RFK Cuisine · Japanese · London
Best Japanese Restaurants in London 2026
Japanese · London · 7 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
London's Japanese map redrew itself in 2025: a fire closed Endo at the Rotunda in White City, Taku in Mayfair changed hands, and a pair of new sushi counters, Kioku and Sushi Kanesaka, entered the Michelin guide. Through all of it, the established greats held their ground — Umu still cooks the only true Kyoto kaiseki in the city, The Araki still runs the most exclusive sushi counter in Europe, and the Zuma–Roka–Nobu axis still defines what most Londoners mean by a Japanese night out. These are the seven Japanese restaurants worth booking in 2026, ranked on the cooking, the room and what the bill buys, with the dish to order and how to get a table at each.
1.Umu
London's only true Kyoto kaiseki, one star and a sake list to match — book Umu for the city's most complete Japanese occasion.
Umu, behind a sliding door on Bruton Place in Mayfair, is the most serious Japanese restaurant in London and the only one cooking genuine Kyoto kaiseki. It has held a Michelin star for years, and under executive chef Ryo Kamatsu the kitchen builds seasonal multi-course menus around precise technique and ingredients flown from Japan, paired from one of the deepest sake lists in Europe. The room is discreet and grown-up, made for an occasion rather than a scene. Expect around £155 to £195 a head for the kaiseki tasting before drinks, with shorter lunch menus that are the value way in. For the most complete Japanese meal in the city, book the Mayfair room well ahead.
Reserve direct, well ahead; the seasonal kaiseki tasting, a sake flight, and the wagyu course if it is on.
2.The Araki
The former three-star sushi counter, now Marty Lau's at roughly £310 — book The Araki for a once-a-year sushi pilgrimage.
The Araki is the most exclusive sushi seat in London, a tiny Mayfair counter that held three Michelin stars under founder Mitsuhiro Araki before he returned to Tokyo in 2019. It has operated without a star since, but the standard has not collapsed: Araki's protégé Marty Lau now runs the omakase, working London-adapted Edomae sushi — rice seasoned with red vinegar, fish aged and cured in-house — over a single nightly seating. At around £310 a head it is a deliberate splurge, and the scarcity is the point. For a sushi obsessive's pilgrimage rather than a casual dinner, book the counter weeks ahead and put yourself in the chef's hands.
Reserve direct, weeks out; the full omakase, the aged tuna nigiri, and whatever Lau is curing that month.
3.Sushi Tetsu
A seven-seat Clerkenwell counter and one of London's great bargains for the quality — book Sushi Tetsu the moment a slot opens.
Sushi Tetsu, on tiny Jerusalem Passage in Clerkenwell, is a seven-seat counter run by Toru Takahashi and his wife Harumi, and it has a cult following that has nothing to do with Michelin — the restaurant has never courted a star. Takahashi makes everything himself, one piece at a time, and the omakase is exact, calm and astonishingly good value next to the Mayfair counters. The catch is the booking: a handful of seats, email-only reservations, and a waitlist that fills the instant slots are released. Expect around £90 to £150 a head depending on the menu. For the best-value serious sushi in London, set an alarm for the booking window and pounce.
Reserve by the email window only; the chef's omakase, the tamago, and a cup of the house tea.
4.Zuma
Rainer Becker's Knightsbridge izakaya that launched a global brand — book Zuma for a polished, lively dinner across robata, sushi and sake.
Zuma, on Raphael Street in Knightsbridge, opened in 2002 and turned the modern izakaya into a London institution and then a worldwide one. Rainer Becker's format splits the kitchen between a robata charcoal grill, a sushi counter and the main kitchen, and the menu is built for sharing — miso-marinated black cod, spicy beef tenderloin with sesame, grilled lobster off the robata. The room is glossy and loud in the best way, equally suited to a celebration or a deal dinner. Expect around £80 to £130 a head with drinks. For a contemporary Japanese night with real cooking under the buzz, book a week or two ahead and order across all three sections.
Reserve direct; the miso black cod, the spicy beef tenderloin, and a robata skewer or two to share.
5.Roka
The original Roka and the more relaxed Becker grill — book the Charlotte Street room for robata cooking without the Knightsbridge price.
Roka on Charlotte Street is the first and best of the Roka grills, the more casual sibling to Zuma from the same Rainer Becker stable. The restaurant is built around its central robatayaki — an open charcoal grill that the room circles — and the cooking off it is the draw: the black cod, the gindara, the lamb cutlets with Korean spices, the whole thing more sharing-feast than ceremony. It is livelier and a touch cheaper than Zuma, and the Fitzrovia room hums with a younger crowd. Expect around £55 to £95 a head with drinks. For robata cooking and a good time without the full Knightsbridge bill, book a few days ahead.
Reserve direct; the black cod, the lamb cutlets off the robata, and a round of grilled skewers.
6.Nobu Old Park Lane
The 1997 original that brought Nobu to Europe, black cod and yellowtail still on song — book it for the dish that started a global craze.
Nobu Old Park Lane, above the Metropolitan hotel on Old Park Lane, opened in 1997 as the first Nobu in Europe and remains the reference point for Nobu Matsuhisa's Japanese-Peruvian cooking in the city. The greatest hits are still the reason to come — the black cod with miso, the yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño, the rock shrimp tempura — dishes so widely copied that it is easy to forget they were invented here. The Park Lane room is grown-up and discreet rather than party-loud. Expect around £80 to £130 a head with drinks. For the original version of dishes the whole world now serves, book a week ahead and start with the black cod.
