casually (t-shirts) , no hats, and were wearing watches (It’s fine if they are wearing long sleeves but short sleeves with watches seriously? I hope they wash their bands regularly) So okay, I said to myself maybe the food might taste good. The first dish - amuse bouche was a uni, churros and wagyu tataki. The food presentation was horrid. Totally zero effort . Look at how the pieces are sitting outside that piece of paper ?? Hey we are running out of space, let’s just put these 2 wagyu on the side of the plates ! And they tasted bland. Ok, maybe I should not set my hope too high, for the price of 398 per pax, I would have expected more. But okay, so next dish was the tuna tartare served on a piece of aonori chip (it says aonori but doesn’t know why it’s white and it tasted like plastic). Again presentation was terrible with some random squirts of spicy mayo. Taste-wise it’s okay but the chip no no). Moving on, the third dish was a abalone tempura with liver sauce. Food presentation shows a tiny effort but honestly it is overly salted. Couldn’t take a fourth bite without chugging down a glass of water. Then comes the fourth dish, soy sauce glazed fish with baby octopus. It looks like a pathetically cooked dish without putting any thoughts on the dish. “Hey let’s cook a fish and throw some dead baby octopi in it.”. Honestly any Chinese seafood restaurant serves better soy sauce steamed fish. At this point, my partner and I no longer anticipated for the next servings. Next comes the “granite”, it’s just a chopped ice orange sorbet, nothing special. Then the main course was a smoked duck which I honestly felt it’s too rare (maybe it’s just me and my partner). A typical smoked duck that I had was always served in thin slices but here they served it in a big chunk, there’s no way to cut it through the duck tendon. Absolutely horrible. Tasted bland too. Cherry sauce didn’t really add any flavor to it. Last came the dessert, menu says it’s chocolate ice cream but there’s no where to be found and honestly the whole plate was nothing special. Didn’t even finish it. But hey that’s not the worst of it, okay maybe the food weren’t our cup of tea but what killed the entire experience was the way the chef cooks. He used his FREAKING HAND to flip the fish. (perhaps I should tweet this to @gordonramsay and see what he says). At that point, I totally lost my appetite. Needless to say, the price tag was extremely steep for these mediocre food. Never to return again. EDIT: 4 August 2019 - wow this dishonest restaurant is removing my photo evidence. Disgraceful

I came back to KKBR after a year and food was extremely disappointing. The amuse bouche was an ice cream with strong cheese. How does that amount to a palate cleanser. For RM398++ we were fed nothing. We had to eat elsewhere there after. Even viewing my latest 6 photos, no way we had anything worth RM398++ and that’s per pax basis. Below were my first comments, now it has changed. How things do change after a year The pictures speak a thousand worlds. Totally enjoyed the wine pairing with the Japanese-French fusion degustation menu. Loved the ambiance. Will I do it again? Yes definitely!

Cosy place, enjoyed myself on my several visits there. First time was for drinks, another time for dinner and then I went back again for drinks. Love the food there, very creative, and dining there was a good experience for me. It is also a nice place for a small group gathering, or perhaps for people who seek for a bit of quiet time after a long day at work. It is a place that focus on innovative food, yet not compromising on the freshness or flavours. I heard that they change their menu monthly or so, not too sure about this, so every month diners get to try different things. I would go back again.

We just picked some random dishes with help from the waiter, and all of them were absolutely lovely! Super fresh ingredients prepared in a different non-traditional way. Definitely recommended. Update februari 2020; we came back for more and it was just as lovely and surprising as the first time! Update May 2020; great delivery of ebi katsu and yuzu curd / chocolate tarts. A very acceptable way to survive the MCO!!

Througouhly enjoyed my dining experience here. Everyone was so attentive and it feels each dish is crafted especially for me. The ingredients mesh really well and I immediately made up my mind that I would return again soon. Of course, the dinner was great as I had met up with friends I haven't spoken with for more than 1 year and that was the highlight of the eveing. Excellent food and laughter amongst friends = an awesome evening!

not a place for everyone. if you do prefer something more traditional just head over to your sushi fix at Sushi ORI or if you are looking for something casual with budget head over to Ember KL. but if you wanna try something different. a progressive Japanese cuisine, you could give it a go. scallop dish was really good angel hair with the extra uni was good too. others was just alright. service was really good!

Award winning Japanese fusion restaurant which definitely lives up to the definition of the word progressive. At first glance, it is easy to perceive Kikubari as a fine dining restaurant but the casual tapas style dishes have proven otherwise. The team was able to bring out complimenting, unique yet versatile flavours while playing around with the food temperature and ingredients at their own terms which cannot be replicated elsewhere. Overall experience would be perfect if the floor staff was less aggressive and more honest— one of the waiters refused to leave my table until I ordered alcohol after I ordered a bottle of water. The same waiter pushed us to try their desserts at the end of the meal, claiming that the lava cake was matcha flavoured but it turns out to be chocolate instead. Thankfully, the creative culinary adventure has won my heart towards the end of the night, and I’ll certainly come back to try their new menu soon.