Sashimi may be the least forgiving dish in Japanese cuisine.
There is no crisp batter, rich sauce or pile of toppings to rescue tired fish. It is seafood, sliced and served. When the quality is poor, everybody knows before the second bite.
Searching for the best sashimi Singapore offers also produces very different answers. Some diners want an intimate omakase menu with fatty tuna and uni. Others want a generous assorted sashimi plate, affordable salmon sashimi or fresh sashimi delivered to the doorstep after work.
The best restaurant depends on whether the meal is a celebration, a craving or simply lunch.
This list is not ranked. Each restaurant suits a different kind of diner, from serious omakase counters focused on season and technique to casual places serving generous sashimi without the ceremony.
For readers who want nigiri, handrolls and complete Japanese dining experiences alongside raw fish, our guide to the Best Sushi Restaurant in Singapore covers options from casual conveyor-belt meals to serious omakase counters.
Shinji by Kanesaka Sets the Standard for Best Sashimi Singapore Omakase
Shinji by Kanesaka is where sashimi becomes part of a larger performance rather than a plate ordered between tempura and unagi.
The celebrated Edomae restaurant now operates at The St. Regis Singapore, where its chef-led courses move through seasonal appetisers, sashimi, cooked dishes, nigiri sushi, soup and Japanese fruit.
For sashimi, choose the Omakase Yume lunch rather than one of the sushi-only courses. The current S$280 menu gives the fish room to appear within a complete progression. Dinner courses begin at S$350 and become considerably more ambitious from there.
The exact seafood depends on season and supply, which is the correct way to approach the restaurant. Arriving with a demand for one specific fish rather defeats the purpose of omakase.
Tuna may move from lean akami towards chutoro and otoro. Akami has a cleaner, more iron-rich taste, while fatty tuna becomes softer and richer across the mouth. Otoro should still taste of tuna. If the only noticeable quality is fat, the fish has become expensive butter.
Here, the pleasure is not abundance. It is the feeling that every slice has arrived at the right moment.
Skip Shinji if your sashimi craving means a large plate of salmon. This is also not a restaurant for diners who need control over every course or a broad menu of noodles and cooked meat.
Expect quiet service, an intimate counter and a bill suited to a serious celebration. Choose sake according to the food and budget, not because the person beside you ordered something with a longer name.
Shinji by Kanesaka
Address: The St. Regis Singapore, Lobby, 29 Tanglin Road
Opening hours: Lunch 12pm–3pm; Dinner 6pm–10:30pm; Closed Sun
Price range: $$$$
Best for: Traditional omakase, a discerning palate and special occasions
Sushi Sakuta Treats Japanese Cuisine as Seasonal Art
Sushi Sakuta is even less interested in giving diners a predictable plate of familiar fish.
The Michelin-starred restaurant at Millenia Walk serves a tightly structured omakase led by seasonal ingredients, Japanese technique and the belief that sushi is about subtracting unnecessary flavours rather than stacking them. Its lunch courses currently begin at S$350++, while the longer S$580++ format is also served at dinner.
The sashimi course is part of that progression, not a separate mountain of salmon and tuna.
A firm white fish may be sliced thinly so it feels delicate rather than chewy. Fatty tuna needs a thicker bite to show both flavour and texture. Scallop should be glossy, sweet and soft without becoming watery. Uni, when served, should feel like part of the meal rather than a luxury ingredient inserted for photography.
The restaurant’s concept depends heavily on season. That means the fish you discover during one visit may not appear the next week.
The catch decides the experience, not a laminated checklist of famous seafood.
Do not visit Sushi Sakuta expecting generous quantity. This is precision, not a sashimi buffet for someone attempting to eat the Sea of Japan.
Heavy condiments are equally unnecessary. Taste the fish first. The chef has already spent more time considering it than most diners have spent choosing what to wear.
Sushi Sakuta works best when the celebration is important enough to justify surrendering both choice and a significant amount of money.
