Japanese and Asian Restaurants in Bangalore That Actually Get It Right

  • Jun 19

There's a version of "Asian food" in Bangalore that's safe, slightly sweet, and arrives in ten minutes. You've had it. It's fine. And then there's the other kind: the kind where the chef trained in Osaka, where the yakitori is grilled over binchotan, where the Korean BBQ smoke actually catches your hair a little. That gap between the two is real, and for a long time, Bangalore didn't have enough of the second kind.

That's changed. Forum Rex Walk on Brigade Road now houses five Asian restaurants under one roof, covering Japanese, Pan Asian, Korean, Burmese, and a sprawling multi-cuisine, each with a distinct identity and a kitchen that knows what it's doing. You don't have to drive across the city anymore.

One address. Five cultures. Worth knowing the difference between each one.

Ebisu: Where Japanese Dining Is Taken Seriously

Ebisu is named after the Japanese god of prosperity, and the restaurant earns that weight. It's not a sushi bar that also serves ramen. It's a full Japanese dining experience: traditional recipes, seasonal ingredients, and what the Japanese call omotenashi, the kind of hospitality that anticipates what you need before you ask.

The kitchen doesn't rush. Dishes are built around technique, and you notice it in the small things: the texture of the rice, the temperature of the sake, the way a sashimi platter is arranged. Bangalore has plenty of Japanese menus. Very few of them feel like this.

If your benchmark for Japanese restaurant in Bangalore is based on mall-food versions of teriyaki, Ebisu will recalibrate it.

Kuuraku: Yakitori the Way It's Done in Japan

Most people in Bangalore haven't had real yakitori. Not the restaurant-chain version, but the actual thing, where skewers of chicken, vegetable, and offal are grilled slowly over charcoal by someone who trained specifically to do this. Kuuraku is a global chain, but the credentials are genuine: recipes brought directly from Japan, executive Japanese chef, the whole thing.

Yakitori is deceptively simple. Every piece of protein has its own timing, its own glaze, its own finish. Getting it wrong is easy. Kuuraku doesn't get it wrong.

It's the kind of restaurant that rewards going with a group: order a wide spread, share the skewers, don't rush. That's how it works best. Pair it with a cold Kirin and the evening sorts itself out. Find Kuuraku at Forum Rex Walk on the first floor.

Foo: A Hundred Dishes, One Pan Asian Roof

Foo doesn't ask you to choose a cuisine. It asks you to eat across several simultaneously. Over 100 Asian dishes, including sushi, dim sum, Nikkei Peruvian ceviches, Vietnamese salads, and pan Asian small plates, all in tapas format so you can order widely without committing to one thing for the whole meal. That format is exactly right for groups where everyone wants something different.

The bar is loud and sociable, and the sake list is real. Foo is a Mumbai-based restaurant and it has that energy: casual enough to come to without a plan, good enough that you'll stay longer than you intended.

It's the best argument for pan Asian restaurants in Bangalore that don't force you into a single lane.

Homiga: Korean BBQ, Properly Done

Bangalore's Korean restaurant scene has grown fast. Most of it is decent. Homiga is something else. It was the city's first premium Korean restaurant, and it built its identity around doing Korean BBQ correctly: imported pork, quality cuts, raw meat grilled at your table, real soju.

Korean dining culture is participatory. You're not a passive diner. You're involved in the cooking, in the sharing, in the soju pours. Homiga's space is designed for exactly that, with the table setups, the ventilation, and the way service works all considered carefully. It understands that korean restaurant in Bangalore isn't just about the food; it's about the whole mode of eating.

Go with four people. Order more than you think you need. The leftovers won't make it home.

Burma Burma: The Asian Restaurant Most Bangaloreans Overlook

Here's the thing about Burmese food: it doesn't get enough attention. Burma Burma has been quietly one of the best Asian restaurants in Bangalore, and it remains one of the most interesting places to eat at Forum Rex Walk. The cuisine itself is a natural crossroads, with influences from India, China, and Thailand all visible in one menu, filtered through a distinct Burmese sensibility.

The tea leaf salad alone is worth a visit. The mohinga, a fish-based noodle soup that functions as Burma's national breakfast, rarely appears on Indian menus. Burma Burma has it, and it's good.

The restaurant approaches asian restaurant in Bangalore not as a category but as a culture. That specificity is rare.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the best Japanese restaurant in Bangalore for a special occasion?

Ebisu at Forum Rex Walk is the strongest option for a genuinely special Japanese meal in Bangalore. The restaurant is built around traditional recipes and omotenashi-style hospitality, the Japanese philosophy of anticipating a guest's needs before they're voiced. The kitchen respects technique, the atmosphere is refined without being stiff, and the overall experience holds up to any occasion that matters.

Is there an authentic Korean BBQ restaurant in Bangalore?

Homiga at Forum Rex Walk was Bangalore's first premium Korean BBQ restaurant and remains one of the most credible options in the city. It uses high-quality imported pork, offers real soju, and the table-grill setup reflects how Korean BBQ is actually meant to be eaten: by you, at the table, with everyone involved. It's not a simulation of the experience. It's the experience.

What's the difference between Ebisu and Kuuraku at Forum Rex Walk?

Both are Japanese restaurants, but they're doing different things. Ebisu is a full-service Japanese dining restaurant, the kind where you'd go for sashimi, an omakase experience, or a meal that unfolds over two hours. Kuuraku specialises in yakitori: Japanese grilled skewers, cooked over charcoal by a trained Japanese chef. Think of Kuuraku as a focused, lively evening around skewers and drinks; Ebisu as a more considered Japanese dining experience.

Which Asian restaurant at Forum Rex Walk is best for a large group?

Foo is the most group-friendly of the lot. With over 100 dishes across Pan Asian cuisines, all served in tapas format, it lets everyone at the table order what they actually want without negotiating a single cuisine. The sociable bar, sake selection, and casual energy make it ideal for work dinners, reunions, or evenings where the plan is to stay a while. Find it on the ground floor at Forum Rex Walk.

Five restaurants. Five distinct Asian cuisines. All at one address on Brigade Road, with no planning, no driving across town, and no compromising on what everyone feels like eating that evening. Browse the full dining line-up on Forum Rex Walk.

Recommended For You