The Best Japanese in Saint Paul

Wakame Sushi & Asian Bistro

★★★★☆ 4 (930) • $$

"This was my first time at Wakame and I must note that I am not a sushi fan, however, I knew they had other stuff on the menu. We came late at night for their happy hour and it was pretty busy but we were sat quickly. I got the shrimp tempura and shockling, garlic mashed potatoes, while my friend got a mix of sushi. My food was good, pretty standard, and the mashed potatoes were a lot better than I thought they would be for an asian restaurant. I would definitely come back, good food at good prices."

Momo Sushi

★★★★★ 4.5 (339) • $$

"I'm downgrading this to four stars since I had bad stomach pain on and off for a week after dining here and so did my friend and husband after he ate the food. We think the sashimi was the cause and the pain started during the meal. We ordered rolls, momos and sashimi. The first time I dined here I got rolls only and had no issues. I rarely get stomach pain and the last time I experienced this type of pain was about 20 years ago. I still really enjoy the sushi here and my previous review about the food is still accurate. If I came back I'd probably just stick to sushi rolls and/or cooked food."

Kyatchi

★★★★☆ 4.1 (308) • $$

"Love Kyatchi. Came here for my birthday and got my favorite-the tonkatsu. Quick service and good vibes. FYI you can't tip on your card so bring cash, or you might be able to Venmo your server."

Ten Sushi Japanese Restaurant

★★★★★ 4.7 (234) • $$

"First time checking this place out. Our server was so sweet and made sure we did not need anything during our meal. She made sure my seafood allergy was conveyed to the chefs and they selected the most delicious fish. It also came with soup and salad. Most of the restaurant was cute, but our receipts seats vinyl was cracked and needed updating. We will be back for sure."

Nakamori Japanese Bistro

★★★★☆ 3.9 (309) • $$

"Always, always my go to when running errands and need fuel to keep going! Can always count on prompt service, fresh fish and quiet enjoyment of this small gem. Love this place and return often."

Kado No Mise

★★★★☆ 4.1 (278) • $$$$

"The food was amazing! We lucked out with it being Puffer Fish season...definitely recommend trying the platter because it was so flavorful with their Ponzu! The chef's tasting menu is definitely the way to go and the more courses the better!! I was in Japan and introduced to horse mackerel and this restaurant took it to a whole other level!! Service was excellent as you would expect! Quiet and semi-private tables in the restaurant and a nice dark whiskey bar. Japanese whiskey selection was excellent and the staff recommendations based on comparable other whiskey were On Point! Would definitely recommend!"

Sakura Restaurant & Sushi Bar

★★★★☆ 3.7 (303) • $$

"Great Japanese food, love the clam miso soup and the sashimi tesihoku. Jessie was very helpful and ambiance is great! Will be back here when I'm I'm back in St. Paul!"

Kai's Sushi & Grill

★★★★☆ 4.3 (192) • $$

"This place is great. We went on a Saturday night for an early dinner and we're seated right away. Nice service- good sized menu (even with some options if someone doesn't like sushi). Pretty typical price for sushi. It's in a strip mall setting so plenty of parking. Everything was yummy- no complaints! We had a few apps, a variety of rolls including a few specialty rolls. Ended with some mochi for dessert. Good place if looking for some quality sushi and an option to sit down not just take out."

Iwa Sushi

★★★★☆ 4.4 (168) • $$

"Wow. Best sushi I've had since I've came to MN! This place is amazing compared to the other sushi places around here. Service was great too"

Sakana Sushi & Asian Bistro

★★★★☆ 3.7 (237) • $$

"I went here with my mom for senior day and was overall quite impressed. We were seated quickly and our waitress was friendly and fast. The prices were a bit steep for the quality of the rolls in comparison to other restaurants nearby but overall the food was season 12 and had lots of good flavor. The restaurant from the outside may seem a bit daunting, but the interior is very clean and light. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant but just be worried. The prices are a bit higher than others"

Kyoto Sushi

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (324) • $$

"Kyoto sushi has gone down hill. You used to be able to get normal size sashimi and sushi but now it's just miniature size. The sashimi came out and we were so shocked to see how tiny it was. Definitely not worth going to anymore unless you just order rolls"

Akita Sushi & Hibachi

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (320) • $$

"The food is so good! Each serving is freshly made to order. Try the sushi pizza it's a must!!!. Love the big tables so the whole family can sit comfortably together while enjoying a wonderful dinner. The waitstaff is always on point."

