Fuji Sukiyaki — Restaurant in San Mateo

when I came to San Mateo to eat at Dash, I passed by an izakaya that looked pretty good, called Fuji Sukiyaki. Tonight’s dinner choice? Decided to give it a try!

📍Location: 428 E 3rd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

🌟Highlights:

✔️ Value for Money: Each piece of nigiri is generously portioned, and the price is reasonable. ✔️ Freshness: The sea urchin and oysters are quite fresh; overall, the fish quality is decent. ✔️ Ambience: They have tatami rooms inside, giving it a nice, authentic vibe. ✔️ Flavor: The variety of food combinations was very appealing to me. Some fish are sourced from Japan, which aren’t commonly offered in typical sushi places. There's a large selection of sushi and other dishes.

🍣 Sunrise: Salmon arranged like flower petals, with roe in the center on top of rice. This was a childhood favorite of mine, though it’s missing the mayo.

🍣 Japan Aji: Japanese Aji, great presentation and flavor, with a nice seared touch.

🍣 Sukiyaki: Initially, I thought this was a sukiyaki-focused place, but they only have a few options. Planning to try the beef next time, which is around $28 — not bad.

🍣 Oyster Bomb: Oyster topped with sea urchin, roe, and a quail egg — super satisfying in one bite.

🍣 Hand Roll: They have some off-menu items written on a small blackboard. I ordered the uni, roe, and toro hand roll that the table next to me had.

🍣 Rolls: Since I ordered a lot of raw items earlier, I decided to try a baked roll too, which was also good. They offer many types of rolls.

🍣 Side Dishes: For those who don’t eat raw fish, they have a variety of cooked dishes, which go well with sukiyaki.

Overall, it feels like a down-to-earth izakaya with good value. Looking forward to my...

I went to Fuji Sukiyaki about 5 1/2 years. My experience was a wondwrful experience. I use to go in with my boyfriend at that time and we woukd go at least once a week. The bill use come out around 25 bucks or so each time. The owner would suggest stuff and we would try it. We got to know each other and would call us by our first names. The owner knew we were in love with each other and we made him happy by bringing him business once a week. As soon as we walked in he woukd give us samples to try. I know when we never returned because we broke up, the owner must have thought something went wrong week after week we both didnt show up. I just so happened to think of the past today and I wish I could go back and eat at the Sushi place again with my ex boyfriend to feel again what falling in love was. Thank you to the owner for showing us good customer service skills and to fill our bellys with good food. I know both my ex and I we had appreciate you....

Great sushi, really fresh both raw and cooked fish. Be careful where you sit though, as we called in a table and didn't realize they booked us in the traditional Japanese rooms where the tables were sunken, and you have to take your shoes off, and it was really hard for my parents to get in. Plus the entire restaurant was cold, everyone had their jackets on, and with your shoes off, your feet are cold the entire time while eating. Plus I don't like having my feet where other people's feet were previously, without shoes and maybe even socks. Next time we'll make sure to ask to sit at a regular table, and bring extra jackets.

The Sapporo beer also could've been cooler. The sushi boat combo, fried oysters, hamachi kama, real crab hand roll, and salmon rolls all good. Futomaki was bland compared to other places, no pickled veggies in it.

Friendly service, but very busy...