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The Best Japanese Restaurants in Sydney
Eat your heart out, Tokyo! These Sydney Japanese restaurants are giving Tokyo a serious run for her money.
Sydney’s best Japanese restaurants span everything from Besuto’s 8-seat omakase counter in the CBD to Ramen Auru’s Tokyo-style tatami hall in Crows Nest. For katsu, Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu’s stone-grill wagyu draws queues on Pitt Street, while Izakaya Uomichi’s Yamanashi wine list sets it apart on George Street.
The chefs behind these Sydney Japanese restaurants are some of the best in the game, serving up everything from delicately plated sushi to steaming bowls of ramen. So, whether you’re after a special-occasion tasting menu or a late-night bowl of tonkotsu, this guide covers Sydney’s strongest Japanese dining across ramen, katsu, izakaya, yakitori and sushi.
Pass the chopsticks and pour out the saké!
In This Guide:
Best Japanese Restaurants: Editor’s Pick
Senkatsu
A CBD spot dedicated entirely to the craft of katsu, Senkatsu is the kind of focused, considered restaurant that feels very Japan. Australian pork is wet-aged for 24 hours before frying, the wagyu gyukatsu is buttery-soft inside, and the matcha and black sesame desserts are worth saving room for (trust us).
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Quick bite, Solo dining, Business lunch
Best Japanese Restaurants: Special Occasion
Ibushi
If you’re not already familiar with Sussex Street’s glorious Japanese precinct, P48, let Ibushi be your intro. This casual yet sleek robata grill restaurant captures the unique smoky flavours of fresh produce and meat cooked over charcoal. Think jumbo grilled oysters, wagyu chuck tail and Marrunga lamb doused in umami Japanese flavours. For drinks, you’ll find plenty of wines by the glass and bottles, on top of seasonal highballs and sake. The best way to sample the goods on offer is by selecting one of the tasting menus. Your dishes will be presented impeccably, akin to fine dining, but the vibe is as relaxed as they come.
Sitchu Tip: Fancy a nightcap? Head to Whisky Thief, another of p48’s impeccable venues.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Special occasion, Date night, Wine lovers
Oborozuki
Oborozuki is the kind of dining experience that leaves you feeling pleasantly full (but not too full) and sated in a sense that surpasses appetite. Serene, intimate, old-world and new – you’ll find an amalgamation of fine dining delights here. Details are considered right down to the hot towels that signal the beginning of your meal. The menu, which gently fuses French and Japanese cuisine, subtly explores flavour in a way that won’t slap you in the face but that will leave you delighted at the way each delicate dish unfolds, each of which is impeccably plated and presented with care and respect by the knowledgeable staff. Add in floor-to-ceiling harbour views and you’ll be hard-pressed to top a night here.
Sitchu Tip: Order a sake and you’ll get to select a handcrafted class of your choice from a leather trunk that will be yours for the evening. An extra special detail!
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Special occasion, Date night, Waterfront, Wine lovers
Nobu
Nobu needs absolutely no introduction. Celebrity Chef Nobu Matsuhisa has become synonymous with high end Japanese cuisine. To try it all, book in for the omakase experience,.
Suburb: Barangaroo
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Special occasion, Date night, Waterfront
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Besuto
Brace yourself for one of the the most magical dining experience in Sydney. This intimate 8-seater omakase restaurant from head chef Hirofumi Fujita is simply out of this world. Serving a single omakase menu for $250 per person, you simply arrive, let the worries of the world fade away and allow the talented and generous chefs to hand you plate after plate of deliciousness!
Besuto’s menu is decided each day based on the freshest produce that the team can source at their early morning fish market run. So there will be no pre-dinner menu stalking, and you’ll never know what you’re getting until you show up—but trust us—you won’t be disappointed! Bookings open on the first of each month, so you’ll need to get organised if you fancy dining here.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Special occasion, Date night, Solo dining
IKI Dining
Having recently opened on Llankelly Place, IKI Dining has brought a new level of Japanese sophistication to Sydney. Led by acclaimed chef Masahiko Yomoda (MasterChef, Iron Chef) and dreamt up by restaurateur Eddy Lee, the 80-seat venue blends family legacy, Michelin-starred precision, and immersive design.
Guests can journey from the neon-lit cocktail bar, helmed by award-winning bartender Sam Liao, into a split-level dining room designed by Vie Studios, with clever design details referencing Tokyo’s famed laneways. The menu is anchored in the Japanese philosophy of IKI, meaning ‘refined simplicity and effortless charm’, with dishes created to reflect this ethos. The soulful 48-hour ramen is a real standout, as is the elevated raw bar of premium Australian seafood, and refined izakaya favourites like Koji Chicken Karaage and Wagyu steak. These can be enjoyed with a variety of drinks pairings, from traditional sake to yuzu margaritas and Japanese-inspired mocktails.