Shogun Sushi and Hibachi

★★★★☆ 3.8 (208) • $$

"Really good food. I ordered so much. We came for my friends birthday so it was quite a few of us. The staff were so awesome and patient with us since most of the girls had never been. The show was awesome and he engaged with all of us and wasn't rushing to get done which was nice. I got a chicken tempura roll, the hara maki, and the hibachi chicken which came with the miso soup and the salad. I love this place and would 10/10 come again."

Dong Hae Korean Grill and Sushi

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (312) • $$

"We came here for a pre-concert dinner. This is my first foray into Korean BBQ, and overall it was quite enjoyable. Parking is on the street, or there is free parking next to the restaurant in the evening.The restaurant was clean well designed. The staff is super friendly and attentive. The food came out to our table really quick. I mean really really quick. we were barely settled in and chatting after placing our order and our food came out. I am not sure if I ever said this about a restaurant, but it was a bit too quick.The food overall was fine. The Nigiri we ordered seems pretty fresh. I can't recall what my dining companions ordered but it was cooked well and was well balanced. I had ordered the Braised Beef Ribs. This entree was mostly a failure. While the sauce and vegetables and other accouterments were good; The beef was sooo chewy. The connective tissue you find in the ribs was not broken down in the braise. That meat needed another 60 to 90 minutes in the braise. So dropping $40.00 on this and getting this entree served to me in its state, was a disappointment.I would hit it up again to try some of the other entrees and give this place another chance."

Kyoto Sushi

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (259) • $$

"All you can eat sushi? I'm in!Say what you will about AYCE sushi restaurants... I personally love them. Sure the quality isn't quite as good but it's without a doubt edible and the flavors are always pretty solid. This particular location had kind of a weird atmosphere. It was trying to be fancy but missed the mark and just kind of looks old and dumpy. Nevertheless it was clean at least. Our server wasn't exactly the friendliest person ever nor was she very attentive. It was a bit tough flagging her down for most of our lunch visit. Food is good. Don't go in expecting super high quality fish and you will find yourself pleased I feel. If the service was just a better this would be 4 stars! @danny_runsforbeer"

Yumi Japanese Restaurant & Bar - Excelsior

★★★★☆ 4 (173) • $$$

"Yumi Yumi Yumi I got sushi in my tummy! I was visiting a friend in the Excelsior area.We decided to grab some grub.Yumi Japanese won our vote for new place to check out. I love sushi...rice meat, wasabi and pickled ginger! The honeymoon roll with the tuna,crab meat and special sauce was well done! The spicy tuna roll was well made!They featured an off the menu teriyaki wings...fried and seasoned to perfection.Service was friendly and quick.The restaurant is small so get there early.We sat at the counter where we could see our rolls being constructed.There is parking in the back ya'll!"

Tokyo 23 Buffet

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (239) • $$

"It was really good. The place was clean but the employees didn't help or refill our drinks at all. Crab legs were nice and it was worth the money. I would definitely go back!"

New Fresh Wok

★★★★☆ 3.7 (179) • $

"Time for an update since the restaurant is now open for inside dining. Seeing the lack of customers inside is balanced out from the take out business. One customer after another so that's good. There is a full Sushi bar and everything else self service. Order at the counter and pay, get your water from the other side of the room, food delivered by a singing kitty robot. There isn't much for ambience as it's a family run business with a TV that members of the family are coming in and out watching the Olympics. What counts is the variety of the menu items and quick cooking. Fried rice arrived steaming off the wok and just the aroma made me want more. The portions are plentiful and yes, if you want to take the rest home, help yourself to the take out boxes, next to the water on the other side of the room."

Kiku Bistro

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (232) • $$

"Starving after a long day flying I decided to Kiku takeout and/or delivery.I was excited to see how much thought they behind the packaging. First of all it's always a blessing when either your Uber eats or the restaurant puts in utensils. If you looking for chopstick you will have to request from the restaurant or driver. The to go order had a small piece of cardboard box right above the Pad Thai. It's small steps like this keep the food hot as if you're getting it right off the pan! The order consisted of Miso Soup, Edamame, and Pad Thai. The Vegetables in the Pad Thai, tasted like water. I'm assuming it's probably because they have their vegetables soaking in water for storage and refrigeration (common for restaurants to do).It was 56 minutes prior to close so I'm assuming the kitchen probably was in a hurry to close out. More than likely just grabbed out the veggies and threw them in the pan not allowing the excess water to be removed. Even sautéeing the veggies in first to really soak up in the sauce may have helped. The edamame was slightly under cooked which makes it tough to get the soybeans out. Maybe this is a restaurant is best experienced as a sit down spot and I recommend favoring their Japanese offerings not Thai."

