RFK Cuisine · Japanese · Seoul
Best Japanese Restaurants in Seoul 2026
Japanese · Seoul · 6 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 20, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026
In Seoul, the best Japanese food is almost all sushi, and almost all of it is served omakase (chef's choice) at a small counter. This is the defining fact of Japanese fine dining in the Korean capital: where Tokyo spreads its excellence across kaiseki, tempura and sushi houses, Seoul has poured its money and ambition into the sushiya, the sushi counter, and built one of Asia's most intense omakase scenes in the process, mostly in the Gangnam district. The city's top room, Kojima, holds two Michelin stars by weaving Korean wild fish into Tokyo technique. This guide ranks the six best, five sushi counters and one modern outlier, judged on the cooking, the room and what the evening costs.
1.Kojima
Seoul's only two-star sushi counter, Korean fish meets Edomae technique; book weeks ahead for the city's defining omakase.
Kojima is the best Japanese restaurant in Seoul and the only sushi counter in the city to hold two Michelin stars in the 2026 guide. Chef Kim Woo-tae runs an eight-seat hinoki counter in the Gangnam district, where the kitchen's signature is its hybrid approach: Korea's wild-caught seafood, firefly squid, lightly grilled bonito, local fish, worked into the discipline of Tokyo Edomae sushi, the aged, single-piece style. The result is an omakase that is unmistakably Korean in its sourcing and Japanese in its technique, and it is the most complete sushi experience in the country. Those eight seats are among the hardest reservations in Seoul. Book several weeks ahead and arrive on time for the full sequence.
Book weeks ahead; the omakase, and the Korean-sourced nigiri.
2.Sushi Kanesaka
The famous Ginza brand at a Seoul hotel counter, one star and the first of its kind in Korea; book through the Parnas for pedigree Edomae.
Sushi Kanesaka brought one of Ginza's most distinguished sushi names to Seoul, opening at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Samseong-dong in November 2024 and winning a Michelin star in the 2026 guide, the first Japanese restaurant inside a Korean hotel to do so. The nine-seat counter follows the house philosophy of master Shinji Kanesaka, classic Edomae sushi built on carefully aged fish and warm, vinegared shari (seasoned rice), with dinner running around 380,000 won. It is the pedigree pick, a direct line to the Tokyo original in a polished hotel setting. Go when you want the orthodox Ginza style without flying to Japan. Book through the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, several weeks ahead for dinner.
Book via the Parnas hotel; the dinner omakase, at the counter.
3.Sushi Matsumoto
The purist's one-star counter, faithful to mainland Japan; book ahead for diners who want orthodox Tokyo sushi above all.
Sushi Matsumoto is the purist's choice, a one-Michelin-star sushiya in the Cheongdam pocket of Gangnam where chef Matsumoto Mizuho sets out to reproduce the authentic sushi of mainland Japan rather than chase local trends. The eight-seat counter focuses on the fundamentals that define great Edomae sushi: the balance of shari and neta (the rice and the fish topping), the temperature, the knife work, served with knowledgeable, unhurried hospitality. There is nothing fusion about it, which is precisely the appeal for diners who want Tokyo sushi held to a Tokyo standard. Go when orthodoxy is the point and you want to judge a counter on its fundamentals. Book a few weeks ahead, often through the CatchTable app.
Reserve weeks ahead; the omakase, and watch the shari.
4.Sushi Hyo
A long-running Cheongdam counter from a respected master; book ahead for a polished omakase with a loyal following.
Sushi Hyo is one of the established names of the Cheongdam sushi belt, in the Michelin Guide Seoul since 2019, run by master chef Ahn Hyo-ju at 21-16 Cheongdam-dong in Gangnam. The omakase is built on meticulous sourcing and the small details that separate a good counter from a great one, the choice of rice, salt, vinegar and fish, and it has held a devoted local following for years. It sits a step below the starred rooms on price and profile but delivers a genuinely refined sushi dinner. Go when the two-star counters are booked out and you still want a serious omakase in the heart of the scene. Book a few weeks ahead through the restaurant or CatchTable.
Book a few weeks ahead; the omakase, at the counter.
5.Sushi Cho
One of Seoul's longest-running high-end sushiya; book ahead for an elegant, classic omakase with deep local roots.
Sushi Cho is among the city's longest-established high-end sushi rooms, a Michelin Guide listee with roots going back to its years at the historic Westin Chosun hotel and now at 123 Apgujeong-ro in Gangnam. The omakase is classic and elegant rather than experimental, an old-guard counter that helped define what fine sushi meant in Seoul before the recent omakase boom. Prices start gentler than the starred counters, which makes it a strong introduction to the form. Go when you want a polished, traditional sushi dinner with a sense of the scene's history. Book a couple of weeks ahead, and consider the lunch sitting for the better-value way in.
Reserve a couple of weeks ahead; the omakase, lunch for value.
6.Akira Back
The modern-Japanese outlier in a city of sushi counters; book for diners who want Japanese flavour without the omakase ritual.
