"Japanese Cuisine" Restaurants in Austria
The name stands for the lake, the water around the estate. The fact that you can eat very good Japanese food here is thanks to sushi masters, but also to the creativity of the owners. Far Eastern, delicious and good.
Ever since Joji Hattori, a violinist, conductor, and gourmet of Japanese descent, opened his “Shiki” in 2015, the restaurant has offered two concepts: brasserie-style cuisine with a sushi bar in the front and fine dining with a set menu in the quiet back rooms. The restaurant was once awarded a Michelin star, which it later lost. Perhaps this was partly because—as Hattori put it—“European food crept in too often.” In addition, due to bureaucratic red tape, Hattori was never allowed to hire a chef from Japan. Following the departure of longtime co-head chef Alois Traint, the time had come to revamp the main restaurant—the excellent “Shiki Omakase” was added in late 2025. Together with Executive Chef Gerhard Bernhauer, Hattori developed a new, much “more Japanese” menu and did away with the old zoning system—everything is available everywhere. Some of the innovations: Tuna toro sashimi—top quality—with summer truffles in a tsukuri soy emulsion, or, for vegetarians, a truly harmonious carpaccio of zucchini and kohlrabi with akazu vinegar, soy, dashi, and soybean oil. The main courses take a purely minimalist approach, focusing on the pure flavors: Sea bream fillet steamed with sake, served with homemade ponzu sauce and daikon radish; or French free-range chicken marinated in miso for 24 hours, grilled, and served with Saikyo miso sauce. The most original new creation: Since—pardon the expression—the extremely expensive Wagyu beef used for steaks always leaves offcuts, the chefs invented highly aromatic panko-fried balls made from a ground mixture of Japanese and Australian Wagyu, with jalapeño and teriyaki cream. We must also mention Mr. René’s expertise in wine.
The third Shiki line alongside Brasserie and Fine Dining. Behind the sakethek (fantastic sake selection!), eight guests are seated around the kitchen. A multi-course omakase menu is served, including ingenious nigiri.
1 room, 5 tables, 23 courses - and Bernhard Zimmerl at the center of the action. Cooked live, staged course by course. An intense, personal dining experience that pushes culinary boundaries.
Gourmets with a good memory remember the 1990s, when people made a pilgrimage to Mondsee - to "La Farandole" or to the legend Karl E. Eschlböck. Most recently, talented chefs regularly worked at the "Iris Porsche" Hotel, which also closed in January. And now this - a high-class Japanese restaurant was probably the last thing you would have expected in this community of 4000 people. German Jürgen van der Smissen, who runs a medical products company in Wals and lives in Mondsee, and his managing director have invested in converting a pizzeria into an extremely chic double restaurant - on the left is "Izakaya", or Japanese pub cuisine with maki, tempura and the like. And at the Chef's Table, you can watch chef Kentaro Fujita from Kyūshū finalize the "Omakase" menu. Whereby - omakase in the strict sense does not exist at first. Fujita does not decide spontaneously, the courses are fixed on the menu. The products are of exceptional quality: hamachi and scallops come from the Japanese gourmet hub in Düsseldorf, bluefin from top Spanish breeder Belfegó. Sashimi is artfully arranged as "otsukuri", the master coats nigiri with a hint of mild soy sauce and advises against further moistening. The main courses are more Western-style dishes: eagle fish or, as an upgrade, black cod are served on cauliflower puree with deep-fried eggplant, carrot and salsify chips. The wine list is well stocked in all categories right from the start, including nine types of sake. And the operators are also opening the aforementioned "Iris Porsche" hotel and Mediterranean restaurant in May.
While Marcel Ruhm prepares great sushi and creative Nikkei cuisine in the kitchen, his brother Sascha provides the appropriate wine and sake accompaniment - both with noticeable passion.
Gourmets in Wels can breathe a sigh of relief, because after a long time there is now a cozy fine dining restaurant in the city again. Kevin and Carmen Stummer skillfully incorporate their Japanese experience into the menu.
New big sister of the tiny Ganko on Seilerstätte. Yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) is the order of the day here. Guests grill their own food at the table. The wagyu comes from Japan. Served with sake!
The Anantara Palais Hansen has been the new home of one of Vienna's oldest sushi restaurants for a few years now. Since 1993, the concept has been: all classics, no experiments.
The lavish decoration contributes to the stylish ambience, and Asian tapas are served alongside maki, sushi and fine quality mains, which are ideal for sharing and savoring.
Maki and gyoza are no longer exotic offerings. But when your own herbs (or fresh chili) accompany the cuisine, it often turns into something surprising. High standards and delicious kimchi!
Fine selection of authentic Japanese starters (for the brave: natto, the fermented soybeans!), ramen, udon or bentos. Matcha as a drink or in desserts. Teatime in the afternoon.
The name says it all and quite a few guests from the Factory Outlet are spoiled for choice. Steak of your choice with side dishes such as the "skin-on fries" or feast your way through the sushi creations?