Kansai Kitchen in Bristol, City of

Firstly, the restaurant is in the pub, and there is no segregation. Orders are made on the counter bar. This might be a bit confusing for first-timers. I went there on a Friday evening so the place was quite full and rather loud. The staff made good recommendations about the food, however I must say they were on the pricey side. I was waiting for the food a bit longer than expected, and it can be said emphatically that they were quite authentic and certainly unique in Bristol, nevertheless the quality was not exceptional, one might say an average Kansai experience. My verdict is that it is a good place providing good experience if you’re nostalgic for the food, but the price to value is not the best.

Food and drink 7/10 Service 7/10 Decor and atmosphere: 7/10 Service speed 7/10 Cost 6/10 The best: Japanese food in a pub.. What?! The worst: gets loud and crowded. The lowdown: Maybe it's me getting old, but it gets pretty busy in this small establishment. Ordering food can be a nightmare as you order at the bar. Food is great but on the expensive side for the serving sizes. It's a great experience but won't be running back any time soon.

Really delicious Japanese food in a lovely pub.

Tried okonomiyaki. The okonomiyaki sauce is saltier than expected (probably too much oyster sauce mixed in it or something) and cabbage is not diced. Aji fry is not battered with typical panko bread crumbs and fish is overly oily. Size of the mackerel is small too.

authentic and delicious japanese food! love the setting and i can 100% say this is the best japanese food i've had in bristol. the staff were really nice too :) highly recommend trying the okonomiyaki

Lovely pub, friendly staff, and great authentic food!

Lovely authentic Japanese dishes that go perfectly with a nice pint

Authentic Japanese food inside a pub! Service is a bit slow and the pub vibe is a bit strange. People are having beer and crisps while I'm eating a very elaborate okonomiyaki. They are definitely missing out because the food is amazing.

Lovely vibe being in a pub, and therefore great selection of drinks. Unfortunately the food took a while to come out and was bit of a let down. The okonomiyaki has gone up significantly in price (now £17 for prawn and oyster vs £12 a year ago). There were only 3 small shrimp and we couldn’t find a single oyster. The sauces were overdone. Portion size was very small and we ended up getting kebab shortly after (and we’re not particularly big eaters).

When I arrived at the location I thought I was going the wrong way cus there is nothing look like a Japanese restaurant. It is actually hidden inside a local pub. But! Food was great! Really a taste of Osaka as they offer Okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Surprisingly good food and authentic taste of Japan. Not much choice but they are all nice. Would be even better if they got Japanese nama biru in the pub! Haha

Talked reasonably long time about living in Kings Cross. Felt authentic

Very special food in a very cool pub

Takoyaki was great and the staff very nice and attentive.

Put it this way I was compelled to write a review while still eating the food. Friendly, fast and f",&#& ¥ fantastic.

40 minute wait time during peak hours and the food was brilliant!!! My japanese friend was visiting bristol and we decided to try it out. We got the karage (unfortunately didn’t like the yuzu sauce but the chicken was amazing), kimchi, fried sweet potato and black sesame ice cream. We went back home and decided to cook our own japanese rice and miso soup as the pub was completely full. Everything was SO GOOD and made us feel like we were eating food in asia. Delicious and would highly recommend!!!

Great authentic Japanese dishes!! There’re only few Japanese restaurants where you can get authentic Japanese food in Bristol but this place is the one! Especially their Monday menu, Takoyaki, is what I was missing so I was quite happy that they have it on their menu. Rich flavors and nice textures!!

Excellent and authentic Japanese food served here! We had their Sunday menu which although limited was really good. We met one of the owners and chef, Liam and Marion who were lovely people and clearly passionate about bringing true Japanese cuisine to Bristol. My girlfriend is Japanese and said this is the best Japanese restaurant in Bristol. The pub is also a nice experience with a great vibe and a good selection of drinks.

Great food and service. Started as a pop up before lockdown. Still going strong.

