Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries in Kota Kinabalu from the En Primeur Club guide.
Accolades in Kota Kinabalu
Sakagura pairs Japanese dining with wine and sake programs. Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu and Shangri-La Rasa Ria, Kota Kinabalu represent city-centre and beachfront hotel settings.
A Japanese restaurant in Oceanus Waterfront Mall with a standard wine program and a sake program. The kitchen serves sushi and sashimi, with fresh fish imported daily from Japan and prepared by Japanese chefs. Dining formats include a la carte and small plates.
Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu is a Michelin Selected hotel in Pusat Bandar Kota Kinabalu. Designed by Kengo Kuma, the property combines nature-inspired architecture with locally sourced art and cultural elements throughout its interiors.
This beachfront resort in Pantai Dalit, Tuaran sits where the South China Sea meets the forest edge. Shangri-La Rasa Ria, Kota Kinabalu earned 91.5 points in La Liste's 2026 Top Hotels ranking. Its grounds combine beachfront and rainforest settings with a golf course.
Alu Alu Seafood serves Chinese-Malaysian seafood in Pulau Gaya. Bungaraya Island Resort and Gayana Marine Resort offer hillside and overwater settings in Gaya Island.
In Pulau Gaya, Alu Alu Seafood serves a Chinese-Malaysian menu focused on fresh, organic seafood and vegetables. Its a la carte dining belongs to Kota Kinabalu's island-resort seafood circuit, with sustainably sourced fish highlighted in reviews.
A secluded boutique resort in Gaya Island with hand-crafted wooden villas, private plunge pools and South China Sea views. It carries Michelin Selected recognition for 2025, with villas terraced into a hillside backed by primary rainforest and fronted by coral reef.
Gayana Marine Resort in Gaya Island combines overwater tropical villas with glass flooring for views of marine life. The property has an on-site marine ecology research centre and coral restoration programs, alongside Michelin Selected recognition for 2025.
Oceanus Waterfront Mall has Sakagura for Japanese dining, while Pulau Gaya has Alu Alu Seafood for Chinese-Malaysian seafood. Sakagura serves sushi and sashimi with wine and sake programs; Alu Alu Seafood focuses on fresh, organic seafood and vegetables.
There are no Michelin-starred restaurants in our Kota Kinabalu guide. Both the citywide count of Michelin-starred restaurants and the total number of Michelin stars across the city's restaurants are zero.
Sakagura has a standard wine program and a sake program. The restaurant in Oceanus Waterfront Mall serves Japanese sushi and sashimi, with fresh fish imported daily from Japan. Its dining formats include a la carte and small plates.
Sakagura offers a la carte dining and small plates; Sin Kee Bah Kut Teh and Alu Alu Seafood offer a la carte dining. Their cuisines span Japanese sushi and sashimi, traditional Chinese bak kut teh and Chinese-Malaysian seafood.
By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards
Kota Kinabalu
Selected entries from the current guide for Kota Kinabalu.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Alu Alu Seafood belongs to Kota Kinabalu’s island-resort seafood circuit, where the appeal is less about ceremony than proximity to Sabah’s waters. Its setting on Pulau Gaya gives the meal a marine-park frame, making it a useful counterpoint to the city’s bak kut teh shops, hotel dining rooms, and Japanese-leaning counters.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
A Japanese dining room operating from within the Sheraton Kota Kinabalu, Sakagura sits at the intersection of Sabah's extraordinary marine larder and Japanese culinary discipline. The Borneo coastline's seafood credentials give the kitchen a strong sourcing foundation, placing this hotel restaurant in a different conversation from the city's hawker circuit and casual seafood houses.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Pork Bone Broth and the Morning Ritual of Jalan Pantai Arrive early at Sin Kee Bah Kut Teh (新記肉骨茶) on Jalan Pantai and you walk into something that feels less like a restaurant opening and more like a neighbourhood convening. Plastic chairs...
Kota Kinabalu
Selected entries from the current guide for Kota Kinabalu.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Bungaraya Island Resort occupies Polish Bay on Gaya Island within Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, placing it inside one of Sabah's most protected marine environments. With 48 rooms backed by primary rainforest and fronted by coral reef, the property sits at the quieter, nature-immersed end of Kota Kinabalu's island resort spectrum, a counterpoint to the city's larger branded hotels.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Borneo Eagle Resort occupies Pulau Tiga, a volcanic island off the Sabah coast that most travellers pass over in favour of better-known Kota Kinabalu alternatives. With just 13 rooms, the property sits firmly in the low-capacity, island-immersion tier of Sabah accommodation, the kind of place where the journey across open water is part of the proposition, not an inconvenience.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Gayana Marine Resort sits on Pulau Gaya in Malohom Bay, a short boat transfer from Kota Kinabalu, with 44 rooms set directly over the Coral Triangle waters of Sabah. The property belongs to a smaller tier of island retreats where physical remoteness and marine access define the guest experience. Conservation programming and over-water positioning place it in a distinct category from the mainland resort properties around Kota Kinabalu.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Michelin Selected for 2025, Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu sits at 18 Jalan Haji Saman in the city centre, positioning it inside Sabah's compact but competitive urban hotel tier. The address puts Kota Kinabalu's waterfront, night markets, and transport links within walking distance, making it a practical base for visitors balancing city access with island-hopping ambitions.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Positioned on Pantai Dalit beach north of Kota Kinabalu, Rasa Ria sits where the South China Sea meets Borneo's forest edge. The resort earned 91.5 points in La Liste's 2026 Top Hotels ranking, placing it in a recognised tier of large-footprint beach properties across Southeast Asia. For travellers combining coastal access with wildlife territory, the address does most of the editorial work.
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Positioned on Sutera Avenue in the heart of Kota Kinabalu, The Luma Hotel sits at the intersection of the city's emerging creative district and the broader Borneo context that defines the region. The property reads as a response to a city working out what contemporary urban hospitality looks like when rainforest heritage is the defining backdrop. For travellers who want a city base that acknowledges where it is, The Luma is worth understanding.
Kota Kinabalu
Selected entries from the current guide for Kota Kinabalu.
No venues found.
Kota Kinabalu
Selected entries from the current guide for Kota Kinabalu.
No venues found.
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