Fuji Japanese Restaurant

There’s a risk of falling into the this-​is-​as-​good-​as-​it-​gets-​in-​Gadsden low-​expectation thing, but I thought this place was overall pretty good. But I had to rearrange my expectations.
Best part: the seats by the window looking out over the lake. Absolutely beautiful. Looks like they’re re-​doing the deck — hope they put tables out there. Come here with a date.
Good parts: the people running the restaurant on the Sunday evening my son and I spent there were really nice. English wasn’t so good, but in an ethnic restaurant, that can be a sign of a nice tilt toward home cooking. A good thing.
And the food was good, considering the prices. We both had teriyaki chicken and were very happy with it. Very tasty, if a bit salty. The portions easily filled us, probably should have quit before my plate was clean… There was a white sauce on the table that the server recommended — YUM. Get that. The rice was just-​so sticky and sweet. The salad bar was tiny, but it meant that my salad was DRY instead of — I dunno. Usually in Japanese restaurants it seems like they wash the lettuce and throw it on the plate without so much as a shake to get the water off. This was better. There was a broth soup, but I didn’t try it. Warm sake — a sign of meh sake, but fun to drink.
It was clean, but Gadsden-​worn. Believe it used to be a seafood restaurant, and might have been for quite a while. The ropes and such were still there, serviceable but showing their age. But nicer than a lot of places.
And given the value, which I thought was really good, their margins must be a tad small. I suspect they’ll continue to concentrate on the food rather than redecorating for the near future. And that’s OK. It’s Gadsden.
Good food, friendly people, beautiful view, very good value. Go there, Bring a date.

I was disappointed in this restaurant. The wasabi was watered down in an attempt to save money, I’m assuming. The California rolls were warm! Who serves warm sushi rolls! And the fun of eating Asian is using the chop sticks. Non were offered. The teriyaki chicken was okay, nothing to brag about. Japanese restaurants should be fun to go to, this one was not. The only redeeming factor was the view of the water.