Sushi Tomo

With the new management this restaurant has a revamped menu and new hours of operation for the sushi boats. Unfortunately the boats are not available from 2−5pm but the kitchen will still accommodate for your afternoon snack needs. I love this place for a quick bit to eat, and an occasional celebrity spotting. Stay long enough and you might see Jeremy Lin!

I felt this place is underrated :-/
Well, let’s be straight, if you are looking for high quality and super authentic Japanese food and the same time expecting a fairly low price, that’s very unlikely to happen in Palo Alto. I don’t know why people have those expectations. However, if you would like to grab a quick bite, enjoy a quiet and decent meal in a clean and friendly restaurant. I think Tomo has all these.
I’ve been eating here for quite a few times, I think the quality of the food is decent. The price is fair and the waiters/​waitresses are nice and polite. I will give a 4 star for that!
Sometimes when they are not busy, the chef will also give one or two pieces of new stuff for you to try out. I don’t usually see this in other sushi restaurant. They also open from 11am to 9pm straight without break in between which is great for people like me who always have lunch late.
Consistency and available are two very important factors for me when it comes to work lunch and work dinner. Tomo has both. Solute to that!

I ordered 9 pieces of salmon sashimi at $ 17.50 to go at 6:00PM on 3÷18÷16. The salmon sashimi are thinly sliced, off color, tasteless, and has a huge gap to those good quality salmon with rich and melt in your mouth tender flavor and texture. To make things worst, there were three pieces still half frozen. I called the front desk and the manager offered to bring the frozen salmon back and swap them with new ones. I took the offer. On top of three new slices of salmon, they also compensated me with three pieces of tempura squid plus a miso soup. I felt better that evening. I just finished watching Gordon Ramsay’s seared salmon YouTube receipt. I came to a realization how bad the quality of salmon I had last night. I have serious doubt what I had were sashimi grade. It is not my first Tomo experience. Last night’s salmon sashimi just simply not acceptable. I am not comparing Tomo with Fuki Sushi. Safeway’s to go salmon sushi has much better quality than what I had last night. I hope they can put some serious efforts in quality control. I live and work very close by. To support local business, I will stop by for lunch next week to test their salmon sashimi again. I hope I will be able to upgrade my review. To be continued…

I normally don’t ever write Unilocal reviews, but I do have to say that this place got an upgrade with the new management.
New menus, new décor, new employees.
Their udon is my favorite. I also love getting the Hawaiian roll here.
Props to Sushi Tomo for expanding upon the limited sushi options in Palo Alto and offering great food and service.

For all the poor reviews, I went in a little hesitant– but honestly, this was pretty good. I had the sashimi combo, my sister had the sushi combo, we both had sake bombs, and we left super full and satisfied. It’s not like it’s the best I’ve ever had in my life, but it wasn’t bad, and worth more than 2.5 stars. Also, the sashimi was pretty damn good, and the rolls were huge. A little pricey, but not the worst. Go in, enjoy your sushi, and ignore the negativity from all the haters.

I don’t know how this place has been getting such rave reviews recently, but they certainly don’t deserve them.
read that they were under new management, and Fuki was packed, so we decided to give Tomi a try. Big mistake.
Miso soup is passable, a bit sweet.
Agedashi tofu is fried sweaty soft tofu wth a weak dipping sauce that tastes like slightly sweetened lukewarm water. served on a lettuce leaf. no onion, no bonito, no diakon– nothing.
Spicy salmon roll is large pieces of salmon in rice with straight sriracha on top. Travesty, the flavor of the fish is ruined and i feel cheated.
Hamachi sashimi is passable.
45 $ later and I leave hungry, disappointed, and wondering what the other reviews were smoking and where could I get it.

New owners have taken over since the start of 2016! The quality of service and atmosphere has skyrocketed since the change… so it’s definitely best to ignore the old reviews that condemned the old restaurant. The service is fantastic, you can tell that the new staff is working hard to bring up their reputation. The sushi chef is very friendly and the staff greets you the best they can. The menu has changed too! Rather than the old eliminated menus, they now have nicer menus to look at and new items as well. The food itself tastes fresher and has a higher quality look to it. Definitely worth checking out the new revamp. I’ll be coming again!

New ownership, and it shows!!! We have come here on and off for years but quality and service used to be spotty. Under new ownership, things have changed for the better. New menu, slightly changed décor that makes the dining room more refined. Sushi chefs here have always been good here but with a new menu, they can show off more of their skills. Loving the new menu, they have baked rolls now too — I’m currently *addicted* to their Lion King roll, which is the best in town. Portion sizes are generous. Rolls are fresh. Service is fast and attentive. There are a LOT more people here too, place is hopping on a Saturday night!!!

The new owners are amazing! Friendly, efficient and very customer oriented. You will find fresher fish and amazing service compared to the previous ownership — what’s not to love?
This is a favorite spot for my kids and me. The owners are super receptive to special requests and take pride in remembering your preferences. I always see lots of regulars here so I’m not the only one who find this gem to be inviting and comforting. Almost instant gratification at the sushi counter — just grab what you want off the boats — if you don’t see what you want — ask and they will do their best to make exactly what you want.
Very clean and overall a great value.

