The best Japanese restaurants California

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.

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!

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.

The location is rustic with its large wooden panels and almost reminiscent of a Japanese tavern. Clients are easy to discuss between themselves, all installed around a single big table. Descriptions of the dishes are written in Japanese calligraphy, for sake and seasonal dishes.

In a pretty impersonal room, you will be used as excellent sushi with good value for money. The card is varied and the prices are really interesting. You can also eat good udon soups or good grillades grill. A good address for an economic lunch and also the advantage of being a block of the Golden Gate Park and its large museums and gardens.

In Japantown, restaurants are plentiful. Only one stands out for its playfulness: Tenroku. Slip onto a stool at the helm of this restaurant, and watch the circular conveyor belt parade sushi made by the minute. This gustatory duck fishery is color-coded for price: green, red, white, black and so on. Everything is spelled out on the menu in front of you. The sushi prepared is quite simple, even the more expensive ones, but the experience invites you to try new dishes quickly, and the atmosphere is popular and pleasant.

In Japanese, Kui Shin Bo means "person who likes to eat". This restaurant in the heart of Japantown is a great address for epicureans who want to try excellent sushi and ramen. The special rolls are particularly creative and ultra gourmet. You can also opt for even more exotic dishes, popular Japanese specialties on the menu, delicately presented: donburi (a kind of chirasi with lots of ingredients), soba and udon noodles, okonomiyaki (savory pancake) and other exquisite Japanese dishes. A very fine address.

In this elegant Japanese restaurant of wood and raw concrete design, you sit at the counter to watch the cooks prepare sushi and take your time choosing a sake, the bottles of which are displayed in the background. The menu changes daily according to fish arrivals, but guarantees a wide selection of sashimi, nigiri and chirasis. On the small plates, the Tombo tatai of just-seared Hawaiian tuna served with a spicy bouquet of black radish and chrysanthemum leaves is divine, as are the special rolls.