This place is fab. Looks like they have expanded their menu since I visited so hope to return one day soon.

Just there for drinks and good company!

Really tasty Japanese food in the HillGrove Porter Stores pub - more like tapas as we ordered quite a few dishes. The Okonomiyaki (like a potato and cabbage pancake) and the cold noodles (with really tasty sauce) were the biggest, and we also had chicken, mackarel and kimchi, all in a nice tucked away beer garden with some great beers to accompany, really nice evening. If they maybe put a couple of extra things on the menu for some extra choice it would be even better.

Food is amazing. Best kept secret in Bristol

I didn't go here for ages because I was confused how a pub could serve Japanese food. Honestly, just ignore that it doesn't make sense and just try the food - easily the best Japanese food in Bristol (sorry Izakaya!) Especially the fried chicken and okonomiyaki. Plus it's a pub as well so great place to drink as well. Staff are friendly too. Will be back!

A bit confusing to find the place only to find out that this Japanese restaurant IS the same as the pub’s building. Very unusual indeed but on the upside, there’s not many close to authentic okonomiyaki restaurants in the UK and this place does serve a good Osaka style okonomiyaki. Usually, to get an authentic okonomiyaki, I’d need to go to London but I’m glad to see one in Bristol.

Was expecting a Japanese restaurant.. instead the most authentic pub with Japanese food. absolutely loved it

Outside of like, visiting a Japanese person's home, this is possibly the best Japanese food you can get in Bristol. Authentic too, like I could get food like this in Japan! Never thought I'd be able to get kushikatsu in Bristol. Highly recommended! I'm definitely coming back for more.

A spot you wouldn't expect to see very often. Tons of character, nice selection of beers and amzing soul japanese food. A mix of cultures, that blends into a very unique Bristol experience!

Tasty food, worth a try but need to buy a few dishes

Hidden gem. Overall 10/10. Went for the first time with a small group this week. Had never heard of it before someone at work recommended. I was very confused to begin with - from the outside and the inside it’s a classic style British pub….however it serves amazing Japanese food! We ordered the following: Homemade kimchi Edamame Ankake fried tofu Okonomiyaki (veg pancake with Ikari sauce) Gohan rice bowl (miso and spring onion) Chicken tatsuta-age Fried kushikatau (sweet potato) My personal favourites - the veg pancake, the fried chicken and the miso rice. But it was all delicious. For dessert we shared the matcha green tea ice cream and the black sesame ice cream - both of these were very tasty. It was a lovely experience too as the chef came out to ask how we found the salt levels in the black sesame ice cream. It was nice to have a chat in general about the food with the guy who made it!

It looks like a regular pub, but don't be fooled by the external aspect: The food is really good, as Japanese as it gets!

We visited end of July when we dropped into Bristol for an evening during a long roadtrip after seeing so many good reviews and we were not disappointed. Pub itself is in need of some redecorating. But Kansai Kitchen provides a great menu of amazing Japanese dishes that makes up for it! Chef had spent some time training in Japan and he has bought back great flavours and techniques! Okonomiyaki was delicious! We got it with oysters but I could have easily ordered all 4 different flavours. The cold sesame noodles was lovely and refreshing too! Highly highly recommended!

Amazing food and a very passionate chef. Definitely recommend trying it out. Very fairly priced and amazing flavours.

Unbelievable food. Seriously good. The pub has brilliant drinks as well reasonably priced.

Yuzu fried chicken is perfect. Crispy Japanese style texture with light but flavorful dressing. The chef, although not a Japanese, stayed in Kansai before so he knows what he's doing

Love the food. Wish the rice with burnt miso was back but there's always something tasty to go with the beer at the Hillgrove.

It's always a delight to get food from Kansai Kitchen. It's consistently delicious, made with real appreciation of Japanese food and I'm always made to feel very welcome and appreciated as well.

