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)
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+
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+
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.