Suburb: Potts Point
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Special occasion, Date night, Cocktail lovers, Group dining
Best Japanese Restaurants: Ramen
Chaco Ramen
Tucked along one of Darlinghurst’s many nondescript streets lies Chaco Ramen. Look for the Noren-covered door and enter a cosy space packed with fellow ramen lovers. The curated menu focuses primarily on ramen with some fun modern spins like chilli coriander and yuzu scallop. This petite spot is rather popular so be prepared to wait a little during peak dining times.
Suburb: Darlinghurst
Price Guide: $
Cuisine: Ramen
Best For: Quick bite, Budget-friendly, Locals, Solo dining
Mensho Tokyo Ramen
After conquering San Francisco, Tokyo and Melbourne, ramen master Tomoharu Shono’s Michelin-recommended chain Mensho Ramen landed in Sydney, and the queues haven’t let up since. The noodles are milled in-house from Australian brown wheat, and the bowls range from a silky toripaitan chicken broth to the Sydney-exclusive lobster bisque ramen, (a dinner-only special made with a whole lobster) which was inspired by Shono’s first visit to the Sydney Fish Market). The open kitchen and moody black-and-gold fit-out make the whole thing feel like you’ve stepped right into Tokyo which is such a vibe.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $
Cuisine: Ramen
Best For: Quick bite, Date night, Budget-friendly
Ramen Auru
From the team behind Nakano Darling and Yakitori Yurippi, Ramen Auru sits on the second floor of a three-storey Japanese complex in Crows Nest, and it’s about as close to a Tokyo ramen hall as you’ll find in Sydney. Order via a custom-built ticket vending machine, grab a spot at the low tatami tables and choose from three bowls; yuzu shio chicken, prawn bisque and a classic tonkotsu you can customise to your liking.
Sitchu Tip: Fancy a late-night feed? From 10pm to 12pm, you can enjoy a rich and creamy Tonkotsu Ramen for just $15! Available Monday – Saturday.
Suburb: Crows Nest
Price Guide: $
Cuisine: Ramen
Best For: Late night, Locals, Quick bite
Need To Know: Order via ticket vending machine on entry.
Best Japanese Restaurants: Sushi
Zushi
No matter what your tastes are there will be something at Zushi that satisfies. Their set menus make for the perfect sushi date night and their bento boxes the ultimate weekday lunch.
Suburb: Barangaroo
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Date night, Quick bite, Business lunch
Sokyo
Smack bang in the middle of The Star you’ll find Sokyo, a Japanese restaurant that is the perfect marriage of cutting-edge Tokyo-cool and Sydney’s stylish foodie scene. An ode to contemporary Japanese flavours and their unrivalled aesthetic sensibilities, Sokyo is where you’ll find some of the most beautiful sushi in the game with plates loaded up with luminescent jewel toned fish and adorned with flowers. Plus, it’s in a casino so of course the tempura comes with truffle and you can add caviar to almost anything!
Suburb: Pyrmont
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Special occasion, Date night, Waterfront
Best Japanese Restaurants: Izakaya
Cho Cho San
With eye-catching, award-winning interiors and a diverse and delectable menu, this Sydney Japanese restaurant is a feast for all the senses. If you’re looking for a choice cross-section of the Cho Cho San menu, they have three truly delicious set menus for $65, $80 and $90 respectively.
Suburb: Potts Point
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Group dining, Date night, Long lunch
Kid Kyoto
Kid Kyoto is a delicious and rebellious Japanese izakaya inspired by the laneway bars of Tokyo. With Chef Sean Yoon at the helm, the menu is all about putting a modern Aussie twist on traditional Japanese dishes. You can dine à la carte or, for $75 per person, try the “Trust Us” menu which is an absolute godsend for indecisive diners everywhere. The watermelon sashimi is the hero of the raw menu.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Group dining, Date night, Weekend plans
Izakaya Uomichi
Tucked inside Regent Place on level 9 of the George Street precinct, Uomichi has the feel of a laneway hidden in plain sight. The menu covers sushi, sashimi and yakitori alongside a range of Japanese sides, while the drinks list leans into wines from Yamanashi prefecture, which is a point of difference you won’t find many other places in the city.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Date night, Wine lovers, Group dining
Gold Class Daruma
Resident at The Grace Hotel on York Street, Gold Class Daruma is an intimate sushi restaurant doing some of Sydney’s most accessible Omakase. The chef’s tasting menu runs through seasonal sashimi, chawanmushi, hotpot and wagyu beef tataki for just $89pp. The 500-year-old Akita cedar counter is worth the visit alone.
