Fuji Hiro — Restaurant in Leeds

It truly pains me to leave a less than 5* review for the restaurant as it’s been one of my favourites for the last 13 or so years.

When I heard Fuji Hiro was reopening I was so excited, perhaps a little apprehensive with there being new ownership but after reading that the kitchen staff would be the same it alleviated any of my concerns.

Let’s start with the positives, the waiter who served my cousin and I was absolutely lovely, very friendly and good at his job. The decor has been updated and it truly looks fantastic inside, it gives tranquil vibes which I found very pleasant.

Now onto the not so great. The food wasn’t fantastic. I was expecting the same level of food that I have come to know over the last decade unfortunately it isn’t actually the same kitchen staff like was said on an article I had read so this had inflated my expectations. I had asked the waiter if a particular tofu dish could be made, this would not have been difficult as they have all the ingredients. However he said as these chefs are new they wouldn’t know old recipes. Which is fine I’d just had my hopes up as I was expecting the same kitchen staff.

I ordered the spicy tofu and vegetable men, this was my favourite of all dishes. It used to be a delicious chewy noodle with loads of garlic, ginger and chilli chunks on a layer of some sort of black vinegar, the noodles were topped with a luscious amount of peanut sauce. There were large chunks of fried tofu that’s were perfectly crisp yet tender in the middle, some sweet potato and aubergine. Now it’s a bowl of yasai yaki soba, with the same sauce and severely overcooked fried tofu that’s was chewy. The flavour was fine but this did not meet expectations. The Ebi katsu was delicious, the prawns tasted fresh, they were cooked perfectly and had a lovely crispy texture.

We also ordered miso buttered greens, this was a complete disappointment. Instead of getting what we assumed was a bowl of greens that was sautéed in a miso butter, we got a bowl of miso soup with boiled vegetables. This did not even slightly meet expectations.

I personally won’t be returning, there really isn’t much point when I can no longer get my favourite foods. I am glad that others have enjoyed the...

So unfortunately a bad experience, the staff were accommodating and were really good up until the end, excluding the delay for drinks. Drinks order was taken, 10 mins later food order was taken, 10mins later starters arrive. 10 mins later. No sign of drinks so had to ask, arrived in 30 seconds so clearly forgotten but not fussed about that it doesn’t really matter. Main courses arrive. I ordered the “chicken man noodles” well… it tasted entirely like someone had heated up peanut butter in pan and mixed it with vinegar. I had one mouth full and my partner had one too to confirm it was disgusting. I managed to get the waiters attention after 5 mins and told him I simply didn’t like that dish. He said no problem would you like it taking away, to which I answered yes please. No offer of something else instead so I just thought “meh if they’re not bothered im not going to re order”. Everything else was fine and it comes to getting the bill ( I was charged for the dish to my later surprise £14 ) I payed the bill and he asked me why I didn’t like the dish, my reply “ it tasted exclusively like someone had mixed peanut butter and vinegar together and poured it over noodles” he says “yes that’s basically what it is, anyway some people like it” so I say “ hang on did you charge me for that dish?” To which he replied “ yes unfortunately I still have to bill you for it” to which I replied “ oh right that just means we won’t be coming back again and I’ll tell my friends not to bother” to which he replied “ well the ingredients were used so doesn’t matter if you liked it” we then left the restaurant £60 down, and disappointed with our meal, I got a Chinese takeaway from harbour city on scotthall road on the way home and couldn’t recommend...

I popped in to Fuji Hiro with my family this afternoon for a quick bite to eat. I wish I hadn't. The staff were polite and accomodating - no complaints there. Yes, the decor and general feel is of a restaurant that's feeling more than a bit tired. Still, it's the Japanese food that we were here to sample, so we thought we'd roll with it. We ordered some Bento boxes with Chicken Katsu and some chicken Gyoza to share. Drinks came, and then we waited. Then we waited some more, and eventually some food arrived (amazing wait as the place was relatively quiet). The Gyoza arrived with the bottom burnt. The dumplings flavourless and bland. The Bento boxes arrived, with Noodles, Vegetable Tempura and the Chicken Katsu. To be honest, if we weren't so hungry, we'd have called it a day right there and then. The chicken, was beyond overcooked and we were unsure as to quite how it been cooked. The Tempura, though it looked like the saviour in the box, was poorly cooked, a little raw, and again bland. Noodles - no interest, no thanks. We picked the best out of it, paid up, and when asked how was your meal, I replied 'incredibly average' . No response. Nadda. I felt sad for the place, as it's clearly given up. Yes, you might get away with serving average food for a while, but it's no way to run a restaurant. It's not the best Japanese food, it's not good food full stop. Sorry,...