JapaneseList

10 Best Japanese Restaurants in Singapore

From omakase sushi counters to tonkotsu ramen, yakitori, unagi and wagyu, here are 10 of the best Japanese restaurants in Singapore to try.

By: Amir Wahab
Edited by: Amir Wahab
Published: 25 Sep 2026
Reading time: 4 min read

A platter of assorted sushi and sashimi at a bright Japanese restaurant in Singapore

Japanese restaurants in Singapore run the full range, from hushed omakase sushi counters and hotel dining rooms to tonkotsu ramen shops, yakitori grills, unagi specialists and wagyu steakhouses. This guide gathers ten real, currently-operating spots, each checked against its own website or official listing. Treat it as a shortlist to compare by cuisine, setting and budget rather than a strict ranking.

1. Shinji by Kanesaka

Shinji by Kanesaka is an Edo-style sushi restaurant built around omakase, a chef-entrusted menu served over a counter at The St Regis on Tanglin Road. It describes its cooking as Edomae, rooted in the meticulous techniques of Tokyo's Edo period, and frames the meal around omotenashi, the attentive Japanese hospitality it says defines the experience. Expect a quiet, formal sushi counter rather than an a la carte menu.

Tanglin
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2. Sushi Tei

Sushi Tei is a long-running Japanese chain that says it has been serving Japanese food since 1994, with a broad menu spanning sushi, sashimi and cooked dishes. Its outlets sit in malls across the island, making it one of the more accessible sit-down options for an everyday Japanese meal rather than a special-occasion counter. It offers dine-in alongside takeaway and delivery through its own ordering site.

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3. Tatsuya

Tatsuya is a Japanese restaurant inside Goodwood Park Hotel on Scotts Road that describes its dining as "exquisite and elegant" and says it works with the "freshest imports served daily." Its sushi counter lists premium nigiri such as sea eel, abalone, sweet shrimp, scallop and amberjack, alongside sashimi and other Japanese dishes. It sits at the more formal, hotel-dining end of this list.

Goodwood Park Hotel
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4. Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King is the tonkotsu specialist within the Keisuke group, chef Keisuke Takeda's family of ramen shops across Singapore. It centres on a rich, creamy pork-bone (tonkotsu) broth with chashu and noodles, offered in plain, black and red-spicy versions, and is known for the free-flow beansprouts and hard-boiled eggs set out on the table. Its Tanjong Pagar branch sits inside Orchid Hotel, with another outlet in Holland Village.

Tanjong Pagar
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5. Ippudo

Ippudo is a Hakata-style ramen specialist that began in Japan in 1985 and opened in Singapore in 2009. It is known for tonkotsu ramen served in a warm, traditional ramen-shop setting, with signature bowls it calls Shiromaru Motoaji and Akamaru Shinaji built on its pork-bone broth. It runs multiple outlets across Singapore, from Orchard malls to the Marina Bay waterfront.

6. Teppei Japanese Restaurant

Teppei Japanese Restaurant is an intimate omakase counter helmed by chef Teppei Yamashita at Orchid Hotel in Tanjong Pagar. Diners sit at a single counter for a multi-course, chef's-choice meal of sushi and seasonal Japanese dishes rather than ordering a la carte. Its dinner omakase is reservation-only, with seats released monthly, so it is a book-ahead spot rather than a walk-in.

Tanjong Pagar
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7. Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant

Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant calls itself an unagi (freshwater eel) specialist, with a menu built around grilled eel served as hitsumabushi and unadon rice bowls. Its original shophouse spot sits on Keong Saik Road, with a second outlet at The Central near Clarke Quay. It is a focused, single-ingredient specialist rather than a broad Japanese menu.

Keong Saik
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8. EN Dining (En Japanese Dining Bar)

EN Dining, the founding brand of the EN Group, is a Japanese dining bar that describes itself as serving "premium quality a la carte buffet at affordable prices" with an emphasis on Okinawan dishes. It leans into an izakaya mood, calling itself "the ideal place for drinks," with counter seats facing the chefs and cosy booths under light wood and mosaic tiling. Its dining bar sits in Capital Tower on Robinson Road in the CBD.

Robinson Road
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9. Nanbantei

Nanbantei is a yakitori restaurant that says it has grilled skewers over an open flame since 1983, calling itself one of the first Japanese yakitori specialists in Singapore. The counter is the seat to take, with charcoal-grilled chicken wings and tsukune (chicken meatballs) among the items it highlights. Its original outlet is on the fifth floor of Far East Plaza off Orchard, with a second at Chinatown Point.

Far East Plaza
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10. Fat Cow

Fat Cow describes itself as a "modern Japanese steakhouse" focused on wagyu beef, plating it across sukiyaki, shabu-shabu and sumibiyaki (charcoal-grill) preparations as well as an omakase. It sits at Camden Medical Centre on Orchard Boulevard and pitches a polished, occasion-dining room. This is the premium beef-and-omakase end of the list rather than a casual meal.

Orchard Boulevard
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How to choose

Decide the format first. Omakase counters, ramen shops, izakaya, yakitori grills and specialist eel or wagyu restaurants are very different experiences at very different budgets, so start from the kind of meal you actually want.
For omakase and premium sushi, book ahead. The best counters are small, often around a dozen seats, and are reservation-only, releasing seats weeks in advance, with some not taking walk-ins at all.
Check the specific outlet. Several names here run more than one branch, sometimes with different menus, formats or hours, so confirm the exact location's details on the restaurant's own website or channels before heading down.
Match the specialist to your craving. Go to a tonkotsu shop for rich pork-bone ramen, a yakitori-ya for charcoal skewers, an unagi specialist for grilled-eel rice bowls, and a Japanese steakhouse for wagyu.
If you need halal or have dietary restrictions, confirm directly with the restaurant, as most Japanese restaurants here are not halal-certified and raw-fish menus will not suit everyone.

Update history

Published 25 Sep 2026. No changes recorded since.

About the author

Amir Wahab

Founder and Editor

Amir Wahab is the founder and editor of LocalRank, an independent Singapore rankings and local guides publication.

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