Restaurant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Den's only overseas table. Book it.
The only outpost of Tokyo's Den outside Japan, Sho brings Michelin-starred Japanese technique to Kaohsiung with a single tasting menu built around Taiwanese produce. Ranked #315 on Opinionated About Dining's Asia list in 2024, this is the strongest case for $$$$ dining in the city — book well in advance and consider returning for a second visit to catch the seasonal range.
If you are comparing Sho to other high-end Japanese restaurants in Kaohsiung, there is no direct local equivalent — this is the only outpost of Tokyo's Den outside Japan, and that provenance matters. Sho earned a Michelin star in 2024 and sits at #315 on Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in Asia for 2024 (climbing from #346 in 2025 rankings, reflecting sustained critical attention since opening in 2020). At $$$$ pricing, the question is not whether the cooking is serious — it is , but whether you are in Kaohsiung long enough to visit more than once. If you are, there is a clear case for returning. If you have one night, book it anyway.
Five years in, Sho has done something unusual: it has taken the DNA of a celebrated Tokyo restaurant , Japanese fine dining in Tokyo operates at a different register of competition , and made it legible through Taiwanese produce without softening the technical ambition. Chef Fujimoto Shoichi runs a single tasting menu format, which removes decision fatigue and focuses your attention on what is actually happening on the plate. The kitchen applies traditional Japanese techniques to ingredients sourced locally in Taiwan, and two signature dishes travel directly from Den's Tokyo menu: a composed green salad built from 10 or more local vegetables that have been fried, steamed, ground, or pickled in various combinations, and two versions of kamameshi , a Japanese rice dish cooked in a lidded iron pot , that incorporate Taiwanese ingredients including local yam, Brussels sprouts, and sakura shrimp.
Those two dishes are the anchor of the experience and, for returning visitors, they are the reason the multi-visit case holds. The salad changes with what is seasonal and available; the kamameshi versions shift too. A first visit gives you the format. A second visit lets you taste the range. If you are visiting Kaohsiung across multiple trips or have a flexible itinerary, building a second dinner here into your plans is worth doing deliberately rather than treating it as a backup option.
Sho operates Wednesday through Friday evenings, with weekend lunch service added on Saturday and Sunday from noon to 2 PM. The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday. That Saturday and Sunday lunch slot is worth flagging: lunch at a $$$$ tasting menu restaurant in Taiwan typically runs shorter and slightly lighter than the dinner format, and for visitors whose evenings are already committed, it is the practical entry point. Evening service runs 6:30 PM to 9:45 PM across all open days.
The Cianjhen District address places the restaurant in southern Kaohsiung, away from the central hotel cluster around the MRT Formosa Boulevard area. Factor in transport time if you are staying near the waterfront or the city centre. The Google rating sits at 4.4 across 322 reviews, which for a single-menu fine dining restaurant with no casual walk-in traffic suggests genuine satisfaction rather than tourist volume driving the number up.
For anyone planning two or three visits, the structure is direct. Your first visit should be an evening sitting , the full dinner service gives you the complete picture of how Fujimoto uses the Den framework in a Taiwanese context. Pay attention to how the kamameshi is composed; the choice of local ingredients alongside the sakura shrimp is where the Taiwanese sourcing argument becomes concrete rather than conceptual.
A second visit warrants the Saturday or Sunday lunch. The shorter daylight format typically means a tighter menu, which is useful for comparison: you can gauge how the kitchen performs under different pacing constraints, and the seasonal salad will almost certainly have shifted from your first visit if any meaningful time has passed. Lunch also tends to be easier to book than weekend evenings at venues of this profile.
A third visit, if you are a Kaohsiung regular or based in Taiwan, makes the most sense when the season changes noticeably , the vegetable salad built from 10-plus locally sourced ingredients is the dish most likely to read differently in autumn versus spring. For context on how Taiwan's broader fine dining circuit compares, logy in Taipei and JL Studio in Taichung are the obvious reference points at a similar award level , visiting Sho alongside either gives you a sharper read on where Kaohsiung's high-end dining sits in the national picture.
