Fuji Hibachi Sushi & Lava Bar

We ordered take out on 10/19/24 - we picked up our food with the correct order number. We got home after 1.5 hours in traffic on route 3 due to an event Bowie State was having at the race track. Excited to eat our food finally, our order was completely wrong. I called Fuji to let them know, and they apologized and admitted they made a mistake with our order. However, they would not do anything for us or give us a refund unless we drove back and returned the food. Meaning, we would have to go back and sit in that traffic just to get our money back. So now we are out of food (we can not eat the food they gave us because of allergies the food the mistakenly gave us) and out of money. Completely unacceptable and disappointing. We will not return service here and will let all of our family & friends about this incident.

First I would like to note I have been to this restaurant several times for both togo and dine in both with and without my kids but this is the first time I have experienced this horrible service. I went for dinner for my birthday with my friend, her 2 year old, and my 5 and 6 year old. My 5 year old has a ton of food aversions so I decided to just order him some wings and do a side of the hibachi noodles (his usual) and my daughter was going to do the soup and just noodles (her usual) however I was cutoff while ordering my 5 year old’s just for the waitress to tell me that all of the children had to order the kids hibachi no exceptions since it was 5 of us and in their words hibachi had to make up 18% of our check to reach a certain amount of their mandatory 18% gratuity. Although I have been here with my same two kids and even though we read the full two page printout of their rules about the increased prices that would be more than what would be printed in the menu and how ordering your food at a table and not at the hibachi grill can cause your food to taste vastly different, and how they do not offer refunds if your food comes out nasty, nowhere did it state this rule that children in the restaurant had to eat or order the full kids hibachi meal. Even though the chicken and the noodles that we were going to order in place of the kids meal added up to more than the kids hibachi meal and my friend and I both ordered the shrimp, scallop and fillet hibachi which is one of the most expensive options for hibachi on their menu, and we both ordered alcoholic beverages and would have ordered more than one and dessert since we were celebrating my birthday, they decided to argue with us that our children had to get the hibachi because to them it cost more and their gratuity would have been larger. While we were there the restaurant was empty besides another two top table that was finishing up , two people they sat at our table and another family of five or so that had walked in after us with about 8 other empty tables. I could understand if they were saying “hey we have to move you to a table you cant be at a grill if most of your party doesn't order hibachi,” but they were small kids and they said themselves the food ordered to a table and not the grill taste different and the restaurant was empty so it wasn’t like we were holding up seats from a line of people waiting for the grill. Also if this is a rule it should be listed on their two pages of rules they have at the front of the menu or stated before seating a party. We ended up telling them we no longer wanted to eat there and still decided to pay for the fountain drinks that had just been delivered to the table so the kids could take them but they still tried to charge the 18% gratuity, up-charged for all of the drinks and tried to charge my friend for the water she ordered. The manager and waitress were rude from the beginning and very unprofessional and unpleasant. To tell the waitress “just get them out of here” because a person asked questions and never even come to the table to address us yourself as the “manager” is uncalled for. Idk if they have new management, owners, or what but they are definitely going downhill and are not the place I know and use to love. Also beware of anything on the menu that does not have a price listed because they will make it whatever price they feel like charging you know the moment. Even with the restaurant being dead and empty, service was still slow as well. I would say they ruined my bday but we found somewhere else to go and had a great time and my kids were able to still get their hibachi noodles.

Kid-friendliness: Not kid friendly at all… if your children have any food sensitivities or aversions be prepared for them to try to force your child to get the full hibachi meal due to rules they make up on the spot so they can jack up their “18%” even if the food you order for them instead adds up to more than the kids hibachi meal they are trying to force you to order.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Great food, clean and friendly restaurant and staff.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This is my favorite Hibachi restaurant in the area. I come from Annapolis.

Vegetarian options: They will stir fry your vegetables separate from the meat at the table.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Waaaaay overpriced, but everything was good other than that.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Jumbo Sweet Shrimp, Rice and Noodles, Soup&Salad, Fried Rice

I have been going to Fuji since they have been open. Tonight I ordered a to go order and there was hair in my food. I called Fuji and they wanted me to drive all the way back to see the hair in my food, instead of refunding my money. This is a terrible practice and I will never support this establishment again. There was no apology. This is very poor customer service. I hope it was worth losing a loyal customer. I do not recommend this place to anyone. Make sure you check your food while you are eating it. Very sad and disappointing.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

I love this hibachi restaurant! It has always been a favorite of ours. We haven't gone in a couple of years and decided to meet family here. We were surprised that they did not take reservations, only "call ahead seating" which they said they would try to help us.w We got seated and the waitress was very slow to get to us, including the family who was across from us that had been there for a while before we came. We also learned that they now only let you choose between soup and salad, rather than getting both which is kind of disasapointing for the price. When the chef came, we learned that the waitress wrote the orders down wrong which made it confusing for him. He ended up forgetting an entire order of fried rice for our table, but we let it go. The chicken was very unseasoned and bland. However everything else was very seasoned and delicious. The chef was excellent and very engaging. They also do not do the saki unless you ask now.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Fried Rice

This food was absolutely horrid! I would say more, but I am still speechless. I paid $121 for the worst food I had in the last five years, and that was spoiled. They will not refund you for your suffering.

