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Dining at Fuji Mountain Steakhouse is not just a meal out; it's an experience, from the artful presentation of simple appetizers to the attentive service and the theatrics of the hibachi chefs.
Owner Thomas Long opened Fuji Mountain, his first Maryland restaurant, in February in the Marlow Heights Shopping Center, after gaining experience running his own establishment in New York. Long said he did his research before settling in this area and he is confident that it is now a safe neighborhood and his investment of almost $1 million will prove more than worthwhile, even in this economy.
"We still have faith we're going to make it through, even if times are bad," he said.
His investment has involved the creation of that dining experience: the first impression that hits you when you walk through the door is the classy ambience, from the "waterfall" window fountain and elaborate pond fountain in the foyer, to the recessed lighting, black granite tables and stainless steel fixtures in the hibachi dining area. Small details, like the printed, cloth-like paper napkins, add to the sophisticated feel.
The menu also reflects this approach. The first page includes a welcome message to the diner, emphasizing freshness, flavor, ambience and service, as well as a list of policies and information to ensure a smooth dining experience, such as information on ingredients and payments. For example, birthday parties of six or more people can receive a $20 coupon with proof of birthdate.
Fuji Mountain's menu is an extensive list of full-service Japanese cuisine, from a sushi bar to traditions like teriyaki, tempura or noodles, to a full hibachi experience, in which your choice of foods is prepared for you in style right before your eyes.
The hibachi meals are Fuji's bestselling experience, Long said. Offered as entrées and combinations for lunch and dinner, these range from $9.95 for vegetable, to $10.95 each for chicken, salmon or shrimp, to $11.95 each for scallops or steak, and include soup, salad, fried rice and fried noodles — all except the soup and salad prepared on the hibachi grill at your table. Hibachi dinners include the same items though with greater variety, as well as a side vegetable and a dessert ice cream, including $15.95 for chicken, $20.95 for a combination of chicken with steak, shrimp or scallops, or $25.95 for steak with lobster tail.
To supplement this experience, diners can choose from a range of flavorful salads with Japanese tastes, like the seaweed salad ($4.95) or tako (octopus) salad ($8.95) with caviar, as well as appetizers from the kitchen ($3.95 to $7.95), including vegetables, dumplings, tempura, skewered meats and more.
The sushi bar also offers appetizers ($7.95 to $9.95), like the sashimi ($7.95) — six pieces of chef-selected, tender, melt-in-your-mouth raw fish arranged diagonally on a strip of leaf across a square plate. But if sushi is more to your taste than hibachi, you can pick from the sushi/sashimi ‡ la carte menu; an entrée menu that features combinations like the tri-color sushi ($20.95) with three pieces each of tuna, salmon and yellowtail and a tuna roll; or the lengthy roll menu.
Dinner choices like teriyaki ($9.95 to $29.95) or tempura ($11.95 to $23.95) include miso soup, salad and white rice. Lunch specials include $10.95 "lunch boxes" featuring chicken, steak or seafood served with a California roll, shumai, miso soup, rice and salad; sushi lunches range from $7.95 to $9.95, with a similar "lunch box" at $12.95.
With so many options — from vegetarian to heavy meats, from raw sashimi to seared, well-done hibachi fish — there's a way for everyone to try the dining experience at Fuji Mountain.
Fuji Mountain
Steakhouse
4237 Branch Ave., Temple Hills
Phone: 301-899-8666
Hours: Lunch: Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner: Monday through Thursday, 4:30 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 12:30 to 9:30 p.m.