Miyako Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi — Restaurant in The Villages

We visited Fuji yesterday for the first time since their remodeling and reopening. The last time we visited was 13 years ago and while the food was acceptable then, the restaurant and the staff seemed well-worn.

Yesterday's lunch however was a completely different experience! The new design is very clean and up-to-date, well appointed, with a very pleasing atmosphere. The staff was bright and inviting and we were promptly seated at our choice of booths (Hibachi and regular tables are available also). Our server was Joseph, a young man with a big smile who made us feel at home and took care of every need quickly. Although the restaurant has only been reopened a couple of weeks, he was very familiar with the entire menu. Two family members joined my wife and I a few minutes after we had been seated and he handled the whole experience with professionalism, keeping up easily with our beverage and appetizer ordering..

My sister-in-law and her husband had hot tea which they said was very good. My wife had water with lemon and I ordered hot sake which was excellent and an ample serving. For appetizers we had tempura vegetables, Gyoza, and the JB Tempura Roll. Nice size servings of each and the flavor and cooking could not have been better. The roll was especially delicious, made even more so as the roll was sliced and then each piece battered in tempura separately.

I ordered the House Special Ramen which was delivered in a huge bowl brimming with delicacies in a tasty pork broth with just the right amount of noodles. I am a hearty eater but I could not finish it all. Everyone else had an hibachi dinner. It was served with the traditional miso soup and salad topped with a very nice ginger dressing. Each dinner included fried rice with stir-fried vegetables. My wife had steak and shrimp, my sister-in-law steak and chicken, while my brother-in-law had just the chicken. I sampled everything my wife had and it was wonderful. The table was unanimous that we had enjoyed an outstanding meal.

The pricing was very reasonable for a Japanese steakhouse and we all agreed that Fuji would be our first choice for that cuisine going forward. They have an expansive menu, so on our next few visits I am planning to treat my pallet to some variety.

If you are in the Summerfield/Villages area, you owe yourself a visit to the new Fuji. I believe you will be as delighted as we were. All of the waitstaff seemed attentive but I would certainly ask for Joseph if he had a...

I've been here several times as it's one of my grandmothers fav spots for hibachi and we've never really had any issues in the past. That being said, upon walking into fiji the smell of old cooking oil was so pungent in the air that I immediately lost my appetite. After I a while I did get used to the smell. We were seated and given drink right away and not soon after our orders were taken. We were one of three tables in the whole restaurant and we sat there for over an hour before our cook came out. We watched two cooks at two tables steadily making endless to go orders and we were ignored, as well as the couple at the take next to us. We called over the host and she's for service and it was only 20 minutes after that did someone come out. I'm not sure what was going on but usually the chefs there are more lively and entertaining but tonight it was very full, not just our chef but everyone was very low energy. My 4 yr old got to be a bit rotten during the wait time and chef did make attempts to amuse her so I appreciated that. As far as the food....it was not what I've gotten used to from fuji. The rice was good but the noodles tasted bland, the chicken was tough and dry, the steak had that old meat flavor and the veggies were cut way too large and not grilled properly. We also had to flag down the host (who was also playing server along with a bus boy) 3 times to get our drinks refilled and he seemed annoyed to have to do it. Overall it was disappointing and I felt bad for my grandmother who treated us all cause I could tell the experience embarrassed her since she...

We went in for lunch yesterday and the hostess doesn’t like to answer questions directly but I won’t get into that. I’ve been coming here for years and when I say years, since 2001. As we made our order, I noticed the hostess who also is a cashier says,” lunch comes with rice and veggies and either soup or salad. When I asked her about the noodles, she explained that the noodles came with the Early Bird. We didn’t come for the Early Bird. She didn’t offer to tell us how much more noodles would be with the lunch but it probably would take the lunch to dinner price. All I can say is this lady was not nice enough to listen to her customers, she just don’t know how to shut her mouth to hear her customers and it came across as rude and I felt she had an attitude. Even my 12 yr old felt she had an attitude. I also tried to talk to the owner but I don’t know if he understands English but he could be stressed out because he didn’t have customers. The place was deserted at 2:00 in the afternoon except for my family and I. I understand they changed the lunch menu but I don’t have to eat there when I can go down the road and get more for less and people with better customer service and attitudes. I will be telling my entire family to take their business elsewhere. To the owner,” Please make some more changes to keep your business open, it went down hill fast. Don’t take what your 20 year customers say to heart. Take it as constructive criticism and get your business on...