Great place to hang out with friends! Lively and warm ambiance. A lot of locals come here. This izakaya offers fried skewers, not grilled. And it's not your typical skewer house with chicken offals like hearts and kidneys, and chicken cartilage so just make sure your expectations are reasonable before coming here. I don't mind all fried food, but I thought the batter was OK and the way they fried it and marinated the food was also just OK. I most enjoyed the mushroom, okra, lotus root, and for the non fried stuff their beef tataki, Those are the stuff I recommend. The rest were a bit subpar. Their agedashi tofu was not crispy enough. Chicken wing not marinated enough, although hot and crispy. The service was OK. It was pretty promot given that it was packed on a Friday night. They also were able to take reservations. When we left around 9pm there were still people waiting outside for a table. The ambiance and company were the things I enjoyed most. The food was OK. The price was a bit too much for what it was. Not sure if I'll be back...
Ku B.
First timers here! Ordering was strange as you order with a paper/pen. The waiter and waitresses never came back to check on us or to ask if we had any questions or to even grab the paper from us. My husband had to awkwardly walk up to the waiter to ask what we do with it. Maybe everyone has to walk it to the waiter??? I just don't know and didn't see anyone else doing it. Anyways, waited awhile for our food. We were not impressed at all. We came to yelp to see the favorites and ordered those but still, we definitely won't be going back. Especially because we hate spending $100+ on junk food and experience. Boooo
Aaliyah H.
10/10 - still recommend. In fact, I'm updating this review because our mainland friends came to visit and wanted our best recommendations, so of course we brought them here! You didn't think we would miss out on the fun too did you? The simmered pork is still juicy, flavorful, and a must-try when you visit. My friends also loved it's depth of flavor and tenderness. I feel like the menu and prices change whenever we go, but thats understandable for the rising costs to operate a restaurant in Hawaii. My husband and I paid $70 between the two of us and we got salads that were $8 to add a refresher to our palette. All things considered, that's a great price for a great night and great food! It's also pretty crazy how when I bring people here, they really do feel like they were transported back to Japan. Can't beat the ambiance and the great servers. As always, highly recommend this place, please come visit whether you're local or tourist. If you want, sit at the bar and enjoy your food being made fresh and right in front of you!
Sin H.
Came in on a rainy night after spending the day at north shore. We were a fairly big party of 10 & were sat quickly. Unfortunately, we waited way too long for our food. Overall, food was okay but probably won't be back.
Wendy N.
This is my third time dining at Fujiyama Texas. I haven't been back for a while because of COViD. I typically used to only dine during the evening, but decided to try the lunch menu. I ordered the Katsu curry because I love Japanese curry. When served, the curry and Katsu looked appetizing. The breading on the pork itself was so flaky. I wish that the pork meat was softer. Maybe if the chef pounded the pork to soften the pork, it would probably help. The curry was good. It had a sweet taste to it. The rice was cooked well. It helped that the dish also comes with the small add tasty sides. The service was excellent. The female waitress was so nice. She was very attentive in refilling my water glass and tea cup. I love the location because of the free parking. The interior was set up nicely and it felt so relaxing and roomy. I'm not sure if I would return. The cost of the meal was a few dollars more than I would want to spend for lunch.
Andrea T.
I was so excited to try this restaurant especially since I enjoyed the food when they had their food truck at the bon dance festival earlier this year. Plus my family wanted to try a new place so I recommended this place to them and hoped they would like it. But sadly we were all a bit disappointed. The food overall was okay. The curry rice was good but it wasn't as filling as I thought it would be. My sister had the garlic yuzu ramen. She thought it was okay. My parents had the yakisoba, pork belly, the potato salad, and the poke bowl. They thought everything was okay. They didn't care for the pork belly because it was too soft apparently. They did enjoy the potato salad though. I was pretty disappointed in the service. I mean I understand it was busy and was willing to wait however long needed. But I didn't appreciate the service of the young boy host. He was nice at first. But then it seemed like he was gradually getting irritated with me and my family. It was our first time here and not everything was explained properly. So of course, I still had questions about certain things. We were missing the pork belly and I asked him what happened with it. He attempted to argue by saying he gave it to us on a certain plate. I asked my parents if they got that plate and they said they didnt. I thought that was pretty rude. I felt like he thought we just wanted free food. But we genuinely didn't get that particular food. It was the only one missing from our meal. He did apologize shortly after. But I felt like he should've just apologized instead from the beginning. All the other employees seemed super friendly though. I don't think they speak much English because they thanked us in Japanese but they were so wonderful! I don't know if I would come back again though. The service was on the slower side (but it was busy so it's understandable) But really did not like the service from that one guy. I really wanted to enjoy the food a lot more but it was just okay :(
Karisa L.
