Fuji Ya

Walked by here on 8÷11÷15. Sign in the window reads the place is «indefinitely closed.» If you were considering going here, stop by Sakura down the street, or Saju Ya up on Grand.

THIS PLACE IS AWESOME. Fairly pricey but for a special occasion absolutely go here.
I am from the coast and am VERY picky about places that sell seafood in the Midwest. If the restaurant smells «fishy» I won’t dine… so basically I don’t dine on seafood anymore (which makes me sad.) However, the hubby wanted sushi for his birthday so we ended up here. The waitress was a little cold to us until we started ordering a bunch of stuff (we weren’t the most dressed up so maybe we looked poor?) No matter, she got nicer and we tipped well.
Chicken and Shrimp Tempura — Fantastic and worth the $ 18.00 (the portion is large and you get a yummy sauce to dip in.) The shrimp earned my seal of approval.
Udon noodles — Good… I ordered with the sauteed ribeye and veggies. I think it would have better with the tempura vs the sauteed veggies. I was not disappointed though, that was my own ordering mistake and is also purely preference. The ribeye was cooked very well and the veggies were very fresh.
Teriyaki Chicken Skewers (Yakitori) — Great but small for being $ 6.00
Egg Rolls (Harumaki) — Outstanding and $ 6.00 for 2 good size egg rolls. Crispy, not greasy on the outside.
California Rolls — 6 for $ 7.00, We ordered some to take home after we were done, they were that good.
Blood Orange Martini — Strong and delicious
Strawberry Sunburst (cocktail) — Delicious, had real strawberry pieces in it and didn’t taste like alcohol. It had plum wine in it.
Warm Sake — Great
Unagi Maki and also Dragon Maki — Great and BEAUTIFUL. They didn’t have rolls, everything was topped with eel but it was astoundingly good and fresh. Also, NO BONES! That is a huge issue with eel usually. I didn’t have any but everyone ate the flowers and said they were really good too.
We will be back.

I’d been to the Minneapolis location before but never this one– and it’s nice and close to work so I went over my lunch break! Our server was excellent– very friendly and enthusiastic about my selection (ahi tuna salad). She said it’s one of her favorites, which is good to hear. We also got pork gyoza to start, which were fine but nothing special. My salad was phenominal and so pretty! I couldn’t decide what sauce to get so she was nice enough to give me both on the side. I tried one of the philly rolls too and it was good.
Service was great but the food took FOREVER to come out, to the point where I was worried about making it back to the office in time. And it came out in pieces, mine came out about 4 minutes before his did.
Street metered parking, but it was easy to find a spot right away close.

If you live in St. Paul you should be here every other week (assuming you like Sushi). This place has the best sushi in town, and happy hour menu is very reasonably priced. If you are a visitor to St. Paul (and you like sushi) you should visit here every time you are in town.
I just had the happy hour red wine for the first time this past week. For a $ 6 glass of wine it was very nice. Do I prefer others, yes. But for that price you cannot go wrong it was nicely bodied, and full flavored.
I’m not a vegetarian, BUT one of the happy hour rolls is «Veggie Winter». It was recommended to me by the sushi chef one evening and I tried it. WOW… I get that roll almost every visit now because it is so good. I don’t know just how they do it, but the combination of sweet potato and asparagus, and the other ingredients is just amazing.

My boyfriend and I went here for their Happy Hour. We were the first ones there so service was great. We ordered appetizers and four rolls of sushi from their Happy Hour menu. The food came out pretty quick. Our appetizers were good, but the sushi pieces came out A LOT SMALLER AND THINNER than expected. The sushi was also very dry!
If you plan on spending more than $ 20 on sushi here, you’re better off going to an all-​you-​can-​eat sushi restaurant such as Akita or Kyoto’s. It is not worth your money for the quality and quantity of their sushi here.

I like Fuji Ya! First time at the downtown St. Paul location…
I liked the Ramen, but I like the Ramen at Masu much more!
However, given that its only a few blocks away from where I work, it’s a great place to go when I’m craving Japanese food during a week day!

To see Fijiya gets the same Unilocal number of stars as Sakura means to me that reviewers don’t know Japanese food. Fujiya looks like Japanese good but doesn’t taste like it. Plus, the bathrooms are so nasty dirty that I won’t be back.

Fuji Ya is one of our go-​to sushi places, as they have a great happy hour. Both the prices and quality of the food during their hh are great. However, we were disappointed this last visit. One of the people in our party doesn’t eat meat so we ordered one of the appetizers vegetarian. We assumed that what they brought us had no meat, so we dived right in. Lo and behold, they brought us pork by accident.
Had this been a restaurant where the wait staff is empowered to create lifelong happy customers, this post would be different. However, we were very disappointed how this was handled. Since the meat eaters in our party liked the appetizer, and since the waitress asked if she should leave it, we said yes. At most restaurants when a blunder like this is made — when a vegetarian orders a vegetarian food and accidentally consumes meat! – some sort of apology is made and often as an expression of this apology some part of the meal will be comped. During our visit at Fuji Ya last week, however, neither of these things happened. I don’t recall an apology to our veggie friend and we definitely didn’t get anything comped.
While I still would recommend people to this restaurant – we have had years of happy visits – I think this visit shows that they have some room for improvement. Hopefully future customers will be treated a little differently.

