The 30 Best Japanese restaurant in Leeds

“Once upon a time you couldn't go wrong with Chinese food. Just about any take-away you went to was par for the course. I don't know what went wrong, but they all seemed to go down hill. I haven't had a cracking one for a good 10 years or more. Until today. 5 stars. I had special chop suey, salt and pepper chips, and prawn crackers. It was all still piping hot when I got it home. It doesn't say on google maps, but they do deliver.”

“Me and my friends comes to Hama almost every week and everything so fantastic✨This time they recommend the sashimi and taste so good! Worth a try!”

“We came for our son’s 21st birthday and had a great time! It was our first visit, but won’t be the last. We ordered drinks at the bar before being taken to our table. Then the waiting staff showed us a tablet to order our food/drinks from. There were so many items to choose from, but sashimi wasn’t available on the lunchtime menu. We proceeded to choose our dishes and the food came pretty quickly! They were fresh and hot. The sushi dishes were nicely presented. You get to choose a limited number of dishes, then wait for these to arrive. Then you can choose again. The ordering closes half an hour before your table is up. We had 1.5 hours of eating time. The ambience was nice with good background music. We would definitely return again!”

“Visited Oba on a Saturday night and had a great experience! The restaurant is beautifully done, really stylish with a great atmosphere. Tried chicken kimbap for the first time and absolutely loved it. The sushi was also on point, especially the chicken katsu roll and the California roll. Super fresh and well put together. Overall, a fantastic spot in Leeds. Would definitely come back again, perfect for a night out or a chill post work dinner!”

“Very polite staff, and delicious and clearly freshly prepared food. My wife and I felt like we were going back into a Shokudo in Japan. The plum sake was excellent. Oishii!”

“Fabulous Christmas staff ‘do’ held here last night. Great food, friendly and attentive staff couldn’t do enough to make our evening a success. ‘Peter Andre’ was hilarious! Highly recommended. BYOB”

“Me and my partner went to this restaurant on Sunday 7 December 2025 as our anniversary meal. They welcomed us extremely well with good service. The food was spot on. We went for Tattu signature which was £92pp and it came out perfectly, flavour was good. As part of our anniversary, Deriel did exceptionally good service and gave us fortune cookies with a little note for us and he always did check backs to see if we needed anything else. Spot on with everything. We would definitely recommend it and will be returning To the manager that sees this, please give Deriel our message that he deserves something from your company for giving us an amazing customer service as part of his hospitality.”

“Yet another awesome sushi restaurant of which there seems to have been an explosion of in recent years which is fab! Beautifully light and crisp mixed tempura, gorgeous fresh sashimi (the mackerel seemed particularly good) and a delicious rainbow roll (I think it was). We then had a couple of the special desserts - apple gyozas and an ice-cream ball rolled in dessicated coconut, dipped in tempura batter and deep fried. Amazing! Wonderful, friendly and polite service and lovely atmosphere. Another one to recommend!”

“The quality of ingredients and cooking technique shone through in a fabulous lunch serving at Izakaya. Attentive and friendly service with the chef coming to say hello at the end. Overall a fantastic experience, do not miss if you're visiting York.”

“Amazing staff and atmosphere. Will be coming again, but I would recommend reserving if you plan on coming during peak times! 5/5 stars definitely earned”

“We visit Wagamama regularly and the food never disappoints! The service seemed quite slow at this restaurant, however we had a waitress with long dark hair (didn’t catch her name!) and she was amazing!”

“Come here near enough once a week and always amazing food, amazing staff and such an inviting atmosphere. Was served by Ellie today who was beyond kind hearted, lovely and welcoming. Really reminded us that there's faith in humanity and kind people in this world. Will be returning to this place until we are old and grey! :)”

“This place was amazing. Everything we ordered was super delicious. The service was great as well. Second time around tried a few more items and all delicious as usual. Can't recommend the Japanese style profiteroles and sorbet enough!”

“These guys are awesome, so friendly and generous when I go with my family, food taste amazing I can't get enough of the sweets chilli chicken and kimchi rice. Go every time I'm in Leeds and the sushi is great especially when they make it fresh”

“Wow where do we start. Our waitress was really nice very helpful. The food was fantastic, we decided to go for the Emporer set menu what a great choice. We had sushi, fried chicken with wassbi mayonnaise black cod, steak, calamari and the deserts were really tasty. Pricey per person but the food and presentation was really good.”