I got the sashimi lunch set for around $26. I don't know if it's the best value for its price but I enjoyed it. If I could change anything about it I'd prefer to substitute out the tako for a different meat since I'm personally not a huge fan of it. My boyfriend ordered the katsu curry and rice and when I tried it, it was spectacular! Next time I think I want to order that because it's one of the best Japanese curries I've had on the island. The taste of the curry itself reminded me of the kind you would eat in Japan. While the food here is pretty pricey, I still think I'd want to come back when I'm craving curry because the portions are HUGE and everything tastes good. My friends that I went with all ordered different things and their food trays were ginormous. Definitely big enough for sharing! I recommend coming here if you prefer taking your time eating. We spent about 2 hours here because we had to wait for the server and for our food. The server would constantly be giving us tea and refilling it. I wouldn't recommend eating inside if you wanted a quick bite because it definitely takes time in my experience. I personally really enjoy hanging out and talking story while eating so it was right up my alley. My only wish is that I tried some of the alcohol because it looked delicious. I'll do that next time!
F00d Y.
Came after 10pm, so the fried food close and a different menu option is offered that is mostly udon and ala carte small portion items til 2am. Ramen was on the small size, a bit salty, and a yuzo/soy flavor. Noodles are on thinner side. The soup is decent tasting. The pork belly has decent flavor BUT barely contains any meat. Most of the piece is 90% inedible "mushy" pure FAT. Beef tataki is cold and served over "COLD" vs "HOT" rice. Small restaurants and parking can be tight since they are shared w other businesses.
Bai Zihan
We enjoyed two breakfasts and one dinner here, and they were all exceptionally delicious, particularly the breakfast. It's rare to find such tasty and authentic Japanese breakfasts in this area. We are highly satisfied with this restaurant, as it has provided us with delightful memories.
I really wanted to like it......but honestly I think I just overdid it with the fried food. Dined on a Saturday night at 6pm. I had called in to make reservations as many have stated it can get pretty packed, especially on weekends. The servers and staff all greeted us as we entered and were super friendly. They did give us a heads up that it was 2 hours max for dining. We were seared at a table in the back, but I've heard it's pretty fun to sit at the bar seats to watch the chef cook. There is a drink menu on the table, paper ordering sheet to mark what you want, and condiments. There are also QR codes to scan for the entire menu so you can see what to mark down on the paper, but this annoyingly wouldn't scan or work on my phone (nor did it work for the party next to us). Luckily I perused the menu beforehand from their menu and knew what I wanted.We ordered the fried potatoes with cream cheese dip and edamame to start. The potatoes resemble steak fries and were delicious with the cream cheese dip. So good that we ordered a 2nd round. The edamame was pretty standard, but desperately needed as it was the only non-fried item we'd be getting. As for the fried skewers, we got the beef, chicken tender, chicken wing, shrimp, soft shell crab, scallop, shumeji mushroom, and cheese. The soft shell crab, scallop and shrimp were probably my favorites. The beef skewers were disappointing the first round because they came out well done. Ordered a few more afterwards and they were perfect medium rare.Most of this was dipped in the house kushi katsu sauce. There was also a small dollop of yellow mustard provided, the spicy kind. Honestly though, I dipped them into the cream cheese dip provided with the fries and that was delish. Total meal came out to around $90 for 2 after tax, which also included a glass of draft beer. Honestly for the cost and how heavy I felt after eating all that fried food, I'm reluctant to come back. However if I do, I'll definitely be cutting it with some other fresh items, maybe a salad or pickles or rice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Asa Hartney
Great place to grab lunch.
yasuo t
For lunch, I had a loin cutlet set meal and a seafood cutlet.Thickly sliced loin meat is slowly fried until tender. Both the shredded cabbage and white rice are delicious.The soft shell crab cutlet has a luxurious taste that cannot be found in Japan.The service was reliable and it was a relaxing dining room.I will go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Parham
The food is outrageously good, the people are wildly friendly, and the atmosphere is great.