Good food and good service. Food is fresh and tasty. I like this place. I ordered Sushi and Udon.

Ignore the old reviews that gave really low ratings because this place recently got new ownership, although the name is still the same. And if there is one thing I know, I know my sushi. Sushi is one of my favorite foods and I’ve also worked at a sushi restaurant before so I can tell good sushi from bad sushi. You can trust me when I say the sushi here is fresh, melt-​in-​your-​mouth quality.
Sushi Tomo is officially me and my family’s new go-​to spot for sushi in Palo Alto! I’ve been back at least three times already. It’s really hard to find good sushi that isn’t ridiculously overpriced in this overpriced city haha. The sushi chef and the servers are also really friendly!
I usually eat just salmon, sometimes I’ll get more of a variety of fish, but the salmon here is just so good so I kind of went overboard and got lots of salmon rolls and hand rolls for me and my sister. My mom usually orders the Nabeyaki or Tempura udon, both which are really refreshing, I particularly enjoy drinking the soup with my sushi. For those that don’t like fresh fish, I tried one of the special tempera rolls the last time I was here and it was pretty solid, not too heavily drenched with sauces like most places.

This is now my goto sushi place. The handroll here is so good. The sushi is fresh with good seasoned rice. And, it’s really cheap.

I’m not very familiar with the area, but came here for lunch with coworkers.
The parking is a bit small, but we found parking just fine. It’s a small Japanese restaurant located on a small busy street.
The staff was friendly and the food was good. I had the chicken teriyaki which was pretty yummy compared to other Japanese restaurants I have tried this place would be ranked on my top 5 list. The dish was served with a salad, rice and soup and it was more than enough. I barely even touched the salad and didn’t finish my miso soup.
I left pretty full and satisfied. Minus 1 star because I have yet to try their sushi (I can’t give a Japanese restaurant 5 stars without trying their sushi)
I overall recommend this spot if you’re in the area and in need of a sushi fix.

They just got the new owner with improved service and food!
Sushi was very fresh and price was really cheap. I used to go sushi plus for good value sushi and this place beats them.
Fries can be improved but if you are a big fan of sushi, you now have the place can fill your stomach without breaking your wallet.

We came here at around 4 pm — it said on Unilocal that they were open, but that wasn’t the case when we got there. My friend explained to them that their restaurant hours were innacurate, and we had no choice but to leave (had korean food instead), though we parked our car in their lot. About 2 hours later, we returned back to the lot, and as we were about to drive off, one of the workers, a young lady, chased our car down, and gave us a takeaway box full of fresh sushi. Flustered, she explained that their owner changed and thanked us profusely for telling them about their hours. We went back, and although we ate previously, couldn’t resist sampling their colorful, fresh rolls — one completely decked out with unagi. Just estimating the price, it must have been worth $ 30 and was on point.
In short, long story, we didn’t actually sit down here for a meal, but it was a worthwhile visit nonetheless. Give this place a try if you happen to be around El Camino! Unagiii…

Used to go there often, but no more.
Food is not bad, but not consistent. One time it’s great, but the next time it seems different. Also, be wary of the sushi on the boats. Got a very old one once, told the waiter, and he took it away, did not say sorry, and did not offer a new one…
The main reason it gets a two-​star is the service. The older lady who normally works there is grouchy, pushy, and makes you feel rushed, almost like you are inconveniencing her by being there. Not big on saying thank you either.
Oh ya, she grumpily STARES at your bill while you write in the tip. This was the tipping point. Will not be going back.

We have been coming here for awhile, with friends and family. But no more. Today we were sadly disappointed with both the food and service. The waitress was unfamiliar with the menu so we had to show the menu or spell the items. Before completing the order, she stopped to take another customer’s order. This was very rude given there were only 3 parties in the entire restaurant.
The order came but was missing 2 items. The waitress denied forgetting the order and was argumentative. Instead of ordering the items for us, she said, «Whatever,» and walked away. We were so surprised. Much later, she returned asking if we still wanted the salad that she had forgotten. We were done and said no.
With regard to the food, the soba noodles were mushy and overcooked. The appetizer came in a thick, black, sticky syrup instead of a light dipping sauce. Our full sushi order never came.
I asked for the manager or owner to express our concerns. A waiter said there was no manager, and to talk to the sushi chef. I told the sushi chef that I preferred to talk to the manager or owner about the poor service, rather than speak to him through a review. The sushi chef shrugged his shoulders and said he would talk to the owner next month. There was no clue about running a restaurant and customer service, and no apology.
I would not recommend even one star.

why the low reviews? My husband and toddler and I love coming here. Jonathan-​son and the staff are very nice, attentive and the sushi here is good. Big, fresh and pricing is good. We love their sushi boats also! The Salmon Sashimi, Spicy Tuna Roll, California Roll, the Fried Oyester hand roll and the various rolls at the sushi boat bar is all good.

We went for the sushi boat experience…
They were understaffed and therefore very inattentive.

The 2.5 Unilocal rating is really spot on
A few things that would help improve the ratings:
The woman taking my order was visibly annoyed by me. She walked away. The second lady was also unpleasant.
Take out orders don’t get miso soup. Why penalize take out orders?
I’d give it 3 or 4 stars if that changed.