City Consensus · Cincinnati
Japanese in Cincinnati
Community consensus
The consensus is still forming.
Top Tier Editorial has a take on Japanese in Cincinnati below. The community ranking opens up once a few locals have weighed in.
Top 3 Japanese Restaurants in Cincinnati
Cincinnati's Japanese scene is anchored by Hideki Harada's Beard-semifinalist kitchen plus the city's most-discussed new izakaya — Cincinnati Magazine and CityBeat's picks.
- #1
Kiki on Ludlow
Clifton
“Cincinnati Magazine's No. 9 Best Restaurant and CityBeat's 2025 Best Japanese — Hideki and Yuko Harada's Beard-semifinalist izakaya, reopened in Clifton's gaslight district in 2025.”
- #2
Baru
Downtown
“Cincinnati Magazine's No. 6 Best New Restaurant 2024 — Tyler Wogenstahl's high-end izakaya with Chef Robert Grace's creative sushi and a cocktail program the magazine says 'feels bigger than Cincinnati.'”
- #3
Ichiban
Mt. Lookout
“CityBeat 2024 Best Sushi — the Delta Avenue sushi and Asian-fusion room readers have repeatedly voted to the top.”