Mount Fuji, in Cardiff’s St David’s 2 Shopping Centre, is a family-run Japanese restaurant specialising in bento boxes, ramen (Japanese noodle soup), udon noodles, donburi (rice bowls), katsu, curry rice and a range of sides. The food is good and the vibe reminiscent of the many casual places like this we enjoy visiting in Japan.
The interior is plain and simple, very much like the many small and casual, family-owned places we love visiting in Japan. There are booths and regular tables; be warned that the booths are a pretty squeeze for larger folks.
Drinks wise, there are soft options (including ramune and calpis), teas, and a range of alcohol such as beer, sake and plum wine.
We like to order a range of the side dishes and enjoy as a shared meal.
Chicken Gyoza (£4.55), filled with minced chicken and vegetables, and fried until crisp, are served with a chilli soy dip. They are the perfect combination of crisp and soft, and so tasty that it’s always hard not to order a second portion!
Tempura Mix (£6.95) includes two tempura prawns, white fish and a selection of vegetables. The batter is light and crisp without being greasy, and the contents cooked well – neither over nor under.
Chicken Karaage (£5.25) is decent, though I would prefer the juiciness of thight meat to breast. I would also love some kewpie mayo for dipping. It’s good as it is though, and the coating is always crisp.
Fried Tofu (£4.95) aka agedashi tofu, is one of my happy places! Three hefty chunks of wobbly fresh tofu deep fried and served in a savoury dipping sauce, I could eat nothing but this every day for a week and not yet bored! Traditionally, tofu is dusted in potato starch rather than wheat flour before frying (and the texture suggests that is the case here) but do check if you are seeking gluten free dishes, as it’s not specified on the menu.
When ordering Tofu Salad (£5.85) we are offered a choice of dressings (sesame, yuzu or wasabi) and choose yuzu. The slippery fresh tofu is wonderful with the very simple mixed salad.
We choose a mixed Sushi Platter (£14.95), but ask to swap the prawn topped ngiri for extra egg topped ones. The sushi is decent, and not served too cold, which I really appreciate – it makes such a difference to the rice. The sushi menu isn’t extensive but you can order individually from a short list instead of a platter, if you prefer.
Service is always efficient, with a quiet friendliness that is very Japanese (rather than the exhuberance of American-style service, for example). The shopping centre setting may not be the most elegant, but it’s very much in keeping with the kind of restaurants we ate in so often in Japan.
Mount Fuji has a sister restaurant of the same name located in Birmingham’s Bullring Shopping Centre.
Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!8 Comments to "Mount Fuji Japanese Restaurant | Cardiff"
Great review of one of my favourite (and underrated) lunchtime spots. Tasty food, quick service, fair price. Bit ‘no frills’ but who cares. Agadashi tofu is also one of my faves and I like the hojicha tea after
I had a very similar experience at a Japanese restaurant in a shopping mall in Bangkok. Watching your ictures it really reminds me of the food I had that time. I agree with you about the sushi: when the rice is lightly warm and not straight out of the fridge it makes such a huge difference both in texture (it melts in your mouth) and flavour!
Japanese food is very new to me. I’ve just started to explore it. Looks like you had a great time experiencing this wonderful cuisine. The food does look incredible!
Like the sound of your tofu salad the most and also how the sushi isn’t too cold, it’s not easy to find good sushi and thats usually my measure for a good place that I will want to go back to.
I haven’t been out for Japanese in ages and I think this has made my cravings go crazy!
It all looks absolutely incredible!
Very nice place, looks very cool, with a great atmosphere and with nice dishes, I’ll love to go and eat there!
Oh you keep doing this to me. I adore Japanese food and this all looks delectable. If I was anywhere near Cardiff, I’d be in there like a shot. As it is, I have no idea where our nearest Japanese restaurant is.
There are so many good Japanese restaurants especially dedicated to sushi here in Dubai. Interesting to know they are becoming more widespread in the UK.