Fuji Ya

Quick and friendly service. Amazing drinks (try the Lychee Lemonade or the Fuji Cooler!) and delicious sushi. We had the dragon, spider, avocado, and caterpillar roll. No complaints, just happy tummies! The ambience is very cool and laid back.

The texture of the soba noodle and the beef is not good. But definitely recommend the sashimi there is fresh and tastes awesome. Four stars for the sashimi.

I will start off by saying I’m a Masu guy. Back in the day Fuji Ya was my favorite sushi spot in The Twin Cities. Nowadays, there are a lot of other options Kyatchi, Sushi Fix, etc. This all being said. It was a Tuesday night at 9:00 and had just got done working. I was really craving sushi and didn’t want to shlep to NE. I really like Kyatchi but felt like the good old fashioned cream cheese, fried things and lots of sauces. I saw that Fuji Ya had a happy hour and decided to check it out. Sushi aside, I had quite a few great appetizers that were a steal. The karaage (Japanese fried chicken bites) were awesome and $ 4 dollars! Gyoza, Salmon Wontons, Seaweed Salad were also all good and cheap. As far as the sushi went we had a crispy salmon skin roll, spider roll, shrimp tempura roll and a spicy salmon roll. They were all awesome and all $ 8 dollars or under. I haven’t been here in years so I do not know when they remodeled the bar but it is a lot bigger and seemed like a cool place to actually sit down and have a drink. I wasn’t drinking but they had good deals on alcohol as well. If you’re craving sushi or Japanese finger food in general I highly recommend checking out their happy hour!

Upscale but tasty and filling. I went on my birthday, and got the Deluxe Sushi, asking them to «wow me». I wasn’t wowed, but I was pleasantly pleased with the selection, which is presented excellently. The waitress knew which pieces were which fish, and explained the sauces. The miso soup, which came first, was okay; not salty and more like a broth.
Paid parking lot next door, in the uptown area.
I would normally give a four star rating after one visit, expecting to revise later if necessary, but they brought me a mochi desert for my birthday complete with candle (see photo). I’ve had better sushi (though not by a lot), but never better ice cream w/​fruit.

This is definitely my favorite sushi restaurant in town. I love sitting at the sushi bar. The sushi chefs are all friendly and they can customize items that are not on the menu, based on your taste. You will explore to a whole different world of sushi :)

Ordered the shrimp tempura roll and the tempura batter was wayyyyy overcooked. Rice in the roll looked weird. Also had yakitori, which should be cut into chunks (but wasn’t) so that it can be more easily eaten with chopsticks. Drink was weak. I’ve been to a million Japanese restaurants because I’m from LA and this one would not survive for one day there.

Wow! Yes, I’ve been here before for sushi and it is good… but it was Jonathan T. our former CM who moved to Atlanta who gave me a heads up about Ramen Wednesday here!
So glad I listened to him and came here on Wednesday (yesterday) to try it out!
Nobuko, who is Japanese, as I am was there to wait on my mother and I… she was SOOOO awesome… just AMAZING! Asked her about the broth and told her I was allergic to blue fish (mackeral, sardines) which is usually used to make soups in Japan… and she suggested the Vegetarian Ramen… because it’s vegetarian, the broth is made from Kombu (seaweed) then she had the chef add all sorts of meats to it… chicken, pork, etc… WOW…what service!
YUMMY!
And again, such awesome service, we were floored!
Thank you SOOOOO much, we will be back again!!!
Hope to see you again, Nobuko!
Ambience. nice, cozy, comfortable, wonderful!
We probably got the best booth in the corner with nice art work and lowered wooden ceilings!

Good sushi and reasonable prices. Great place. The ambiance is fun. Came here with my family for a family fun night. We booked one of the Zashiki rooms. Parking was challenging on Friday night and weekends!