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Special occasion, Date night, Solo dining, Budget-friendly
Kura Kura
A no-frills upstairs haunt, Kura Kura has been a Haymarket staple for good reason. It delivers solid, affordable Japanese classics without any fuss, including sashimi, donburi, ramen and bento. It’s the kind of place locals keep to themselves but we didn’t want to gatekeep!
Suburb: Haymarket
Price Guide: $
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Budget-friendly, Locals, Quick bite, Solo dining
Nakano Darling
From the team behind Yakitori Yurippi, Nakano Darling nails the very Japanese philosophy of doing a handful of things impeccably. House-made karaage and gyoza are the food stars, while Japanese whisky highballs (including the city’s only pour of Suntory Kakubin) are the reason you’ll stay longer than planned. The tatami room and horigotatsu tables make it feel like a Tokyo spot, though.
Suburb: Haymarket
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Group dining, Cocktail lovers, Date night
Best Japanese Restaurants: Katsu
Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu
Japan’s number-one gyukatsu chain has landed in Sydney, and the queues tell you everything you need to know. As the name implies, Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu is a Kyoto-born cult spot that does one thing: beef cutlets, flash-fried in panko and served medium-rare with a personal stone grill so you can finish your meat exactly how you like it. The tenderloin is the move, though the Australian wagyu set is also hard to argue with. Come hungry!
Suburb: Sydney CBD
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Quick bite, Locals, Solo dining
Best Japanese Restaurants: Yakitori
Yakitori Bar Kitsch Tokyo
This Chatswood izakaya is perfectly kitschy, complete with a disco ball, Suntory crate stools and vintage beer posters, which should come as no surprise given it’s called Yakitori Bar Kitsch Tokyo. The charcoal-grilled skewers are the real draw though, and the Tokyo Platter ticks off wagyu, prawn, pork belly, unagi and more in one go. Wash it all down with a lemon highball, because, when in Tokyo.
Sitchu Tip: Cash gets you a discount!
Suburb: Chatswood
Price Guide: $$
Cuisine: Japanese
Best For: Group dining, Cocktail lovers, Budget-friendly, Locals
Frequently Asked Questions about Sydney’s Best Japanese Restaurants
For a memorable, high-end meal, Besuto’s eight-seat omakase counter in the Sydney CBD is one of the city’s most talked-about bookings, with a menu decided fresh each morning at the fish market. Oborozuki is a strong alternative for those after fine dining with sweeping harbour views and a French-Japanese menu. Both require booking well in advance, particularly Besuto, whose reservations open on the first of each month. For something equally elevated but more accessible, Gold Class Daruma’s $89pp omakase at The Grace Hotel is worth considering.
Sydney’s ramen scene spans casual and destination-worthy options. Mensho Tokyo Ramen in the CBD is Michelin-recommended and known for its Sydney-exclusive lobster bisque bowl. Ramen Auru in Crows Nest recreates a Tokyo ramen hall experience with tatami seating and a ticket vending machine at the door. Chaco Ramen in Darlinghurst is a smaller, cosier option with modern flavour twists like chilli coriander and yuzu scallop. Expect queues at the more popular spots, particularly during peak dinner hours.
Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu in the Sydney CBD is Japan’s number-one gyukatsu chain and does one thing exceptionally well: panko-fried beef cutlets served on a personal stone grill so you can finish cooking to your liking. Senkatsu, also in the CBD, is a more focused, quieter alternative dedicated entirely to katsu, with 24-hour wet-aged pork and a well-regarded wagyu gyukatsu. Both are worth booking ahead for, particularly on weekends when queues build quickly at Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu.
Izakaya Uomichi on George Street combines sushi, sashimi and yakitori with a Yamanashi-focused wine list, a genuine point of difference in Sydney’s izakaya scene. Kid Kyoto brings a rebellious, laneway-bar energy with a “Trust Us” set menu for indecisive diners. Kura Kura in Haymarket is the no-frills, affordable option locals tend to keep to themselves. Each offers a different read on izakaya dining, from polished to properly casual, so the right pick depends on the occasion.
Yakitori Bar Kitsch Tokyo in Chatswood is Sydney’s standout for charcoal-grilled skewers, serving a Tokyo Platter that covers wagyu, prawn, pork belly and unagi in one order. The kitsch, disco-ball-and-Suntory-crate fit-out leans into its Tokyo laneway inspiration. It’s a solid pick for a casual night with drinks, particularly paired with a lemon highball. Sydney’s dedicated yakitori scene remains fairly small compared to ramen or izakaya, so this is currently one of the strongest specialist options in the city.
Loved our favourite Japanese restaurants in Sydney and keen to keep travelling with your tastebuds? Make your way through the rest of the continent and check out our roundups of the best Thai restaurants in town, the best Indian in Sydney and, last but not least, the best Chinese restaurants in Sydney.