So I went there with my gf & daighter, the hostess was pretty much the only reason why I give it a three out of five because the waitress was wonderful but the hostess’s attitude was what pretty much ruined it for us. From the moment we walked in we didn’t really feel welcomed by her but again like I said the waitress made up for it she was wonderful helped us pick out some pretty good options even though our order wasn’t exactly what I thought I ordered. The suit that came in with it before the food was awesome and I also recommend the calamari for appetizers! The waitress also did a great job pairing the wine with our food

I really enjoyed my food had a few rolls. I recommend the firecracker. Unfortunately when I was there the air conditioner was on the fritz so it felt like 150 degress. But the service was great and the girls that waited on me were in a great mood for how hot it was.

First time visiting. Simply put the fish is very fresh and tasty. I had the ‘Regular Sushi Platter’. This is more than enough for one person and a great price.
Tip: It’s Lent, so eat Sushi instead of an all you can eat fish fry!

I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience here. The staff was very friendly, and for me, excellent customer service is what keeps me coming back. The food was delicious, and if you’re unsure about what to order, I’d strongly recommend trying any one of their specialty rolls. You won’t be disappointed!
The atmosphere in this location has also improved a lot since the last time I was here a few months ago, which is an added bonus.
Overall, the food was delicious and the staff was friendly and prompt on their service. I would definitely come back more often and recommend more people to try it out.

I don’t give this place enough credit and I’d like to remedy this by giving this place a glowing review. I often find myself at Camp or Sawadee or Black Sheep, but have avoided walking the two blocks to eat at Fuji Ya for unknown reasons.
The last time I was there I had some excellent ginger asparagus (best I’ve had), some agadashi tofu, seaweed salad, vegetarian eggrolls (wrapped in tofu skin — yum!), and best of all — some rolls the chef made up for us. It was so good I had to ask the server how I would order it again. She said it’s a «veggie winter roll with sprouts and beets», so if you are a vegetarian and are looking for one of the best rolls I’ve ever had, give it a shot. You won’t regret it.
The service has always been great, the food is super good, and the prices are totally reasonable for a sushi joint in downtown Saint Paul.
I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you, Fuji Ya. I promise I’ll be better,

Greetings!
Although I love dining out and do dine out often, I have not written many reviews but I am stopping by today to write a review about Fuji Ya due to the great experience I had dinning there with some friends approximately a week ago.
Despite a couple of the mixed reviews, my friends and I were very excited to try Fuji Ya because we love sushi and sashimi!!! My friends and I were there on a Saturday night. We ordered baked mussels with masago cream sauce, seaweed salad, several rolls of sushi (crunchy and caterpillar), and a platter of sashimi. Everything was delicious, especially those mussels (my favorite!). Also, right before our order came, the servers brought us warm washcloths to cleanse our hands before we dove into our yummy food, nice touch! I didn’t order any drinks, but I did notice that everyone around the bar area were enjoying their drinks and all seemed to be having a great time. The restaurant appeared to be great for any party/​occasion as some were there for a romantic dinner, some with their family and others were groups of friends. Our server was fantastic as well. She was very prompt, she clearly responded to all of our questions about the items on the menu and checked back often to see how we were doing. The owners were very professional and friendly. They stopped at each table to greet their guests to ensure that we were all having a great dinning experience and with me being as critical with customer service as anyone can be, I very much appreciated it!
For those who have visited Fuji Ya and were not pleased with your experience, I would suggest giving them another chance since the restaurant recently went under new ownership and basing off of my recent experience there, the new owners appeared to have made some effective and good changes to the restaurant.
So…the next time you are craving for some yummy Japanese food or just a great dining experience, stop in Juji Ya :).

The warm washcloths smell of almond… Really nice!
I had Reiko’s Bento Box with NY Strip, yakitori, rice, tempura, soup and salad. The ginger dressing on the salad was thick and tasty and the greens were really fresh. The yakitori chicken skewer was amazing! My favorite thing here. The tempura veggies came out in a clump… Very difficult to eat.
The service is leisurely, but overall a good experience!

No.
Just no.
I tried the St. Paul Fuji Ya location because I had a Groupon and wanted to try it out. Big mistake. Simply put, this location and what I experienced does not deserve the Fuji Ya name.
While I was there for lunch on Tuesday ¹¹⁄₂₆ I received some of the worst service I’ve ever received from ANY establishment. The server who rocked her piercings well, seemed to be overwhelmed and the place wasn’t even busy. She would drop off our drink, salad, and even food while literally walking by and not stopping. It was honestly funny how ridiculous she was acting.
I ordered the sushi lunch and requested no white fish. There were six pieces of sushi. two of the pieces were white fish, one Tai and one Hamachi. So much for no white fish. Still, I pushed it to the side and just didn’t eat it. As for the Maki rolls there were 4 pieces of, I believe spicy tuna, and four pieces of cucumber maki. Yep, rice, cucumber, and seaweed… that’s it.
Now, I didn’t expect much for what I was paying for it, but what I got was so subpar it was comical like the server. To say #fail would be a vast injustice. It wasn’t a fail, it was totally unacceptable. Had I been in the mood for 711 sushi, I would have stopped and purchased some. Had I been in the mood for rice and cucumbers, I would have made it myself for the cost of about a dollar.
Clearly I will never be back to this location. To the server who was overwhelmed by her 3 tables… chill out. Start small, maybe serving at McDonalds or Pizza Hut and work your way up.
In the name of Destiny’s Child…“NO NO NO NO.“
Just no. Don’t go, don’t buy the Goupon, do not even consider this spot.