There are a few reasons I keep coming back to Fuji Ya over years and years while other sushi places go through their moments then backslide, open and close. In my experience, Fuji Ya has never had the ups and downs in quality. It’s always consistently good. The rolls are a good size and well put together, balanced flavors, not huge pieces that fall apart or are slathered in sauce until you can’t taste anything. The nigiri is fresh, a good thickness, with a nice texture and consistency. If you’re looking for the best sushi in town, it’s not Fuji Ya. Origami Downtown is excellent (I had a really bad experience at the uptown one) and I used to love Nami (pour some sake out for our fallen brother). Year to year, some restaurant will be the best spot, then it’s somewhere else, but Fuji Ya is always there.
Now here’s the kind of embarrassing reason I really like Fuji Ya: it has the best sushi happy hour in town. I may be cheap, but I’m discriminating, so I won’t accept any sushi happy hour because it offers a $ 5 roll. Their early happy hour is Tuesday-​Friday, 5 – 7. That’s a happy hour until 7, with a ton of drinks and food (apps, nigiri, rolls) at a rate that is the best bang for your buck in town. Also, it goes until SEVEN! That’s your dinner! Some of us have to work and can’t cut out to get deals before 5:30. For the happy hour, you have to sit in the lounge, not the main dining room, and it’s crowded, so don’t wait until the last minute. Also, if there’s a particular item you’ve been hankering for that’s on the full menu rather than happy hour, you can still order it in the lounge. You can subsidize your sushi meal with half-​priced drinks and cheap apps and other rolls! They also have a Thursday date night in the dining room, where you get two drinks, two miso soups, an appetizer, two rolls, and mochi ice cream for $ 40 total. For the special you have to choose from their date night menu, not the full menu, but I think it’s still a pretty good deal. If you’re a big eater, you might want to order an extra roll, though. In conclusion, Fuji Ya is consistently good and the best with specials for the cheap-​but-​a-​little-​snobby.

Fuji-​ya is our go to place for sushi in minneapolis. I’ve been going there for over 15 years now, and I always make sure that any stop in minneapolis includes a stop at fuji-​ya.
The service? Exceptional. We’ve had Nobu as our server for the 15 years we’ve been going. She only works Wednesday, Friday and Saturday — ask for her when you make your reservation. She’s smaller than the boats she delivers, but she is simply incredible. She steers you to the best of the day and has introduced us to all sorts of specials that aren’t on menu. There are tons of other outstanding staff and management members (Alex, Ali, Anna to name a few). Awesome team.
The sushi? Believe it or not, some of the best sushi I’ve had outside of Japan has been in minneapolis.really. Fuji-​ya has been doing this for years. They have interesting fish (different mackerels, snappers) in addition to all the standards. Their wasabi tobiko is my favorite meal ender. The itori-​yori-​dai is outstanding (ask for it with lime slices). If you’re a roll person, there’s tons on the menu that are awesome with limited (thank god) items that contain cream cheese. I still believe that cream cheese has no place on a sushi menu. Off menu is a favorite — the summer roll. Wrapped in rice paper with three different kinds of fish in it — it is a light and perfect bite.
I have limited experience with their traditional dinner menu, but everyone I’ve ever been there with who has ordered from it have been extremely happy. Especially with their Wednesday night ramen offering.
If you’re craving dessert, the fried ginger and green tea ice creams are always awesome.
Always a must stop for us when we’re in town.
When you go, please say hi to Nobu for us!

Good, consistent service. Nice vibe. Appetizers were outstanding; karage (sp?), veggie egg rolls, pork potstickers. Also had ribeye and veggie soba noodles. The ribeye was tasty, but otherwise the dish was pretty meh. Will def go again.

Food was incredibly average and took WAY too long considering we were the only group in the ENTIRE RESTAURANT on a Saturday night… which in retrospect, probably should have been a sign.

Great service. Servers are always friendly and quick, food is delicious. We had one roll in particular that was amazing. The south of the border roll. Unfortunately it’s only a special so they don’t always have it. Really no complaints about this place. The atmosphere is nice as well! Always a go to date night spot for us.

Went there as I noticed mixed reviews.
Service was excellent. Thursday night 9pm and place was not busy. My waitress was excellent with suggestions and perfect timing to bring different plates and drink refills.
Some prices seemed high especially on sushi rolls. I did not see the size of rolls. On complete dinners the price was perfect. It gave me value and for a full good portion size dinner it comes about to $ 30. My usual and average at Japanese restaurants. I know it will not compete in value with other cuisines. There are s pool me Thai Japanese with happy hours that are great value!
The place and ambiance was clean nice and modern. Great pay parking lot right next to restaurant. So very convenient to get there no hazzle.
I will be back every opportunity I get. I like the value overall.

