From August 2004 Best of Falls Church

This Japanese restaurant, in a strip shopping center off Lee Highway, looks forbidding from the outside and isn't much better inside. But when it comes to what counts--the food, service, and prices--Genji does very well. The large Japanese-American clientele attests to that.

The menu is varied, starting with a full array of sushi and sashimi, available at the small sushi bar as well as at table. If you want the fare of a Japanese steakhouse, go to the front room and sit at one of the four teppan-grill tables.

Start with chicken yakitori or the less familiar oshitashi, made of spinach, ginger, scallions, and shredded bonito. For a simple meal have the nabeyaki udon, a soup with thick rice noodles, tempura, seafood, vegetables, and a fried egg; katsudon, a pork cutlet on seasoned rice; or kakiage, deep-fried shredded vegetables that resemble tempura. Very good are the steak teriyaki and the sukiyaki, made at tableside.