{"id":838231,"date":"2026-08-01T17:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/838231\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T17:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:52:12","slug":"5-of-our-favourite-upmarket-japanese-restaurants-in-canberra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/838231\/","title":{"rendered":"5 of our favourite upmarket Japanese restaurants in Canberra"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"An<\/p>\n

Sea urchin roe, or \u2018uni\u2019, is included in the Raku sashimi plate (in the black bowl on the back right). Photo: Raku\/Instagram.<\/p>\n

Japanese food and fine dining are a perfect pair.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s cuisine is lauded for attention to detail, highly skilled chefs, a respect for ingredients and carefully honed technique. We\u2019ve previously shouted out a few of our favourite casual Japanese eats<\/a>, but Canberra is also lucky to have several outstanding Japanese restaurants in town.<\/p>\n

Here are a handful of our favourites.<\/p>\n

Obviously, Raku is on this list.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s perhaps the best known of Canberra\u2019s Japanese restaurants. Boasting award-winning menus, Chef Hao has built a reputation for excellence and has consistently delivered.<\/p>\n

Raku is well known for its signature nigiri and sashimi and has also embraced the local \u2018black gold\u2019 with truffle pairings across the menu. If the $170pp Royal Tasting Menu is out of your price range, the $60 express lunch offers a slice of luxury at a fraction of the price.<\/p>\n

Raku has become a favourite spot for celebrity diners, so keep your eyes peeled!<\/p>\n

\"Line<\/p>\n

Chef Nakano at Koto trained with a sushi master. Photo: Thomas Lucraft.<\/p>\n

The old Lobby restaurant sat neglected for years until Koto reimagined this iconic Canberra space as a refined Japanese restaurant.<\/p>\n

Under the stewardship of Chef Shinya Nakano (who trained with a fifth-generation sushi master), the menu features an impressive range of raw and cooked seafood, premium beef, and an enviable sake collection.<\/p>\n

The menu mostly sticks to the traditional, with the odd delicious foray into fusion (hello, wagyu taco). A set menu is a fabulous way to experience the menu, and there is also a vegetarian option.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mu is an omakase-style restaurant where diners leave the menu up to the chefs. Photo: Pew Pew Studio.<\/p>\n

Mu<\/a>, Civic<\/p>\n

Mu invites diners to place themselves in the hands of the chef with an omakase-style menu.<\/p>\n

Omakase translates as \u2018to trust\u2019, which makes each visit to Mu unique as the chefs prepare dishes without a traditional menu. The dishes usually start light with sushi and sashimi up first, moving to cooked seafood, chicken and, finally, heartier beef dishes. Dessert might be a chestnut tiramisu, or miso gelato with sour cherry.<\/p>\n

For the full experience, sit at the Chef\u2019s Table to watch the team at work.<\/p>\n

\"chocolate<\/p>\n

The oozy goodness of miso caramel bursts out of a neat chocolate fondant. Photo: Megann Evans.<\/p>\n

Inka introduced Canberrans to Nikkei cuisine: a Japanese\/Peruvian blend of Asian technique and South American ingredients. Lime, coriander, spices and chillies add zip and zing to the ceviche\/sushi dishes, and agedashi tofu sits comfortably on the menu beside nasi dengaku eggplant.<\/p>\n

Save space for the Inka chocolate fondant \u2013 an oozy chocolate cake with miso caramel and the perfect way to end a meal at this inventive restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Chef Junho \u2018Luffy\u2019 Koh and Chef Jun Kim, Sous Chef, run the hibachi grill at Azuma Den. Photo: Adam McGrath.<\/p>\n

Technically a Japanese and Korean blend, Azuma Den marries classy and casual dining with ease. A hibachi grill sits at the heart of the menu, bringing flames and flavour to dishes. The grilled edamame was a total revelation.<\/p>\n

The sharing menu offers a range of dishes from dumplings to teriyaki skewers, hibachi-grilled wagyu striploin, and sides like the zingy pineapple and ginger pickle (good with everything!)<\/p>\n

The AZD Brulee had me dancing in my seat, and don\u2019t sleep on the cocktails.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your favourite Japanese restaurant in Canberra?<\/p>\n

Make us preferred on Google<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sea urchin roe, or \u2018uni\u2019, is included in the Raku sashimi plate (in the black bowl on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":838232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-838231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}