Tomodachi Restaurant

Best service and sushi in town! Of course my favorite is the Tomodachi roll — soooooo yummy!!! Every once and a while there’s this younger sushi chef that churns out a quick product during peak hours — that bums us out as our rolls are falling apart on us. Other than that, ZERO complaints.

Not sure why I haven’t tried this place before, being right next to my favorite sandwich takeout and Starbuck’s. It was very slow, to be seated and then to get served. Thought it was a Sunday thing, but then I noticed there was only one server for the whole restaurant! The tempura plate was one of the best I’ve had– crispy and not at all oily or any taste of oil. The tempura onion was almost carmelized and the best of the vegetables. The tempura shrimp was perfect, with tasty tender shrimp that I swear was fresh. The Tomodachi roll is pricey but worth every inch, with tempura shrimp and snow crab rolled inside with spicy tuna on the top, sitting in a mild chili oil.
Excellent place for fresh sashimi, and the sushi has the freshest salmon and ahi tuna.
4-​stars and not 5 because there’s no noodles anywhere on the menu!

Excellent hand rolls and specialty rolls. Pleasant, entertaining chefs. Fast, pleasant service.

Updated: 4 stars. The quality is there, although I still think it’s overpriced relative to other sushi bars with similar quality in the area.

Haven’t been in here for more than 10 years. New people and menu and it was amazing !!! Try the toro!!! Definitely coming back

When we moved out to Westlake Village from West LA, we were worried that we wouldn’t find a good place with great sushi.
Fortunately, our fears were put to rest when we found Tomodachi. Great fish, great service and a fun and welcoming atmosphere.
You are in great hands with Nobu and Sei! Make sure you get their albacore.

Tomo San is the owner of this fabulous gem of a sushi bar. The clientele is loyal for a reason. I fly in from Hawaii and always make this a stop. Sylvia serves you a beautiful cup of hot tea and Nobu San makes the most incredible dishes and sushi. He works fast and with precision matching flavors that will tantalize even the most experienced palates. Enjoy

Third time now in Conejo Valley that I go to a Japanese restaurant to have sushi, and it turns out pretty bad. And why so? It seems that many of the so called Japanese restaurants are owned by Koreans, they have Korean staff and mostly Korean chefs. Would anyone go to an Italian restaurant owned by Russians and where the food was cooked by Swedes??? A Japanese restaurant must be based on the cultural origin, heritage and experience of JAPAN!!! My server was Korean and had no clue whatsoever of Japan, Japanese food, didn’t speak Japanese, or anything. At the end of my meal I asked for some hot green tea. He came with tea bags. First time ever I have been served tea bags at a «so called Japanese restaurant». Of course I told him. His reply was «I don’t know, it is the owner who have decided that». In my opinion, total lack of cultural knowledge! In the future, I will stick to the Japanese restaurants in West LA and Kanda Sushi out here in Westlake Village, the only «good» Japanese restaurant I have so far come across in Westlake/​Agoura/​Thousand Oaks!

This was probably one of my favorite omakase experience. We came in to a pretty busy restaurant and decided to sit at the sushi bar near sushi chef Nobu.
We asked for an omakase and Nobu explained there is no set omakase but will make pieces for us until we are full.
Nobu made some of the most delicious sashimi/​sushi I had. We had about 12 – 15 pieces of things and they were all very specially crafted. My top two was the hamachi sashimi with homemade shiso leaf pesto and the seared scallop over uni nigiri.
Everyone was very friendly in there and it was a great experience.

Definitely my favorite local spot. My wife and I go here about once every other week. And we aren’t the only ones — it’s a favorite of a number of the locals, as evidenced by Nobu and team recognizing us and others due to our frequent visits.
Everything on the menu is great. I gravitate to the Red Dragon roll, the 911 roll, and pieces of Amber Jack, Spanish Mackerel, Salmon, Tuna, and Unagi.

If you’re looking for bells and whistles, this ISN’T your place. But, if you’re looking for great sushi at a comfortable feeling place, you can’t go wrong here. Highly recommended.

Great strip mall sushi! surprise, surprise…
I prefer the sashimi/​sushi here to rolls, but that’s me. I prefer sashimi and sushi to rolls anyway. Nothing like stuffing yourself full of white rice for dinner.
In the case of Tomodachi though, they consistently have good quality fish, it’s cut well and they almost always have REAL Red Snapper… my favorite fish. Other big favorites are the Kampachi, sweet, live shrimp and the Toro.
For those of you who like rolls and not rice, they will do inside out rolls with the seaweed on the inside and those are quite good. Just ask your server.
Strangely I’ve never sat at the bar because we always go in groups… I’ll have try this.

Omg. This place is a hidden gem. I grew up in Simi Valley and frequented the random sushi restaurants in the area with the «Simi Rolls» and «Ventura Rolls». I never really knew what good sushi was until I lived in NYC — and after living there the past 5 years and moving back home, I’ve been somewhat of a food snob and now will never go back to some of the restaurants I used to go to all the time. Enter Unilocal– my quest for good quality sushi near Simi began. After reading some of the other reviews during an intense sushi craving, we decided to give it a shot– and thank God we did! I’m so happy I found a quality, authentic sushi restaurant near home! The fish was buttery fresh and they are generous with their cuts. The sushi rice was perfectly vinegary (and I’m very particular about my sushi rice!). I think for the quality of sushi they provide their prices are a steal. I highly recommend!

