Lunch #73: Fuji Sushi

Today our Japantown route stated to show some of its Japanese roots. The route turned east today on Main Street from 5th Avenue and brought us to Fuji Sushi in the base of a cement urban second growth high-rise housing complex. We were joined today by our friends from Urbanspoon who last lunched with us at the now defunct Made in Kitchen. Let's hope the same curse does not befall Fuji.

Fuji Sushi, Seattle
Address: 520 S Main St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Japanese: Sushi
Average rating: 3.4 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/16/2009 @ 11:45:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 3 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 17 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 70 minutes
Chopstix quality: Smoothed Wood
Do they use MSG?: None added. Fish stock they use may have some.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Chiba, Japan
Number of tables: 21
Number of occupied tables: 21 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 20 (95%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (4%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Katsu-don - $8.25
Rating:

Geary's Review

Fuji is on the upscale side of ID lunch spots. It's appointed with typical Japanese decor and includes two semi-private rooms with traditional sunken tables and floor seating. The Urbanspoon crew arrived first and were greeted warmly by the hostess who found us a nice table for eight by the window. The restaurant was already half full by 11:50 when we arrived.

Our waitress was friendly and prompt. I ordered the Katsu-don, my favorite Japanese lunch of a breaded pork cutlet sliced and stir-fried with egg, onions, and a light sauce on top of rice. It was great to see the Urbanspoon folks again and we were so wrapped up in our conversation I didn't notice how long the food took to arrive. I think Adam kept tally though. When the food arrived I took a break from the table talk to actually eat. The Katsu-don was good, but I've had better. This one was a bit too dry, i.e. there wasn't enough sauce. I ate it all though. For $8.25 I would have expected better.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Salmon Teriyaki and Ginger Tofu - $8.65
Rating:

Adam's Review

I first went to Fuji a couple of years ago with Brian Dorsey via his strictly plutonic lunch-date making service (don't worry Brian, I just want to be friends too). Since then, I think I've been ordering roughly the same thing: Lunch Special Bento.

I decided to go with the Catholic version of Vegetarian this meal, and ordered the Bento with Salmon Teriyaki and Ginger Tofu. The tofu portion of the highly comparmentalized lunch tray was 4 large-ish blocks of soft tofu with a nice ginger sauce on top. I liked the sauce, but there wasn't quite enough of it. Also, "cutting" and eating large chunks of soft tofu with chopsticks is pretty danged tricky. The Salmon Teriyaki was the big winner: the piece of fish was large than I expected, the fish still tasted like fish, and the teriyaki flavor was really nice. There was other stuff in the other compartments, but nothing notable enough for me to remember right now.

A good option for Japanese food if you're in the ID.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Sashimi and Salmon Teriyaki - $10.65
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Long before I visited I heard rumors of the "Fuji Bento Box." I was told it was an awesome amount of food with a price to match. Having visited many times, I wouldn't say it's a tremendous amount, but for the price you pay, you get a good quantity.

This place is very pretty on the inside, with an upscale vibe suitable for suits and the power lunches of the digerati. We snagged a nice table by the window. I went Bento-Style on some Sashimi and Salmon Teriyaki. The Teriyaki was delicious, crispy in places and juicy on the inside. The Sashimi was average, and not worth the extra two dollars, in my opinion. The salad had a tangy dressing but was otherwise not memorable. The miso soup was fairly standard.

For food I give this place a 3, but overall atmosphere bumps it up to a 4. I like coming here, and will continue to come back frequently.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Pork Ginger and Deep Friend Dumplings - $8.65
Rating:

Al's Review

Pork was beyond tender - dumplings works of art; +1 if you are not as cheap as I am.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Tanin-don - $8.25
Rating:

VIP Luncher: Adam from Urbanspoon

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Tempura - $9.65
Rating:

Adam's Review

The bento box is near and dear to my heart, and I'm tempted to give Fuji Sushi a high score simply for offering them. I like having my food compartmentalized.

The sushi wasn't spectacular, but certainly a cut above the sushi option near our HQ in Eastlake. The nigiri was standard fare, as was the included roll. Something a bit more exotic might have been nice. The tempura was similarly satisfying without offering any surprises. I wish there had been some potato, eggplant, or fruit in there.

The restaurant was clean and the service attentive, though no one took a drink order and I absentmindedly forgot to request tea. I would eat there again if I was in the neighborhood and Pho Bac didn't exist.

VIP Luncher: Patrick from Urbanspoon

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Chicken Teriyaki - $9.65
Rating:

Patrick's Review

The sushi was 2 thin pieces of a California roll, 3 pieces of a cucumber roll, and 3 nigiri (salmon, tuna, shrimp). The food was fine, but the quantity was little thin, particularly the rolls. The chicken teriyaki was good, but I had some envy of the salmon teriyaki, which looked really good.

VIP Luncher: Ethan from Urbanspoon

Lunch: Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Tempura - $9.65
Rating:

Ethan's Review

This was my second time at Fuji Sushi, and I'd be happy to eat there again, though I probably won't go out of my way to try it another time. Service was friendly, food was fine, just nothing standing out.

The bento box offered a basic mix -- miso, a little salad, rice, tempura and sushi. The tempura was tasty, though the batter seemed to dissolve a little too quickly in the dip. The nigiri was uninspired, but serviceable. The rolls were small and not very numerous. The california roll was pretty wet -- lots of mayo -- but I like that.

I found I was still kind of hungry after finishing the lot, but then I usually eat too much. So maybe that's a good thing.

A couple of the MSG150 crew had the salmon teriyaki. That looked great.

Short version: enjoyable but unexceptional.

Fuji Sushi Photos

Fuji Sushi


Open + Menu


Fuji Sushi Menu Cover


Fuji Sushi Menu


Miso


Katsu-don


Tanin-don


Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Chicken Teriyaki


Lunch Bento Special with Pork Ginger and Deep Friend Dumplings


Lunch Bento Special with Sashimi and Salmon Teriyaki


Lunch Bento Special with Salmon Teriyaki and Ginger Tofu


Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Tempura


Lunch Bento Special with Sushi and Tempura