RFK Cuisine · Japanese · Hong Kong
Best Japanese Restaurants in Hong Kong 2026
Japanese · Hong Kong · 5 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
The tuna on the counter at Sushi Shikon was swimming off Japan barely a day ago — flown from Toyosu market each morning, cut in Central by the time you sit down. That daily air bridge is why Hong Kong became the most serious city for Japanese fine dining outside Japan itself: a wealthy, well-traveled audience willing to pay Tokyo prices for Tokyo fish, and a generation of Japanese masters who opened here to serve it. Five rooms, all Michelin-starred, ranked on the cooking, the room and what the bill buys — from the city's only three-star sushi counter to the Spanish-Japanese kitchen that fits nowhere else.
1.Sushi Shikon
Hong Kong's only three-star sushi counter, starred every year since 2014; book a month out for the city's benchmark Edomae omakase.
Sushi Shikon, on the upper floor of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Central, is the city's only three-Michelin-star Japanese restaurant and has held three stars without a break since 2014. The kitchen, under chef Yoshiharu Kakinuma, runs textbook Edomae sushi — fish aged and cured with Tokyo discipline, warm red-vinegar shari, each piece handed across the counter — using seafood flown daily from Japan. The room seats a handful, the pace is exacting, and the omakase is among the most expensive meals in Hong Kong. It is the counter to plan an evening around. Book a month ahead through the hotel.
Reserve through the Landmark Mandarin Oriental; the full dinner omakase, sake to match.
2.Ta Vie
Hideaki Sato's French-Japanese room, newly promoted to three stars; book for the most refined fusion tasting menu in the city.
Ta Vie, inside The Pottinger hotel in Central, was raised to three Michelin stars in the 2026 guide, the reward for Hideaki Sato's quiet, decade-long project of marrying French technique to a Japanese sensibility. There is one tasting menu and it changes with the seasons — Sato cooks with restraint and an obsessive eye for the single best ingredient, and the room, pale wood and calm, matches the food. It is not sushi and not kaiseki but its own thing: Japanese sensibility in a French grammar. For diners who want the precision of Japan without a sushi counter, it is the pick. Book online a few weeks ahead.
Reserve direct online; the seasonal tasting menu, with the wine pairing.
3.Sushi Saito
The Hong Kong outpost of a Tokyo legend, 45 floors up at the Four Seasons; book for same-day Toyosu fish with a harbor view.
Sushi Saito occupies the 45th floor of the Four Seasons in Central, a Hong Kong branch supervised by the celebrated Tokyo itamae Takashi Saito and holding one Michelin star. The seafood is hand-picked at Toyosu each morning and flown in the same day, the rice is cooked in small batches for precise temperature, and the omakase is faithful Edomae sushi delivered with Tokyo rigor — now with a Victoria Harbour view the original never had. It is one of the priciest counters in the city, and the access to the Saito name without a Tokyo introduction is part of what you pay for. Book a month ahead through the hotel.
Reserve through the Four Seasons; the dinner omakase, and a window seat if you can.
4.Ando
Agustin Balbi's one-star tribute to his Argentine-Spanish roots through Japanese technique; book for the city's most personal Japanese-rooted kitchen.
Ando, on Wellington Street in Central, is the one-Michelin-star room of Agustin Balbi, an Argentine chef who spent years training in Japan and now cooks a tasting menu that braids his Hispanic heritage with that Japanese precision. The signature is "Throwback," a soupy Spanish-style rice course built as a tribute to his grandmother — a dish that says more about the chef than any nigiri could. It is the outlier on this list: not a sushi counter but a deeply personal kitchen that happens to run on Japanese discipline. Go for the story and the cooking, not for raw fish. Book online a couple of weeks ahead.
Reserve direct online; the tasting menu, and the "Throwback" rice course.
5.Sushi Takeshi
The Kowloon-side Edomae counter that won a star on Yamagata rice; book for serious sushi without the Central price or wait.
Sushi Takeshi, inside The Mira in Tsim Sha Tsui, took a Michelin star in the 2026 guide on the strength of its shari — the chef, Kin-san, who trained at Sushi Wadatsumi in Hong Kong and Ginza-Iwa in Tokyo, builds the rice with Yamagata grains and a careful hand. The fish is flown in seasonally from Japan and the omakase is available at both lunch and dinner, which makes it one of the more accessible serious counters in the city. It is the Kowloon-side pick for Edomae sushi without the three-star price tag or the month-long wait. Book through The Mira a week or two ahead.
