"Tomoyasu Kamo holds Belgium's only Japanese-owned Michelin star, serving edomae sushi from daily arrivals — book the counter for a first date."
Tomoyasu Kamo cut fish at Tagawa in Tokyo before opening the only Japanese-run Michelin restaurant in Belgium. His room in Ixelles, on the Chaussée de Waterloo near the Boondael district, holds one Michelin star and reads as a slice of Tokyo dropped into Brussels: pared-back wood, a quiet counter, and a chef who also runs a fishmonger of the same name a short walk away.
The cooking is built on supply. Kamo owns his fish source, so the menu follows the morning's arrivals rather than a fixed card: a run of sashimi, a few cooked dishes, and a sequence of edomae nigiri shaped to order at the counter. Lunch leans a little more traditional, with made-to-order sushi; dinner is the fuller expression, with the omakase menu landing around €130. The restraint is the skill, deceptively simple plates that live or die on the quality and cut of the fish, and on the temperature of the rice.
It is the most serious sushi in the city and one of the few Japanese counters in Europe run by a starred Japanese chef. See where it sits among the best sushi restaurants worldwide, browse the full Brussels dining guide, or read our Brussels top ten.
The room is small, wood-rich and serene, built around a counter where you watch Kamo and his team work. Sound is hushed, the lighting low and warm, the spacing close in the way a good sushi bar should be. Dress is smart-casual; the mood is calm rather than formal, and unusually relaxed for a starred room. There are only a handful of counter seats and a few tables, so the experience is intimate and a counter booking puts you directly in front of the chef.
Book the counter at Kamo for a first date because it gives you a built-in shared experience: you sit side by side watching the chef shape each piece, the room is quiet enough to talk, and the pace of an omakase keeps the evening moving without awkward gaps. The intimacy of a small sushi bar flatters a new conversation, and the daily-changing menu gives you something to react to together. Request the counter when you book; the tables miss half the appeal.
Not for a big celebration or a vegetarian table. Kamo is a small, fish-first sushi counter, and the menu follows the morning's catch, not requests.
Is Kamo worth it?
Yes, if you want the best sushi in Brussels. Tomoyasu Kamo is the only Japanese chef in Belgium with a Michelin star, he owns his own fish supply, and the quality at the counter shows it. Around €130 for the omakase is a serious sum locally, but for the calibre of fish and the chef's pedigree it is fair. For a special date, a solo treat or impressing a guest who knows sushi, it is the clear choice in the city.
How hard is it to book Kamo?
Book ahead. The room is small, with only a handful of counter seats and a few tables, so dinner fills quickly, especially the counter. Reserve direct through the Kamo website or by phone a week or two out, and specify that you want the counter facing the chef. Lunch, which leans more traditional with made-to-order sushi, is sometimes an easier reservation and a good lower-commitment way to try the kitchen.
What should I order at Kamo?
Let the chef lead. Kamo's menu follows the day's arrivals, so the omakase at dinner, around €130, is the way to see the full range of sashimi, cooked dishes and edomae nigiri shaped to order. Sit at the counter so the nigiri reaches you piece by piece at the right moment. At lunch, the made-to-order sushi is a more traditional and lighter option if you want a shorter visit.
Is Kamo good for a date or solo dining?
Yes to both. The counter seats put you side by side watching the chef, which makes for an easy, shared first date, and the hushed, intimate room helps the conversation. For solo diners, a sushi counter is the ideal format: you eat at the chef's pace with a front-row view. For more intimate rooms in the city, see our Brussels ranking.
Booked the counter for a first date. Watching Kamo shape each piece gave us something to talk about and the room is calm and quiet. The fish is on another level for Brussels. We barely noticed two hours pass.
Ate alone at the counter on a work trip. As close to a good Tokyo sush-ya as I have found in Europe. Kamo paced the nigiri perfectly and chatted between courses. Book the counter, not a table.
Reserve direct through the Kamo site or by phone. The counter facing the chef is the seat to request; the room is small and books out.
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