Restaurant in Shanghai, China
Bund-side omakase with a track record.
Sushi Ginza Onodera Shanghai is the city's most credentialled dedicated sushi counter, with Opinionated About Dining Asia rankings three years running and a Black Pearl 1 Diamond in 2025. The Tokyo-rooted group's sourcing standards set it apart from local omakase alternatives. Booking is relatively easy for the tier — a practical advantage over comparable rooms in Hong Kong or Tokyo.
If you're choosing between Sushi Ginza Onodera Shanghai and a generic Japanese omakase counter in the city, book Onodera. This is the Shanghai outpost of a Tokyo-rooted group with serious credentials, and it has earned consistent recognition on the Opinionated About Dining (OAD) Asia rankings three years running — moving from Recommended in 2023 to #202 in 2024, then holding at #314 in 2025 alongside a Black Pearl 1 Diamond award. That's a credible track record for a sushi counter operating outside Japan. The audience here is the food-focused traveller who wants technical Japanese sushi craft without flying to Tokyo.
Sushi Ginza Onodera is a multi-city group with roots in Tokyo's Ginza district, and the Shanghai location sits on the Bund at 18-3, 303 Zhongshan East First Road, Huangpu — one of the most address-conscious stretches of real estate in the city. The kitchen is led by chef Akifumi Sakagami. The Ginza Onodera group has built its reputation on sourcing Japanese fish with the same rigour applied at its Tokyo flagship, which puts the Shanghai operation in a different category from locally sourced omakase alternatives. For the explorer-type diner comparing this to, say, Harutaka in Tokyo or Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong, the Shanghai counter sits a tier below those benchmark rooms in overall prestige, but it is the most credentialled dedicated sushi operation in Shanghai that appears on major Asia-wide ranking lists.
The OAD ranking trajectory is the most useful data point here. A jump from Recommended to #202 across the entire Asia restaurant pool in a single year is a meaningful signal, not a rounding error. The slight drop to #314 in 2025 likely reflects the competitive field expanding rather than a quality regression, and the Black Pearl Diamond , a Chinese dining guide credential covering fine dining across China , confirms local recognition in parallel with the international ranking. For a venue on the Bund, where address premium can sometimes substitute for cooking quality, having both signals matters.
Price data is not confirmed in our records. Given the Bund location, the Ginza Onodera group's positioning in other cities, and the omakase format, expect this to sit at the leading end of Shanghai dining. For context: omakase counters at this credential level in Hong Kong and Tokyo typically run in the ¥¥¥¥ range, and there is no reason to expect Shanghai to be materially cheaper. If budget is a constraint, consider Xin Rong Ji (West Nanjing Road) or Taian Table for high-end experiences at potentially different price points.
The editorial angle that matters here is cuisine mastery. Sushi at this level is a technically demanding format where sourcing, rice temperature, nigiri compression, and fish ageing are the variables separating a good counter from a serious one. The Ginza Onodera group's Tokyo heritage means those standards are built into the operating model. Whether the Shanghai execution fully matches the Tokyo source is not something we can confirm without verified firsthand data, but the OAD recognition suggests the kitchen is performing at a level that registers with serious diners across Asia.
Booking is rated Easy. For a Bund-address omakase with OAD and Black Pearl recognition, that is a practical advantage. You are unlikely to face the multi-month waitlists common at comparable rooms in Tokyo or Hong Kong. Plan ahead, but this is not a reservation that requires gaming a release calendar. Contact the venue directly for current availability since online booking details are not confirmed in our records.
For broader planning, explore our full Shanghai restaurants guide, our full Shanghai hotels guide, our full Shanghai bars guide, and our full Shanghai experiences guide. If you are travelling across the region, comparable high-credential dining can be found at Chef Tam's Seasons in Macau, Ru Yuan in Hangzhou, and Imperial Treasure Fine Chinese Cuisine in Guangzhou. For other Shanghai options across different cuisines, Fu He Hui, 102 House, and 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana are worth considering depending on your format preference.
Quick reference: OAD Asia #314 (2025), Black Pearl 1 Diamond (2025), Bund address, chef Akifumi Sakagami, booking difficulty: Easy, price range unconfirmed but expect top-tier omakase pricing.
See the comparison section below for how Sushi Ginza Onodera Shanghai sits against other leading tables in the city.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sushi Ginza Onodera Shanghai | Sushi | Easy | |
| Fu He Hui | Vegetarian | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Ming Court | Cantonese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Polux | French | ¥¥ | Unknown |
| Royal China Club | Chinese, Cantonese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Scarpetta | Italian | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Shanghai for this tier.
For Japanese omakase specifically, Onodera is one of the few options in Shanghai with consistent external validation — OAD Top Restaurants in Asia ranked it #202 in 2024 and it holds a Black Pearl 1 Diamond (2025). If you want to compare formats, look at other Black Pearl-recognised tables in the city; for non-Japanese special occasions, Polux (French) or Fu He Hui (vegetarian Chinese) cover different ground entirely. Onodera is the clearest choice if traditional Ginza-style sushi is the goal.
Yes — omakase counters are structurally suited to solo diners, and the Ginza Onodera format, rooted in the Tokyo original, is built around chef-to-guest interaction at the bar. Arriving solo means you get the full counter experience without the coordination of a group order. Book in advance; a Black Pearl 1 Diamond venue on the Bund does not hold walk-in seats.
The format here is omakase — the kitchen decides the progression, so there is no à la carte menu to navigate. Chef Akifumi Sakagami leads the kitchen, and the tasting sequence is the product. The practical question is which omakase tier to select if multiple price points are offered; check the venue's official channels to confirm current options before booking.
The Ginza Onodera model across its locations is counter-led omakase, so bar seating is the intended format rather than a secondary option. That said, specific seating configurations at the Shanghai venue are not publicly confirmed in available data — book directly to clarify counter availability and whether private room options exist for larger parties.
Yes, and the credentials back it up: Black Pearl 1 Diamond (2025) and an OAD Asia ranking place it among the more formally recognised tables in Shanghai. The Bund address on Zhongshan East Road adds occasion weight. It is a better fit for a dinner for two than a large group, given the counter-driven omakase format.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