Reserve through The Mira; the lunch omakase for value, dinner for the full run.
How Hong Kong eats Japanese
Hong Kong's Japanese scene runs on freight and money. The fish arrives daily from Tokyo's Toyosu market, often less than 24 hours from the auction, and a clientele used to flying to Japan for sushi will pay accordingly — counters here charge close to Tokyo prices and fill anyway. The depth is in the counters: alongside the starred rooms above sit dozens of strong omakase, teppanyaki and yakiniku venues, from Tsim Sha Tsui to Wan Chai, with newer names like Seikuu drawing the next wave of attention. The format is intimate — eight to twelve seats, a single itamae or chef, a set menu — so booking ahead is non-negotiable.
Etiquette mirrors Japan: eat each piece of nigiri the moment it lands, let the chef set the pace, and do not over-douse in soy. Tipping is not expected beyond the standard service charge. The starred counters skew to Central and the harbor hotels, with Sushi Takeshi the Kowloon-side exception. For the wider craft and the global field, start with the best Japanese restaurants worldwide pillar; for the rest of the city by neighborhood and occasion, the Hong Kong dining guide maps it all.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for serious Japanese
The mall-floor sushi chain and the conveyor-belt counter. Hong Kong has plenty of cheap, fun kaiten and chain sushi, and they are fine for a quick lunch — but they are a different category from a Japan-freighted omakase. Do not judge the city's Japanese cooking by them; book one of the counters above for the real thing.
Sushi Saito or Sushi Shikon if you want value. Both are among the most expensive meals in the city. For Edomae sushi that still earns a star at a gentler price, Sushi Takeshi in Tsim Sha Tsui is the smarter book, especially at lunch.
Frequently asked
What is the best Japanese restaurant in Hong Kong?
Sushi Shikon at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental is Hong Kong's only three-Michelin-star sushi restaurant and has held three stars every year since 2014, making it the city's benchmark for Edomae sushi. Ta Vie, the French-Japanese tasting room at The Pottinger, was promoted to three stars in the 2026 guide and runs it close. For Edomae sushi at a slightly lower price and pressure, Sushi Saito and Sushi Takeshi are the one-star picks.
Why is Hong Kong known for Japanese food?
Hong Kong is the most important city for high-end Japanese dining outside Japan itself. Daily air freight from Tokyo's Toyosu market means the fish is barely a day from the sea, a wealthy and well-traveled clientele supports counters charging Tokyo prices, and several Japanese masters have opened Hong Kong outposts. The result is a concentration of starred sushi and kaiseki — Sushi Shikon, Sushi Saito, Sushi Takeshi — that few cities outside Japan can match.
How much does omakase cost in Hong Kong?
A top omakase in Hong Kong runs roughly HK$2,500 to HK$4,500 per person before drinks, with the three-star and Four Seasons counters at the upper end. Sushi Shikon and Sushi Saito are among the most expensive; Ando's Spanish-Japanese tasting menu and Sushi Takeshi sit somewhat below. Lunch, where offered, is cheaper than dinner. Sake and wine pairings add significantly, and the fish-freight premium is built into every bill.
How do you book Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong?
Most of the starred rooms book directly or through their hotel, and the three-star counters fill weeks ahead for prime evening times. Sushi Shikon and Sushi Saito are best booked a month out through the hotel; Ta Vie and Ando take direct online reservations; Sushi Takeshi books through The Mira. Counters seat eight to twelve, so availability is genuinely scarce — book before you fly, not after you land.
Is Ando a sushi restaurant?
No. Ando, the one-Michelin-star room of chef Agustin Balbi, is not a sushi counter but a personal tasting menu that fuses his Argentine and Spanish heritage with the Japanese technique he trained in for years. The signature is the "Throwback" rice course, a tribute to his grandmother's Spanish cooking. It belongs on a Japanese-Hong-Kong list as the city's most distinctive Japanese-rooted kitchen, but go expecting a chef's story, not nigiri.
More Japanese, by city
More from RFK
Browse the full Hong Kong dining guide, compare the global field in the best Japanese worldwide, see the city's best French restaurants, plan a meal to impress clients in Central, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
Restaurants for Kings is reader-supported. Some reservation links are affiliate links with OpenTable, Resy or Tock; we earn a small commission at no cost to you, and a link never buys a place on a ranking. Editorial scores and ranking order are independent of any commercial relationship. See our ranking methodology.