I have to admit that when I heard about Yamafuji, I thought, “Sushi? In Front Royal? Um…no way.” But, Yamafuji has made quite a name for itself in the hearts and taste buds of the folks of Front Royal and the surrounding areas. After reading a few reviews on the new Japanese restaurant and setting my skepticism aside, my husband, my friend Bob from Miami and I headed over for dinner.

Our friend, Bob, is an avid traveler, a connoisseur of fine foods and only eats fish. He’s eaten at sushi joints across the country. So if anyone was going to have a “beef” with Yamafuji, it would be him. Well, all I can say is WOW. Yamafuji was just what we were looking for.

With a full stock of the freshest sushi I’ve ever had, Yamafuji is a gem in our local restaurant community. I typically order octopus (or “tako”) and I’m here to say, I’ve had some bad octopus. The octopus at Yamafuji was tender, not fishy at all and incredibly tasty. Bob has a tendency to eat to order unusual things off the menu and I tend to follow suit. We ate salmon roe, flying fish roe, sea urchin roe (or “uni”) …and it was all fantastic. We’ve also ordered pot stickers and other cooked foods – all delicious.

A few weeks later we came in for the “Tuna Festival” which consisted of about 60+ pieces of tuna sushi prepared several different ways. The tuna was very fresh and delicious. Although this was an “all-you-can-eat” type of festival, we couldn’t possible eat more than what was offered (even though our sushi chefs tried to serve us more!)

After a couple of visits to Yamafuji, I sat down with general manager, Marcus Doe, for a chat about the restaurant, the challenges of serving sushi and what was next for this great Japanese restaurant. Here’s what he had to say.

Q: You’ve been holding sushi classes at Around Your Kitchen in Front Royal. What can folks learn during these classes?

A: We basically teach the simple task of making sushi. Our beginner’s class included how to make different types of rolls. The intermediate class was about making Nigiri sushi. And our advanced class will be teaching how to make different types of sushi. It’s very hard to find fresh fish so we’ll be selling fish to class participants. That way they don’t have to worry about illness or bad raw fish.

Q: You’re going to be rolling out a program for bringing Japanese food to seniors. What’s that all about?

A: Anyone over 65 can come in and eat Japanese food for free on specific days.

Q: You have these great hibachi and barbecue tables in the dining room. Will you be using them for your fall and winter food specials?

A: In the winter we’re going to try to serve more hot food. We have four hibachi tables, so we’ll probably use two for traditional hibachi and the other two for Odin soup which is fish cake dipped in hot soup.

Q: You’ve had a couple of sake festivals. How did those work out?

A: The people that came to the sake festivals really enjoyed themselves. Everyone learned about sake, how to taste it  and even bought some for themselves.

Marcus Doe, General Manager and Me

Q: Why is your fish so fresh?

A: We order it and the next day its delivered fresh.

Q: This space has been several different restaurants, including most recently, an Asian restaurant. What are the challenges of being a new restaurant in a traditionally failing space?

A: A lot of people had a bad experience with the old restaurant that was in this space (Samurai). So, they think this is still the same type of restaurant. But, when people come in they are very surprised that this isn’t at all like Samurai. They are spreading the word about Yamafuji and want the restaurant to stay.

Our other big challenge is that there are not many Japanese restaurants in Front Royal so not many people have experience with Japanese food. They’re afraid of trying raw fish.

Q: Do you find that you are promoting cooked dishes more than sushi because customers might not come in for raw fish?

A: We have three barbecue tables, so I’m offering barbecue. Customers can cook the marinated meats themselves.

Q: What are some surprises that you have faced here in comparison to your restaurant in DC?

A: We didn’t have a lot of surprises. We do notice that not many people come out when the weather is bad. In DC everyone is in the city when the weather is good or bad.

Q: What is the future of Yamafuji?

A: Once we get past winter, a lot more customers will know about Yamafuji.

Yamafuji |241 Chester St., Front Royal, VA 22630| Phone: (540) 631-3454