Fuji Mountain Japanese Restaurant — Restaurant in Philadelphia

My friend and I arrived at Fuji Mountain for an early dinner around 5 pm. The dim-lighted restaurant had a quiet and intimate atmosphere, with many booths and two-person tables. After we were given wet towels (which I appreciated) and iced water by the kimono-clad server, we dove into the menu. The extensive menu had many options to choose from, with lists of hot and cold appetizers, kitchen entrees, noodles, sushi, and donburi (rice with cooked meat, fish, or vegetables on top). My copycat companion and I ordered pork katsudon ($14), donburi with fried cutlets, which was served with salad and miso soup. The restaurant was generous with the soup, served in a regular rice-bowl-sized bowl, as most complimentary miso soup comes in cups or small bowls in other Japanese restaurants.

It was particularly welcome, as we had been walking around the cold windy streets. It was slightly milder than most other miso soup I had tasted; the miso flavour was not as strong, but it was not in any way bland. It had a sweet aftertaste, and was the perfect companion to the salad. The salad was in a similar-sized bowl, with mixed greens, lettuce, three slices of cucumber, and thinly sliced carrots, topped with ginger carrot sauce with a tinge of miso flavour. The ginger sauce was excellent and was just the right amount. Soon after we finished the crisp all-vegetable salad, the server brought out the katsudon. It had steaming rice topped with strips of lightly fried pork, softly-cooked egg, thin shreds of seaweed, and three small slices of sweet pickled radish. The onion, the pork, and the moist white rice left a bit of sweetness in my mouth, and the radish accented that. I liked the mix of sweet, tangy and crunchy radish with the rice and meat, but my friend said it would have been better if it came as a side. The price range for a dinner dish is $10 to $27. I left the restaurant feeling satisfied, and promised myself that I would try the sushi next time and take advantage of the Karaoke they have on their 3rd and 4th floors (try the bar if you are 21 or up). The one tiny complaint I have about Fuji Mountain is their chopsticks. Their edges were simply too sharp for a comfortable...

I’ve been a customer since 2016 but will no longer return. I dined here with a friend on a Thursday evening in November. Even though their google profile says they close at 10 pm, hours typically change since Covid. As soon as I got into the restaurant, I asked one of the hosts what time they closed - she confirmed 9 pm.

The waitress came to our table around 8 pm confirming last call and my friend ordered a second glass of wine. Around 8:30 (halfway through his second glass) they turned the bright overhead lights on and turned the music off..

A minute or two later, our waitress quickly walked by our table bringing dishes to the kitchen and muttered “we’re closed.”

What the heck??? Closed 30 minutes early? Unacceptable how they made us feel we were overstaying our welcome when they weren’t supposed to close for another 30 mins. I don’t care how good any restaurant’s food is - I would never return after this kind of service. But the funny part is, their food is mediocre - especially their sushi. Their nigiri is way too “wet” and their specialty rolls are a nightmare to eat - too fake/processed and difficult to fit in your mouth.

After 9 years of going here countless times, celebrating birthdays, doing private karaoke, restaurant week, etc, their food quality and obviously their service has changed significantly for the worse. I will no longer...

Good service, horrible food. I'm sorry but anyone that likes this place has no idea what good Japanese food really is. We had the passion roll , a shrimp tempura roll with mango and crab meat. It was a $20! roll that tasted like it should have been $5 on a lunch menu. The shrimp tempura was cold for one. It was not good at all. Then we had gyudon, which is marinated beef over rice. Go to any Japanese owned restaurant anywhere (which this place clearly is not) and this dish would be a slam dunk. It's so easy to not mess up and normally so delicious it blows your mind. This place's gyudon was just bland and gross. The Hamachi collar ($18 app) was pretty good but I could tell it was deep fried, rather than grill fried (as it normally is and should be), which seems like cheating to me. It was also brought out at the end of our meal, when it should have been first (as it's an appetizer). Nothing we had was good even though it was quite expensive. Overall the dining experience was by far the worse one we had in our Phili trip. My family and I were very...