Fujiyama Review

When I think of West Allis, the first thing that pops into my mind is mullet headed idiots squawking their tires every time the light turns green, not great dining destinations. However in the recent years West Allis has become a hotbed of culinary options. Crawdaddy’s, The Painted Parrot, and the recently opened “Q” anchor the eastern end of Greenfield Avenue. The newest dinning destination is not found on the up and coming “downtown” area but in a strip mall on Highway 100. It is a sushi and hibachi restaurant called Fujiyama and it is outstanding.

The first two times I ordered carryout from Fujiyama and ate it at home. I figured even an average sushi restaurant would be a great addition to the west side. Much to my surprise this place is way above average, bordering on great. The first takeout order consisted of a California roll, a Spider Roll, an order of the Sashimi appetizer, and a Sunshine Roll, which is one of their specialty house rolls.

The California roll was pretty good, but not a great indicator of how good this place really is. California rolls are for first timers or people who are too scared to eat raw fish, so they are pretty uninspired. I typically order the sashimi appetizer when I eat sushi because it is usually around 8-9 dollars and gives you a great overview fresh fish. This one had yellowtail, tuna, salmon, and some imitation crab. The fish was incredibly fresh and I couldn’t get enough of the melt-in-your-mouth salmon. A slight dip in soy sauce and wasabi was all that was needed to bring out the incredible flavor of the salmon. The yellowtail and tuna was also outstanding. I could have done without the imitation crab. It wasn’t bad, but it seemed kind of dumb to include imitation anything with the other three real fishes. The spider roll was incredible. The soft shell crab was perfectly fried and was a bit thicker than you usually see in a roll. Moving on to the specialty roll, it was filled with cooked salmon, crunchy tempura batter, and avocado. The outside was was wrapped in the same delicious raw salmon found in the sashimi appetizer and topped with the most incredible spicy creamy orange sauce, scallions and masago, which is very small flying fish roe. On our second carryout we essentially ordered the same thing, replacing the California roll with a spicy tuna roll, which was the perfect balance of heat and freshness. The only thing we noticed was that the Sunshine Roll had changed slightly. The masago had been replaced with more of the fried “crunch”. The replacement worked well, but I think I enjoyed the salty element that the masago added. My fiancée was pleased with the replacement because she wasn’t sure what the orange masago was until I told her after we had finished the roll.

Last Friday we decided it was time to dine in at Fujuyama. While the food remained impeccable, the service was interesting. We placed an order for an array of items including edamame, the sashimi appetizer, the Sunshine roll (which as you can probably tell is our favorite item on the menu), another specialty roll called the Scorpion King roll, and a spicy salmon roll. After a short period of time the sashimi appetizer appeared. The fish was extremely fresh and delicious. However the edamame, which usually is the first thing they bring out, was nowhere to be seen. About 10 minutes later our rolls (or at least some of them) arrived. We had the spicy salmon and the Sunshine roll but the Scorpion roll and the edamame were nowhere to be found. I became somewhat annoyed and found it difficult to enjoy what was in front of us because I kept scanning the dining room looking for our waitress to alert her that we were missing two things, plus my can of Saparro was getting pretty low and we had no water. She was nowhere to be found. 10 minutes into dinner the edamame arrived. It was very good. Lightly salted and perfectly cooked. Still no Scorpion roll. We were getting full, so we weren’t too concerned about it. Finally it arrived. It was essentially a Spider roll with some raw tuna in it. It was pretty good, however the crispy crab overpowered the tuna and it seemed like overkill. Next time I would probably stick with the regular Spider roll and save the tuna for something where its delicate flavor can shine.

While the food at Fujiyama is some of the best sushi in town, the service could use some help. Maybe after they are in business longer they will work out the kinks. I am just happy to have a sushi place for us west side residents. If I can ever get over my sushi fixation I may try the Hibachi grill.

Ratings (out of 10):

Décor/Ambiance: 8/10
For being in a strip mall in the ‘Stallis this place is very nicely decorated.

Food: 9/10
The sushi at this place rivals other more well-known places in town.

Service: 3/10
The service was erratic and unorganized. The waitress never stopped by to see if we needed anything.

Fujiyama

2916 S 108th St.

West Allis, WI 53227

Phone: 414-755-1977