Beware of sitting at the table versus the hibachi!

You have been warned, but you are welcome to join me in my misery.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

I have been going to Fuji for years and always thoroughly enjoyed the food. However over the last several months, the quality has declined. Today was the last straw. I spent over $200 in takeout for my family of 6, only to get home and realize that every single meal was inedible. The noodles had a distinct order, the fried rice was not fried at all, the steak was over cooked, and the rest of the protein (scallops, shrimp, and lobster) was like eating paper. No flavor at all. When I called and offered to drive the 30 minutes back to the store to return the food and get a refund, I was told it was impossible because it was through a third party. Please don’t waste your money here. I will not be returning.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Nothing spectacular. It's much louder, which is cool for the environment. The server was great; very attentive and polite. I was surprised to hear that the hibachi offer soup (broth) OR salad... New management?? How is that?! The drink cost increased and surprisingly, the glasses were smaller! Mr. Miogi didnt even engage the table while preparing our food. We only got to watch another table getting hammered by saki pours and food tossed... I should've sat at that grill. Maybe I'll try again but no rush because it seemes the last visit prior to new management, quality, portions, and moral left!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 5

First off, we were seated with two other parties which made it extremely crowded even though the place was practically empty. Had the filet mignon and shrimp combo. Received a quarter of the filet mignon and 4 shrimp. The 18% gratuity fee is used to pay the workers and for an extraordinary experience ?. All of the food lacked flavor. Definitely not worth the price for barely mediocre food and portions.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 2

I think this restaurant is good for a hibachi experience, however when my friends and I dined in on the sushi side of the restaurant, we had issues upon paying for the check. The menu states that 18% gratuity is added onto the check, regardless of the size of your party, so they can ensure their employees are paid a fair wage. This seems like something the restaurant should work to improve and not put this on the guest, but my group typically tips anywhere from 20-25% so this initially was not an issue. However, once the check came I saw it cost $4 total ($2 each) for 2 sides of spicy mayo to go with the sushi ordered, I asked the waitress where on the menu it states the cost is $2 for one small side of this sauce. She said the menu says additional sauce costs extra. I said had it been communicated that $2 was the upcharge for a simple side of spicy mayo, our table would not have ordered it. While yes they do have in the menu sauce costs extra, I noted to the waitress we would have appreciated it if the cost of the extra sauce ($2 each) had been communicated, because we did not notice sauce cost extra initially. In most other sushi restaurants our group had been to, if you dine-in, requesting a little more spicy mayo wouldn't be considered an upcharge.

The root of the issue was our waitresses demeanor once I mentioned we just would have appreciated if she told us it was $2, that's all. She became defensive, said she entered it in the computer and that's what it said, and said well I can get the manager then. So I just said sure, then the manager came over, and reiterated it says sauce costs extra and there's a sign up front that says it too. Neither the waitress nor the manager that approached our table were getting the point, and both were very defensive. We understood it costs extra, but just that in the future, it would be a courtesy to the table to let them know how much extra it's going to cost. This is customer service 101. A very small side of spicy mayo for $2 for a dine-in sushi meal is expensive and like I mentioned, we would not have ordered it had we known the cost. Then on top of this unpleasant interaction, our table now had a mandatory 18% tip to pay when our waitress was less than pleasant at the end of this experience. We walked away with a very different opinion of this restaurant than the one we came in with. Just very disappointing and we just wanted them to acknowledge they maybe should have mentioned the price to us, but they were defensive the entire time and unwilling to really listen to what we were saying.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 2

First impression, illumination is low so it's just a bit dark. You have to wait until more people arrive...20 minutes ?. We were actually the first to arrive at an empty table and after 15 minutes we respectfully asked could we move front and center. Part of the hibachi experience is watching the chef prepare the food. We simply wanted to move from the side and sit in front of the chef while he prepared the food, much better view. Not allowed, according to the server/coordinator who was on Buckingham Palace watch at the table while we waited?. Rules are rules, people are people and options are choices that can be chosen or refused. We respectfully chose NOT to dine at the FHSLB that day.

This is the third time I have tried Fuji and been disappointed. First two times have been in person and this time take out. The food simply is lacking in flavor. For what you pay it’s not worth it! Look somewhere else.
Literally plain chicken with no seasoning. Their yum yum sauce is also flavorless.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3

Everything was excellent! Will definitely be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5