Fujisan

I and 16 friends went here for a birthday a few weeks ago.

I have to say the food was very good, especially due to the large group. Everybody was impressed with their starters, although I did see some green eyes looking at my sushi rolls!

All the mains came out at about the same time and all were hot (except the bits that weren't ment to be hot of course).

The bento boxes are a treat and the beef in the noodle soups ect were cooked really well.. staying a perfect level of pink in the middle.

For the price you really can't fault the food. The service was also good.

However I was yet again incredibly annoyed to see a 12.5% service charge at the bottom of the bill. When will restaurants learn that this is rude! Service is not a given and should be left up to the costomers ( I have been a waitress and bar maid in the past and know how much you can make in tips without adding it as a 'discressionary' charge)

I have to say this wasn't helped by the fact that the waiter accused us of not paying in full when we were £2.00 short. We very nearly took the option to remove all the service charge!!

He would have got more from our table had it actually have been up to us!
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, April 23, 2008

We visited the other night and sadly being a local I was hoping that it was going to be good! The dumplings were soggy and the meat in the bento box was so chewy. Also the service was pretty dire and the place lacks atmosphere.
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Nicky Chambers - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 4
Friday, February 01, 2008

I'm quite surprised by the negative reviews about Fujisan. I live very near the restaurant and am so happy it exists as there aren't any other Japanese places around.

I would reccommend going to the restaurant for either the lunches at a fiver or the Early Bird deals in the evening - a three course meal (Gyoza, Bento Box then desert) for around £10 is great value and has always been delicious in my experience!

I would admit that the staff could be more polite however I've always found the service to be quite speedy.
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Robyn
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

I absolutely love Fujisan, but dont go too often as it's not the cheapest restaurant around. They do the best tempura (vegetable and prawn), with wonderful light batter. Other favourites include gyu skewer (mouth-watering thinly sliced beef), pork ribs, yaki soba and the best ever miso soup! If that doesnt fill you up then they do gorgeous slabs of chocolate fudge cake (not terribly Japanese, but yummy all the same!). I must go back soon.
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ollybee - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Monday, September 17, 2007

I've been going to this place on and off for the past 2 years or so now and have always had great food, so I'm not sure where all the bad reviews have come from... although I definitely take some of the points about the poor service, dubious ambiance and even possibly, over pricing.

I'm a bit of a sushi fiend, and in my experience, it's been nothing but fresh and very, very tasty at Fujisan. Their sushi sets are magic. I also like their tempura - again, always fresh, and in a light and not-too-greasy batter. My other half isn't as regular a punter as I am, but usually gets one of the noodle plates and has never had a complaint.

In terms of cost (the lunch special aside), I guess it is on the steep side. Drinks are especially pricey, and we tend to move on somewhere else fairly sharpish if we fancy a beer. And aside from the fact that the service isn't the friendliest or the most welcoming, they've never left us waiting too long, dropped anything on us or even made a mistake with an order, so I can live with it, frankly.

It has to be said that the atmosphere is generally quite poor. I've sometimes had to sit there in my coat because of the draft breezing through the place even when it's packed, which doesn't help. Personally, I can't stand that the smoking section is so closely situated to the non-smoking section (it's hard to enjoy anything while inhaling someone else's skanky tabacco breath), but that won't be a problem after 1st July and maybe they'll be able to turn the air con down then too. On the plus side, there are 2 great sunken tables for larger groups, one of which looks onto the street, so if you're the sort who can make your own fun, then you probably won't even notice the rest of it.

I reckon if you enjoy fresh, tasty sushi and don't need a happy clappy waiter or buzzy atmosphere to have a good time, Fujisan is definitely worth a shot.
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Si
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, June 20, 2007

I go to this place all the time, like an absolute sucker. I go for the £5 lunch and sometimes for dinner. It is testament to my utter laziness and the fact that this is the only Japanese place in the area. The food is ok. Recently my date asked the waiter to not make the chilli tofu quite so salty. To which he rolled his eyes and barked, No MSG? Which of course we queried and were told, of course they put MSG in it...

The service is awful. So miserably bad and sullen that it is almost funny.
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hulagirl - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Went with trepidation to this local restaurant and our reservations were proved justified. Had a bad start as we asked if we could buy a bottle of sake as the tiny 150ml serves at over £5.00 would mean we were paying a fortune for cheap grog. This was point blank refused, and my tentative request for nasu dengaku (not on the menu, but is usually on offer at any decent japanese) also received an absolute no. The starters were great - sushi was plentiful and fresh and the vegetable tempura although not authentic, and served with a weird sweet sauce, had a lovely crisp texture. Then it was all downhill. I had a stir fry beef and vegetable dish that was supposed to be served with a "sweet" sauce. It was awful and swamped with an overly salty soy sauce sauce. Hubbie's was even worse. Some sort of deep fried chicken bits in the most godawful katsu sauce with huge chunks of half raw onion. Oh my god. It really was the most pig awful food we've had in a long time. More cheap take away chinese than japanese. That, combined with the rude and unfriendly service means we'll never go back.
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Susan
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, June 06, 2007

I was recommended this restaurant by a friend, who had been a regular there for some time, about eight months ago, and when I went I really did enjoy the dinner and find that it was good value for money. I was living ten minutes walk from the place and so it become somewhere i visited on many occasions, always enjoying the food. However, the last time I went, which came after about a month's break, it was a different world. The food was really poor, badly prepared, way overcooked noodles, very disappointing indeed. After mentioning this to the friend that recommended the place, she too reported a similar experience. Maybe I should give it a go once again, but I really don't feed the inclination. This friend did in fact give them the benefit of the doubt, but unfortunately the result was the same.

I do hope they get their act together because it would be nice to again have a decent Japanese restaurant within such easy reach.
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Michael
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 6
Saturday, May 26, 2007

Maybe I've just been lucky but on the two occasions I've been to Fujisan I've had good service, good food and good wine. My only real criticism is that when the restaurant's not full it can feel somewhat staid. A minor criticism however, so I will definitely be back!
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Gareth Burcher
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 02, 2007

i went there with my girlfriend friday night ,the so called japanese food was appalling ,dry ,bland especially the noodles. the sushi wasnt fresh .the service was terrible .the toilets are really dirty ,just imagine the kitchen .never go again .
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james adam
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Thursday, March 22, 2007