“We went it for a pre show meal at the theatre and was so happy with the atmosphere, decor, staff and the food was outstanding. We precooked and were greeted by a lovely staff member and we were quickly seated then moved as there was a light flickering and we had a party member with epilepsy (they were very accommodating) We had a look at the menu and they have a good selection the meals are little more expensive then average but there worth every penny. We ordered and the meals came out quickly, hot and looked amazing. The food was impeccable and we were over the moon with what we ordered and decided to treat ourselves to a dessert and we were very happy with our puds as well. Overall a fantastic experience with amazing food and wonderful staff and can't wait to go back there again and I have already recommended this restaurant too others”

“Came for a quick lunch and we were met with friendly and speedy service. They catered for an allergy and provided very good value for money options.”

“Well my 2nd time and hands down the best most authentic Chineese cuisine ive been to The menu isnt cheesy and there are many alternative dishes that you wont find in yoir average Chineese spot. Prices a great portions are good ..staff extremely friendly and helpful 5 stars all the way”

“Photos do not do justice to how good this Katu Curry at Yuzu tasted. Crispy chicken (with meat free alternatives availble) topped with a thick Katu sauce, pickled onions, spring onions and spices, layered on a bed of sticky rice. Cannot complain at any element of the dish, we will be returning!”

“Quality food and service, my family really enjoyed the Japanese food here. Absolutely recommend dine in for the fabulous Sushi especially deep fried soft shell crab, don't miss the chance to taste various yummy food. Proud of the fusion of Japanese & Cantonese restaurant at Selby town!!!”

“Excellent service and food. We ordered food for an event and made an order a day before to be delivered at a specific time and yes it came on time piping hot. The driver was very helpful and polite. Tried for the third time and yes we are really impressed with the consistency and quality of the food moreover the prices are not sky high like other Chinese takeaways. Highly recommended.”

“found this guy at my table, was pretty chill”

“Sushi Nakamura delivers outstanding sushi with Japanese authenticity that is rarely found outside of London. The fish is meticulously chosen based on seasonality and freshness. His homemade ginger is also amongst the best thats available in Japanese restaurants in the UK. Service is impeccable, as you would expect from Japanese hospitality. The sushi chef is friendly and funny, and the automated Japanese toilet is a fun bonus. Highly recommended for sushi enthusiasts!”

“I went with a friend after we got recommended to try the place. We had the absolute loveliest time. Bella was a wonderful host, very attentive and accommodating for our dietary requirements. The food was spot-on and very reasonably priced. The atmosphere with the mood lighting was intimate and cozy, perfect for a warm bowl of ramen on a winter night.”

“I have been coming to yummy sushi bar for a VERY long time now and though I have done many posts on Instagram about the food and location I have never done a Google one.. (To stress I have been a regular since the location opened back in 2018) Let me just say this is THE best place for sushi and Japanese inspired small plates in Leeds hands down Everything is made fresh Infront of you out of a wide varied menu of both hot and cold dishes, There are selections for vegetarians and I do believe vegan options are also available should it be mentioned before ordering Each dish is neatly presented and plated to a high standard and the owner and chef is proud to talk you through where he sources ingredients and how he creates them. Pricing is very adequate and is a lot cheaper than your big chain sushi locations (no names mentioned) and honestly you are not losing any quality or taste for the smaller charge. If you are looking for Japanese food or are a sushi lover I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND stopping by Leeds market to come and visit and I assure you, you will leave impressed!”

“I loved the poke bowl and can’t believe I never tried it in my first year !!! Waki maki is my favourite place to eat on campus at the university of leeds and I love the amount of choice there is. I’d definitely recommend adding mango to your poke bowl next time it’s so good!!!! And the price is so good too for such fresh food. That combined with how good it tastes and the location makes it so perfect, and the staff is always friendly and nice - they even remembered my name!”

“Beautiful food that is prepared and presented with great care! So tasty, atmosphere felt authentic, and service was attentive without being overbearing. We were sat at the bar facing the chef so could watch the sushi being prepared, which was very cool to watch! It was also really affordable - myself and two friends paid £13 each for three dishes, and were kindly given many cups of free green tea. Unsure why Google suggests a meal would cost £100+ because it is much, much cheaper!!”

“Had lunch here with my Japanophile teenage son who rated the food "the best Japanese food he's had in the UK". It was great though, very simple, traditional, but full of flavour. The service was nice, attentive without being overbearing but with a smile and a laugh, and our plates food were demolished in no time. A good sign was the number of Japanese customers dining, which to me is a real indication of the quality and authenticity of the food. Definitely will be paying Shiitakeya another visit next time in York.”