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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 Santa Fe Reporter and The Santa Fe New Mexican. Updated August 2026.
Izanami Restaurant · Hyde Park Road
An upscale izakaya set inside the Ten Thousand Waves hot-springs resort on Hyde Park Road, pairing Japanese small plates with one of North America's deepest premium sake selections. Owner Deborah Fleig is one of fewer than 40 female sake masters in the world, and her flights anchor the meal. Named Best Asian Restaurant in the 2024 Best of Santa Fe awards and profiled by the Santa Fe Reporter. Order izakaya small plates alongside a curated sake flight, with sushi and sashimi Wednesday through Saturday.
Joy's Sushi Bar · St. Michael's corridor
A no-frills counter-service sushi bar attached to the Santa Fe Asian Market on the St. Michael's corridor, where the draw is the fish itself. The Santa Fe Reporter's 'Jump for Joy's' feature praised it for some of the freshest fish among the city's sushi options, and the 2026 Best of Santa Fe guide named it a Best New Restaurant nominee. Order the nigiri and sashimi selections cut to order at the counter, then browse the market on your way out.
Mampuku Ramen · Cerrillos Road
A Cerrillos Road izakaya and noodle shop run by Ayame Fukuda, daughter of Shohko and Hiro Fukuda of Shohko Cafe. The Santa Fe New Mexican's Laurel Gladden reviewed it on the strength of its broths, which run tonkotsu, curry, miso and red chile, and its Nagoya-style fried chicken wings, writing that if those wings have a fan club, consider her its newest member. Waits at dinner can run 40 minutes. Order a tonkotsu bowl with a side of the wings.