Suishin

★★★★☆ 4.1 (133) • $$

"Do yourself a favor and give this place a try. It's absolutely one of those hole-in-the-wall finds that you would never even consider trying if you were just driving past the strip mall this is located in, with its unassuming appearance and generic red-lettered signage. Once you step inside though you'll easily find a nice, quiet restaurant with fantastic service and food.My wife had several sushi rolls which were all very good and very reasonably priced - their 6-to-8 piece rolls were generally in the $5-$6 range. I had a traditional sukiyaki, and wow this is the best sukiyaki I've found in the Twin Cities. It's one of my favorite dishes - beef, tofu, glass noodles, mushrooms, and cabbage simmered together in a sweet soy broth. The flavors are spot on for what this dish should be, and I would absolutely recommend it to anybody.My wife commented on how nice and quiet the restaurant was, with some minimalistic Japanese music in the background and plenty of soundproofing to block out the sound from outside. Service was excellent as well. I'm happy to go back here any time!"

Takara Sushi

★★★★☆ 3.9 (144) • $$

"Adequate Japanese food for a great price!I've had better sushi elsewhere, but the value more than makes up for it. Hibachi has good meat, flavorful fried rice, and ok veggies. I thoroughly enjoy the Pork Katsu Bento and sub out miso soup for onion soup at no extra charge. The restaurant is clean with nice furniture and somewhat dim lighting. I've had prompt service for both menu and All You Can Eat. Current All-You-Can-Eat-Prices:Lunch M-F: $17.99Lunch Weekends: $21.99Dinner: $31.99"

Akame Sushi

★★★★☆ 3.5 (178) • $$

"Business lunch with a co-worker and I had never tried Kyoto or any MN chain of sushi that specializes in all you can eat. Usually I judge these places but took the gamble and it paid off They have a solid menu with a ton of sashimi, roll and cooked options and a staff that keeps bringing you food until you are done ! I tried two cuts of fish (unagi, salmon) and two rolls along with miso and edamame. Green tea ice cream was the closer.... Fun to have two blocks from where I work"

Sake Sushi

★★★★☆ 4.1 (122) • $$

"We happened to be in the area and were able to be seated right away for a late lunch. It's a smaller place with booths, table seating, and bar seating. Our server was pleasant and worse gloves the whole time. (Although he wore the gloves into the bathroom and I don't think he changed them after, so that made us very uncomfortable).The happy hour menu was decent and we mostly ordered from that. The sushi was good, but nothing amazing. Maybe above average? There was an issue with the tofu dish my friend ordered. She kept finding hard slivers in it, that she said seemed like plastic. She chose not to finish her dish and the waiter never asked what we thought about the dishes so it was never brought up."

Midori's Floating World Cafe

★★★★☆ 3.7 (146) • $$

"A fantastic spot for vegans! This is my guess of what authentic Japanese food is. Don bowls, bento boxes and sushi (with multiple vegan sushi options).The space is bright and adorable. Happy hour is 5- close every Wednesday. They also have lots of sake and tea. The food is 5 stars but the service was more like a 3. Friendly enough, but Very, very slow. Also, one of the servers had B.O. Sorry to call this out, but it was unpleasant during a meal in a small restaurant. Service aside, I will be back soon!"

Hajime Asian Bistro

★★★★☆ 4.4 (101) • $$

"Placed a to-go order. It was ready when they said it would be. Food was fresh and delicious. Priced appropriately. We ordered a lot of different items and everything was perfect."

Kobe Restaurant

★★★☆☆ 3.4 (166) • $$

"3.5/5Stopped in here Valentine's Day late afternoon and there was plenty of seating. Staff were friendly but nothing particularly memorable, some were just standing around chatting waiting for the rush to hit. I got the avocado roll and sweet potato roll, my husband got tuna and salmon rolls. All were great but again, nothing terribly special (nothing to bring us back again). The restaurant itself is nice and appeared clean. I would prefer if giant TVs weren't everywhere, very distracting but some folks like that."

Kai's Sushi & Grill

★★★★☆ 4.4 (97) • $$

"Found this gem of a place after 2 failed attempts at finding a place for dinner. This turned out for the best because this place is awesome.Great service and the food is legit.From the sake, to the rolls, everything hit the spot. Went here with a buddy and we were warmly welcomed by our server. She even recommended some great places to try in the future.When I'm in town I would certainly love to come here again.Give it a shot!"

Kyoto Sushi

★★★★☆ 3.5 (150) • $$

"Parking is great. The service was outstanding today - best service we've ever had there. We ordered a variety of rolls and they were delicious. It's a great place to go and share a variety of sushi with a group of people. My older son even got a birthday cheesecake and ice cream with a candle."

