I didn’t set out to write this.
It started as a habit. Somewhere between the shopping errands and the quiet afternoons, I began drifting up the escalators at Takashimaya, looking for a plate of raw fish and a corner to sit in. Over the past two years, I’ve eaten sashimi at nearly every Japanese restaurant inside Ngee Ann City. Some visits more than once.
What I learned is that this building doesn’t hand you the answer easily. Singapore has no shortage of Japanese cuisine, but Ngee Ann City holds a surprisingly wide range, from casual rice bowls to more considered sit-down meals. There’s no single best. There’s the right place for the mood you’re in, the budget you’re carrying, and the kind of afternoon you want.
So this isn’t a ranking. It’s five places I keep returning to, and the honest reasons why. All of them sit a short walk from Orchard MRT. You can be full of good fish and back on the street in no time.
Here’s where I’d send you.
1. The Sushi Bar: Fresh Sashimi and Fresh Sushi Worth the Queue
Best for: Casual sashimi cravings, couples, small groups
Price Range: $
Time Needed: 1 to 1.5 hours
Must-Try: 5 Kinds Sashimi (around $43.60)
📍 #05-34/35, Ngee Ann City · Orchard MRT (about 5 minutes on foot)
The first time I sat down here, the slices arrived thicker than I expected. Not the thin, translucent cuts you get at places trying to stretch a plate. These had weight. You feel the fish, not just taste it.
That’s the reason The Sushi Bar made the list. It gives you proper fresh sashimi at a price that doesn’t ask you to plan your month around it. The salmon sashimi is clean and cold, the bluefin tuna deep and steady, and the kaisen chirashi don is honestly where I’d start if it’s your first visit. A single bowl shows you several cuts at once, thinly sliced and carefully prepared over vinegared rice, which tells you more about the kitchen than any single order of nigiri could.
The assorted sashimi platters come with traditional condiments: soy sauce, grated ginger, and wasabi. Simple and honest. The fresh ingredients speak for themselves.
This is also one of the better spots in Ngee Ann City for fresh sushi at an accessible price. Sushi rolls, nigiri, and chirashi all hold up. For anyone comparing it to a standing sushi bar, the format here is more sit-down casual, but the quality is consistently solid.
There’s a catch. The queue at peak hours tests your patience. A few smaller sushi portions can feel modest next to the donburi options.
Avoid if: You want a hushed premium sushi counter where a chef talks you through each piece.
Insider tip: Order a chirashi bowl over individual sushi pieces. You get more variety for your money, and the raw seafood cuts speak for themselves.
2. Hanare: Authentic Japanese Cuisine for a Slower Meal
Best for: Family dinners, business meals, a slower sit-down
Price Range: $$
Time Needed: 1.5 to 2 hours
Must-Try: Sashimi platter with kamameshi rice (around $50 to $80 per person)
📍 #03-07, Takashimaya Shopping Centre · Orchard MRT (about 5 minutes on foot)
Hanare is where I go when I want the meal to take its time.
This is authentic Japanese cuisine in a quieter register. The raw seafood arrives cut thick and fresh, served raw with care, but that’s not the whole story. What I appreciate is how the fish sits within a fuller meal. The kamameshi rice, cooked in its own pot, arrives warm and steaming. There’s a quiet balance to the way the seasonal ingredients come together. Less rushed than the counters a few floors up.
I brought my parents here once, and it turned into one of those long dinners where nobody checked their phone. The presentation leans toward traditional Japanese cooking, the natural flavors are gentle rather than loud, and the seafood holds its own throughout. The miso soup that comes with most sets is warm and clean, a small detail that tells you the kitchen pays attention.
Among the Japanese restaurants in Ngee Ann City, Hanare sits closest to what I’d call modern Japanese cuisine done with restraint. No vibrant izakaya culture, no dinner menu built for noise. Just skilled chefs, good fish, and room to breathe.
Avoid if: You only want a quick sashimi fix. Hanare rewards a longer sit.
Insider tip: Go for a set meal rather than ordering sashimi alone. The sets include several Japanese food elements and are a better introduction to what the kitchen does well.
3. Teppei Syokudo: Affordable Sushi and Rice Bowls Done Right
Best for: Office workers, quick lunches, budget-minded seafood lovers
Price Range: $
Time Needed: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Must-Try: Signature Kaisendon (around $15 to $30 per person)
📍 Takashimaya Shopping Centre · Orchard MRT
Let me set your expectations honestly, because that’s the kindest thing I can do here.
Teppei Syokudo isn’t a sashimi-platter kind of place. It’s a bowl place. This is affordable sushi and rice bowl dining at its most practical. The raw fish arrives over rice, casual and quick, and that’s exactly its appeal. On a rushed weekday, when I’ve got twenty minutes and a hunger that won’t wait, this is where I end up.