Sushi orders were underwhelmingly portioned in comparison to prices. Their special rolls are priced at $ 20 for 10 pieces, while their 5-​pieced rolls range from $ 6-​$ 13. I don’t mind paying for overpriced sushi if they were exceptionally tasty, but unfortunately, they did not deliver. Their rolls taste like what you would expect of any other sushi restaurant: not bad, but also not that good. We ordered three rolls and a small appetizer for a party of 2, and the tab came close to $ 40. I guess they mark up prices on their food to pay for things like:
–Hot towels before your meal
–Trendy/​hip décor and ambiance
Once again, not necessary, but makes Fuji Ya a great spot to take your date to show that you got money in tha bank.
However, I’m not leaving this review on a bad note; there were some positives. For example, their drink selection was expansive, and if sake is not for you, their mixed drinks also looked pretty good (Lynchburg lemonade anyone?) The fish seemed moderately fresh, which I guess is harder to find in Minneapolis considering their sushi grade fish is imported into the state. The service was attentive and friendly. And lastly, I can’t rave enough about their mushroom appetizer. For $ 5, it was easily our favorite dish we ordered, as it came with an assortment with several mushrooms in a garlic butter sauce.

Went here for happy hour and the only disappointment was that I hadn’t come here sooner! We started with the vegetable harumaki (vegetable egg rolls) which were delicious. The dipping sauce was really nice. I ordered a couple vegetarian sushi rolls: an avocado roll and a vegetable tempura roll. Both were delicious. I liked that they had an assortment of vegetarian sushi rolls. For drinks I had a whiskey sour and a lychee drink. Both were alright.
Service was nice but a little on the slow side. They were pretty busy, though, so it was understandable. Can’t wait to go back!

As a long time customer that has followed them from their original location, Fuji Ya is a class act. The fish is fresh and the sushi chefs are creative. The only downside is that there has been a lot of staff turnover which seems common at sushi restaurants.
I usually order Omakase (chef’s choice). You can set your own price $ 35 & up. I suggest $ 35 — $ 45 depending upon your wow factor expectation and how much your stomach is growling. They will exclude what you hate and add what you love. Every year they do a special birthday omakase for me.
The daily special sushi rolls and fresh fish are usually great. Try a new type of fish. You can also order a whole fish and they will serve it as sushi or sashimi and then deep fry the carcass for another treat.
They often have deal offers which make this even more affordable. Parking is available in an adjoining lot for a small fee.

Still haven’t found a ton of good Sushi restaurants in Mpls. Just went to Fuji Ya for the first time and couldn’t believe how big this place was. Nice outdoor patio as well. Tried a few different things on the menu and found the portions to be huge. Loved the crunch roll, but didn’t really care for the spicy tuna roll. Thought the Chicken tempura was very good, but didn’t care for all the vegetables that it came with it. Will just stick with sushi next time.

Alright, I’m to the point where I don’t get what all of the fuss is about. I’ve been to Fuji Ya a number of times (more than 5, maybe around 10) and in the more recent visits I have been less and less impressed. My last and perhaps final visit… no need to get into the details, but extremely slow service, wontons no longer impressive, sushi fine but nothing worth writing home about (or waiting an hour for). From now on, I’m all Kiku, all the time.