Mizu Japanese

★★★★☆ 3.9 (112) • $$$$

"Excellent sushi - 5 stars!I had a great experience at Mizu. The sushi was very good. They also have various soups, bowls, a few desserts, specialty cocktails, beer, and a couple varieties of teas. The customer service was first class from beginning to end.The restaurant itself is beautiful. It has a clean, spacious, angular, open vibe to it...lots of light gray colors with wood accents. You get the idea. I could just as well have been sitting at LoLo or Crave. It's the latest look for trendy restaurants. But I like it.Mizu is a bit on the expensive side. I spent 73 bucks for 1 specialty cocktail, 1 hot tea, 2 sushi rolls, and last but not least, one mochi ice cream ball. So with the automatic tip for the whole staff (and my voluntary tip for the server), my modest dinner set me back 100 bucks.On the subject of money, this is one of those new trendy places that charges you an automatic 20% gratuity to support a "living wage" for the entire staff of front line workers. I have mixed feelings about this. Personally, I'd rather pay a higher amount for the food without separating out a woke mandatory fee which lets them take care of the workers with a "living wage". Please, knock off the virtue signaling and just charge me more for the food, and management can figure out staff wages versus other expenses and the owner's profit. That's how every other business on the planet works. Oh, well. I'm not in charge...so fee it is at Mizu. I paid the 20% fee plus I voluntarily added another 25 dollar tip for my server. So...I guess...in the end...I ended up paying 36 bucks for gratuities.Overall, a great first visit.Thumbs up!-Maxx"

Oishii Japanese Ramen

★★★★★ 4.7 (76) • $$

"I first tried this during COVID, and I knew from the start from the way they packaged everything to go, that this place cares about presenting a near-perfect ramen experience that leaves you coming back for more, spreading the word to others, and bringing them into the mix!The last time we came, we went with some friends, tried the takoyaki, which were these amazing fried octopus bites with drizzled mayo, katsu sauce and fish flake on them - very tasty! I ordered the teriyaki chashu pork ramen - delicious (I usually get the miso chashu pork belly which I highly recommend) and we tried their hot sake for the first time which was great, as was the service and friendly staff as always."

Kyoto Sushi

★★★☆☆ 2.9 (196) • $$

"Kyoto is the best AYCE sushi in town! Our waitress was attentive, making sure our waters were filled, our empty plates were cleared, and each round of orders came out quickly. Everything we had was delicious but some of my favorites were the sexy girl roll, the #9 roll, and the salmon nigiri - I don't know what I was expecting from the spicy salmon nigiri, but it was just the salmon with a drizzle of spicy mayo! We got a side of the spicy Mayo so I didn't really need them already spicy, but it was still delicious. The hand rolls were a great addition to the meal as well, a great ratio of rice and fish The ultimate reason to go to Kyoto for AYCE is the sashimi!! We got a lot of pieces and everything (especially the salmon) was incredible- perfectly fatty and just delicious.We finished the night with a little green tea ice cream - one of my favorites!"

Sushi Tango Woodbury

★★★☆☆ 3 (177) • $$

"All aspects that you would expect from a sushi restaurant or here. Good atmosphere good drinks great sushi."

Tokyo Sushi & Grill Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.8 (109) • $$

"We love the sushi here. While we have only gotten takeout the food is always ready when expected and they get our special request correct. There is a large parking lot so always ample parking nearby. The inside isn't huge but they do have a lot of nice decorations and unique items for sale."

Okome House

★★★★☆ 4.3 (79)

"Okome House is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the entire Twin Cities. This place is somewhat unique in that, unlike many other Japanese eateries that specialize in Sushi or Ramen, Okome house has a very unique menu that specializes in onigiri, with dozens of flavors. You can also opt for an udon or donburi (rice bowl) dish, but onigri is where Okome house really shines. The best deal here is the "onigiri combo," which comes with three onigiri of your choice and two sides (I highly recommend the wakame salad and the curry). Everything I've tried here is amazing, and my young daughter loves it too. The vast majority of their dishes are also dairy-free. They have a small selection of beer and sake, and even have a happy hour every day with great deals on drinks. The inside is cute, and when the weather is nice, the outdoor patio is amazing. Service is usually fairly quick."

Tokyo Sushi & Hibachi

★★★★☆ 3.7 (100) • $$

"Second time eating here, this time dine in. Greeted and area was clean. Got our drinks quickly and our food didn't take too long.There's plentiful of vegan sushi options! Didn't ask about the noodles since I wasn't going to eat any.My sister enjoyed her sushi and spring rolls. The kids plate was much more than we expected also found a shrimp mixed in with the chicken.We had great service and would definitely visit again for the sushi!"