Sushi Sakuta
Address: Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles Boulevard, #01-06/07/08
Opening hours: Tue-Wed Lunch 12:30pm-3pm and Dinner 7pm-10:30pm; Thu Lunch 7pm-10:30pm; Closed Mon
Price range: $$$$
Best for: Seasonal excellence, intimate dining and diners ready to indulge
Standing Sushi Bar Is the Salmon Sashimi Fix for Less
Standing Sushi Bar understands that sometimes diners do not need an art lecture.
They need salmon.
Its Salmon Madness promotion currently runs every Monday and Thursday at Odeon Towers, offering five slices of salmon sashimi for S$3.90. Drinks begins from S$3 during the promotion, which is how a cheap salmon craving can become a surprisingly cheerful dinner.
The restaurant receives whole chilled Norwegian salmon and fillets it in-house. The kitchen team checks details including the eyes, gills and skin before preparing the fish into sashimi portions. Whole-fish preparation also produces limited salmon belly, which is richer and softer than the main loin.
The standard loin should feel firm, clean and balanced. Belly carries more fat and melts faster across the mouth. Alternate between them if available rather than ordering ten identical promotional plates and discovering that salmon fatigue is real.
For more variety, move towards assorted sashimi, sushi or a seafood rice bowl. The restaurant also has an omakase offering, but its strongest identity remains casual Japanese dining with recurring promotions.
Low prices do not make unlimited salmon a personal challenge.
The Monday and Thursday sessions have a 60-minute dining limit, while other days generally allow 90 minutes. Weekday lunch and dinner are separated, with all-day service on Sat and Sun. Fresh sashimi and other Japanese dishes can also be delivered to the doorstep.
Standing Sushi Bar cannot reproduce the ageing, cutting and service of a luxury Tokyo counter. It does not need to. It satisfies a different craving.
Standing Sushi Bar
Address: Odeon Towers, 331 North Bridge Road, #01-04
Opening hours: Weekday lunch 12pm–2:30pm; Dinner 5:30pm–9:30pm; Sat and Sun 12pm–9:30pm
Price range: $–$$
Best for: Affordable salmon sashimi, sake and casual meals
Sen-Ryo Gives Your Taste Buds Premium Sashimi Without the Ceremony
Sen-Ryo is the practical middle ground. Its ION Orchard restaurant serves sushi, sashimi and cooked Japanese dishes daily, making it suitable for groups whose taste buds do not all want the same meal. One person can concentrate on tuna while another orders tempura, unagi or something involving meat. Peace survives.
Begin with assorted sashimi or a tuna-focused selection. A good mixed plate should move from delicate seafood towards richer fish rather than throwing everything together because the colours look attractive.
Akami is lean and clean. Chutoro balances meatiness with fat. Otoro is the richest and should come later, before the palate becomes too tired to notice why it costs more. Hotate brings sweetness, while engawa offers a firmer, slightly chewy texture.
The current menu also features premium platters and the Maguro Trio, built around different cuts of tuna. Lunch diners can look towards the Premium Bento, which combines cooked items with sashimi such as otoro and salmon belly.
Sen-Ryo works because sashimi does not force the entire table into an omakase concept.
The danger is ordering too widely. Assorted sashimi, several sushi rolls, tempura, grilled seafood, noodles and dessert may satisfy every passing thought, but they rarely form one coherent meal.
Start with the fresh seafood. Add one warm dish and perhaps sake. Move forward only if the table is still genuinely hungry.
The restaurant is polished and comfortable, but the price rises quickly when uni, fatty tuna and premium platters begin arriving. Order for taste, not to prove that everyone knows what chutoro is.
Sen-Ryo
Address: ION Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn, #03-17/18
Opening hours: Daily, 11am–10pm
Price range: $$$
Best for: Premium assorted sashimi, lunch and mixed dining groups
Tomi Sushi Keeps Fresh Sashimi Traditional and Accessible
Tomi Sushi offers the kind of traditional Japanese meal that does not require a major celebration.
