Restaurant in Düsseldorf, Germany
Michelin-starred Japanese. Book ahead.
Yoshi by Nagaya is Düsseldorf's most credentialled Japanese fine dining address, holding a Michelin star in both 2024 and 2025 and ranked #594 in OAD's Europe list. Chef Yoshizumi Nagaya brings Japanese technique to European ingredients across a tasting-menu format at €€€€. Booking is hard — plan at least two to three weeks ahead.
If you have eaten at Yoshi by Nagaya before, the question on a return visit is not whether the quality holds — Michelin has awarded it a star in both 2024 and 2025, and 246 Google reviewers give it 4.7 out of 5 — but whether the format still fits what you are looking for. It does, with one important caveat: this is a destination for the kind of diner who wants Japanese precision in a European city, not a casual drop-in. Book hard, arrive ready, and it delivers. If you are deciding between this and Nagaya, the original sister restaurant from the same chef, Yoshi is the more focused, formal expression of Yoshizumi Nagaya's cooking.
Yoshi by Nagaya sits on Kreuzstraße in Düsseldorf's city centre, and the address tells you something useful: this is not a restaurant hidden in a neighbourhood enclave but a serious dining room operating confidently in the urban core. Düsseldorf has one of the largest Japanese communities in Europe, which means the city has genuine expectations when it comes to Japanese food. Yoshi by Nagaya does not trade on novelty , it earns its position in that context through sustained technical quality, reflected in back-to-back Michelin recognition.
The culinary direction under Yoshizumi Nagaya sits at the intersection of Japanese technique and European ingredients, a format that in lesser hands can feel like compromise but here reads as considered architecture. The chef trained in Japan before building his presence in Düsseldorf, and the result is a cooking style that draws on classical Japanese discipline without treating European produce as a footnote. For the explorer-minded diner, this is a more interesting proposition than a direct kaiseki experience because the decisions being made in the kitchen are genuinely hybrid , not fusion in the diluted sense, but two culinary traditions held in productive tension.
For a first or second visit centred on the evening tasting format, the Opinionated About Dining ranking (#594 in Europe for 2025) gives you a useful calibration: this is a restaurant that serious food travellers track, not a local crowd-pleaser inflated by tourism. That ranking, combined with the Michelin star, positions Yoshi by Nagaya in the same competitive tier as 1876 Daniel Dal-Ben and Im Schiffchen within Düsseldorf, though the cuisine type makes direct comparison less useful than understanding what each does on its own terms.
On the question of morning or weekend service: the editorial angle here matters. Yoshi by Nagaya's public profile is built around its dinner and tasting menu offer. Hours are not confirmed in the available data, so if a weekend brunch or breakfast format is specifically what you are planning around, contact the restaurant directly before booking. What can be said with confidence is that the kitchen's identity is rooted in precision-led Japanese cooking, which tends to translate poorly to casual daytime formats , if Yoshi does operate a weekend service, expect it to carry the same level of seriousness as the main dinner menu rather than a relaxed brasserie-style offering.
Compared to Japanese dining at the highest level in Tokyo , restaurants such as Myojaku or Azabu Kadowaki , Yoshi by Nagaya operates in a different register. Tokyo's top-tier Japanese restaurants carry the full weight of cultural context and ingredient sourcing infrastructure that simply does not exist in Germany. What Nagaya's kitchen offers instead is the most coherent version of Japanese fine dining available in Düsseldorf, at a price point (€€€€) that reflects the ambition without requiring a flight to Japan. For the traveller moving through Germany and building a dining itinerary, it compares well against JAN in Munich and Aqua in Wolfsburg as a Michelin-starred destination worth routing around. For those building a broader Düsseldorf dining itinerary, Agata's and Yabase offer useful contrast within the city.
The price range at €€€€ is consistent with the Michelin star tier across Germany. For context, starred restaurants at this level in Berlin, Munich, or Hamburg , including CODA Dessert Dining in Berlin or Vendôme in Bergisch Gladbach , operate in the same pricing bracket. Expect a full tasting menu experience to be the primary format; à la carte availability is not confirmed in the data. If your preference is a shorter, lower-commitment meal, verify the format with the restaurant before committing.
Booking is hard. With a Michelin star, a strong Google rating across 246 reviews, and a relatively small dining room typical of this restaurant type, tables fill well in advance. Do not treat this as a same-week booking. Plan at minimum two to three weeks ahead, longer for weekend evenings or any occasion-driven visit. Specific booking methods are not listed in the available data , check the restaurant's current booking channel directly.
For broader trip planning in Düsseldorf, see our full Düsseldorf restaurants guide, hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide. If your itinerary extends further into Germany, Schwarzwaldstube in Baiersbronn and ES:SENZ in Grassau are worth tracking.
Quick reference: Michelin 1 Star (2024, 2025) · OAD Europe #594 (2025) · Google 4.7/5 (246 reviews) · Price: €€€€ · Kreuzstraße 17, 40211 Düsseldorf · Booking difficulty: hard · Book 2–3 weeks minimum in advance.
Tables at Yoshi by Nagaya are in demand. The combination of a retained Michelin star and a high Google rating across a meaningful review count means availability is limited, particularly on evenings and weekends. Book as early as possible , two to three weeks is a realistic minimum, and further ahead is safer for specific dates. The restaurant's booking method is not listed in our current data; check directly with the restaurant at Kreuzstraße 17, Düsseldorf for current reservation channels.