Booking difficulty is rated Hard. With evening service running only Wednesday through Friday plus weekends, and a format that appears to run at low capacity given the tasting menu structure, seats are limited by design. No booking method is listed in available data , contact the venue directly or check current reservation platforms used in Taiwan's fine dining market. Book as far in advance as your plans allow; do not treat this as a same-week decision. The Saturday and Sunday lunch sittings may have slightly more availability than Friday and Saturday evenings, but do not rely on that assumption for peak travel periods.
Sho is at No. 62, Fuxing 3rd Road, Cianjhen District, Kaohsiung. Price range is $$$$. Service runs Wednesday to Friday evenings (6:30 PM to 9:45 PM) and Saturday to Sunday for both lunch (noon to 2 PM) and dinner (6:30 PM to 9:45 PM). The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday. For broader trip planning, see our full Kaohsiung restaurants guide, our Kaohsiung hotels guide, and our Kaohsiung bars guide. If you are extending your Taiwan trip, our Kaohsiung experiences guide and our Kaohsiung wineries guide cover the wider picture. For a different register of Kaohsiung dining, A Fung's Harmony Cuisine, Anchovy, and Apis Grill are worth having on your list alongside Sho.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sho | Japanese | Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #346 (2025); Opened in 2020, this is the first outpost of Tokyo's famed restaurant Den outside of Japan. Exploring the vast repertoire of Taiwanese produce with traditional Japanese techniques, Sho serves a single menu including two signature dishes lifted from Den: a green salad made with 10+ local vegetables that have been fried, steamed, ground or pickled, and two versions of kamameshi, which may include local yam, Brussels sprouts and sakura shrimp.; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #315 (2024); Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Papillon | French, French Contemporary | Unknown | — | |
| GEN | Cantonese | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Haili | Modern Cuisine | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Beef Chief (Zihciang 2nd Road) | Taiwanese | Unknown | — | |
| Cheng Tsung Duck Rice | Small eats | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Kaohsiung for this tier.
Yes, if Japanese technique applied to Taiwanese produce is your format. Sho holds a Michelin star (2024) and ranked #346 on OAD Asia 2025, and the single set menu — built around local vegetables and two Den signature dishes — is the entire point of the restaurant. If you want à la carte flexibility, this is the wrong room.
There is no ordering: Sho runs a single menu only. The two anchor dishes carried over from Den Tokyo are the standout reference points — a multi-preparation green salad using 10+ local vegetables and two versions of kamameshi, which may feature local yam, Brussels sprouts, and sakura shrimp. Everything else on the menu rotates around Taiwanese seasonal produce.
Dietary restriction handling is not documented in available venue data. Given the single-menu format and low-capacity operation, check the venue's official channels well in advance of booking — the fixed structure leaves less flexibility than à la carte venues.
Sho runs a single tasting menu at $$$$, Wednesday to Friday evenings plus Saturday and Sunday lunch and dinner. There is no à la carte option and no walk-in culture at this level. Book as far ahead as possible — evening slots Wednesday through Friday are the primary service window, and capacity appears low given the format.
At $$$$, Sho is priced in line with what a Michelin-starred Den-affiliated restaurant commands. The credential stack — Michelin 1 Star, OAD Asia top 350, and status as Den's only overseas outpost — supports the price for anyone who values that lineage. If you are looking for high-end Japanese dining in Kaohsiung without the tasting menu format, the price-to-format fit weakens.
Yes. A Michelin-starred single-menu format with a direct Tokyo pedigree is a natural fit for a significant dinner. Evening service runs until 9:45 PM Wednesday through Sunday, giving enough time for a full meal. Just confirm group size suitability when booking — there is no public data on private dining options.
There is no direct local equivalent: Sho is the only Den-affiliated restaurant outside Japan. For high-end dining in Kaohsiung at a lower price point or with more flexibility, Papillon and GEN are the closest comparison options. For something distinctly local, Cheng Tsung Duck Rice represents Kaohsiung's traditional food culture at a fraction of the price.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
