Japanese is the best. It’s fresh, it’s delicious, it’s wholesome, and it doesn’t leave you feeling as full as a boot.

Here are five of the best Japanese restaurants in Melbourne, from traditional to contemporary, and everything in between.

Motomu Komano is the executive chef and owner of Komeyui, and it was his desire to bring traditional Japanese fare to Melbourne.

The restaurant’s name pays homage to the concept of family and friends sharing a meal consisting of hot pot, rice, and miso soup. This is reflected in Komeyui’s menu.

The exquisite tasting menus feature crayfish, oysters, scampi, nigiri, and black ink soup, to name a few.

Add to this some delicious sake or a Suntory, and you’re right there in Komano’s native Hokkaido. This is the perfect up-market option if you want to splurge.

Dish Cult Recommends: The $275 (p.p.) Chef’s Tasting menu with sake matching (ten courses featuring local seasonal produce)

Yokoso Izakaya has two outlets, one in Northcote and one in Moonee Ponds. And the menu is extensive, so you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Their Japanese tapas menu is to die for, and great value. For example, you can grab an entree platter which boasts oysters, tuna, pork gyoza, prawn tempura, chicken tori kara, and wagyu beef balls, all for 17 bucks.

There are plenty of sushi rolls to choose from too: tuna, salmon, chicken, crab, prawn and veggie.

If you need to fill your belly a bit more, then the main menu at Yokoso Izakaya has some hearty offerings such as teriyaki chicken, salmon steak, braised pork belly, and charcoal wagyu beef.

They have a dessert menu too – green tea ice cream, anyone?

Dish Cult Recommends: The $24 Yaki Platter (charcoal grilled chicken, pork, beef, prawn, and salmon skewers)

Kumo Izakaya has a focus on both eating and drinking in equal parts, a homely atmosphere where friends can settle in for the evening, and large and small dishes that you simply order as you go along, depending on your mood.

Kick off your Japanese feast with a bowl of warming miso soup. Then move on to the house fave, the blue swimmer crab and krill, or the vegetarian gyoza. The a la carte menu features bang bang chicken, seaweed salad, salmon sashimi, and wagyu beef tataki, amongst other things.

Vegetarians and vegans will love the agedashi tofu and the eggplant dengaku.

This place is kid-friendly too; order your little ones a kids bento (pork gyoza, chicken, salad, and rice.)

Dish Cult Recommends: The $30 Sashimi Deluxe (salmon, kingfish, snapper, tuna, and scallops)

Koko at Crown oozes pure class. From the moment you wind your way around the indoor lotus pond, you know you are in for a special night.

Koko has an a la carte menu (featuring two set menu options), a teppanyaki menu, and an extensive sake and wine list. Try the steamed ocean trout, the free range chicken thigh in miso, or the wagyu sukiyaki.

The sushi and sashimi options are extensive, as is the variety of hot pots on offer (served with tofu, noodles, mushrooms and vegetables.)

As for the wine list, Koko offers no fewer than four types of plum wine, and a list of sakes a mile long.

Dish Cult Recommends: The $150 (p.p.) Teppanyaki Set Menu

Chocolate Buddha at Fed Square is the perfect spot to drop into to chow down before heading out in the city, plus they have a great kids menu too.

The dining room is set out in such a way to embrace a sense of sharing; long bench tables are the order of the day here where fellow diners sit alongside one another.

Slurp down a hearty bowl of ramen noodles in broth with seafood and vegetables, or for $65 per person you can order a set menu with gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options available.

If you’re on the hop, then grab a bento box or some express sushi.

Dish Cult Recommends: The $24 Miso Udon (udon noodles, vegetable miso broth, deep-fried silken tofu, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, wakame, and spring onions – vegetarian)

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