The best Japanese restaurants in Paris

1. Hakuba, the most exceptional

Let's get the word out right away: this is by far the best total Japanese dining experience to be found in Paris right now. Everything contributes to making Hakuba an unforgettable meal: the subdued décor, the palatial service, the chefs at the top of their game (Takuya Watanabe, but also Arnaud Donckele and Maxime Frédéric), the sommellerie in tune (Emmanuel Cadieu), the choreographed tasting sequences... A hefty - but totally justified - bill that makes the impossible possible: travel to Japan, without leaving Paris.

Hakuba
Lunch menus "Shunkan", time for a stroll at 180 € and "Yume", an invitation to discovery from 380 € to 420 € with the signature "Temaki caviar" | Thursday to Saturday lunch
Dinner menu "Yume", an invitation to discovery from 380 € to 420 € with the signature "Temaki caviar" | Tuesday to Saturday evening
8 quai du Louvre, 75001 Paris
chevalblanc.com

2. Hanabi, the most hotel-like

Just a stone's throw from the Opéra Garnier, Hôtel Hana is home to Hanabi, a new address that's already making a name for itself as much for its inventive cuisine as for its daring decor by Laura Gonzalez. In a setting that combines Belle Époque maximalism and Japanese sobriety - Art Nouveau fabrics, hushed alcoves and raku-enameled tables - the experience is akin to an immersion between Paris and Tokyo. At the helm, creative duo Shirley Garrier and Mathieu Zouhairi, aka The Social Food, apply their expertise in culinary styling and gastronomic research to create a hybrid menu, conceived as a dialogue between French bistronomy and Japanese tradition.

In the kitchen, chef Roberto Sanchez, trained at Le Bristol and Le Grand Véfour, executes this four-handed score with precision. The result: dishes of rare precision, where the Hanabi egg - soft-boiled, topped with a miso Kewpie mayonnaise and sprinkled with sobacha - is already a signature. This is followed by creamy udon with caviar and yuzu granita, subtly spiced sea bream tartare and wagyu flank steak with sansho pepper sauce, a perfect illustration of the bridge between French terroir and Japanese gestures. The evening menu unfolds its "acts" like a play in three stages: delicate starters (zucchini flower tempura, smoked tarama), generous main courses (tonkatsu with shio koji, Hanabi chirashi, grilled fish with binchotan), before a sweet finale that dares unexpected creations, from vanilla miso cheesecake to hojicha tiramisu and yuzu baba.

Technical precision, impeccable product selection and no-nonsense creativity make Hanabi much more than a hotel table: it's a restaurant in its own right, where Paris and Japan meet in a masterful display of fireworks ("hanabi").

Hanabi
17 rue du 4 septembre, 75002 Paris
hotelhana-paris.com/restaurant-bar

3. Aqua Kyoto, the most glamorous

Perched on the seventh floor of 26 Avenue des Champs Élysées, Aqua Kyoto brings a breath of contemporary Asia to the world's most beautiful avenue. Already present in London, Miami and Dubai, the Aqua Restaurant group has come up with this spectacular address in Paris: a rooftop like you'd see in a movie, with the Eiffel Tower as its neighbor. Access is via a red carpet, then a private elevator, before discovering a chic terrace from which to watch the sun set over the capital, and which will soon be transformed into a glassed-in winter gallery to extend the life of the place through the seasons.

As night falls, the atmosphere becomes cosier, more intimate. Red neon lights caress the bay windows, conversation softens and, as the Iron Lady twinkles, silence falls over the diners. Behind the central counter, the chefs are busy in the kitchen, executing with precision gestures that are almost ritualistic.

The restaurant's Japanese-inspired menu blends classicism and creativity: tsukune robata with shrimp and scallops, crystal sushi with tuna akami, Nasu Dengaku eggplant with melting miso or cod marinated for five days in miso, served with a yuzu and champagne sauce. The cocktails follow the same exacting standards, like the Shichimi Margarita with kumquat or the One Highball with vodka and ginger, perfect companions to the crispy tuna and salmon rolls, presented in a wooden case from which a delicate smoke escapes.

