The best Japanese restaurants in Florence

Where to go and what to order to taste authentic Japanese cuisine

Florence is now more and more open to flavours and cuisines from all over the world, and after having taken you around the city to discover the international restaurants you absolutely must try, we take a dive into oriental culture, stopping at the Japanese addresses we recommend you mark in your diary for a quality lunch or dinner.

Here, instead, is our complete guide to the best restaurants in Florence!

Hoseki
Via Il Prato, 64/66r
ph. +39 055 282012

In a cosy and comfortable ambience, perfect for a romantic dinner or an evening with friends, Hoseki is a Japanese restaurant where you can enjoy all the most authentic high-quality Japanese cuisine. Very fresh sushi, sashimi, tempura, ramen, tartare, gyozo, these are just some of the dishes that best combine tradition and innovation and intrigue both Florentine and tourist palates.

Bentoro Firenze
Via Capo di Mondo, 14r
ph. +39 055 0944285

Bentoro brings to the table the art of the most rigorous Japanese cuisine, essential and with delicate flavours. The name Bentoro combines three meanings. Bento is a typical Japanese meal served in a box and lovingly prepared by mothers every morning to be taken to school or work. Toro refers to Wagyu beef, while Otoro is the finest part of tuna in Japanese tradition. In this spirit, you can enjoy a menu full of authentically Japanese dishes prepared with high-quality ingredients.

Akira Back Florence
Piazza Dell'Unità Italiana, 3
ph. +39 055 9946661

Akira Back, one of the most influential figures in contemporary Asian cuisine, has opened one of his international concepts in Florence, inside the W Florence hotel. With over 25 restaurants worldwide, a Michelin star at Dosa in London, and an established presence in Paris, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Singapore, the Korean-American chef brings his distinctive gastronomic language to the Tuscan capital: an energetic cuisine that blends Japanese technique, Korean roots, and a marked American aesthetic. Akira Back Florence's menu alternates between iconic raw dishes and hot dishes with a high degree of personality. Signature dishes include Rock Shrimp with creamy kochujang, Nasu Den, and Dynamite Blue Lobster. Don't miss the AB-style tacos and the most representative rolls, such as Brother From Another Mother. A presence that contributes to elevating the Florentine gastronomic scene with an international signature offering that is recognizable and capable of leaving its mark.

Ambar Kitchen
Via Gran Bretagna, 26
ph. +39 055 19950680

In the heart of Gavinana, Ambar Kitchen reinterprets local products through international cuisine, enriched by cutting-edge techniques such as fish maturation. With only twelve seats, the restaurant offers an intimate and engaging experience, where direct dialogue with the chefs becomes an integral part of the gastronomic journey. Led by Andrea Magnelli, the team blends Japanese authenticity, Mediterranean creativity, and Asian and Peruvian influences, while maintaining a deeply ‘local’ philosophy: fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from our seas. The result is signature sushi and an ever-evolving fusion cuisine that surprises without losing its connection to Florence.

Koko
Piazza Francesco Ferrucci, 4/5r
ph. +39 055 6587428

Among the most famous and renowned Japanese restaurants in Florence, we cannot fail to mention Koko, in Piazza Ferrucci. Here, ingredients are passionately blended to create sophisticated dishes that satisfy even the most refined tastes. The menu ranges from delicious rolls to gunkan prepared in different variations. A word of advice? Order the Sake Tataki, seared salmon in a sesame seed crust and chef's sauce, a real treat for the eyes and palate!

En Cucina Casalinga Giapponese
Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti 26r
ph. +39 23638449

If you want to taste the most authentic Japanese cuisine, En Cucina Casalinga is just what you need. A convivial trattoria in the heart of Florence, where you can savour the most authentic flavours, in a place that even from its small size recreates the atmosphere of traditional izakaya with bright colours and typical objects on the walls. You will not find sushi or sashimi, but selected dishes that explore all the richness of Japanese taste.

Ieie da Toshi
Borgo Pinti 56
ph. +39 0552478410

Ieie da Toshi is the realm of Toshifumi Mitsubiki, who - after gaining great experience in the kitchen at the helm of the trattoria Accadì - opened this small restaurant to bring the most authentic flavours of Japanese tradition to the city. Special attention is paid to sushi and sashimi, the flagship of the restaurant, while at the trattoria Accadì, still located in front of the restaurant, the chef continues his passion for Italian cuisine.

Il Cuore
Via Romana, 123r
ph. +39 055220156

At Minato Takayama, it feels like stepping back in time and space. Il Cuore has been open for five years and brings the rituals of traditional Japanese cuisine to the city. Everything is studied in detail and traditional cuisine is reworked through the use of the best raw materials, expertise and treatment of ingredients. Must-tries include fried chicken marinated in soy sauce, chirashi-zushi and Wagyu sirloin steak.

Banki Ramen
Via dei Banchi, 14
ph. +39 055 213776

At first it was just a bar, then it expanded its offerings and became a small restaurant serving ramen, a wheat noodle soup accompanied by spicy miso. A treat for the palate that you will surely have already seen in the anime and manga that oriental culture has exported all over the world. One eats on the round tables in the café and once the portions are finished, the service stops.

Aji Tei
Viale Spartaco Lavagnini, 20A
ph. +39 327 4067483

A quality all-you-can-eat in a bright and modern environment, popular with tourists but also with the many Florentines who work in the area. On the menu at Aji Tei a large space is reserved for the great variety of rolls, among which we recommend you try the Golden Tuna Roll and the Dragon Roll, but also tempura, udon and gyoza. If you finally want to be tempted by the dessert menu, save a spot to try the very tasty green tea tiramisu.

Satori
Via Antonio Pacinotti 5r
ph. +39 055571312

Located in a building dating back to the 1700s, Satori's charming atmosphere has a style that has remained unchanged over time, with elements such as stone bricks on the ceilings and walls, classic finishes, huge stone arches, and the atmosphere of an old farmhouse. These elements are complemented by an oriental touch in the choice of materials and elements on the tables. The extensive menu focuses on Japanese cuisine but also offers Chinese dishes.

If you don't mind the idea of a little outing, just half an hour from Florence we find PRATO, a city that is home to a large Chinese community and that on the oriental and fusion culinary front has a few goodies that we would like to point out to you.

Moi Omakase
Viale Piave, 10/14
ph. +39 0574 065595

Entrepreneur-chef Francesco Preite has created a place dedicated to tasting Sake and reinterpreting recipes from Japan's vast gastronomic culture. Here the Omakase formula applies, there is no à la carte menu but an articulate if simple tasting menu, composed of a vast selection of nigiri that may be different day by day, depending on what the market and seasonality offer. You eat in front of the counter and the chef cooks in front of you and your friends, for a culinary experience to remember. The cost is 120€ per person, excluding alcoholic beverages.

Ginza Japanese Restaurant
Via Traversa Il Crocifisso, 5
ph. +39 351 8864888

Soft lighting, an exclusive atmosphere, excellent food quality - these are the ingredients for an original lunch or candlelit dinner in the Japanese restaurant Ginza. Here, typical Oriental refinement blends perfectly with the comfort of a modern concept, and finds in the Sushi-mix, the Rainbow Uramaki and the Salmon Tataki its ultimate expression of wonder and goodness.