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Sake, Tea and Drinks for Sushi

Drink changes a sushi meal more than most people plan for. The right sake lifts fatty tuna and resets the palate after oily fish; the wrong wine turns raw fish faintly metallic. A bottle ordered without thinking can add a third to the bill, while a well-chosen glass — or a free-flow package at the right buffet — can turn an ordinary meal into an occasion.

This guide explains how sake is graded, how to read a label, what to drink with which fish, when tea or beer is the better call, and where in Hong Kong to drink well alongside sushi.

The safe default. Order a junmai or junmai ginjo, served cool rather than ice-cold, by the glass rather than the bottle. Crisp, aromatic styles suit white fish and shellfish; fuller junmai suits fatty tuna and grilled courses. If you are unsure, a highball or a cup of hot green tea is never wrong.

How sake is graded

Sake grades come down to two things: how much of each rice grain was polished away before brewing, and whether a small amount of distilled alcohol was added. The polishing figure, seimaibuai, is the percentage of the grain that remains, so a lower number means more polishing, more refinement and more cost. At 60%, 40% of the grain has been milled away; at 50%, half.

The premium ""special designation"" grades fall into three bands. Junmai and honjozo are fuller, savoury and rice-forward, traditionally polished to 70% or less, though junmai has had no legal minimum since 2004. Ginjo requires 60% or less and is aromatic, fruity and lighter. Daiginjo requires 50% or less and is the most refined, delicate and fragrant. The word junmai in front of a grade means pure rice with no added alcohol, which is why junmai ginjo is the popular all-rounder and junmai daiginjo the most labour-intensive tier.

Reading a sake label

Three details do most of the work. The grade tells you roughly how aromatic and refined the sake will be. The seimaibuai, usually printed as a percentage, confirms it. And the presence or absence of junmai tells you whether brewer's alcohol was added — not a flaw, since a small addition lightens the body and lifts aroma, but it changes the style.

Higher polish is not automatically better with sushi. A delicate daiginjo can be overwhelmed by rich, soy-glazed pieces, while a sturdy junmai stands up to them. Treat the grade as a description of style, not a ranking.

Serving temperature

One bottle can be served at a range of named temperatures, from around 5°C to around 55°C, grouped into three families: reishu, chilled; hiya, unheated at room temperature of about 20°C; and kan, warmed. Hiya does not mean chilled — a common menu misreading.

As a starting point, serve fragrant ginjo and daiginjo chilled at about 10 to 15°C, and serve fuller junmai and honjozo at room temperature or gently warmed to about 40 to 45°C. Ice-cold serving hides aroma, which is why ""cool, not cold"" is the better request with sushi.

Matching sake to the fish

Follow the same light-to-rich order as the food. With white fish and shellfish such as hirame, hotate and amaebi, choose dry, crisp and aromatic: a ginjo, junmai ginjo or sparkling sake. With silver and oily fish such as aji and saba, a dry junmai with good acidity cuts the oil. With fatty tuna and salmon belly, a fuller junmai handles the richness. With cooked eel, grilled items and anything soy-glazed, a rice-forward junmai or honjozo, perhaps warmed, holds its own.

The pairings, the bars that do this best and the questions to ask are in sushi and sake pairing: what to drink and where to try it in Hong Kong. The fish, in serving order, are explained in our sushi and sashimi fish guide, with tuna specifically in otoro, chutoro and akami explained and the ordering logic in how to order sushi like a local.

Green tea: the drink the counter gives you

The hot green tea served at a sushi bar is called agari. Traditionally it is brewed from konacha, the fine leaf particles and dust left over from processing more expensive teas such as sencha and gyokuro, which infuses quickly and strongly. It is served hot because warmth and a little bitterness cut through the oil of fatty fish and reset the palate between pieces.

Tea is the right choice when you want to taste the fish rather than the drink, at a ninety-minute counter lunch with an afternoon still ahead, and for anyone not drinking alcohol. The word, and others worth knowing, are in Japanese sushi menu words and how to pronounce them.

Beer, highballs and wine

Japanese lager is the easiest pairing of all: cold, dry and cleansing, especially with fried items, skewers and rolls. A highball — whisky and soda over ice — has become a common counter order in Hong Kong for the same reason: it resets the palate without competing with the fish.

Wine is harder. Crisp, unoaked whites and dry sparkling wine work with white fish and shellfish, and some counters build good lists around them. Heavily oaked whites and tannic reds tend to clash with raw fish, and sweet cocktails flatten delicate flavours. If a counter has a sommelier, ask; if not, stay with sake, beer or a highball.

