Brazilian Sushi in Australia

The first sushi I ever loved wasn't Japanese. It was Brazilian. Fried rolls, cream cheese, sweet glazes, combo platters the size of a tray, and toppings that would make a traditional sushi chef raise one eyebrow. That was sushi to me, and I was a huge fan.

Moving to Australia introduced me to two more versions. The Aussie sushi roll: avocado, chicken, a quick lunch grabbed from a shopping-centre counter. And the traditional Japanese restaurants here, where the focus is balance, simplicity and the ingredient itself.

Years later we travelled to Japan and ate Japanese food in its own country, and that changed how I understood it again. Subtler flavours, more precise presentation, less of everything.

That's the part I like most about food: each place teaches you a different version of the same idea. Brazil taught me the fun version, Australia gave me the everyday version, and Japan showed me the original. All of them have value. Sometimes you want the quiet nigiri. Sometimes you want a fried roll with cream cheese and a sweet glaze. Sometimes you just want a salmon and avocado roll before a meeting.

Brazilian sushi in Australia is the fun version, made by people who grew up on it. This guide is where to find it.

— Gildo Santos, Founder, Canguaru

Why Brazil has its own sushi

Japanese immigration to Brazil began in 1908, when the first ship of contract farm workers arrived at the port of Santos. Over the following decades Brazil became home to the largest Japanese-descended community outside Japan, centred on São Paulo and its Liberdade district.

A century of Japanese-Brazilian cooking, adapted to local ingredients and a Brazilian sweet tooth, produced a sushi culture of its own: fried rolls (hot rolls), cream cheese in almost everything, sweet soy glaze (tarê), all-you-can-eat sushi (rodízio) and, in the 2000s and 2010s, a wave of hand-roll bars (temakerias) in every big city.

In Brazil, sushi stopped being a special-occasion food and became a Friday-night one.

What to expect from Brazilian sushi

• Hot rolls: maki rolls coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried, usually with salmon and cream cheese inside. The signature item.
• Cream cheese everywhere: the salmon and cream cheese "Philadelphia" roll is a staple, not a novelty.
• Sweet glazes and sauces: tarê, sweet chilli, mayonnaise-based toppings, often torched.
• Combo platters (combinados): big shared boards mixing rolls, nigiri, sashimi and hot rolls. Built for a table, not a solo lunch.
• Generous hand rolls (temaki): Brazilian-style cones, overfilled by design.
• Crossovers: some places do a sushi coxinha, a breaded, fried roll shaped like Brazil's favourite snack.
• Brazilian-owned: Portuguese at the counter, Brazilian playlists, and a menu that reads like São Paulo.

Where Brazilian sushi shows up in Australia

• Sit-down and takeaway restaurants in Sydney (eastern suburbs, inner south and the Northern Beaches) and on the Gold Coast
• Catering and delivery businesses in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, for parties and platters
• Food trucks and caterers in Melbourne

If you're after the traditional Japanese experience, this isn't the guide for that. If you want the version Brazilians grew up with, or you're curious what happens when Japanese food spends a century in Brazil and then moves to Australia, start here.

How to use this guide

Use the state filter in the full list to narrow to NSW, QLD or VIC. Every listing includes location, contact details and we link out to social pages.

Know a Brazilian sushi business we've missed? Listings are free. Send it through and we'll add it.