Go to the Minneapolis location. Seriously, there’s a huge difference between the two.
I live closer to the Minneapolis Fuji Ya, but I took advantage of a Groupon a while back that could only be used at the St. Paul location. The St. Paul Fuji Ya is just lackluster in comparison to the Minneapolis one — everything from the atmosphere, the service and most importantly the food.
The atmosphere of Minneapolis’s is more lively, yet intimate, the servers seem more knowledgeable about the menu and the food is just above and beyond a higher quality.

2.85 Stars
The St Paul Fuji Ya is not as good as the Minneapolis Fuji Ya.
I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal to try the lesser known location, but I was kind of wrong. It’s smaller. Not a big deal. The service was a bit spotty (long waits, wrong food, forgot rice). Also not a huge deal. But where we were all a little disappointed was the food. I was soooooo excited to have the sesame encrusted tuna, which I absolutely fell in love with at the other Fuji Ya last winter. In fact my brother remembered it fondly too so he ordered it as well. I suggested my boyfriend order a bento box so he could try a variety of things and get more bang for his buck.
I knew something was «wrong» as soon as our meals were brought out. The sesame encrusted tuna looked different. Now this wouldn’t be a big deal if it still tasted absolutely delicious, but sadly it did not. I wasn’t impressed and neither was my brother. My boyfriend thought his meal was just OK, and then ate a couple sliders at a bar later because he was still hungry. And it wasn’t a cheap bill for a not so great meal (around $ 22 each for the tunas and the bento box). I won’t be back.
When I told my tale of woe to a friend’s boyfriend he responded «Oh, I’ve always said the Minneapolis Fuji Ya is better.»
Now I know.

I would have given this place a two star based on food quality — but their service was pretty amazing. They were kind & courteous, even though we came in (unknowingly) right as they were closing. (Sorry guys! We never do that!)
We strolled into Fuji Ya after visiting the Minnesota Children’s Museum. (If you have little ones, you MUST go! So much fun!) We were greeted with smiling faces. Unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to our expectations. I ordered the Spicy Seafood Ramen. I might be a little ramen snobby since I just got back from NYC and had some of the best ramen in my life — but the ramen at Fuji Ya was nothing to write home about. They added breaded shrimp to the ramen, which ended up being soggy breaded shrimp once I received it. Not my favorite. Our friend ordered the Spicy Chicken Ramen and it was the same story. Breaded Chicken = Soggy Breaded Chicken in Soup. I’d give the ramen a two star.
We ordered some sushi, which was fresh and pretty good — but nothing too amazing. My husband got the hibachi, which was just pretty standard.
Overall, the experience was good. Great service. Smiling faces. The food was underwhelming for the price. If you’re hungry and in downtown Saint Paul — why not go here? If you’re a sushi snob and snub your nose at most places, I wouldn’t go here.

Strangely enough I’ve never been to the Minneapolis location so I can’t compare the two. However, I’m not a huge fan of the food here. While everything is definitely fresh the rolls are overwhelmingly covered in eel sauce. I’d also stay away from the wasabi crème brulé. It was part of our meal or I’d never order it and never will again.
The restaurant itself is small and nothing special, but their staff is so friendly and accommodating. If possible ill try not to go back.

While the Fuji Ya St. Paul location might not have the storied legacy of the original outpost (or the square footage), I’ve found it to be just as good, if not better, than its namesake on the other side of the river.
The menus are fairly comparable, though they do deviate on a number of items across the various lunch, dinner and sushi menus. The sushi has always been good, if not slightly inconsistent in presentation at the St. Paul location. In my opinion the sushi bar is usually the best seat in the house, as the sushi chefs are usually pretty personable and attentive. The entrees, bento boxes and ramen (the spicy miso broth is great) dishes that I have tried have also been good and are actually surprisingly affordable during the lunch hour. While on the topic of affordable, their happy hour is very reasonable and runs from 5 PM to 7 PM on the weekdays.
Alas, service has been all over the map on various trips, but has always at least been friendly. Overall, Fuji Ya St. Paul might not be as hip or have the same atmosphere as it’s Minneapolis sibling, but it does have good food and enough libations to make one overlook such shortcomings.

Finally, found good sushi AND great service! Our server suggested a sweet peachy cocktail they’d recently concocted, dangerous… good thing I was the designated driver!
The special roll for the evening, a Dynamite version of some type was spicy and fresh.