Go in expecting a formal, tasting-menu-led experience built around Japanese technique and European ingredients. This is not a sushi bar or casual Japanese restaurant , it is a Michelin-starred dining room operating at €€€€, so come with time, appetite, and the expectation of a multi-course meal. Booking well in advance is essential. The address is Kreuzstraße 17 in central Düsseldorf, which is easy to reach from most of the city's main hotels. If you want a lower-commitment introduction to Yoshizumi Nagaya's cooking style, consider starting with Nagaya, the sister restaurant, before committing to Yoshi.
At €€€€ with a Michelin star held across two consecutive years and an OAD Europe ranking of #594, yes , for the right diner. The price is in line with the starred dining tier in Germany, and the sustained recognition suggests the kitchen delivers consistently. The value case is strongest if Japanese-European fine dining is specifically what you are after. If you are price-sensitive or unsure about the format, Le Flair at €€€ gives you a serious meal at a lower spend, though it operates in a completely different cuisine category. Within the €€€€ tier in Düsseldorf, Yoshi justifies its position.
Specific menu items are not available in our data, and the menu will change seasonally. The kitchen's identity is built around Japanese technique applied to European produce, so the tasting menu is the right vehicle , it is designed to show the cooking at its most coherent. Asking the kitchen or front-of-house team about the current menu direction when you book or arrive is the most reliable approach. Do not come in expecting an à la carte sushi selection; this is a composed tasting format restaurant.
If a multi-course, progression-led meal is the format you want, yes. Yoshizumi Nagaya's cooking is built for the tasting menu structure , the interplay between Japanese discipline and European seasonality is most legible across a full sequence of courses rather than a single dish. At €€€€, you are paying for that full architecture. For comparison, 1876 Daniel Dal-Ben at the same price tier offers a European creative tasting format if you want to see how Yoshi's value compares within Düsseldorf's leading end. Yoshi is the clearer choice if Japanese cooking is the specific draw.
Seat count is not confirmed in our data, but restaurants at this tier typically operate smaller dining rooms, which makes large group bookings more complex. For groups of six or more, contact the restaurant directly at Kreuzstraße 17, Düsseldorf to confirm availability and any private dining options. At €€€€ per head, a larger group booking will represent a significant per-person spend, so clarify the menu format and any group-specific pricing before confirming. For groups where not everyone wants the full tasting experience, this may not be the most practical choice.
Within the €€€€ tier: Im Schiffchen is the classic European fine dining alternative, better suited to guests who prefer a French-influenced format over Japanese. 1876 Daniel Dal-Ben is the choice for creative, contemporary European cooking. Agata's offers another creative direction. For a step down in spend, Le Flair at €€€ covers Mediterranean territory at a lower price point. If you specifically want Japanese cooking in Düsseldorf, Nagaya and Yabase are the most direct comparisons.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Yoshi by Nagaya | €€€€ | — |
| Im Schiffchen | €€€€ | — |
| 1876 Daniel Dal-Ben | €€€€ | — |
| Jae | €€€€ | — |
| LA VIE by thomas bühner | €€€€ | — |
| Le Flair | €€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Come with a reservation — this is a Michelin-starred address on Kreuzstraße in central Düsseldorf, not a drop-in spot. Chef Yoshizumi Nagaya runs a Japanese kitchen at the €€€€ price point, so expect a structured, course-driven format rather than à la carte grazing. Düsseldorf has one of Germany's largest Japanese communities, which means the cooking here has real local context behind it, not just imported prestige.
At €€€€, Yoshi by Nagaya sits at the top of Düsseldorf's price tier, and the retained Michelin star across both 2024 and 2025 plus an OAD Europe ranking (#594, 2025) confirm this is not a one-season story. If you are weighing cost against occasion, this is a venue that justifies the spend for a serious dinner — but if you want a more relaxed Japanese meal without the formal price tag, Düsseldorf's broader Japanese dining scene offers alternatives at lower commitment.
Specific menu details are not available here, so check directly with the restaurant before visiting. What the Michelin recognition and Japanese cuisine classification tell you is that the kitchen operates with precision and a defined format — arrive knowing what you want from the experience rather than expecting a wide à la carte spread.
Given the sustained Michelin recognition (starred in 2024 and 2025) and Chef Nagaya's standing, a structured tasting format is where this kitchen is built to perform. If tasting menus are a format you enjoy and you are comfortable at the €€€€ price point, the case for booking is solid. If you prefer flexibility or shorter meals, verify the current menu format with the restaurant before committing.
Group capacity details are not confirmed in available data, so check the venue's official channels for parties of four or more — Michelin-starred restaurants at this price tier frequently have private dining options, but terms and minimums vary. Book well ahead regardless of group size; demand is consistent at a retained one-star address.
Im Schiffchen is the obvious comparison for top-end Düsseldorf dining — French-focused and long-established at the city's highest tier. Le Flair and 1876 Daniel Dal-Ben offer European fine dining at similarly serious price points if Japanese cuisine is not the priority. Jae is worth considering for a more accessible Japanese-influenced format. LA VIE by Thomas Bühner operates outside Düsseldorf but is relevant for those willing to travel for a marquee German tasting menu.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
