Fuji Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Hazlet Township

2 1/2 stars

This was one of the oddest sushi restaurant experiences I've ever had. I came here for lunch on Saturday with the Millennial Chum, who may have gotten into a mild rumble with a member of the staff a decade ago when she was a much younger Millennial Chum, but was still willing to return and give this a shot. No rumbles this time, but the service and atmosphere left a very strange impression.

We stopped by at the height of lunch hour around 1PM - part of my thought process was that sushi tends to be pretty quick for sit-down service, so we weren't likely to have an issue seeing the 2PM Nicole Kidman porn nearby (I was correct on that front at least). The minute we walked in, we both looked at each other in confusion - it was SO quiet and empty, I actually felt self-conscious walking through the restaurant to our designated booth. I think there was one other party in there, but even with that it was honestly like being in a mausoleum. Strange.

I decided to get three rolls - two normal, one edgy. This is now the second time in a few months that I've encountered a sushi menu that doesn't have salmon/avocado on it, which I consider one of the most common hand rolls, but it wasn't an issue to order it off menu. I also got a sweet potato roll and a Winter Roll. The Winter Roll was the star here - loved the flavors and it sort of tasted like a Dorito in a good way (which I assume is a hat tip to the crab meat on top). Definitely something I'd get again. The salmon/avocado was fine; a little light on the ingredients but tasted fresh. I just did not like the Sweet Potato roll, and I can't quite put my finger on it. This is one I get a lot, and taste-wise just wasn't up to par. Maybe the potato wasn't as ripe as I'm used to? The Millennial Chum is not a sushi person but given the lack of fish this was a pretty safe test roll for her, and she DID like it for what it's worth.

Another weird touch? In my experience, sushi places tend to have very friendly staff, which I always assumed was cultural and/or a way of overcompensating for language barriers, etc. The waitstaff we encountered were the sushi restaurant equivalent of Daria - everyone was unsmiling and very monotone. Overall, the turnaround time wasn't bad (we got to the Nicole Kidman porn with time to spare), but the food didn't come out at the same time, which was a little annoying. The Millennial Chum's Shrimp Teriyaki came out first, then a few moments later two out of my three rolls came, but it took another five minutes at least for the final roll to show up. Not the biggest deal in the world (I certainly had something to munch on while I waited) but I like to eat my rolls simultaneously so I'm not just eating one flavor to end the meal. That was unusual, and also strange (theme of the meal) since there was no one else really in the restaurant.

This was a tough one to gauge. The sushi overall was decent but it just wasn't a comfortable experience. Unless the food is absolutely mindblowing, the vibe really matters and can make the difference. Daria was a cutting edge comedy that deserved a better platform than MTV - it doesn't make for a great...

HORRIBLE! Place used to be really good but, after this afternoon, we will never go back! The food was awful. Plus, the cook was cooking for both sides of the hibachis. Paying no attention to anyone. We were celebrating my daughters birthday , we told the cook this and thought he would make some sort of recognition to her but, NO. Instead we were rush out of there within 45 min (place was not even busy), we were still eating our soup when the rice and noddles were thorn on our plates! to boot our food was being cook on the other party's hibachi. So he was back in forth between the 2 sides. Before we even gout done with the soup and salad, we had the main course! Chicken, steak, lobster and shrimp were dry and was not good tasting. Let me add, the shrimp appetizer, that should have came out first, came out after the main course! As we left, we spoke to the server/ manager and told her that we were not please with our experience in anyway and was really disappointed on the lack of attention my daughter received on her birthday, these place are suppose to fun, NOT here! She said sorry, turned her back and walk away! Will...

I really want to rate this place higher because the sushi ingredients are really fresh, buuut the fact they charge for each drink when most if not all restaurants offer free refills makes what I thought a reasonably priced Japanese restaurant a bit more expensive at least for a person like me who drinks a lot.

Other reasons why a lower rating is although I really enjoyed my sushi hand rolls they were a bit smaller than other places with about the same price. Their Kani Salad though was bigger than most at the usual price you'll usually see. Another negative is my brother claims his dish wasnt made with the right ingredients (I forgot exactly what he said, but basically they used different cheaper ingredients) and my cousin says the lobster tail he received didnt taste like lobster or even imitation lobster and he's obsessed with lobster so I trust his judgement.

Service was great though. Never had to worry about drink refills and the wait for our dishes were about the same as...