The 8 Best Japanese Restaurants In London

Find out our selection of the top 8 Japanese restaurants in London. This list will make you discover a wide range of Japanese foods from the best Japanese restaurant where you can find Kobe Beef to the best sushi in London.

In the last couple of years, there has been a boom in Japanese cuisine throughout Britain, and now it’s easier than ever to try the East Asian Cuisine. But do chains like Wagamama’s and Itsu actually make authentic Japanese food? If you want to try some amazing Japanese food, here’s a list of Japanese restaurants in London.

1. Engawa

Engawa is exceptional because it differs from most Japanese restaurants in London. If you want to try the delicacy which is Kobe beef, this is the best and only place where you’ll be able to get it. It imports the whole Kobe cow, so you have a choice of cut when you try the ‘caviar of meat’.

2. Uchi

This is the restaurant that is worth going to if you’re a newbie to Japanese food. Based in Hackney, they have a small menu which is designed to emphasise simple, but great quality food rather than quantity. Their food is also available for take away if you live in the Hackney area.

3. Kurobuta

This restaurant started as a pop up, but quickly gained popularity for its fantastic Japanese food with a tapas style mentality. They now have restaurants on Kings Road and Marble Arch, and a bottomless brunch on Saturdays which include live music and dj’s.

4. Jidori

Named after a breed of chicken known for its robust flavour in Japan, this yakitori restaurant focuses on making the highest quality yakitori food in London. In true Japanese fashion, they have a Karaoke room to hire in their Covent Garden restaurant, and a tasting menu is available with hire of the room.

5. Dinings

This restaurant is extremely popular, so you’ll have to book a table a month in advance before you visit. It defines its menu as Izakaya mixed with tapas style European cuisine, for example, it serves the highest quality sushi and sashimi using fresh seafood from Cornwall. Come to Dinings to enjoy an amazing culinary experience.

6. Bone Daddies

If you’re looking for well made delicious ramen, there is no better place to go than Bone Daddies. Starting as a simple noodle bar, acclaimed chef and owner Ross Shonhan has now opened up a small chain of restaurants around London. It’s Japanese food that is accessible for everyone, as you’ll eat fantastic food to the soundtrack of old school rock.

British National Dish: Chicken Tikka Masala?

7. Koya Bar

Love Japanese food so much you could eat it all the time? Then head down to Koya Bar in Soho. Open from 8:30am, you’re able to get a Japanese style breakfast here at an incredibly reasonable price, or you can try their mix of English and Japanese cuisine, with their ‘English Breakfast’ udon.

8. Nagoya

While every Japanese restaurant claims its authentic, nothing proves it more than having plastic replicas of your dishes in the windows, just like in Japan. Therefore, Nagoya can definitely claim it is authentic, with its menu filled with unrecognised Japanese dishes, you’ll be thankful for the visual guide.