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Start a Top 5 for JapaneseEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Creative Loafing, AJC, and The Infatuation. Updated August 2026.
Nakato Japanese Restaurant · Buckhead
A Buckhead landmark open since 1972, praised for a wide roster of appetizer-sized plates alongside sushi, sashimi, tempura and sukiyaki. It is about the closest Atlanta gets to a proper traditional Japanese steakhouse experience, and the decades of practice show in a kitchen that knows exactly what it is doing.
Ginya Izakaya · West Midtown
A book-length menu of sushi, ramen, noodles and small plates keeps tables turning fast on a Friday night in West Midtown. Jalapeno hamachi and takoyaki both stand out from a kitchen that rarely misses, and the sheer breadth means a table can graze for hours without repeating an order.
Shoya Izakaya · Doraville
A Doraville Japanese public house with a menu that runs seven pages deep. Chicken skin salad and grilled gobo stick sit alongside sushi, sashimi and noodles, a spot built for grazing over hours rather than rushing through a single course, and the Buford Highway corridor location fits the unfussy mood.
Yakitori Jinbei · Buford Highway
A Buford Highway izakaya built around grilled skewers, kushiyaki and okonomiyaki. It is part of the corridor's run of unassuming strip-mall kitchens that outclass their storefronts, the kind of place that looks like nothing from the parking lot and delivers plate after plate once you sit down.
Brush Sushi · Decatur
A Decatur izakaya known for splurging on A5 wagyu nigiri alongside a broader menu of sushi, sashimi and small plates. It is a rare combination of high-end ingredients in a casual room, letting a table dip into a serious cut of beef without committing to a formal tasting menu.