18 best Japanese counter dining restaurants in Singapore

Having enjoyed a decade at Chijmes, Ashino made the move to Club Street in 2024. The new space is transportive, elegant yet welcoming—everything you want at a sushi-ya that is often filled with regulars who return for chef-owner Taku Ashino’s particular Jukusei style sushi, which showcases ageing techniques better than any of his peers. The cornerstone of Ashino’s philosophy lies in shinkeijime, a precision technique used to swiftly dispatch fish, pioneered by the highly sought-after fish supplier Hiroki Hasegawa from Kanagawa Prefecture. The varieties of fish are treated with patience and the utmost respect; think kohada (gizzard shad) with ten days of meticulous salting, vinegar curing, and controlled ageing; buri (yellowtail) surrendering to two weeks of transformation; and some fish maturing for up to 40 days. Perfectly engineered to complement the perfectly seasoned shari.

Ashino
Address: 8 Club Street, #01-12/13 Icon Hotel, S(069472)

Helmed by chef Kenji Takahashi, the former chef-owner of Michelin-starred Yoshifuku in Tokyo, this Mandarin Oriental restaurant offers refined kappo omakase with a stunning view of the city skyline. Like many Japanese fine-dining establishments, Zuicho operates an open kitchen with a chef’s counter. Here, the main counter seats up to nine guests, while the two private rooms can be combined to host up to 14 diners. Menus celebrate four distinct seasons of Japan, intently expressed to transport taste buds through premium ingredients sourced directly from Japan. Among the options is an 11-course omakase menu that features the season’s best. Think: kinki (thornyhead fish), sawara (Spanish mackerel), and awabi (abalone) served alongside caviar, uni and Wagyu.

Zuicho Singapore
Address: 5 Raffles Ave, Level 3, Mandarin Oriental, S(039797)

In case you missed it: Meet the illustrious Japanese chef who left his Michelin-starred Ginza restaurant of nine years to helm Zuicho Singapore

Step into the serene abode of Takahashi Singapore, the first and only outpost of the cult omakase restaurant masterminded by luminary chef Jun Takahashi. At the helm is Rinto Sasagawa, his protege of eight years, personally appointed by Takahashi. Charting the rich traditions of Japanese culinary art, Sasagawa strikes a harmonious balance with sophistication, flair and modernity. Expect the season’s freshest catch, intricate kaiseki dishes, a deft display of knife skills, and minimal interactive theatrics. Standouts include the beautifully smoked sawara (Japanese Spanish mackerel) with hand-grinded scallion ginger paste; creamy ebi (shrimp) dusted with a heady prawn shell powder; Hokkaido nishin (herring) brushed with savoury soy; and the lesser-seen menuke (Hokkaido deep-sea rockfish), masterfully seared with a piece of hot binchotan charcoal, unlocking its rich fatty oils.

Sushi Takahashi
Address: 4 Mohamed Sultan Road, S(238955)

At the helm is executive chef Naruki Takeshima, a 28-year-old chef who spent six years earning his stripes at Tenkane. For the uninitiated, Tenkane is a 120-year-old tempura institution in Shinjuku, favoured by locals for its Edomae-style tempura, a style passed down through four generations since the Meiji era. Tempura is the focal point of the experience; expect a light and crisp batter, expertly fried—Takeshima listens intently to every crackle and pop as he tends the fry, hence there is no music in the restaurant—and never cloying. Ingredients follow the seasons and are flown in four times a week from Japan, specifically Tokyo and Takeshima’s hometown of Fukuoka. As artisans dedicated to preserving the classic culinary art of Edomae-style tempura, Tempura Ensei offers an exclusive private-label sake from the renowned Takano sake brewery to complement each course.

Tempura Ensei
Address: 390 Orchard Road, B1-06/07 Palais Renaissance, S(238871)

In a clandestine enclave within Keong Saik, high-end sushiya Sushi Zen is run by E Ran, a Chinese chef-restaurateur from Beijing. The Singaporean outpost is the first international venture outside of China, and hosts a select—and exclusive—audience of eight over lunch and dinner each day. Behind the smooth hinoki wood counter, Ran showcases his Edomae-sushi-making chops utilising ultra-premium seasonal ingredients from Japan, expressed in his own unique flair. Ran’s shari formula sports a base of top-grade Nanatsuboshi rice from Hokkaido, while red and white vinegar and a sprinkle of salt are used to flavour. As for the neta, luxuriate on a series of fatty chutoro and otoro; shiro ebi from Toyama crowned with caviar in place of soy sauce; bafun uni and its oceanic sweetness; smoke-kissed anago; and a rather rare showing of kawahagi (thread-sail filefish) accented with spring onions and moreish liver paste.

Sushi Zen
Address: 1 Teck Lim Road, #01, S(088379)

Two-Michelin-starred Waku Ghin by celebrity chef Tetsuya Wakuda offers an unparalleled vision of modern Japanese cuisine with an extensive wine and sake collection to boot. Retreat to the exclusive 10-seater Chef’s Table, where you will indulge in a degustation experience offering the finest Japanese seasonal ingredients, treated with meticulous precision right in front of you. If not, go to its new private sushi room for a sushi omakase, where you can sample regional seafood across Japan, including firefly squid, monkfish liver, and milt. 

Lauded as a two-Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant in Singapore, Shoukouwa is a sushi-ya helmed by head chef Kazumine Nishida, who expertly crafts Edomae sushi in front of an intimate sushi counter, where no more than eight people can sit. Expect only the freshest produce, with seafood and produce air-flown daily from Toyosu Market and exclusive delicacies like seasonal ikura and oscietra caviar from La Maison Nordique. 

