The best Japanese restaurants in Rome

If you’re searching for all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurants that serve sushi rolls that would make any Japanese as repulsed as I get when someone serves me over-cooked pasta, you’re reading the wrong article. While if you’re searching for a killer Japanese fusion place or a traditional Japanese restaurant in Rome that will transport you to Japan, you’re in the right place! From top tempura and sensational sashimi, here’s my selection of Rome’s top restaurants serving Japanese cuisine.  

Hamasei

If you want to travel to Japan, there’s one place in Rome that really makes it happen: Hamasei. Footsteps from Piazza di Spagna and Fontana di Trevi, Hamasei is an outstanding restaurant that serves authentic Japanese cuisine. Known as an institution in Rome, Hamasei serves exceptional sushi, sashimi and also delicious Japanese cooked dishes such as noodles, meat and seafood. The sushi and sashimi are as fresh as they get, the urafutomaki and the sashimi morikomi are remarkable, the tempura perfect and the other Japanese dishes top notch. For lunch, a selection of fixed price gastronomic menus is available, with different combinations to suit your liking. If you’re in a hurry, you can stop by and order from Hamasei’s take-away menu which offers different sets of sushi.

Via della Mercede, 35 / 36
+39 066792134
Traditional Japanese
€50+ (varies for lunch and dinner)

best japanese restaurants in rome - Hamasei

Hasekura

This small and cozy restaurant in the Monti neighbourhood serves authentic Japanese cuisine.  The restaurant has less than 10 tables to serve, creating a sort of “neighbourhood” restaurant vibe. The decor is minimal with a blend between a modern and classic Japanese style. But let’s get down to the food, it is outstanding. Hasekura is a traditional Japanese restaurants in Rome, and one of the most renowned. The fish is extremely fresh, so you must order the sashimi moriawase. There’s also a great selection of authentic hot plates, with a delicious soba noodle soup! And if you want to end your meal in perfection, you cannot miss out on the choko-wasabi ice-cream or on the matcha ice-cream (green-tea ice-cream). Good sake selection, too!

Via dei Serpenti, 27 (Monti)
+39 06 483648
Traditional Japanese
€60+

japanese restaurants in rome hasekura

Taki

If you’re looking for a contemporary setting and delicious traditional Japanese cuisine, Taki is it. Located on Piazza Cavour, the restaurant is set on two floors and has a sleek design. The restaurant has dimmed lights, an elegant atmosphere and a fantastic menu that offers hot and cold Japanese dishes. They even have the Wagyu steak from the famed Hida region – phenomenal. Absolutely try the ebi gyoza, the classic yakiudon and marinated salmon with ponzu sauce. Everything is truly delicious, they also have an outstanding wine selection with Italian and international wines. Sake lovers, you’ll also find hot and cold sakes – we opted for a tasting of three different sakes. A great place to impress for a date! 

Piazza Cavour(Prati)
+39 06 320 1750
Traditional Japanese
€60+

the best japanese restaurants in Rome

Okāsan

This restaurant in the Prati neighbourhood will make you travel to Osaka. Okāsan in Japanese means “mom”, and the name represents the core concept of the restaurant: to allow guests to live a culinary experience like when you eat at “a mom’s house in Osaka”. So get ready to step inside to be catapulted in Japan and to savour its traditional flavours.  The restaurant specialises in the millinery cuisine of the Kansai region, an area that comprises Osaka and other cities like Kyoto, Kobe and Nara. At Okāsan you can taste some of the best authentic Japanese cuisine in Rome, from the top quality sashimi and sushi rolls to amazing hot dishes that range from ramen to soba, as well as more traditional dishes like okonomiyaki, doteyaki and kakuni. There’s also a nice wine and sake selection.

Via Ostia, 22 (Prati)
+39 06 3972 4419
Traditional Japanese
€60+
 
The best Japanese restaurants in Rome
 

Nojo

Nojo is a contemporary, stylish and trendy restaurant in the Ponte Milvio area. It’s a melting pot of locals and internationals that love Japanese fusion cuisine. It’s one of my favorite restaurants in Rome. The setting alone is already a reason you should go. If not for dinner at least for cocktails. But now that I’ve got you all fired up about the setting, let me get to the food. The food is delicious, super fresh, innovative and just perfect. Definitely start out with the cod wonton dumplings – I could eat 20 plates of these. Then go for the sushi rolls. My favorites are the Nojo roll, the Truffle tuna and the Hamachi roll. Cocktails are good but they also have a  nice wine selection! Service is excellent.

 
Viale di Tor di Quinto, 35 (Ponte Milvio)
+39 06 333 0946
Japanese fusion
€60+
 
Japanese restaurants in Rome
 

Zuma

Situated on the top two floors of the iconic Palazzo Fendi, Zuma Rome will make your jaw-drop from the moment you walk in the elevator and arrive to the fourth floor – but that’s what you’d expect from Zuma’s 10th opening. Zuma is inspired by the informal style of izakaya dining, designed to share dishes – how else could you taste all those amazing flavours? I suggest you all order different dishes, because you’re going to want to try the whole menu. And of course, to accompany delicious food, a great wine and sake selection could not be missing. The sushi and sashimi are extremely fresh, but the dish that I’ve been dreaming about at night is the gindara to ebi no gyoza prawn and black cod dumplings – it’s an explosion of tastes. Another A-lister is the spicy beef tenderloin with sesame, red chili and sweet soy. If you like tartares, go for the tartare with salmon and tuna and rice cracker!

 
Via della Fontanella di Borghese, 48 (center)
+39 0699266622
Contemporary Japanese
€80+
 
zuma, the best contemporary japanese restaurant in Rome
 

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I'm the daughter of an Italian family of diplomats, the second of three children, and a global citizen. I've lived in 7 cities around the world, I have a gigantic crush on Italy and my name has been mispronounced more times than I can remember.

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