Vienna’s 7 best Japanese restaurants

Eating at Shiki is an exotic culinary adventure. Forget what you know about Japanese restaurants and get ready to dive into a completely new experience. The concept has been crafted to be unique by it’s owner – who happens to also be a violinist and conductor – Mr. Joji Hattori.
Shiki boasts a fusion between western interior design and an the oriental way of bringing together a bunch of details that create the perfect zen – you can spot the Japanese beauty at work in the handmade paper on the table, the dark ceilings, the vine-covered wall. And same goes for the firey food fusion happening here.

Ingredients are fresh, and the cuisine is a contemporary take on Japanese tradition where a blowtorch is commonplace in the kitchen. For example, the delicacy of sashimi and tartare will make your eyes widen like a manga comic character. The mix of flavours the sushi master – chef Rico Rassbach – makes are a rare take on the raw fish rolls. That’s right, Rico, the chef, is German, but he’s more Japanese than a Geisha.
It’s not cheap, but if you go at lunch, you can experience the reasonably priced Shiki Contemporary Sushi menu.

We also recommend… the small Shiki Contemporary Sushi gives you a good taste of the mastery of the sushi chef and will help keep your check below 30 €

We also love… The freshly grated wasabi is part of the magic of Shiki.

Unkai is housed on the rooftop of one of the most luxurious hotels in town. Japanese tradition is practised seriously here, beginning with the Oshibori (a hot, wet hand towel), you’re handed upon entering – just like in Japan.
The atmosphere is fit for an emperor. During the day, the main room is white and bright. And the plates of food are just as dashingly displayed, with garnishes made up of rare Japanese herbs like Shiso leaves (a sort of Japanese basil), seaweed, and edible flowers – a detail we personally love.

The tempura is crispy and includes a good variety of vegetables and a selection of seafood, which are served up inside a sweet little bamboo basket. The lunch menu bento box is decked out with all the favourites of the Japanese kitchens, all very tasty. A great selection of sake is also available.
As you could imagine, the prices will make you choke on your sushi, but it’s one of the most special Japanese restaurants you’ll find in Vienna.

The recommend… the Chawanmushi (Steamed Savoury Egg Custard) – it’s an authentic surprise, served inside a porcelain box, full of vegetables and seafood hidden inside.
We also recommend… Unkai Special Zen menu is a big Bento Box, including a lot of food and it also a delicious green tea ice cream for dessert
They also have… a quality sushi bar on street level.

Walking in, you have the feeling you’ve walked into an authentic Japanese Izakaya –the dishes of the day scrawled on the dark walls, the waitresses in kimonos. And the food is the real deal. The Sukiyaki is amazing (though as is typical in Europe it’s served minus the raw egg); and take a tip from a seasoned Sukiyaki fan: one serving is enough for two.

The sashimi and sushi are made with super fresh ingredients. There is a great selection of sake and Ozei Hana Awake Junmai (sparkling Sake), while you can also try some of the more unknown Japanese drinks, like the Calpis Sour (concoction of vodka and juice), or the alcoholic mountain tea, called Uron Hai (Oolong Tea with Shochu typically distilled from sweet potatoes, rice, or barley).

The chef, Taiyo-san, comes from Hokkaido, one of the four main Japanese islands. The service is sharp, and will make you feel at home. There’s a well-priced lunch menu at Nihon Bashi.

We also recommend… you order the Matcha Set – green tea made with a tea powder and a special bamboo whisk known as a Chasen.
They also have… desserts that are very Japanese, and tasty ice cream in a range of exotic flavours. We recommend the Wafu Aisu Moriawase (combination set), which includes green tea, red bean, and black sesame flavoured ice cream.
Also good to know… there’s also karaoke, from ‪Mon until Sun ‪6pm–11pm

Sakai’s cosiness puts you immediately at ease. The name of the restaurant is the surname of the owner and chef, Hiroshi Sakai. Hiroshi comes from Sapporo and he’s brought all of the typical crab-centric dishes from this region with him. For example, the Kani No To jimushi (a tofu skin filled with crab meat and seasonal vegetables).