Great place to hang out with friends! Lively and warm ambiance. A lot of locals come here. This izakaya offers fried skewers, not grilled. And it's not your typical skewer house with chicken offals like hearts and kidneys, and chicken cartilage so just make sure your expectations are reasonable before coming here. I don't mind all fried food, but I thought the batter was OK and the way they fried it and marinated the food was also just OK. I most enjoyed the mushroom, okra, lotus root, and for the non fried stuff their beef tataki, Those are the stuff I recommend. The rest were a bit subpar. Their agedashi tofu was not crispy enough. Chicken wing not marinated enough, although hot and crispy. The service was OK. It was pretty promot given that it was packed on a Friday night. They also were able to take reservations. When we left around 9pm there were still people waiting outside for a table. The ambiance and company were the things I enjoyed most. The food was OK. The price was a bit too much for what it was. Not sure if I'll be back...
First timers here! Ordering was strange as you order with a paper/pen. The waiter and waitresses never came back to check on us or to ask if we had any questions or to even grab the paper from us. My husband had to awkwardly walk up to the waiter to ask what we do with it. Maybe everyone has to walk it to the waiter??? I just don't know and didn't see anyone else doing it. Anyways, waited awhile for our food. We were not impressed at all. We came to yelp to see the favorites and ordered those but still, we definitely won't be going back. Especially because we hate spending $100+ on junk food and experience. Boooo
10/10 - still recommend. In fact, I'm updating this review because our mainland friends came to visit and wanted our best recommendations, so of course we brought them here! You didn't think we would miss out on the fun too did you? The simmered pork is still juicy, flavorful, and a must-try when you visit. My friends also loved it's depth of flavor and tenderness. I feel like the menu and prices change whenever we go, but thats understandable for the rising costs to operate a restaurant in Hawaii. My husband and I paid $70 between the two of us and we got salads that were $8 to add a refresher to our palette. All things considered, that's a great price for a great night and great food! It's also pretty crazy how when I bring people here, they really do feel like they were transported back to Japan. Can't beat the ambiance and the great servers. As always, highly recommend this place, please come visit whether you're local or tourist. If you want, sit at the bar and enjoy your food being made fresh and right in front of you!
Came in on a rainy night after spending the day at north shore. We were a fairly big party of 10 & were sat quickly. Unfortunately, we waited way too long for our food. Overall, food was okay but probably won't be back.
This is my third time dining at Fujiyama Texas. I haven't been back for a while because of COViD. I typically used to only dine during the evening, but decided to try the lunch menu. I ordered the Katsu curry because I love Japanese curry. When served, the curry and Katsu looked appetizing. The breading on the pork itself was so flaky. I wish that the pork meat was softer. Maybe if the chef pounded the pork to soften the pork, it would probably help. The curry was good. It had a sweet taste to it. The rice was cooked well. It helped that the dish also comes with the small add tasty sides. The service was excellent. The female waitress was so nice. She was very attentive in refilling my water glass and tea cup. I love the location because of the free parking. The interior was set up nicely and it felt so relaxing and roomy. I'm not sure if I would return. The cost of the meal was a few dollars more than I would want to spend for lunch.