This yakitori omakase restaurant has been making waves, and it’s not hard to see why. Shin Terroir’s entrance is tucked away from the main street, inviting you to its 10-seater kappo-style counter where you can see chefs Nicholas Lee and Takeshi Nakayama craft grilled delights over Kishu binchō charcoal. Yakitori shines here, made as it is with French chicken from Toh Thye San farm, like the signature “Mille Feuille”—a layered yakitori skewer of chicken gizzards, chives, and chicken skin. Look out for other treats like the Miyazaki A4 Wagyu served with asparagus, ikura, and a Hollandaise sauce, or the extensive wine list, which includes top labels from Burgundy and Champagne.

Shin Terroir
Address: 80 Tras Street, S(079019), +65 9656 0654

At the heart of Hamamoto’s intimate dining area is the 12-seater curved hinoki counter, the only one of its kind in Singapore. It is from this vantage point that you get to witness chef-owner Kazuhiro Hamamoto’s unique sushi omakase in a kaiseki format, made with fresh ingredients straight from Tokyo and Fukuoka. But look out for other premium plates as well, like the ise ebi (spiny lobster) sashimi with seasonal uni and Kaluga caviar, or the sliced Wagyu with seasonal uni and truffle found on the Hamamoto Experience menu.

Located within the St Regis Singapore is Tentsuru, a tempura-speciality omakase restaurant helmed by chef Daiki Kawaguchi, a kaiseki-trained chef who cut his teeth at Michelin-starred restaurants in Japan. Look out for fresh and seasonal ingredients like Miyazaki beef sirloin and blackthroat seaperch, which are cooked right in front of you at the 15-seat counter—first coated in a light and crispy batter made with a blend of three different Hokkaido flours, then fried perfectly in enriched Hokkaido sunflower oil. 

With years of experience, including a stint at Michelin-starred Kyoto restaurant Gion Fukushi, kappo chef Kenta Yamauchi is here in Singapore to deliver one of the best dining experiences you can find in Singapore. Lounge in the bar area bedecked in Gucci homeware before entering the omakase room, where exquisite delicacies are presented on thousand-year old cedar wood place settings. Accompanied by sushi specialist Hirohito Tanaka (previously of Sushi Ginza Onodera in New York), expect delectable sushi made with wild-caught seafood from Japan and ingredients exclusively procured by Hazuki.

Not one, but two counters await you at Mizuki. Separated by wooden lattice screens are two bar counters, where sushi and tempura masters craft exquisite creations using ingredients air-flown from Toyosu Market in Tokyo four times a week. Guests can choose a sushi omakase menu, a tempura omakase menu, or a mixed sushi and tempura omakase menu. Mizuki promises to present the best of the restaurant’s expertise in two of the most beloved Japanese foods in the world.

Read more: Mizuki’s latest sushi and tempura omakase menu offers the best of both worlds

One of the pinnacles of kappo-style dining in Singapore, head chef Takeshi Araki impresses at Esora with his modern Japanese cuisine with meticulous French technique. There is a skylight dressed in washi paper over the pristine main counter, shining natural sunlight in the day and giving off the impression of natural clouds. Dishes necessarily change according to the seasons, but expect twists on signatures like the chicken wing, the donabe bowl, and a tea pairing that takes you through the elegant ceremony of Japanese tea. There are few variations in the menu, making sure you get the full Esora experience every time. 

Taking over a colonial black-and-white bungalow on Scotts Road is Ki-Sho, which means “aristocratic craftsmanship” in Japanese. It’s fitting for its storied exteriors and exquisite kappo-style 11-seat counter, made of prized hinoki wood. With years of experience across Kyoto, Belgium, London, Monaco, Seoul and finally Singapore, its resident chef Shinichi Nakatake is sure to deliver a memorable dining experience. You might expect, for instance, an abalone and uni donabe, or delectable hairy crab with caviar and uni sauce. 

Situated within Claymore Connect lies Ichigo Ichie, an upscale kappo restaurant helmed by chef Akane Eno. Meaning “one life, one moment”, an ancient Japanese proverb celebrating a memory that is cherished for life, Ichigo Ichie endeavours to create a dining experience unlike any other with a mélange of unusual ingredients across her experience working in izakayas, kappo restaurants, and sushi-yas, such as curry leaf, cream cheese, and maqaw pepper. While you can expect an impressive dinner with the Kurenai menu, more curious diners looking to see what Ichigo Ichie is capable of can choose the Akane omakase menu, where your dinner will be entirely decided and crafted in front of you by Eno.

A serene garden sanctuary awaits you at Sushi Sato, an elegant sushi-ya bedecked with leaf motifs and pink and cream walls, adorned by the verdant foliage of Dempsey Hill. Behind the luxurious hinoki wood counter is chef-owner Yuji Sato, who mastered the craft of sushi in Tsukiji, Tokyo. Sushi Sato is one of the priciest sushi-yas out there, but if you’re looking for a special dining experience with ingredients like Hanasaki crab from Hokkaido, bafun uni, or fresh ikura, Sushi Sato offers a worthwhile dining experience.

Sushi Sato
Address: 6B Dempsey Road, S(247662), +65 6971 8265

Awarded with two Michelin stars in 2025, Sushi Sakuta by Yoshi Sakuta offers a luxurious sushi-ya experience, with an unbroken counter of hinoki wood, carved from a 200-year-old Yoshino cypress tree from Nara prefecture. Edomae-style sushi is Sakuta’s focus here, with sushi rice made from a house blend of white vinegar for the perfect, balanced acidity. With painstaking techniques like pickling abalone in seaweed, sake and water to high quality ingredients, Sushi Sakuta commands a high price for lunch and dinner.

Sushi Sakuta
Address: 15 Stamford Road, 01-88 The Capitol Kempinski Hotel, S(178906), +65 9863 9302

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