The Best Japanese Food in Istanbul
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The best Japanese food in Istanbul, according to the experts: Michelin Guide has weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Sankai by Nagaya comes out on top.
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Akira Back İstanbul and Itsumi hold the next two places.
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Rank 1. Sankai by Nagaya
Contemporary Japanese
Yoshizumi Nagaya, the chef known for stirring up Düsseldorf, has brought his Michelin-starred Japanese contemporary restaurant to a boutique hotel in Istanbul's Bebek neighborhood, where the dining room looks straight out over the Bosphorus. The kitchen blends Japanese technique with European touches in set menus, and the sushi, handled by Hiroko Shibata using local fish, arrives just barely warm, the way it's meant to.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: 1 Star
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Rank 2. Akira Back İstanbul
Japanese
The terrace looks straight out over the Sea of Marmara, which does a lot of the work before the food arrives. This is a sleek Japanese fusion restaurant inside the JW Marriott, part of Akira Back's global operation, with a trusted chef running the Istanbul kitchen. The menu moves through sushi, gyoza, beef tataki, and robata-grilled prawns, the kind of spread where everything arrives looking like it has somewhere to be.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 2. Itsumi
Japanese
Tucked into the entrance floor of a corporate tower in Levent, Itsumi is a Japanese restaurant that makes no effort to announce itself, which seems to suit the regulars just fine. The kitchen works with careful precision across sushi, glazed eel dishes, and broth-based noodles, all grounded in Japanese technique rather than local compromise. Lunch runs set menu or à la carte; the omakase requires advance booking and a certain commitment to handing over control.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 2. Maromi İstanbul
Sushi
Sitting inside the Divan hotel in Beyoğlu, Maromi is a sushi restaurant where the counter seats are the ones to ask for. The chef works close enough to watch each piece come together, octopus and pickled daikon settled into warm rice, salmon rolled in toasted sesame with a chilli kick. You can order à la carte or hand the decisions over entirely with the omakase. A Michelin Selected pick.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 2. Nobu İstanbul
Modern Japanese
Nobu needs no introduction, and the Istanbul outpost earns its spot by leaning into the view: the terrace looks out over the Bosphorus toward the Asian shore, which is quite a thing to have behind your sushi. Inside, the room runs minimalist and polished, the kind of place where the lighting flatters everyone. The kitchen blends modern Japanese technique with South American inflection, and the omakase is the clearest way to understand what the team is up to.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 2. ROKA
Contemporary Japanese
The robatayaki grill running along the open kitchen is the anchor of this contemporary Japanese restaurant on the Galataport promenade, where the Bosphorus fills every window. The menu leans into sharing: sushi, king crab dumplings, yuzu miso-marinated cod from the grill. The crowd arrives dressed for the view and stays for the cocktails, which are exactly as stylish as the room insists they should be.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
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Rank 2. Zuma İstanbul
Contemporary Japanese
The sushi counter runs long enough that watching the chef work becomes its own entertainment at this sleek Japanese restaurant inside Istinye Park. Zuma's Istanbul outpost follows the same formula as its London and Dubai siblings: robata grill, tempura, sushi, and a room full of people who dressed for the occasion. The gyoza filled with beef, lamb, paprika, and lemongrass signals that the kitchen isn't treating tradition as a cage.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant