13 editor picks across France.
13 japanese restaurants worth the trip across France, editor-ranked. All cuisines in France.
Au 14 Fevrier in Vieux Lyon is Tsuyoshi Arai's twelve-seat Michelin-starred room where Kyoto training meets French sourcing across a French-Japanese tasting.
OrderThe set tasting; the room only does set menu, no carte.
TipTwelve seats means tight booking; reserve four weeks ahead minimum.
Kei Kobayashi's Restaurant KEI in Paris was the first restaurant cooked by a Japanese chef in France to hold three Michelin stars, awarded in 2020.
OrderThe garden vegetable composition starter; the sea bream main course.
TipThe eight-week lead time is real. Set a phone reminder for the day bookings open.
Fufu Toulouse on Rue de Metz is the small ramen counter with thick tonkotsu broth and gyoza turned to order, opened by the team behind a Paris noodle shop.
OrderTonkotsu ramen, Gyoza, Donburi bowls
TipLines start at 12:15; the takeaway window is the easier midday route if the indoor counter is full.
Le Rigmarole in Paris pairs Robert Compagnon's binchotan yakitori grill with Jessica Yang's hand-rolled pasta. A nightly tasting menu only, no a la carte.
OrderTrust the kaiseki-style yakitori order; ask for the pasta as an extra course.
TipOne seating at 19:30 and one at 21:30. Book six weeks out for weekends, four for a Tuesday.
Restaurant Ishikawa on Rue du Ha in central Bordeaux is chef Yugo Ishikawa's elongated minimalist Japanese room, with Ginza-trained technique applied.
OrderTonkatsu shoulder of pork in breadcrumbs, Tuna tataki with ponzu oroshi, Tsukemono pickled vegetables
TipThe daily specials board changes with the morning market; book the bar counter for a clear view of the kitchen pass.
Aokamo is a neo-izakaya on Rue Pierre Mauroy in Lille, standing room at the bar downstairs and sit-down Japanese menus with a sake list upstairs.
OrderAgedashi dofu, silky fried tofu in hot broth.
TipDownstairs runs tachinomi style, standing at the counter, with plates from about 10 euros in the evening.
Keisuke Matsushima on Nice's Rue de France runs Kei Matsushima's modern French Japanese kitchen, the room awarded a Michelin star in 2006 and known.
OrderThe chef's tasting menu; Matsushima leans French technique against the umami of dashi.
TipThe room is small; the weekday lunch tasting at the counter is the value play.
Keisuke Matsushima on Rue de France in Nice runs Kei Matsushima's French Japanese kitchen, formerly Michelin-starred from 2006 to around 2016 and still.
Yoko is Julien Lemarié's Japanese small-plates room next to Ima in Rennes, donburi and okonomiyaki at lunch and a €55 blind tasting menu at night.
OrderThe donburi in the weekday lunch formule, or the €55 blind tasting at night
Soba et Sarrasin puts buckwheat to Japanese use by Place Canclaux in Nantes, with soba bowls, onigiri and mochi and the whole card gluten free.
OrderSoba noodles, Onigiri, Mochi
TipEverything on the menu is gluten free and there is a Japanese grocery counter at the back for fresh soba and condiments to take away.
Hanami Ramen simmers its broths under lanterns and Japanese masks beside the Halles Centrales in Rennes, chef Mitsuhashi's bowls made from local produce.
OrderThe house tonkotsu-style bowl; broths simmer long and it shows
Ikimasho rebuilds a Tokyo alley on Rue Baudrairie in Rennes, ramen, donburi, gyoza and tempura served non-stop from morning to night, seven days.
OrderA ramen and a side of gyoza under the Tokyo-alley lanterns
Le Fuji runs a Japanese bistro on Rue Derval in Rennes, curry and teishoku set meals rather than conveyor sushi, served evenings through the week.
OrderThe Japanese curry, the dish this bistro hangs its name on
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