Fuzio Universal Bistro

My friend and I tried to go there for lunch today. Heard they had a really good firecracker pork pasta. They were closed and the sign said to check out their other locations. I think they might be closed permanently.

After living previously at 800 J Lofts, I used to stop in a few times a week for Happy Hour (Monday thru Friday 3 to 6); and it’s one of the best deals in town.
The entire appetizer menu is reduced to $ 3 along with $ 3 Beers on Tap. I could very easily get filled off of 2 appetizers; sliders are quite filling and a beer.
Only complaint is that the place really doesn’t have set hours (mostly state workers during the day) and will just close randomly at different times each night.

ATTENTION: Awesome happy hour!
Great spot to come for happy hour if you are more hungry than thirsty. From 3:00 — 7:00 Mondays to Fridays (should double-​check to make sure they still have this when you come out) all their appetizers are only $ 3. Yes that’s right, $ 3. Beer on tap is $ 3 but for those who prefer cocktails, the only discount was $ 1 off their signature martini.
From the outside, this looks like your run-​of-​the-​mill joint that serves up food & brews. However, I was surprised to find out that it is a chain! I expected something more…“chain-y”. Like PF Changs is a chain and has that big style, I’ve-got-a-cool-interior-because-we-can-leverage-economies-of-scale-and-do-the-place-up-right feel. You know what I mean? So the ambiance was a bit humdrum. Also I got a paper cut on the square paper table toppers. Note to management, please cut the paper so that it drapes slightly over the edge!
Our server, Ryan, provided efficient, genuine service. He was tops in my book. We were looked after very well!
We tried the:
* Calamari — Small «o’s» that were a bit too battery for me. I prefer something lighter & crispier.
* Pork sliders — Very tasty! A bit on the spicy side. I LOVE the onion rings (very thinly sliced) with the five spice batter.
* Crab cakes — Also spicy. They must like putting chili in everything here.
* Lettuce wraps — Again, spicy. Maybe it was just the sauce that was spicy? But the whole package together once you bit into it had that chili bite to it.
I suggest perhaps going easy on the chili and having a side of sauce so that guests can add their own level of spiciness.
If we had to pay unhappy hour prices, I don’t know if we would come here. I really did like the service, but the prices (crab cakes were normally $ 9 for two small servings) would be a bit high for me.

Great deal with $ 3 appetizers before 6! Very clean, great service, nice & attentive.

We went there last night as a whim last minute dinner at 9:00pm. We have noticed that they have not been busy and so we decided to drop by to avoid the normal crowds at some of our more regular hang outs. Very glad we did. The food was excellent and the wait staff was very courteous to us. I would definetly recomend this restaurant to everybody. We travel quite a lot and eat out 5 to 7 times a week so I have been to the best and the worst and I would rank this place as being one of the best I have been to in a long time.

Came here for happy hour a few times it was very pleasant. They have super cheap appetizers and moderately cheap drinks. I like the Macaroni and Cheese and the Lettuce Chicken Wraps best, the hubby likes calamari and the Pork Sliders. A nice place to sit outside, unwind, and eat too many calories. I recommend it!

Nice atmosphere, ok food. Lots of hype.

I came here with a couple of friends and my husband for lunch at around 1pm. We were all dressed in work attire so we fit right in with all the other patrons at this restaurant. The place looked really nice and I had already been to the one in San Francisco at the Embarcadero Center so I thought this would be a good place to have lunch.
When we walked through the doors, the host was already helping someone with a pickup order so we waited a short time. The host immediately took notice of us and let us know he would be with us shortly. After about a few minutes we were seated and provided menus.
After looking at the menu for a few minutes we were all ready to order… but there was one thing missing… no waiters were around us to help. They didn’t even ask us if we wanted something to drink or immediately provide us with water. So after 10 minutes came along I waived down a waiter who immediately asked if someone came by to help us, to which we replied, «No.» This waiter asked for our drink orders and immediately gave them to us. About 5 – 10 minutes later he asked if we were ready to order, which we were, and so we ordered our lunch. My husband and I and our friends got to talking and all of a sudden we look out the window and there’s a car on fire. The fire department was obviously dispatched because a few minutes later we hear sirens. While all of this is going on outside we noticed that our food still hadn’t arrived so we continue staring out the window. When the scene quickly gets remedied our food still doesn’t arrive. Mind you, it has already been 25 – 30 minutes so we’re REALLY hungry at this point. One of our friends finished his soda and the waiter didn’t even come by to refill it until our friend waived his glass around. So, after a few more minutes of waiting, our food finally arrives and it’s piping hot. Since we were all so hungry we devoured our food almost as fast as it was set down on the table. During this time our friend finishes his soda again but this time the waiter was ready and waiting and immediately refilled the drinks.
So, after all this commotion, this is what we found out:
Service was horrible
Food was good and hot
Price is a bit average-​high
The rigatoni alfuzio and mac and cheese was good
If it wasn’t for the entertainment outside we would have left the restaurant still starving. This place needs to work on their service and immediately take notice of its customers.