FUJI YA YA YA YA. Has been around forever. Their happy hours are ON POINT. The atmosphere is great and I’ve never had bad customer service. Yakiniku here is actually pretty bomb too. I’d recommend the sushi though. My go to roll has always been the number nine (that’s no combo number).
Tatami Room: If you want to have that legit experience and have some fun rent out the tatami room with your friends (It doesnt cost anything). You too can have a kill-​bill Oren Ishii style experience and /​or traditional no shoes no frills get your legs half falling asleep but still like it masochistic kind of feel. I will post a photo for you of what the tatami room looks like… and how you too can feel like a Yakuza (Japanese Gang) boss by having a large group of your friends bow to you at the right angle to flush out that Chungstyle goodness on your birthday too.
Good times and good food /​sake. What more can you ask from a restaurant. LOOK AT YOUR CHOPSTICK COVERS as well. I wont post a photo because you do have to look yourself to appreciate it. I love it because it’s a sushi place that doesnt take it self too seriously but DELIVERS what it should.
Now, Sake 1001 with Papa Chung before you hit up happy hour here.
One of the rare places in the cities where I actually look forward to the sushi. If you are into Sake. As a general rule, longer the name, the better quality the sake. This is GENERAL rule and please don’t all ninja on me that it’s not always correct, just helping my fellow man out. Examples: Junmai vs Junmai Ginjo = Junmai Ginjo is of better «quality.» Junmai Ginjo vs Junmai Daiginjo = Junmain Daiginjo is better quality… get it? The main difference between Futsu and Junmai is that Futsu has distilled alcohol put into it, while Junmai is all about that sweet RICE RICE baby. I am no Sake sommelier but you can use the above lesson Papa Chung gave you and seem a bit more educated. If you want beyond the 1001 stuff do come around to see me… or use that new fan dangled «Google.»

First off (and I don’t mean to offend) but does anyone else feel like they’re in the restaurant featured in Kill Bill? I mean they don’t play similar music and of course this is stereotypical of me to make these assumptions but this place is just charming and I like it! It has a mellow atmosphere with awesome décor and quite frankly a very welcoming feeling.
But let’s get on to the food. We ordered an assortment of nigiri and each piece was better than the next. I was a bit upset that they ran out of bachi chu toro (but it’s okay since it’s Golden Week) but they made up for it with their great selection and freshness. (Finally a place that carries engawa!). Our server was very attentive also, and deserves an A plus, especially since she waited on tables inside and outside the restaurant. Kudos to you! We most definitely will come back soon!

This place a great place to impress ya date! and if you like sushi and green tea ice cream
Its located on lake street they do have valet parking so no need to park on crazy lake street streets
The place is nice and dim loud if you go at night. We got to sit at the sushi bar and we order sushi ala carte
The sushi omg it was so cold and fresh and tasty! I had a new one looks like a spider thing I don’t remember what it was called its in the picture it was bomb
the service was awesome and the chef gave us complimentary sushi that he made for us!
overall I would def come again even tho its crazy busy the service was great!

This used to be our go to sushi place. Sadly the strobe light bathrooms, mediocre winter rolls and lackluster service no longer do it for me.
The dining areas are desperately in need of a good scrubbing and update. Filthy crumbs in the edges of the booths. Furniture is outdated and dirty.
Our server was often absent. Although it’s nice to linger over the meal, I found it annoying that when I mentioned wanting to order rolls when we got our appetizer, our waiter said «this is hot. Why don’t you enjoy this before you order the next course.» Here’s why. Because I want a small break between courses. I don’t want to sit and wait forever, which of course we did. He left the appetizer debris on our table forever which is the yuck. It wasn’t horrible service, it’s just not a $ 115 meal service.
God I hate the bathrooms. I want to check my hair. I do not want to participate in a toilet rave. It’s just so dated.
The food overall was decent. We asked for sashimi suggestions and received the obligatory toro and salmon suggestions. It was fine. Salmon tasted fishy, but it’s always a bit fishier tasting I think. Rolls were good. The New York was put together nicely. A nice change from the usual spicy tuna. The winter was just not as fresh tasting as I remembered. The grilled tuna cheek was plated beautifully. Drier than I remembered, but one of the highlights of the meal for me.
Overall, I guess I’d stick to the cheaper HH options. Sadly, think my date night visits are a thing of the past.

I went to check out this place the other night and ran into Jonathan.
We were looking over the HH menu when he came over and told me to just get the ramen tonkotsu (good looking out!). Without hesitation, I told our waiter to put me down for a ramen. This super excited guy came out with my order of tonkotsu. Turns out that was Matthew, the chef that hand-​delivered his masterpiece. The first thing I always try is the broth, and holy fack, did it hit my taste buds like a train full of trucks. It was rich and savory, and the taste and aroma of the broth with its strong pork presence lingered on my palate. The noodles, egg, and pork belly were cooked perfectly. It was so good that it took away from the rest of my meal. I killed the bowl and started on my sushi, and after each piece I kept thinking about the ramen. You were so beautiful, why did you have to leave me so soon?
My sushi interpretation seemed to have been thrown askew.
We got the caterpillar, spider, and butterfly; none of which really left a good impression on me.
The nigiri was solid and seemed fresher than most places I’ve been to in the cities.
My recommendation:
Go on Wednesday, get the Tonkotsu and a couple pieces of nigiri and you’re good to go!