The company began in Niigata in 1954 and now operates multiple outlets across Singapore, including Millenia Walk, Novena, Katong and Pasir Ris. The restaurant’s identity remains tied to Niigata, its Koshihikari rice, sake and seafood from the Sea of Japan.
Order the five-kind assorted sashimi when sharing, or the three-kind tuna sashimi if the table wants to compare different cuts.
The tuna selection allows diners to notice how fat changes the experience. Akami is firmer and more direct. Chutoro softens while retaining a recognisable meatiness. Otoro is the indulgent finish, although eating too much of it can satisfy the craving and exhaust the palate at the same time.
Salmon, hamachi, madai, scallop and red prawn provide a broader view of the menu. Tomi Sushi also uses a house soy sauce selected specifically for sashimi, although “specifically selected” is not permission to fill the dish like soup.
The restaurants offer lunch sets, which make the experience more approachable. Cooked options include tempura, grilled fish, unagi and Hegi soba, the Niigata noodle made with funori seaweed.
The strength is reliability rather than spectacle.
Tomi Sushi suits families and diners who want fresh sashimi without the structure or financial commitment of omakase.
Tomi Sushi
Locations: Millenia Walk, Novena, Katong and Pasir Ris
Opening hours: Generally 11.30am–2.30pm and 5.30pm–9.30pm
Price range: $$–$$$
Best for: Traditional sashimi, family meals and Niigata specialities
The Sushi Bar at Ngee Ann City Serves Generous Salmon Sashimi and More
The Sushi Bar is for diners who want sashimi without turning the restaurant quiet enough to hear someone chew.
Its Ngee Ann City flagship is casual, lively and broad enough for groups. The menu covers sashimi, sushi rolls, chirashi, noodles, unagi, salmon skin salad and other cooked dishes.
The five-kind assorted sashimi is the sensible place to begin. The typical selection draws from salmon, tuna, hamachi, swordfish and other seafood, depending on availability.
Salmon should be rich and smooth while keeping some structure. Tuna provides a leaner, cleaner taste. Hamachi is buttery but firmer, while swordfish has a dense, almost meaty bite. Scallop, when included, brings sweetness and a softer finish.
Diners who want more rice can order the chirashi. The current delivery menu combines salmon, tuna, yellowtail, scallop, swordfish, ikura, tamago and salmon belly over rice, giving a useful picture of the restaurant’s broad seafood approach.
This is the place to order generously, but not carelessly.
The Sushi Bar is not competing with an intimate omakase house. It succeeds by serving a flexible meal at a more accessible price.
The Sushi Bar
Address: Ngee Ann City, 391A Orchard Road, #05-34/35
Opening hours: Daily, 11.30am–9:45pm; last order 9pm
Price range: $$–$$$
Best for: Casual sashimi, generous portions and Orchard Road groups
Sashimi Does Not Need a Sales Pitch
Sashimi is often surrounded by language about purity, art, tradition and excellence.
Anyone who enjoys Japanese cuisine, particularly sushi, also knows that “fresh” does not tell the whole story. Good sashimi depends on sourcing, storage, cutting, temperature and how the chef chooses to prepare each fish.
But the final test is less complicated.
Does the fish taste good without being covered in sauce?
The best sashimi arrives at the correct temperature, is sliced with purpose and feels complete before the condiments touch it.
Sometimes that happens across an intimate omakase counter during a special celebration. Sometimes it happens over a straightforward plate of salmon after work.
Price changes the expectation. It should not change the basic requirement.
The fish still has to be fresh.
For readers who want nigiri, handrolls and complete Japanese dining experiences alongside raw fish, our guide to the Best Sushi Restaurant in Singapore covers options from casual conveyor-belt meals to serious omakase counters.
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