Hummmm. We came here for the first time for dinner tonight, and both got pastas because they were half off. I got the… firecracker pork something pasta? lol and my companion got the shanghai noodles. The food came out quick… a little too quick. Both pastas were alriiiight, but we didn’t enjoy them very much. Everything on the menu was too «much,» and there was nothing simple. They are definitely very unique, but that isn’t always good. It seemed like there were just too many flavors in the pasta. It seemed like they were trying to mix too many different types of food into one entrée. I wouldn’t recommend this place, and although $ 5 for a plate of pasta isn’t bad at all, I wouldn’t come back here.

New to the happy hour scene in Sactown as a Bay Area transplant, but stopped by Fuzio as it looked interesting while walking by downtown. On a late Wednesday afternoon, the place was nearly empty — which was nice in that I could choose any table inside or out or near the window and received lots of attention from Shane, the waiter/​bartender. Overall, the food may not be high-​concept cuisine, but it was still pretty tasty — and a great deal to boot. Had the:
— Firecracker lettuce wraps: definitely not too fancy, but the spicy hoisin sauce was nice, the pork marinated nicely, and the lettuce crisp and fresh.
— Breaded Shrimp with aoili sauce — again, not high-​concept, but the just-​out-​of-​the-​fryer shrimp and tangy aioli was more satisfying than I expected.
— Sukiyaki noodles — the noodles were meh, but the shiitake mushrooms and fresh greens were quite tasty.
I’m giving Fuzio a solid 4 stars for one big reason — they have a crazy number of crazy specials. When I walked in, they were having half-​price on all pasta dishes (Wednesdays), $ 3 on most appetizers, $ 3 on most pints of beer, and $ 4 on selected wines. Hard to argue with shrimp and aioli sauce when you’re paying $ 3 instead of $ 9.75. In fact, I got two appetizers and an entrée for $ 12 total, and enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Plus, the place was empty enough that I got all the attention I could handle from the waitstaff.
Could definitely see myself going again — and bringing friends for happy hour.

Go on Wednesday nights! All their asta meals are half off! My friend and I went during happy hour, we each got a drink, shared an appetizer, and had a pasta dish each and it came out to $ 11 per person! It was a great deal! The food was really good too! The lettuce wraps had a really nice flavor. Check this place out!

Happy Hour: M-​F, 3−6pm and 8:30pm-close
$ 3 appetizers (except the mussels and clams)
$ 3 drafts
We had.
firecracker sliders, firecracker lettuce wraps, calamari, mac and cheese, and rock shrimp.
EVERYTHING WAS SALTY! All that was aforementioned = salty. Mac and cheese wasn’t very cheesy either. but you know what? it was salty.
Our server Jim was fantastic though. and it’s a good looking spot with outdoor seating.

Wow, the low reviews really surprised me. I’ve never had a bad experience there. You can’t really beat what you get for the money. For around $ 10 you get a really nice play to sit and eat, a nice variety of tasty Italian fusion food and just the right portion. My favorites are the calamari linguine, firecracker pork fusilli and the Shanghai curry chicken. I usually don’t order from the Entrée part of the menu. It seems that it’s higher priced and not really better than the items on the Universal Pastas part of the menu. I’m a fan of their Mussels & Clams and Paninis too.
I’ve never really had to wait for a seat but parking can be a challenge.

This is one of my favorite restaurants for pasta! The service here is great and the portions of the food is just right. The most expensive pasta is around… i believe… 13 dollars? Only problem for me is the location. I’m not the greatest at parking around downtown so I normally just park at the downtown mall and walk to the restaurant.