Where to drink well with sushi in Hong Kong

Sheung Wan has the city's most interesting sake-led dining. Godenya, behind an unmarked entrance, reverses the usual order: a Michelin-recognised sake sommelier builds seasonal flights served at precise temperatures, and the food follows the pour. Nearby, sake bars on Graham Street and Lyndhurst Terrace trade until midnight, and one has offered a two-hour weekend free-flow reported at around HKD 298. The route from first drink to dinner is set out in Sheung Wan sushi bars for after-work drinks, the district itself in the best sushi in Sheung Wan, and Central's nightlife cluster in sushi bars in Tai Kwun and Lan Kwai Fong.

In Causeway Bay, Izakaya & Sake Bar CHU CHU on the 25th floor of Circle Tower carries a deep by-the-glass list and trades until midnight, and to 1am at weekends; rare labels such as Juyondai have been listed there at around HKD 300 a cup. Wan Chai's izakaya counters suit a long evening of small plates and rounds of sake, covered in Wan Chai omakase and izakaya sushi counters. For drinking late, see late night sushi in Hong Kong, and for venues by district, Hong Kong sushi by district.

Free-flow and buffet drinks packages

Drinks packages can swing the value of a meal more than any food item. Kerry Hotel's Japanese seafood dinner buffet includes free-flow selected Japanese sake, wine and beer on its Friday-to-Sunday tier, a HKD 100 premium over the weekday price. cafe TOO at Island Shangri-La has run a Japanese sake free-flow package at HKD 298, and Yamm at The Mira has offered a HKD 128 supplement for house wine, sparkling wine and bottled beer.

The rule is simple: if you will drink two or three glasses, the package usually pays; if not, it is dead money. Buffet drinks are covered in free flow sashimi buffets, hotel Japanese buffets and how to get the most value from a sushi buffet, and off-peak drinks deals in sushi happy hour and off-peak deals.

Drinking at an omakase counter

At a serious counter, drink follows the food rather than competing with it. Ordering by the glass lets you change style as the sequence moves from white fish to fatty tuna, and many chefs will suggest a sake for the next few pieces if asked. Avoid strongly fragranced drinks that carry across a small room, and remember that premium sake and wine are the quickest way to double an omakase bill.

Counter conventions are in omakase etiquette, the format in what is omakase, and the budget arithmetic — including why drinks can add 30% to a bill — in omakase under HKD 500 and HKD 1,000. For evenings where the drinks are part of the point, see romantic sushi and omakase and sushi restaurants by occasion. For a kappo or kaiseki meal, where sake pairing is especially natural, see kaiseki versus omakase.

Drinking sensibly with raw fish

Eat as you drink rather than drinking through the first hour, and drink water between rounds; sake's alcohol content is comparable to wine. Do not order raw fish late in a long session if you may not finish it, and never take leftover sashimi home for later. Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety classifies sushi and sashimi as high-risk foods and identifies 4°C to 60°C as the temperature danger zone — and a table where drinks have run long is exactly where fish gets forgotten. See how to store sushi and sashimi safely.

Not for everyone. People who are pregnant or planning pregnancy should avoid alcohol and raw seafood alike and discuss both with their doctor. Anyone following halal dietary rules should note that mirin and cooking sake also appear in glazes and simmered dishes, not only in the glass. See sushi for pregnant women and halal Japanese and sushi in Hong Kong.

Common questions

What sake goes best with sushi?

A junmai or junmai ginjo served cool is the safe all-rounder. Choose crisper styles for white fish and fuller ones for fatty tuna and grilled items.

Is daiginjo the best sake for sushi?

Not necessarily. It is the most refined grade, but its delicacy can be overwhelmed by rich or soy-glazed pieces.

Should sake be served hot or cold?

Aromatic ginjo and daiginjo at about 10 to 15°C; fuller junmai and honjozo at room temperature or warmed to about 40 to 45°C.

Why is green tea served at sushi bars?

Hot agari cuts through the oil of fatty fish and resets the palate between pieces.

Does wine work with sushi?

Crisp, unoaked whites and dry sparkling wine can. Oaked whites and tannic reds usually clash with raw fish. For the full restaurant picture, start with the best sushi restaurants in Hong Kong.

Compiled by our editorial team from published sake grading and labelling references, sake serving-temperature guides, Japanese tea references, Hong Kong restaurant, bar and hotel listings with trading hours and published prices, diner reports, and Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety guidance. Last reviewed September 2026. Sake classification thresholds follow Japan's special designation categories; prices, packages and hours vary by venue and change without notice. Please drink responsibly. General information only, not medical advice.

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