The kaisendon does the job. Satisfying in the way a good bowl of Japanese food always is. The raw seafood is fresh enough for a lunch stop, and the lunch set options make it easy to get in and out without overthinking the order.
Among the sushi restaurants in this building, Teppei Syokudo is the one that asks the least of you. It’s not trying to be Raffles City Shopping Centre or Marina Bay Sands. It’s a corner of Takashimaya that knows exactly what it is and does it without fuss.
The honest part: portions have felt smaller than they once did. It’s still worth the price, but manage your expectations.
Avoid if: You’re after premium, thick-cut sashimi. That’s not the promise here.
Insider tip: Come for the seafood bowl experience, not standalone sashimi. Treat it as a good fast lunch and you’ll leave content.
4. Tonkichi: Japanese Food and Fresh Sashimi Beyond the Bowl
Best for: Families, groups, diners who want sashimi alongside cooked Japanese dishes
Price Range: $$
Time Needed: 1 to 1.5 hours
Must-Try: Salmon sashimi with tonkatsu set (around $30 to $60 per person)
📍 #04-24, Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Ngee Ann City · Orchard MRT (about 5 minutes on foot)
Tonkichi has been at Takashimaya since 1993, which tells you something before you’ve even sat down. Its reputation runs on tonkatsu, but the sashimi section of the dinner menu is quietly worth your attention.
The cuts arrive cold and considered. Salmon belly soft and clean, tuna honest in color and flavor. It’s not trying to compete with a dedicated sushi bar. But it earns its place without apology. I’ve ordered it on slower afternoons when I wanted raw fish without the formality of a sushi counter, and it has never felt like a side note.
What I appreciate is how naturally the sashimi fits into a meal that was never designed around it alone. Someone at the table wanted tonkatsu. I wanted raw fish. Tonkichi handles both without either feeling like an afterthought. We ordered cold soba for the table afterward, and nobody rushed us.
Among the best Japanese restaurants in Ngee Ann City for mixed-appetite groups, Tonkichi holds its own. Think of it alongside the way Ganko Sushi or Tomi Sushi serves a broader Japanese dining experience: not a specialist sashimi counter, but a full kitchen that handles raw fish well.
Avoid if: You came specifically for sashimi and nothing else.
Insider tip: Come on a weekday if you want more room to settle in. The sashimi pairs well with the rest of the menu. Let the meal move at its own pace.
5. Nakajima Suisan: Best Sashimi from a Counter That Knows Its Fish
Best for: Casual sashimi lovers, solo diners, quick bites
Price Range: $
Time Needed: 30 to 45 minutes
Must-Try: Fresh sashimi set from the counter (around $15 to $30 per person)
📍 B2, Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Ngee Ann City · Orchard MRT (about 5 minutes on foot)
Nakajima Suisan sits in the basement of Takashimaya, the kind of sushi bar you almost walk past until you notice the fish.
It doesn’t announce itself. No signage pulling you in. Just a counter, a case of fresh seafood, and the quiet efficiency of a kitchen that knows what it’s doing. Nakajima Suisan has been a fixture in Takashimaya’s basement for years, and the regulars tend to keep it that way.
The premium sashimi here is carefully prepared and straightforwardly presented. No elaborate plating, no omakase menu theatrics. Just clean cuts from a sushi counter that takes sourcing seriously. The salmon sashimi is a reliable order, and on good days the selection stretches to sea urchin and other premium ingredients that reflect what came in fresh. Some of the best sashimi I’ve eaten in this building has come from this counter, with no ceremony attached.
It’s the kind of authentic Japanese food that doesn’t ask to be photographed. It just asks to be eaten. No comparison to Koma Singapore’s polish or the omakase experience you’d find at a destination restaurant, but for what it is: fresh fish, simply handled, eaten raw at a counter in a basement. Quietly excellent.
Avoid if: You’re after an omakase experience or a sit-down meal.
Insider tip: Arrive early in the lunch or dinner window if you want the best selection. The premium cuts go first, and the counter doesn’t restock mid-service.
Where I’d Leave You: Finding the Best Sashimi for Your Visit
Five places, and no crown handed to any of them.
The Sushi Bar for thick-cut fresh sashimi and fresh sushi that won’t empty your wallet. Hanare for the long, unhurried dinner with authentic Japanese cuisine. Teppei Syokudo for the quick rice bowl on a rushed afternoon, with affordable sushi that does the job. Tonkichi for the table where everyone wants something different. Nakajima Suisan for the occasion when you want fresh fish handled simply, without ceremony.
I’ve eaten at all of them more than once. What I have is a sense of which door to open depending on the day. That, I think, is more useful than a ranking.
So go up the escalators. Pick the one that matches your mood. Sit down, order the sashimi, and give yourself a quiet moment with it. If you find yourself wanting more from this stretch of Takashimaya, I’ve also put together a guide to the best sushi in Ngee Ann City, worth a read before your next visit. The fish will tell you the rest.