Fuji Ramen & Sushi — Restaurant in Wheaton

Edit: Johnny, the owner, and his staff did well in fixing the issues found in my original review. It seems that a lot of the original issues were fixed upon a change of staff. He allowed me to try the different broths that each of my family members had gotten again, this time prepared properly. The broth was much more savory this time around. I also learned that a lot of Fuji's ramen won't taste exactly how you'd expect if you've been to other restaurants and takes them in a different direction. The fishy taste didn't exist anymore from the last time I tried it. I definitely commend and appreciate Fuji Ramen in taking this feedback and will definitely be back for more! (I highly suggest the Fuji Ramen)

Original Review: I tend to stay up to date with local ramen places and was pretty excited that this place was so close to me and invited a bunch of my family to join me in trying it for the first time.

Upon entering, the restaurant looked clean and nicely set up. There's an area where you can watch the sushi chefs, but it's not an area you can be directly seated at and on the other side of the restaurant is what I assume is the back area/kitchen area.

Service started off decent, but tapered off a bit. There was a point during our meal where we weren't checked on and needed an extra fork and refills on water. We waited a solid 10 minutes despite being only one of two parties that were there at opening and eventually got the attention of the server by waving.

In my experiences with restaurants that serve both ramen and sushi, the ramen always seems to be lacking. Unfortunately, this restaurant also carries that issue. Each of us had tried a different kind of ramen. We had ordered a garlic tonkotsu, a super chicken ramen, a fuji classic ramen, spicy miso ramen, and fuji spicy ramen.

Presentation: No issues here. Each bowl was presented with noodles on the bottom and toppings laid out nicely.

Noodles: Oddly fishy. I've never had noodles in my ramen have this particular fishy taste. It's always been savoury or neutral, never fishy. I'm wondering if the noodles are stored frozen in the same place as their fish. All bowls had this issue and noted by each member of our party. The portions they give is a decent amount for the bowl size. They also give the option between thick and thin noodles. Their thick noodles are what I would consider a regular size for ramen. None of us got thin noodles, so I can't say just how thin that "thin" is.

Broth: Each member allowed me to taste their broths and each had the same issue: not enough flavor. I could tell that each broth was supposed to be different, but each of them shared this "muted" flavor about them. It was like I could "almost" taste what they were going for, but it falls flat by the end, almost like it was watered down. One of our party member's spicy miso tasted nothing like a typical spicy miso. You can taste the spice that was added, but can't taste any miso flavor. My garlic tonkotsu seemed to taste nothing like any other garlic tonkotsu I've ever tasted and wasn't nearly as savoury. The best tasting bowl was their Fuji Classic Ramen. I also feel that the portion of broth was a little less than expected with all the ingredients that were in each bowl at like a 1:4 ratio broth:everything else. It could be that the broth was watered down because of this?

Toppings: Everybody who had anything with chicken in it mentioned that it was very chewy, might have been overdone, and didn't taste good at all. The pork slices and egg that I received were probably the best part of my ramen, both seeming to have been marinated properly as they both tasted really good and the eggs were nicely soft boiled. The veggies tasted fine. One of the members of our party mentioned that the bamboo shoots were also a bit fishy for their taste.

Overall, I think the ramen needs quite a bit of tweaking, especially at almost $17-$19 per bowl. I hope that the restaurant takes this feedback into consideration and ends up being successful in the future!

(Pictured: Tonkotsu...

Original Review: So excited to try this place. Doors open went today at 3:18. Clearly within operating hours. Empty but one guy could barely explain they weren't open. Told me opening at 3:30 in twelve minutes. The guy right behind me had same experience but overheard he told him half hour. I left. Not a good start. I hope next time I try it during their operating hours that they will actually be open. I will probably give a comfortable chill before that hoping real reviews start showing up. Such a shame. Edit, some complained that I gave 1 star on a new restaurant. I went during posted hours and was made to feel awkward and uncomfortable. Couldn't really tell me what was going on and turned me away. I am not sure how I can give anything but that. I could live with some opening quirks but feeling awkward and unable to eat isn't anything but a 1. Sorry. I have never given a 1 star out of hundreds of reviews. People need to know they don't have reliable hours. I will upgrade if I ever get a chance where they allow me to be a paying customer. First impressions are the most important and the ones that are the most lasting. New businesses need to understand that. They should have told me, we need a few minutes and invited me to sit and have a drink while I waited. Instead they made me feel like an idiot for walking into the restaurant and told me to come back later. Sorry, not sorry.

Review Update: I gave Fuji Ramen another chance. Went there for dinner and they were open and seated us. Took a while for staff to see us waiting to be seated. Staff was friendly and gracious but did seem a bit overwhelmed. My son ordered poke bowl and I ordered three rolls (spider, TNT Tuna, and Mexican). My son commented on how fresh the salmon was in his poke bowl and enjoyed. The TNT roll was my favorite which is funny since I only added as a filler to be sure I wasn't hungry. The big premium spider roll lacked some luster but it was a big double roll. The robots are fun and put a smile on your face at first. Eventually they kind of are annoying. The chairs got rearranged and the robot got stuck. Atmosphere is OK, a bit sterile but I can see they tried to have some style but also need room for the robot. Overall, this is a good place to stop. Very casual and bright so more of a lunch spot. It is the best sushi in...

Try: Shrimp tempura Don't Try: Anything but the shrimp tempura. Last Bite Food Review: One of the most frustrating experiences at a sushi restaurant I have ever had. Everything from quality, to service, then to price went wrong. When ordering nigiri you don't expect a fist of rice and a small slice of fish especially if you're paying per piece! Just to let you all know I'm not an over exaggerating reviewer, please see the attached photos. The thinist slices on the largest pieces of rice! Even the simplest miso soup was incredibly under-seasoned. Typically I don't like to complain about service, because I will eat at an amazing restaurant even if it's bad service. But the service here was terrible. We were only 1 out of 3 other tables that evening. We waited nearly 45 minutes for our nigiri when no other table eventually ordered it. What?! And what's worst of all was the quality of everything BUT the shrimp tempura. Light, well fried, and well seasoned. Perfect shrimp tempura in my book. Other than that, everything else.... awful truly awful. My message to the restaurant: I understand how unbelievably competitive it is in the food industry. Sometimes, you can not control those thin margins to keep the lights on. But what you can absolutely control is the quality and service you provide as a restaurant. That is absolutely in your hands, and if you don't take that seriously , you will fail. I hope this restaurant truly has the opportunity to turn...