Ordered from here while at the Hare on the hill. I don’t have a photo because I ate it too quickly. Delicioso!!

Sweet little hidden gem in Bristol. Hard to find Japanese food as authentic as this in the UK.

We went to Kansai Kitchen during the EoHo scheme. In terms of their COVID-19 precautions, they took a temperature scan for each of us as we entered and took contact details from one of us. First of all, KK is set inside a pub so they spaced out the tables to their best efforts. It was table service only, including when ordering drinks. I asked for the okonomiyaki with oysters, chicken karaage and a cider. Perhaps I’m not a huge fan of okonomiyaki in general but theirs had very few actual oysters. My companions weren’t too pleased with the amount of prawns too. At least the chicken was crisp on the outside and juicy inside. Service was staggered because understandably they were overwhelmed from the demand of EoHo diners. All in all, we paid £9 each which would equate to a little over one okonomiyaki normally. Would I pay the regular price? Probably not. Service was good but decent Japanese cuisine is still hard to come by in Bristol.

Very nice Japanese food in an old British pub. Fast service

It is one of my favorite Japanese restaurant in Bristol! The food is amazing, Absolutely fantastic! 💕 The vibe is English pub but the food is taste like original from Japan! 👌🏻👍🏻 also the service is also brilliant😊

Very nice atmosphere!! Great food!!!!

Amazing food and really friendly staff. Very reasonably priced. Would recommend to anyone

Food here was delicious! Not a lot to choose from but the food they have is well made and beautifully presented. Portions a little on the smaller side but was still filling-might have been nice to see some dessert options. I liked how nice the staff were and thorough with the Covid19 checks. Would definitely come here again!

Great service, great food. Would definitely come back again. 😁😁😁😁

Incredible food by Liam and his team. Always so friendly and helpful. The tatsuta-age and okonomiyaki are to die for!

Very delicious! Look forward to my next visit!

The most delicious, authentic Japanese food. Delicious way

This is one of the best place to get authentic Japanese food here in Bristol (the other being the food stall DonDon in St. Nicholas Market, according to my Japanese hairdresser. Indeed, this “restaurant” did live up to its expectations. The reason why I used quotation was because this restaurant is actually located inside a bar, which was a surprise to all of us. There wasn’t a wide range of selection of food, but all were beautifully made. The chef has been in Japan for at least a decade and he mastered the art of Japanese cuisine. You can definitely feel his passion by enjoying his masterpieces. Do bear in mind that the portion is generally not large so you might to order at least 2 items. One of the must have item is the okonomiyaki, which is Japanese for a hearty vegetarian pancake served with different kind of sauces. As a person who routinely goes to Japan, I can confidently say that this is really authentic and it’s better to spend your money here than any other so-called authentic Japanese restaurant here in Bristol.

Amazing pub with amazing food. Would definitely recommend!

Amazing food, the okonomiyaki is a must-have

Exceptional meal - the knowledge and passion really comes through!

An incredible multi-course Japanese meal in a quirky oldy style pub - sounds odd but it really worked! Every course was delicious, the chef was so passionate and knowledgeable, and the beer selection was immense. Highly recommend!

Authentic Japanese cuisine. S lush.

Really good food and enthusiastic chef

Delicious! True Japanese flavours

Amazing fresh - traditional - tasty japanese food. The chef who lived in Japan several years is passionate and available for his customers. Best place in Bristol to eat proper isakaya nippon style dishes.

Great food and the chef was very knowledgeable and talked us through the food. One of the barmen was not so friendly.

Absolutely delicious Japanese cuisine in a friendly pub with a great atmosphere & a very good range of beer & real ale. The manager goes all out to perfect his dishes & he delivers! A hit with a group of eight of us, he even whipped up some mouth watering tasting plates for us that weren't even on the menu. Would seriously recommend you give it a go.

Great tasty Japanese food with ample vegan options. Owner came and chatted to us and all staff were very friendly.