Ingredients are consistently of a high quality and fresh. And while finding fresh fish in Vienna is like finding a fishing hook in a desert, Hiroshi has a Croatian supplier bringing in a fresh catch regularly, which makes the impossible, possible. . There is enough of a sake selection to keep any fan happy, and also plenty of other Japanese drinks. The walls are always covered by exhibitions from different artists, painters and photographers.

We recommend… you check out the Sunday brunch! It’s all-you-can-eat, and there’s a spread of Sashimi Sushi, and a good variety of cooked dishes.
You have to try… the delicious deep-fried tuna and Tempura.

More or less like a intimate Izakaya (a kind of Japanese Gasthaus), Hidori is a place where you can find sensational sushi and sashimi, served up by masters of the roll in a relaxed setting.
It has also skewered itself (excuse the pun) a reputation for its range of Yakitori (skewered barbequed meats, typically chicken). The chef, Masahito Udagawa, hails from a city close to Tokyo, and is a natural talent in the Japanese kitchen, from dishes such as Hotate Salad (Salad with Japanese scallops), Ika Natto (raw squid with fermented soybeans), and the making of Maki. Masahito has a dealer in fresh fish, which is certainly noticeable.

Uncommon in this sleepy city, it lives in Tokyo hours, being open late into the night. Oh, and be prepared to smell like Yakitori when leaving – like we said, it’s the real Japanese Izakaya experience.

The atmosphere resembles that of a pokey sushi bar that could be found in any Tokyo alleyway. The owner is Chinese, while the sushi chef is straight out of Tokyo. There are no more than 7 seats, while there’s one table for 2. The rest of the seats will have you propped up at the sushi counter, which adds to the authentic experience.

The service system is a little chaotic here, with ordering and service seemingly all over the place, especially on Saturdays when its busy, and closes early.
The sushi is good, but the selection is narrow – which isn’t such a bad thing considering it’s less bewildering than the menus of the other restaurants in this list that can seem overloaded with choice. The strengths of this cosy place can be found in the atmosphere and the reasonable prices slapped on the quality sushi.

Good to know… on Saturdays it can happen that the waiting time is even 50 minutes.

This is a Japanese Kneipe (bar) owned and run by 2 couples made up of Austrians and Germans … we know, there’s so many things odd about this sentence. The description of Mochi as more of Kneipe, than a restaurant comes from Sandra, one of the lovely owners: “It’s got the relaxed atmosphere of a kneipe where friends can come and drink good drinks and eat kind of Japanese tapas.”

“The idea behind the menu is that you order a whole bunch of small things, put them in the middle of the table and share,” explains Sandra. There’s not one dish that leaves the open kitchen (framed by a handsome copper origami-style façade) not smartly dressed, and looking delicious. And their flavours live up to the promises of the presentation. Let’s just say, if we dined here everyday, we’d be the size of a sumo wrestler. The menu – prepared by their highly-trained chef, Eddie, and his team – is traditional Japanese mutated into a modern western creation. From the Japanese-style grill known as Robata (with the likes of US rib-eye steak in teriyaki sauce and grilled sea bass to choose from) to the mandatory maki, tempura squid and a sensationally sautéed crispy prawn salad.

Inside it boasts an interior design in which the chopsticks match the drapes – complete with the exotic, bold weirdness that we love about the Japanese sense of style. Bold, minimalist touches spring out at you from the black background of the walls. Outside, one of the best al fresco gardens in the city is set between a outstretched leafy tree, and cobblestones of a sweet square located at Praterstraße’s sweet spot, up the Donaukanal end. And you have to use the toilet, even if you don’t have to go. You’ll know what we mean once you venture down there.

We also recommend… you have one of the house sake-based cocktails, like the Tokyo Mule (lime, ginger beer, sake) or the Mochi ginger (ginger, tonic water and sake)