Breaking news
The restaurant moved this year from nearby 70 Parchment Street.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“The new location is amazing” is the consensus on Abdul ‘Miff’ Kayum’s well-established local fixture, which was founded in 2012 nearby and moved last year to this new 60-cover address (with 20-seat courtyard) on the former site of Bridge Street House. He continues to invest, and in early 2025, Chef Shintaro Ito arrived from Tokyo, adding his 16 years of experience to the kitchen (early feedback says “food quality has gone up several notches”). All reports are full of praise: “love the sushi bar and omakase counter – no need to go to London, New York or Tokyo now!” Top Menu Tip – “the Winchester Roll, served this with fresh wasabi. The flavour is fantastic”.
Summary
“Excellent food and service” again win high ratings for Miff Kayum’s relocated Japanese fixture, which recently moved after 11 years at 70 Parchment Street to this new 60-cover address (with 20-seat courtyard) within the town, on the former site of Bridge Street House. The headline feature on the menu remains the ‘Winchester Roll’ – the world’s first to be wrapped in wasabi leaf not seaweed – as does the freshly grated wasabi served with sushi: “chef grows his own and invited us to see the growing plants and take a leaf home!”
Summary
Miff Kayum’s top-performing and “authentic” Japanese offers “an amazing experience every time” (so much so that some fans “visit Winchester solely to visit”). The sushi and sashimi are invariably “excellent”, with the famed ‘Winchester Roll’ a world’s first, being wrapped in wasabi leaf rather than the usual seaweed. They now do an omakase (chef’s choice) menu on Thu-Sat evenings if you feel like pushing the boat out.
Summary
“The best restaurant in Winchester!” is our diners’ poll’s verdict on Miff Kayum’s Japanese destination, which he opened in 2012 – “a lovely, friendly little place with fantastic sushi” and other “authentic Japanese cuisine, perfectly cooked and presented”. “Excellent staff make it a real dining experience.” Top Menu Tip – the ‘Winchester Roll’ – claiming to be the world’s first sushi roll to use wasabi leaf instead of seaweed.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Kyoto Kitchen?
5 Bridge Street, Winchester, SO23 0HN
Restaurant details
Kyoto Kitchen Restaurant Diner Reviews
"My daughter took me here for my 60th birthday present. On arrival the restaurant knew it had been my birthday a few weeks ago, but still wished me happy birthday. There were four of us eating and we all chose the gourmet set menu. The menus are being changed Monday so they will have new names. They asked us about food allergies. Two of us are gluten free and to complicate things I can't eat crustaceans. This was no problem to them and they adapted the food when ever necessary. The food was exceptional and the waiters took time to explain exactly how each dish had been prepared and what the ingredients were. The food came at a nice pace. When we had our penultimate dish, the Winchester Roll, they served this with fresh wasabi. The flavour of this was fantastic. I would certainly come back and eat here again. I really want to try their vegan set menu next time."
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £24.95 |
| Filter Coffee | £1.95 |
 Extras |
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|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
5 Bridge Street, Winchester, SO23 0HN
Opening hours
| Monday | 5:30 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑1:45 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑1:45 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑1:45 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑1:45 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑1:45 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:45 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑1:45 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:45 pm |
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