A good place if you just want a casual dinner downtown and aren’t expecting to be blown away by the food. Started with the Mussels and Clams Appetizer Italian style. Mussels AND Clams implies an equal portion of both ingredients. On this night there were 11 mussels to only 5 very small clams. The sauce was very flavorful but unfortunately it wasn’t accompanied by any bread so it could be further enjoyed. The two entrees where a Shrimp Pomodoro and the Cambazola Rigatoni. the Rigatoni was the better of the two since the Cambazola cheese and garlic sauce provided a nice tang. On the other hand, the Shrimp Pomodoro was bland and the shrimp overcooked. Positive: the service was friendly and prompt.

I live close by and have come here several times because of convenience. The paninis and appetiezers are consistently decent (not great), but priced too high. I tried the salmon and shanghai noodles and was disappointed. For the price, there’s no reason for my salmon to be so dry and over cooked. From now on, I’ll stick the the sandwiches.
The service is universally friendly, but I agree with whoever said that it can be slow. Efficiency is certainly hit or miss.

I’ve stopped by Fuzio’s based on a recommendation, and glad I went. Stopped by several different times, and got consistent service at the bar (and bar-​side seating). It’s a nice venue, and good addition to the downtown scene as it’s located on the corner of J street… downstairs to some lofts. I think the location and décor reminds me a neighborhood café’s or bistro’s in larger city (even though the restaurant is corporate owned).
Traded pleasant conversation with different bartenders and the assistant manager. Most have worked in the restaurant business for a while, and appear to be well trained and knowledgeable. Restaurant and bar were very clean.
Food was tasty, and presented well. Happy hour foods and drinks are available… $ 3 appetizers (large selection to chose from) and $ 3 draft beers (only three to chose from). I be live there’s a late nite happy hour also. Drinks are poured with a jigger.
Hits: Nice décor, food tasty, decent happy hour prices, nice staff, very clean restaurant.
Misses: Street parking, non-​happy hour appetizer prices, happy hour ends at 6PM.

Came here for dinner last Friday night with my girlfriend. She works in San Francisco and eats at Fuzio all the time in the city so when she found out there was one here she wanted me to try it.
Found parking about a block away and got in at about 8:30 PM. We were seated immediately. It didn’t seem too busy for a Friday night, there were 3 huge parties already seated but quite a few small tables still available. I really liked the atmosphere and ambience. Very midtown neo-​loungey but not so loud where we couldn’t carry on a conversation comfortably. Our server was quite pleasant throughout the evening.
Whenever I eat Italian I always go to my standard, penne with sausage in meat sauce. The closest thing they had was penne in marinara with veggies and chicken sausage. It reminded me why I always get meat sauce, I wasn’t a fan of the gardeny taste of the sauce. I’m not saying it was terrible, there was enough sausage to offset the marinara. I didn’t ask, but I would have liked to sub in a meatier sauce if it would have been available.
The atmosphere and the service are enough to bring me back and when I do I’ll be trying something different on the menu. I have no problem recommending this place.

Ate here with the family on Friday evening (early — around 5pm). The server was definitely new to this type of thing, but she was very pleasant. They brought us a free appetizer — some kind of bbq ribs. They were very cold, sweet, and the rub they used was sandy; we weren’t impressed. We were impressed, however, by the menu. There’s something there for just about everyone. We had the mac and cheese (very good), the rigatoni with garlic cream sauce (also good), and the chinese chicken salad (not great). Just as you shouldn’t order salad when you go to a steak restaurant, you shouldn’t order salad when you go to a pasta joint. I’ll learn.
The restaurant earned an extra ½ star for its bathroom sink. Either I don’t get out enough, or maybe I’m just easily amused. But if I weren’t concerned about water conservation, I would have sat in there for an hour playing with the water on the slab sink.
I’ll definitely go back to try the paninis (and use the bathroom).

per a fellow Unilocaler, it appears that the happy hour info is as follows:
happy hour from 3 – 6, with $ 3 appetizers (except for the mussels and clams… those are $ 2 off), $ 3 drafts (fat tire, octoberfest and heff) and $ 1 off the fuziotini.