Ok I don’t want to sound snobby because the service was really good, they gave us complimentary vegetable salad and dessert which is so so nice! That doesn’t happen at most places I go to but that really is the reason for the 2 stars!
The sushi… Is Midwest sushi… Which means it’s the mcdonalds of sushi. Everything is rolls covered in deep fried whatever, tons of sauce… It masks the fish and if you actually like sushi, that’s super disappointing.
They don’t have any rice less rolls which I guess is normal up here but I don’t want rice and I don’t want that green paper… Please learn how to roll in a cucumber. I asked them to do this, they couldn’t. Skills are lackluster.
So things I think are typical that they didn’t have:
Cucumber rolls like a lollipop, pinwheel, or narruto.
Don don
Chirashi options… They had one option for $ 23 and it only has a few pieces of fish. So if I ordered 6 pieces of fish I would have paid about $ 12… The rice they throw it on is $ 11? That rice is made of gold I guess.
Shashimi salads… They had one but the fish is marinated? What? Why?
Can I please taste my fish? Thanks.

Wednesday…
Circle it on your calendar and clear your dinner plans, because it’s the only day of the week that you can chow down on some of Matthew’s delicious ramen.
Three tasty options exist:
–Spicy miso
–Shoyu
–Tonkotsu
Once you arrive, skip the bulls*** that is the ridiculously typical wait for a table, sit your rump shaker down at the sushi bar, then chat it up with Yo (spelling?) and Jiro. I know people have different sushi tastes (that’s cool), but whatever you do, order the tonkotsu ramen. Just do it, playa.
Tonkotsu Ramen: Matthew slow-​cooks the pork bones with so much love that it brings out the broth’s deep umami flavors aka savory sultry sexiness aka lip-​coating luscious lewd-​ness. Immersed in this porky juice elixir reside the generously thick slices of fatty pork belly, damn delicious al dente noodles, perfectly halved soft-​boiled marinated egg, meaty bamboo shoots, savory papery nori, and fresh chopped scallions. #voltronlikecombo As a certified soup slut and ramen restaurant ho, I dare say that Fuji-​ya makes the best bowl of ramen in the TC.
Before you dive in, also consider stuffing your face with some sashimi, nigiri, or sushi rolls. Sushi chefs Jiro and Yo kill it behind the bar and are cool as hell, so put your stomach in their hands to help satisfy your cravings. My favorites are the salmon and escolar, since every time I sink my teeth into these toothsome sea creatures, I do a pseudo– «o-​face» from Office Space. (Video here:
) «I’m thinking I might take that new chick from logistics…»
After occasional visits throughout the years –with equal numbers of five and three star experiences– I think a four is just about right. The food has always been great, and I would buy shots all night for the sushi chefs. The variables has mainly been the hosts and servers that roll their eyes, huff and puff, or just plain ignore you. (As I’ve noted, not all the time.) Other than that, there’s a lot to love about Fuji-​ya, and I prefer them over most izakayas in town.
Will be back on a Wednesday soon, once I get back from Hawaii. I’m also giving Yo some of my mom’s phở broth to show him what’s good.
P. S. Shoutout to my gangsta Calvin S for telling me about Matthew’s ramen and Espada for being one of the illest DJs in the TC.

That’s how it’s rolled! Can we say great HH drinks and food!
How we roll.
Thumbs up:
–great $$
–variety, best sushi in MN fresh, rolled right, creative
–patio seating
–great location
–decent service
–private rooms
–sushi bar is the best seat in house, they will create awesomeness for you
Thumbs down:
–parking what else in uptown
–bathrooms are a little too dark for me, I like to see my hands
Let’s roll!