Reserve direct; the miso black cod, the yellowtail jalapeño, and the rock shrimp tempura.
7.Sexy Fish
Richard Caring's Berkeley Square spectacle, Damien Hirst on the walls and sushi on the plates — book Sexy Fish for a night that is half theatre.
Sexy Fish, on Berkeley Square, is the most theatrical Japanese-leaning room in London: a Caprice Holdings production with Damien Hirst mermaids on the walls, a Frank Pollaro bronze bar and a Pacific-Japanese seafood menu to match the spectacle. The cooking is more crowd-pleaser than purist — sushi and sashimi, robata grills, miso black cod again, a long cocktail list — but it is done well, and nobody comes here only for the fish. The room is loud, late and built for an event. Expect around £80 to £140 a head with drinks. For a glamorous, high-energy Japanese-ish dinner where the room is half the show, book a week or two ahead and lean into it.
Reserve direct; the sashimi selection, a robata grill, and a cocktail under the Hirst mermaids.
How London eats Japanese
London's Japanese scene splits cleanly in two. At the top sit the specialist counters — Umu's kaiseki, the Araki and Sushi Tetsu's omakase — small, expensive and built around a single chef's discipline, the kind of cooking that rewards silence and attention. Beneath them is the broad, brilliant middle that most of the city actually eats: the contemporary izakaya and robata rooms, led by Rainer Becker's Zuma and Roka and the long-running Nobu, where sharing plates, a charcoal grill and a sake list matter more than a tasting-menu hush. London does both better than any city in Europe, helped by a steady flow of Japanese chefs and a market that will pay for the real thing.
A few practical notes. The specialist counters book well ahead and release seats in tight windows — Sushi Tetsu by email, the Araki weeks out — so plan rather than walk in. The izakaya rooms are easier, though weekend prime time still needs a few days. Sharing is the natural way to order across the grills; build a spread of robata, sushi and a cooked dish rather than a plate each. Tipping in London runs around 12.5 percent, usually added as a discretionary service charge. For the wider city by neighbourhood and occasion, use the full London dining guide.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for a serious London Japanese meal
The conveyor-belt and high-street sushi chains, for a real meal. London is full of cheap kaiten and grab-and-go sushi that is fine for a lunch but bears no relation to the counters above. If you want actual Edomae sushi, that is The Araki or Sushi Tetsu, not a supermarket-grade belt.
Endo at the Rotunda, for now. The one-star White City room is closed after a 2025 fire and rebuilding; chef Endo Kazutoshi has been running a Mayfair pop-up at Annabel's in the meantime. Check its status before you plan around the original address, and in the meantime book Umu or the Araki instead.
Frequently asked
What is the best Japanese restaurant in London?
Umu on Bruton Place in Mayfair is the best, and it remains London's only Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant, cooking a seasonal Kyoto menu under executive chef Ryo Kamatsu with one of the deepest sake lists in Europe. For pure sushi at the highest level, The Araki — the former three-star omakase counter, now run by Marty Lau — is the rarest seat in the city. Choose Umu for a complete kaiseki occasion, The Araki for a sushi pilgrimage.
Which Japanese restaurants in London have Michelin stars?
Umu in Mayfair holds one Michelin star for its Kyoto kaiseki. The wider starred Japanese scene shifted in 2025 and 2026: Endo at the Rotunda, which held a star from 2020, closed after a fire at White City and is running a Mayfair pop-up while it rebuilds, while newer sushi rooms such as Kioku by Endo and Sushi Kanesaka entered the guide. The Araki, once a three-star, has operated without a Michelin award since founder Mitsuhiro Araki returned to Japan in 2019, but remains one of London's most expensive and exclusive sushi counters.
How much does a top Japanese meal in London cost?
The sushi counters run highest: The Araki is roughly £310 a head for omakase, and Sushi Tetsu's set omakase lands around £90 to £150 depending on the menu. Umu's kaiseki tasting is around £155 to £195. The contemporary izakaya rooms — Zuma, Roka, Nobu Old Park Lane and Sexy Fish — are à la carte and flexible, so a full dinner with drinks usually falls between £70 and £130 a head, less if you order lightly. Lunch and set menus, where offered, are the cheaper way in.
What is Umu known for?
Umu is known for being London's only true Kyoto kaiseki restaurant, a discreet Mayfair room behind a sliding door on Bruton Place that has held a Michelin star for years. The kitchen, led by executive chef Ryo Kamatsu, builds seasonal multi-course menus around precise Japanese technique and top ingredients, and the restaurant is famous for a sake list that is among the best outside Japan. It is a special-occasion address; book the Mayfair dining room well ahead, especially for the full kaiseki tasting.
Where is the best-value or most fun Japanese in London?
Roka on Charlotte Street is the fun, more affordable pick — a robatayaki grill from the Zuma team where the black cod and lamb cutlets come off the central charcoal hearth, lively and built for sharing. Zuma in Knightsbridge is its glossier sibling. For something cheaper and quieter, Sushi Tetsu in Clerkenwell is a seven-seat omakase counter that is one of the city's great bargains for the quality, though the email-only booking is famously hard. All three reward arriving hungry and ordering across the menu.
More Japanese, by city and field
More from RFK
Browse the full London dining guide, compare the global field on the best Japanese worldwide, read the verdict on one-star Umu and the Araki sushi counter, plan a table to impress a client, find a first-date dinner at Roka, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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