Akira Back is the change of pace on this list, a modern Japanese restaurant with a Korean accent at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, 97 Saemunan-ro in Jongno-gu, from the Korean-American chef of the same name whose career runs through some of the world's best-known Japanese kitchens. Where the other five rooms are quiet, ritual sushi counters, this is a buzzy, design-led dining room serving shareable modern plates, the signature AB Tuna Pizza, tuna tataki, robata grills, with dinner around 299,000 won. It is the choice for a group, or for a diner who wants Japanese flavours without committing to a two-hour omakase. Go when you want energy and variety rather than the hush of a counter. Book through the Four Seasons, the easiest reservation here.
Book via the Four Seasons; the AB Tuna Pizza and the robata.
How Seoul eats Japanese
Seoul's Japanese fine dining is, more than almost any other city's, a single form: the omakase sushi counter. The boom of the last decade poured talent and money into the sushiya, and the result is a dense, competitive scene of small counters, most of them in Cheongdam and the wider Gangnam district, where chefs trained in Tokyo technique work with a mix of Japanese and Korean fish. Kojima's two stars come precisely from owning that hybrid; the purist rooms like Sushi Matsumoto come from refusing it. Beyond sushi, the city is thinner than Tokyo or Osaka, which is why Akira Back stands out as the rare modern Japanese room of real ambition.
The practicalities reward planning. The best counters are tiny and book out weeks ahead, many through the Korean app CatchTable, and the menus are fixed omakase, so flag dietary needs when you reserve. There is no tipping culture in Korea, so the quoted price is close to the final bill, with any service charge stated. Lunch sittings, where offered, are the cheaper way into these kitchens. The Seoul dining guide maps the wider city, and the best Japanese restaurants worldwide set these counters against Tokyo and Osaka.
Where not to look for it
Skip these for serious Japanese in Seoul
The casual izakaya strips, if you want fine dining. Seoul has a huge, fun Japanese-pub scene of izakaya and ramen bars, but it is a different night from the omakase counters above. Go to them for grilled skewers and beer with friends, then book a counter for the fine-dining sushi; do not expect one to replace the other.
Any of these, if you specifically want kaiseki or tempura. Seoul's Japanese excellence runs through sushi, not the multi-course kaiseki or specialist tempura houses you would find in Tokyo or Osaka. If a non-sushi Japanese tasting is the goal, the city is thin, and our best Japanese restaurants in Tokyo or Osaka guides are the better map.
Frequently asked
What is the best Japanese restaurant in Seoul?
Kojima is the best Japanese restaurant in Seoul, holding two Michelin stars in the 2026 Seoul and Busan guide. Chef Kim Woo-tae cooks an omakase that blends Korea's wild seafood with classic Edomae sushi technique at an eight-seat hinoki counter in Gangnam. Below it, Sushi Kanesaka and Sushi Matsumoto hold one star each, the sushiya Sushi Hyo and Sushi Cho appear in the guide, and Akira Back at the Four Seasons offers a modern Japanese alternative to the pure sushi counters.
What does Japanese fine dining in Seoul mean?
In Seoul it almost always means the omakase sushi counter. Unlike Tokyo, where kaiseki, tempura and sushi each have great houses, Seoul's Japanese fine dining is overwhelmingly Edomae sushi served omakase, chef's choice, piece by piece across a small counter. Five of the six rooms here are sushiya; the exception is Akira Back, a modern Japanese kitchen with a Korean accent. If you want a multi-course Japanese tasting that is not sushi, Seoul is thinner than Tokyo or Osaka.
How much does omakase cost in Seoul?
Expect roughly 200,000 to 400,000 Korean won per person for dinner at Seoul's top omakase counters, before drinks. Sushi Kanesaka's dinner runs around 380,000 won and Kojima sits in a similar band; Sushi Matsumoto, Sushi Hyo and Sushi Cho are a little lower, and lunch where offered is cheaper. Akira Back's dinner is around 299,000 won. The counters are small and the sourcing premium, which is reflected in the price; a service charge and drinks add to the bill.
How far ahead should I book omakase in Seoul?
Book Seoul's best counters several weeks ahead, and longer for Kojima, whose eight seats are among the hardest reservations in the city. Sushi Kanesaka takes bookings through the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, and the Gangnam sushiya Sushi Matsumoto, Sushi Hyo and Sushi Cho release seats a few weeks out, often through CatchTable, the Korean booking app. Akira Back at the Four Seasons is the easiest to land. For any of them, confirm early and note dietary needs, since the menus are fixed.
Where is the best sushi in Seoul?
The two-Michelin-star Kojima is the top sushi-led counter in the city, distinctive for weaving Korean wild-caught fish into Edomae technique. For the purest mainland-Japan style, Sushi Matsumoto faithfully reproduces Tokyo sushi, and Sushi Kanesaka brings the famous Ginza brand to a hotel counter. Sushi Hyo and Sushi Cho are long-running Gangnam sushiya with loyal followings. Most cluster in Cheongdam and the surrounding Gangnam district, the centre of Seoul's omakase scene.
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