I was so excited to try this restaurant especially since I enjoyed the food when they had their food truck at the bon dance festival earlier this year. Plus my family wanted to try a new place so I recommended this place to them and hoped they would like it. But sadly we were all a bit disappointed. The food overall was okay. The curry rice was good but it wasn't as filling as I thought it would be. My sister had the garlic yuzu ramen. She thought it was okay. My parents had the yakisoba, pork belly, the potato salad, and the poke bowl. They thought everything was okay. They didn't care for the pork belly because it was too soft apparently. They did enjoy the potato salad though. I was pretty disappointed in the service. I mean I understand it was busy and was willing to wait however long needed. But I didn't appreciate the service of the young boy host. He was nice at first. But then it seemed like he was gradually getting irritated with me and my family. It was our first time here and not everything was explained properly. So of course, I still had questions about certain things. We were missing the pork belly and I asked him what happened with it. He attempted to argue by saying he gave it to us on a certain plate. I asked my parents if they got that plate and they said they didnt. I thought that was pretty rude. I felt like he thought we just wanted free food. But we genuinely didn't get that particular food. It was the only one missing from our meal. He did apologize shortly after. But I felt like he should've just apologized instead from the beginning. All the other employees seemed super friendly though. I don't think they speak much English because they thanked us in Japanese but they were so wonderful! I don't know if I would come back again though. The service was on the slower side (but it was busy so it's understandable) But really did not like the service from that one guy. I really wanted to enjoy the food a lot more but it was just okay :(
I got the sashimi lunch set for around $26. I don't know if it's the best value for its price but I enjoyed it. If I could change anything about it I'd prefer to substitute out the tako for a different meat since I'm personally not a huge fan of it. My boyfriend ordered the katsu curry and rice and when I tried it, it was spectacular! Next time I think I want to order that because it's one of the best Japanese curries I've had on the island. The taste of the curry itself reminded me of the kind you would eat in Japan. While the food here is pretty pricey, I still think I'd want to come back when I'm craving curry because the portions are HUGE and everything tastes good. My friends that I went with all ordered different things and their food trays were ginormous. Definitely big enough for sharing! I recommend coming here if you prefer taking your time eating. We spent about 2 hours here because we had to wait for the server and for our food. The server would constantly be giving us tea and refilling it. I wouldn't recommend eating inside if you wanted a quick bite because it definitely takes time in my experience. I personally really enjoy hanging out and talking story while eating so it was right up my alley. My only wish is that I tried some of the alcohol because it looked delicious. I'll do that next time!
Came after 10pm, so the fried food close and a different menu option is offered that is mostly udon and ala carte small portion items til 2am. Ramen was on the small size, a bit salty, and a yuzo/soy flavor. Noodles are on thinner side. The soup is decent tasting. The pork belly has decent flavor BUT barely contains any meat. Most of the piece is 90% inedible "mushy" pure FAT. Beef tataki is cold and served over "COLD" vs "HOT" rice. Small restaurants and parking can be tight since they are shared w other businesses.
We enjoyed two breakfasts and one dinner here, and they were all exceptionally delicious, particularly the breakfast. It's rare to find such tasty and authentic Japanese breakfasts in this area. We are highly satisfied with this restaurant, as it has provided us with delightful memories.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great!! Good food and great service.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Good food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I really wanted to like it......but honestly I think I just overdid it with the fried food. Dined on a Saturday night at 6pm. I had called in to make reservations as many have stated it can get pretty packed, especially on weekends. The servers and staff all greeted us as we entered and were super friendly. They did give us a heads up that it was 2 hours max for dining. We were seared at a table in the back, but I've heard it's pretty fun to sit at the bar seats to watch the chef cook. There is a drink menu on the table, paper ordering sheet to mark what you want, and condiments. There are also QR codes to scan for the entire menu so you can see what to mark down on the paper, but this annoyingly wouldn't scan or work on my phone (nor did it work for the party next to us). Luckily I perused the menu beforehand from their menu and knew what I wanted.We ordered the fried potatoes with cream cheese dip and edamame to start. The potatoes resemble steak fries and were delicious with the cream cheese dip. So good that we ordered a 2nd round. The edamame was pretty standard, but desperately needed as it was the only non-fried item we'd be getting. As for the fried skewers, we got the beef, chicken tender, chicken wing, shrimp, soft shell crab, scallop, shumeji mushroom, and cheese. The soft shell crab, scallop and shrimp were probably my favorites. The beef skewers were disappointing the first round because they came out well done. Ordered a few more afterwards and they were perfect medium rare.Most of this was dipped in the house kushi katsu sauce. There was also a small dollop of yellow mustard provided, the spicy kind. Honestly though, I dipped them into the cream cheese dip provided with the fries and that was delish. Total meal came out to around $90 for 2 after tax, which also included a glass of draft beer. Honestly for the cost and how heavy I felt after eating all that fried food, I'm reluctant to come back. However if I do, I'll definitely be cutting it with some other fresh items, maybe a salad or pickles or rice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Great place to grab lunch.
For lunch, I had a loin cutlet set meal and a seafood cutlet.Thickly sliced loin meat is slowly fried until tender. Both the shredded cabbage and white rice are delicious.The soft shell crab cutlet has a luxurious taste that cannot be found in Japan.The service was reliable and it was a relaxing dining room.I will go again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is outrageously good, the people are wildly friendly, and the atmosphere is great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5