Japanese Berlin: nigiri, charcoal and ramen

Japanese food in Berlin ranges from an omakase for a special night to a ramen bowl you finish in twenty minutes. The five places here cover it: two sushi counters, a classic, a charcoal grill and a noodle bar.

SAN – nigiri behind a modest façade

Mitte · JapaneseSANOn the map

On Weydingerstraße, a few steps from the Volksbühne, Tomoya Sakashita and Takeshi Seto opened their own sushi restaurant after talking about it for years. Takeshi is the purist at the sushi counter, Tomoya handles the hot dishes. There is sashimi, maki, nigiri and an omakase; the room is small and the kitchen open.

Between the nigiri, a karaage fits in, fried chicken as a warm counterpoint to the raw fish. Tables are booked for two hours, and if you are more than 15 minutes late, you lose yours. There is no vegetarian sushi.

893 Ryōtei – tuna in three cuts

Charlottenburg · Japanese893 RyoteiOn the map

Outside, a graffiti-covered façade that looks like an abandoned shop; inside, a lounge and a sushi counter. 893 Ryōtei belongs to The Duc Ngo, who trained under Japanese chefs at Berlin’s first sushi bar. At the counter there is tuna in three cuts: hon maguro, chūtoro and, when available, ōtoro, plus uni and saba. Alongside, the kitchen cooks Nikkei with Peruvian influences, such as yellowtail tiradito or ceviche with ají amarillo. At the counter it pays to eat the tuna nigiri side by side, so you can see the difference. From four people there is a best-of menu for the whole table.

Sasaya – the classic on Lychener Straße

Prenzlauer Berg · JapaneseSasayaOn the map

Sasaya on Lychener Straße has long been an institution for Japanese food in Berlin. A sushi chef prepares nigiri and maki in front of guests, alongside tempura, udon, rice bowls and small starters. Some seating is at low tables on tatami. The best dishes are on the daily menu. The phone is hard to get through to, so it pays to come early, at lunch ideally right at noon. Closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

stoke – yakitori over binchotan

Kreuzberg · JapanesestokeOn the map

stoke is the idea of Jeffrey Claudio, Jessica Tan and Niklas Harmsen: yakitori with fine-dining ambition. Almost every part of the free-range chicken goes on a skewer, including neck, heart and skin. You sit at the counter around the grill and watch the cooks work over charcoal. The Infatuation named stoke one of Berlin’s 25 best restaurants in June 2026.

The chicken oyster skewer is the best way in, but it is not only the skewers that are worth it: the yellowtail and the gyoza pie are too. The entrance is on Feilnerstraße, not Lindenstraße, and you go home with smoke in your jacket.

Cocolo Ramen – house-made noodles

Mitte · JapaneseCocolo Ramen MitteOn the map

Cocolo on Gipsstraße also belongs to The Duc Ngo. The noodles are made in-house and the broth is pork-based. There is shoyu, shio with chicken and bonito flakes, niboshi with fish stock, miso, also vegan, tantan with spicy mince and tonkotsu with pork belly, egg and wood ear mushrooms. Tonkotsu is the way in, with kakuni, sweet pork belly, or gyoza beforehand. If the noodles run out but the broth does not: kaedama is the word for a second portion of noodles.