For dessert, matcha tiramisu and iced mochi add the finishing touch. With its cutting-edge gastronomy, unobtrusive service and postcard panorama, Aqua Kyoto is already establishing itself as one of the most desirable Japanese spots in Paris.

Aqua Kyoto
Mise en bouche, prices from 9 euros
Dishes from 29 euros
Desserts, priced from 12 euros
26 avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris
https://aquakyoto.fr/fr/aqua-kyoto-paris/

4. Onii San Izakaya, the most fusion of all

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, the Japanese troquet favored by fashionistas in the Marais is reinventing itself again and again. New artistic direction - still by Olivier Léone - and new ambitions: four-hand dinners with trendy guest chefs (Julien Sebbag from Micho, Marine Gora from Gramme, Thomas Coupeau from Pluto, etc.), fashion collaborations for a stylish merch' line with the American crew Brain Dead, but above all a new menu celebrating "wafu pasta", a culinary trend in vogue in Japan. In a nutshell, traditional Italian pasta with Japanese flavors, to create hybrid Italian-Japanese dishes. Not bad at all.

To take innovation even further, the Onii-San team, led by chef Romain Littière, has come up with some original creations based on this trend. Our favorites include "arancinigiri" and "tofu pomodoro", available Wednesday to Friday on the €26 lunch menu, or from the evening menu. A fine selection of sakes and sustainable wines.

Onii San Izakaya
82 rue des Archives 75003 Paris
onii-san.fr/

5. Sora, an atypical table

Just a stone's throw from the Trocadéro, Sora (Japanese for "sky") is entrepreneur-restaurateur Michel Puech's third address in the 16th arrondissement. The uncluttered decor, designed by young interior architect Isadora Viquel, evokes the atmosphere of Riviera brasseries. Salmon-colored banquettes and carmine-green carpeting inspired by the scales of Koi carp work in harmony with Pierre Frey fabrics. This atypical new table breaks the codes of Japanese gastronomy. In the kitchen, Italian chef Claudio Rotondo, drawing on his experience with Nobu Matsuhisa's team at the Royal Monceau and Mauro Colagreco's, tinges the culinary traditions of the Land of the Rising Sun with influences from elsewhere. With his accomplice Stefano Figurelli, he offers a menu where Franco-Japanese fusion dishes are readily shared: miso eggplant with black sesame, iodized maki wrapped in crispy seaweed, miso-lacquered black cod, wagyu beef with ginger-caramel-soy sauce, matcha tiramisu. The difference: no soy sauce on the table, but tailor-made seasonings, adapted to each recipe, to delight the taste buds.

Restaurant SORA
Lunch menu at €30
Evening menu from 60-80€
70 rue de Longchamp, 75116 Paris
sora-restaurant.com

6. Kimono glamorizes the izakaya in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

On this stretch of the rue du Cherche-Midi, between the rue de l'abbé Grégoire and the rue Jean Ferrandi, with the BonMarché as a tutelary neighbor, where food addresses already compete for sidewalk space, Kimono sets up shop with the tutelary blessing of the Bon Marché. Decor-wise, it's a world away from the ceremonial omakase or Tokyo boui-boui. Gabriel Pistre of the Boxwood studio has created an ambience as polished as a decorating magazine: raspberry walls, green mosaics at the bar, exposed beams and red leather banquettes in the style of a Parisian brasserie. Japan in Saint-Germain sauce, glamorized right down to the toilets scented with Granado's Oud. So, yes, the codes are revisited, almost too conscientiously, but the formula is seductive. Kimono is the Vaconsin sisters' fourth address (after Blueberry, Marcello and Steam Bar), this time under the leadership of Japanese chef Masahiro Moriya, assisted by Flora Mikula, the group's culinary director.

