Fortu

What we ate

Fortu is on the Michelin Recommended list, and it gets plenty of social media love. What we got was a good dinner. Fine, but nothing that pushed past good into memorable. Don’t get me wrong, it was good. We just never got to the point where the hype felt earned.

We ordered the fried rice, the gyoza, and kampachi. The gyoza were my favorite, and they are the easiest thing for us to recommend without hedging. That was the dish that stood out most at our table. The rest of the meal was good. That word keeps coming up here, and it is the whole issue. Good is not a problem on its own. Good just lands differently when a place comes in with Michelin mention and influencer buzz hanging over it. At that point, good can feel a little thin.

The published menu currently lists fried rice at $16, with an optional wagyu add-on for $8. That tracks with the kind of order that made sense for us here, a few dishes on the table instead of one big centerpiece per person. Fortu’s menu, at least online, is built around that style. There is a Raw and Chilled section with things like Bluefin Akami Tartare, listed with coconut cream and shiso oil for $25, and Japanese A5 wagyu nigiri, two pieces, for $28. Whether that sounds appealing depends on what brought us in. If the draw is a night of share plates and a menu that reads expensive and a little dressed up, Fortu clearly knows how to present that.

The hype problem

That presentation is also why I keep coming back to the hype. Fortu seems built for it. The published cocktail list includes drinks like the Kakao Kohi, made with Grey Goose vodka, d’usse, cacao, allspice, and espresso for $18. The wine list also leans polished, with Poema Brut Cava at $11 a glass or $44 a bottle. None of that is a criticism by itself. The problem is when that part of the experience starts doing more work than the food.

That is where we landed. We liked dinner. We were not blown away. It was just a meal that never justified the noise around it. If somebody wants small plates, cocktails, and a menu that looks a little luxe on paper, Fortu covers that lane. Based on our table, though, the strongest praise we can give is that the gyoza were very good and the rest was decent.

Practical stuff

Fortu takes reservations, and the online menu notes a 15-minute grace period. It also says parties of six or more will have a 20% gratuity added. One useful detail, especially at a place where pricing and menu format are part of the pitch, is that the restaurant says paper-menu prices in the dining room take precedence over what is posted online. That matters more here than at a casual spot, because this is the kind of place people may choose for a group dinner based on the menu before they ever walk in.