The best Japanese restaurants The United States Of America

This little restaurant in Little Tokyo transports visitors to Japan. We take a seat at the counter, facing theitamae - the chef who prepares the sushi - who works before our very eyes. We love the authentic, hushed ambience, the ban on cell phones and, above all, the exceptional quality of the sushi. While everything is delicious, we recommend you try the miso soup and tuna toro, which are hard to find in Japanese restaurants in France. A great address! Be prepared to wait a little at the entrance.

Sanraku is one of Nob Hill's top sushi spots. You can eat there while watching the chefs create their wonders at the bar. If they are not too busy, they will even be happy to chat with you and share their knowledge. The decoration is a mix between contemporary Japanese-inspired posters and old-fashioned American furniture. For those who are allergic to raw fish, the udons, special lunch menus, and the donburis (fish or meat on a bed of rice) are excellent and more economical. A very good address

Marufuku is a popular ramen restaurant in Japantown, with a very chic, designer Japanese setting, which has even opened other outlets in North Cal (in Oakland and Cupertino in particular). Two star ramen on the menu: the authentic Tonkotsu Hakata ramen, featuring a milky, umami-rich pork broth simmered for hours, with fine artisanal noodles. And Paitan ramen with white chicken chashu, seasoned boiled egg, green onions, kikurage mushrooms and bean sprouts. Excellent izakaya appetizers and quality sake. Delicious and affordable.

Just a ten-minute walk from Old Town, Takeaki Tadokoro offers a fantastic dining experience that will take you on a journey to Japan - the real thing. To get a taste of the different specialties on the menu, sit at the counter and take the omakase. The chef will ask you what you don't want to eat, then serve you a succession of plates to enjoy at your own pace. From oysters to scallops, sea urchin, eel and the gourmet fatty tuna - toro - everything is a treat. Reservations are highly recommended.

A member of the Sushi Nozawa group, KazuNori has the same mission: to offer sashimi and maki lovers an unforgettable experience through fresh, quality products. The fish and seafood come from all over the world: hamachi from Japan, salmon from Europe, sea bream from New Zealand and sea urchin from Southern California. An excellent address that will transport even the most jaded traveler to Japan. Please note that seating is limited!

Elegant decor for this high-flying Japanese restaurant, which takes you straight to the Japanese archipelago with two swipes of its chopsticks. You first pass through a small, relaxing courtyard, then take your seat in the wood-panelled interior room, where each table is separated by panels that allow a certain intimacy. The à la carte menu features exceptional dishes in the purest Japanese tradition, combining simplicity and freshness. Skewers and sashimi are particularly good. One of the best Japanese addresses in town.

To feel Asian influence in Downtown, nothing like a meal at Orochon Ramen. Ramen is one of the most popular Japanese dishes, consisting of meat or fish pasta broth, seasoned with miso or soy sauce. It's delicious and cheap here. But what makes most of the success of this restaurant is its famous Orochon bowl challenge: A competition that rewards the one who will manage to eat the most spicy ramen in the world!

Lovers of ramen - those delicious Japanese wheat noodle soups - look no further than Daikokuya in Little Tokyo. Hearty, velvety and no-nonsense, the dishes perfectly embody the tradition of this popular Japanese specialty, nourishing and served with speed. The atmosphere adds to the interest of the place: the skai benches, the old posters of Japanese movies and ads, and the sixties soundtrack will take you to the Japan of the 1960s.

A jewel of Japanese cuisine that takes us by surprise in a place where we least expect it: this is Sushi Ike. Lost in the middle of amini mall on a street corner like thousands of others in Los Angeles, the front of this little restaurant doesn't look like much, but what a shame not to cross the threshold! From sushi to rolls and sashimi, all the dishes are of the highest quality, fair, fine and fresh. A true paradise for lovers of "real" sushi, the kind you find in Japan.

If you like Japanese food, this is the place to break the piggy bank. The chef, who comes directly from the land of the rising sun, has been working for years behind the bar of this charming restaurant. Don't worry, the plate has charm, taste and creativity. The fish are extremely fresh and the chef has created an original way to serve them, like this lobster roll revisited with spicy mayonnaise and wrapped in soy and black sesame paper. The slightly haughty service won't let you forget the delicacy of the dishes.

He's the tebasaki specialist, roasted chicken wings. The menu includes over 30 varieties of grilled fish, dozens of vegetables and kushiyaki. The place is noisy and lively; many Japanese students and young professionals come back here, in the heart of the Sawtel district that is nicknamed, not without reason, Japantown.

This restaurant has an air of Lost in Translation with its neon and black colours. Katsuya offers a menu of excellent sushi, in new kitchen mode. Shrimp and grilled meats with fish specialities, always prepared with passion and inventiveness. This is the Posh Posh meeting.

In Japantown, which is bursting with good addresses, this restaurant is very much in the Japanese spirit. Take a seat at the bar, equipped with screens, to order your sushi. We recommend tempura rolls, California-style dragon rolls and lobster rolls. Get ready, they're delivered by a little electric train that runs along the bar connected to the kitchens! When it arrives, it rings, and don't forget to send the wagon away!

This canteen run by Keiko is quite simply one of the best Japanese restaurants on the coast. You will appreciate the great variety of fish cut in sashimi or prepared on rice balls, in sushi. Tuna, salmon, dab, scallops offer melting and ultra-fresh textures. For the enemies of raw fish, Keiko has prepared some steamed dishes (chicken teriyaki, salmon in ponzu) and noodles served in their broth. We like the traditional Japanese decoration and pretty dishes.

Equipped with only a few tables, this Japanese bistro serves a seemingly simple cuisine, but of great subtlety. No sushi here. The chef, concentrated, prepares behind the bar small plates of vegetables, fish skewers and grilled pieces of meat served as tapas. We advise you to come in large numbers to try as many dishes as possible. If you are interested, let yourself be tempted by the Omakase, a delicious tasting menu that will take you on a journey to Japan. Reservations are highly recommended.

Surrounded by bamboo and with a brazier at its center, the patio has a romantic atmosphere, while the two sake bars are the main attraction. Lovers of Japanese gastronomy, in the broadest sense of the term, will find a first taste of what it has to offer here. Sushi, sashimi, tempura, donburi, bentos... However, while the dishes are excellent, don't count on the sushi to fill you up, as the plates are relatively small. Also, please note that lunch is take-away only.

This establishment opened in 2015 and decorated with a Michelin star in 2016 offers to discover sushi made following the traditional technique known as Edomae. At the helm is Chef Jackson Yu who has been practicing this traditional cuisine for nearly 20 years. The fish comes from the Tokyo fish market every day (!). Two menus are served each evening, composed by the chef, who suggests you let yourself be guided in this culinary experience, no à la carte dishes. But you will have understood, everything is gathered to spend an exceptional moment.