We go for: the futosoba - literally "big soba" - house signature. A hybrid noodle, between the elasticity of udon and the buckwheat taste of soba, produced from flour ground on site using an authentic Japanese mill, and served hot or cold. There's also an array of izakaya, Japanese tapas: crispy katsu chicken topped with tonkatsu sauce, chicken with binchotan, mackerel simmered in soy sauce and, on the veggie side, white radish and celery sticks with black sesame, cucumber and scamorza salad. You can also put together your own bento, complete with herbed dashi broth, onsen egg and marinated raw vegetables. Special mention for the liquid creations: refreshing yuzu soda, or this blueberry matcha that can be enjoyed like a dessert. To sum up: Kimono doesn't play the authenticity card, but in the chic izakaya register, calibrated for Saint-Germain, the promise is kept.

Bento from €21
Iyzakayas from €8 to €19

Kimono
Tuesday to Friday, 12pm to 2.30pm and 7pm to 10.30pm
Saturday, 12pm to 3pm and 7pm to 11pm
66 rue du cherche midi, 75006 Paris
kimono-paris.com/

7. Blueberry, the most elegant

In an almost forgotten alleyway of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Blueberry is a sushi-bar that transposes into reality - for those who have seen it, otherwise let your imagination run wild - the deliciously melancholy universe of Wong Kar Wai's My Blueberry Nights, with its neon enchantment and bewitching jazz ambience. Here, between the sparkle of a theatrical counter where chef Dibya Roy - a former MUN sushi master - is hard at work, and the refinement of a décor by Gabriel Pistre, the atmosphere vibrates to the rhythm of Tokyo nights revisited with a Parisian twist. On the menu, a ballet of precise flavors: signature makis like the famous Rackham le Rouge (tempura prawns, summer truffle, tuna, tobiko), the flamboyant Pink Yakuza with torch-gilded salmon, or the magnificent Gatsby - Label Rouge Corsican lean, shrimp, avocado, white tarama - are the stars. And to crown the moment: a black sesame tiramisu or a matcha dome that melts like a last kiss in the rain. With 60 covers, divided between a subdued room ideal for nocturnal confidences and a lantern-lit area more suited to lunches, Blueberry knows how to charm at any time of day. Catherine Deneuve is a regular (near the counter), as is Lily Collins, star of Emily in Paris, seen daydreaming on one of the benches in the main room. A chiaroscuro address to be savored like a modern poem.

Blueberry Maki Bar
For lunch, 6 formulas from €26, each featuring a particular type of product.
"Menu Découverte" at 75€/person.
6 Rue du Sabot, 75006 Paris
instagram.com

9. Takara, the oldest

It's safe to say that if there's a "Little Tokyo" in Paris, it's partly thanks to Takara, the capital's first Japanese restaurant, established on rue Molière in 1958. Years go by, fashions follow one another, but Takara remains one of the best Japanese restaurants in Paris. What's more, you can come back again and again to sample a wide variety of perfectly executed specialties. While the house specialty since the opening has been Sukiyaki (a nabemono often referred to as Japanese fondue), the Parisian restaurant offers a host of other fondues, each more appetizing than the last. A word of advice: even if the dish is hearty, don't miss out on the starters, particularly the grilled salmon skin with ponzu (shakekawa ponzu) or the ondofu (hot tofu with chives, grated ginger and katsuobushi). A true national treasure (takara in Japanese)!

Takara
Lunch menus from €27 to €36. Fondues between 28 and 48€ (lunchtime)
14 rue Molière, 75001 Paris
takara-paris.com

10. Hando, the most trendy of the moment

Don't cry sacrilege just yet, because although this counter claims to be "Parisian Handroll" and is riding the handroll hype that has swept the capital over the past few seasons, it's in fact an ex-Takara designer (Chiharu Takada) who officiates behind the large, chic counter. In fact, Isabelle Stanislas's decor is a great success, and the wood/concrete/light triptych is both soft and uncluttered. The handroll lives up to its promise, the sashimi goes beyond, the tableware is kawaii, the service attentive. All the ingredients are there to attract the neighborhood's fashionable clientele. As a result, the entrepreneurs behind the concept have no intention of stopping there, and after Sèvres and Vendôme, are preparing to open a third address on rue de Bretagne in September. Undoubtedly, another good spot for their trendy target!

Hando Vendôme
Handrolls from 6 to 18€ each. Menus from 19 to 42€
25-27 rue Danielle Casanova, 75001 Paris
hando-paris.com