Blue Fugu Japanese Steakhouse Won’t Leave You Feeling Blue

ST. PETE FOODIES APPROVED SPONSOR:
Blue Fugu Japanese Steakhouse Won’t Leave You Feeling Blue

From elementary school to college I celebrated many birthdays of mine and friends at Japanese Steakhouses. It was such a novelty, to watch someone gleefully and impressively cook an entire meal right in front of your eyes, all the while creating onion volcanos and smiley faces out of rice. It’s been many years since I have been to a Japanese Steakhouse, but that changed this past weekend when I decided to grab some friends and try Blue Fugu Japanese Steakhouse on St Pete Beach.

Blue Fugu Sushi Bar
Sushi Bar

We foolishly did not make a reservation for a 6:30pm arrival on a Saturday and were told the wait would be an hour. That was no problem when we realized that they had a cozy full bar to order drinks and appetizers while we waited for our table. From the bar our group ordered a Miso soup, Hamachi Jalapeño Carpaccio, Gyoza, Edamame, and the Sushi App.

Blue Fugu Edamame and Gyoza
Edamame and Gyoza

The Edamame was cooked perfectly, and the miso soup was well balanced in flavor. The crispy Gyoza was stuffed with slightly smoky pork and vegetables. Both the Hamachi and Sushi App were beautifully plated, looking so fresh the fish could have just jumped out of the ocean.

Blue Fugu Sushi Appetizer
Sushi App

I typically order Hamachi in a raw preparation whenever I see it on a menu, and I have to say…this was one of the best preparations I have ever had. It was spicy with sliced jalapeño and a spicy pepper sauce on top. The spice was rounded out by the refreshing ponzu and fresh squeezed lemon. After the appetizers, we were eagerly anticipating our Hibachi dinner as we wrapped up at the bar and were seated for the “show.”

Blue Fugu Hamachi Jalapeno Carpaccio
Hamachi Jalapeño Carpaccio

We were seated at our Teppanyaki table and promptly greeted by our server. I was somehow convinced (by myself) to order another appetizer after realizing they had Toro on their sushi menu. I’ve never had Toro before this night and always wanted to try it, so I figured why not! Let me tell you…I was not disappointed. It was fresh, cold, fatty, and insanely delicious. Needless to say, I will be ordering Toro whenever I see it on a menu moving forward.

Blue Fugu Toro Sushi
Toro Sushi

My girlfriends and I decided to order a signature cocktail with a take home cup in the shape of a lucky cat. They have many other options to choose from, but because the three of us are shameless cat lovers we decided to all get the lucky cat. The cocktails were quite sweet, but delicious, and the glass was very cute, so I was satisfied.

ST. PETE FOODIES APPROVED SPONSOR:
Blue Fugu Novelty Take Home Cups
Novelty Take Home Cups

Our Hibachi chef of the night was Darwin. He was kind, entertaining, and conversational.

Blue Fugu Onion Volcano
Onion Volcano

I chose to order the NY Strip and added scallops. The scallops were seared properly, and the steak was cooked mid-rare just like I asked. My favorite part of hibachi is the noodles, and I did not notice any noodles (as they were forthcoming) and made a comment asking if we were getting any, and as you see in my picture Darwin loaded me up! One of my friends ordered sushi instead of hibachi and he still filled her plate with veggies and some shrimp. Darwin did everything a Hibachi chef should do, including the onion volcano, other than throw shrimp into his hat and onto my plate.

MORE FOODIES READING  Boulevard Burgers & Tap House Juicy Burgers and Best Buffalo Shrimp

(When ordering off the Teppanyaki menu soup, salad, fried rice, veggies, and noodles are included with each dish)

Blue Fugu NY Strip and Scallops Hibachi
NY Strip and Scallops Hibachi

Instead of dessert, we opted to end our meal with celebratory saké bombs, as one does at a Japanese Steakhouse. Unfortunately, they were gone before I could take a photo. Sorry! 😉

We were accommodated, without a reservation, as we walked in and yet we ended the night full! I would highly suggest checking out Blue Fugu over the large chain Japanese steakhouse restaurants. As it is a locally owned one-off restaurant that will give you an intimate and special experience from beginning to end.

Blue Fugu Sushi
Sushi
Blue Fugu Japanese Steakhouse
  • Readers Rating
  • Rated 5 stars
    5 / 5 (12 )
$-$$
  • Your Rating


  • Blue Fugu Japanese Steakhouse
  • (727) 367-6762
  • Japanese Steakhouse, Hibachi, Sushi
    • Sun - Sat 3:30pm - 10:00pm
  • View menu
  • Take Reservations: Yes!
  • 4615 Gulf Blvd, St Pete Beach, Florida 33706,

Japanese Steakhouse - Sushi & Hibachi in St. Pete Beach

DISCLAIMER: Kevin, Lori, Abby, Haley, Lindsey & Mahika do not dine anonymously (this would be impossible) and we sometimes get free food (though never expected). However, we dine with the locals and we support our own. You will always get honesty in a respectful manner. We do not include any large national or regional chains in our ratings and reviews. We focus on independent locally owned eateries exclusively.

PLEASE NOTE: Reviews reflect a certain moment in time. Some restaurants stay extremely consistent over many years, and some change for the better or worse. Some things that may change are: chefs, recipes, food suppliers, ingredients, philosophies, ownership, etc. We always hope that you have the same good, or great experience we had.
ST. PETE FOODIES APPROVED SPONSOR:



More Foodies News, Reviews & Recipes


Comments are closed

ST. PETE FOODIES APPROVED SPONSOR:
Noble Crust Brunch Ad
St. Petersburg Foodies