Went in for dinner on a Friday night with my parents. We were seated fairly quickly even though the restaurant was packed.
Their nigiri is SO fresh and every single item that we ordered was absolutely delicious and melted in my mouth. I think my favorite was definitely the red snapper and albacore.
Their rolls, however, are rather mediocre with nothing special to say about them. Stick to their sushi!
Definitely will be coming back here! The waiters are extremely attentive and bring you whatever you need right when you ask for it. Excellent customer service.

Yummy! The food was to die for! I am an avid sushi eater and this place has quickly been added to my top five favorite sushi places around here. We were seated right away on a Friday night and asked our drink order immediately. We needed some time to look over the menu and the waiter gave us the perfect amount of time. There were a few of us so we ordered a lot of food. Everything was amazing. My only reason for the four stars is because my roll only had four pieces to it and it was a $ 13 roll. It was a no rice roll and was pretty small. It was way over priced… Otherwise the food was killer! Get the Chili Shrimp Appetizer! It was hands down the best item I had there. Will go back just to get that again.

If you happen to be in Westlake Village and in the mood for Japanese food, this is the place to go! We sat at the bar which had great service and an authentic dining experience. The fish was fresh and the rolls unique — especially their collection of no rice rolls.
I definitely recommend the Yummy Roll and the Tomodachi Roll. Next time, I’d be excited to try some of their specials which include a lot of seasonal items and unique mushroom/​oyster dishes.

This place has become my new favorite after Kanda Sushi in the Westlake/​Thousand Oaks area. It’s solid sushi at a price slightly more affordable than Kanda, and solid sushi means good quality sushi for me (otherwise, i just say they are okay).
Yellowtail —
smooth and rich flavor, just the way i love a yellowtail. I love how it melts in your mouth, similar to Toro (tuna belly), characteristic of Japanese sushi.
Halibut —
they add a bit of sauce that gave it a slightly tangy/​sour kick to the fresh white fish, slightly chewy like the way its supposed to. Typical fresh raw fish tastes this way in the Pacific.
Amberjack (Kampachi) —
this was like the middle between yellowtail and halibut in terms of the texture. I asked the chef to recommend a piece especially fresh or good today and this is what he chose. I wasn’t disappointed.
Unagi (fresh water eel) —
I usually try this whenever I get sushi; unagi is good for men haha. The slightly toasted eel covered with eel sauce was good, and the crunchiness of the toasted ends added to the sensational feelings in my mouth.
Sweet Raw Shrimp (Amaebi) —
I only try this when I gain confidence in the freshness of the sushi at a restaurant, so i decided to give it a shot. I was a little disappointed when I didnt see a clear raw shrimp with blackish tails typical of sushi restaurants back in Korea, but I was pleased with the freshness and slight sweetness of the red-​tailed raw shrimp.
I had Sapporo beer on the side, crisp and golden as usual.
Toro (fatty tuna) —
Toro and Otoro (even better) are the ultimate sushi pieces. If you ever try traditional Japanese-​style sushi, this is the highlight of your course. $ 16 something per dish (2 pieces), unlike the $ 4 – 8 dishes, and definitely worth the investment. Fatty tuna = rich flavor of a tuna that just melts in your mouth. Very good.
Spicy Salmon Hand Roll —
I was pleased with all of my orders that my appetite wouldn’t die out. I just had to have 1 more before leaving, so I ordered a hand roll to fill me up. Mesh of spicy salmon topped over rice and cucumbers wrapped with seaweed, a hand roll made a great finale to my night of extravagant sushi bonanza. The spiciness cleaned up any leftover richness from my previous dishes, and I felt happy paying for my $ 67 bill. You can have a great sushi night for ~$ 40 if you don’t order the beer, Toro, and sweet raw shrimp.
Tip: have a slice of pickled ginger between each plate; it freshens up your mouth and cleans up any leftover flavors so that you can taste the next plate to its fullest potential.
Also, if you are looking for a more affordable sushi dinner, get the $ 25 combo. It has a good variety and is filling. If you want to spend under $ 20, just order the rolls, but… come on, you’re at a solid sushi joint. Just try the sushi.
Overall I am very satisfied with Tomodachi. Solid sushi joint that I would go to more often if I had a deeper pocket.

Had the yellowtail belly nigiri and the fish was fresh but the rice was a bit cold and dry.
I like the tomodachi roll with tempura inside. FYI, the spicy tuna on the outside is the mushy type, not the diced up type which I usually prefer.
Very courteous staff and yes, you may have to wait for a few minutes before s/​he tends to you but for the reasonable price range, I wouldn’t complain.

It has an LA feel. Young people, hip people, people with strange and unkept beards… very cool. Good vibe indeed. Who knew it could be next to a dry cleaners, Starbucks, and Togo’s sandwich place.
My dining partner and I sat at the Sushi counter. One of the four sushi chefs assisted us, and was so nice and ontop of things, tracking easily our orders and another couple of groups with the most pleasant of attitudes.
We weren’t very hungry, but tried a few rolls:
1. Spider Roll ($ 14) — soft shell crab, kinda bland, no flavor (3.0 stars)
2. Spicy Tuna Roll ($ 7) — nice amount of tuna with a kick and very fresh (4.0 stars)
…but the star of the night (and I would get many times over):
3. Tomodachi Roll ($ 15) — tuna and fresh crab… wow wow wow. (5.0 stars)
Years ago, I had the yellowtail/​jalapeño ($ 19) which made my heart spin: yellowtail carpaccio sushimi and jalapeño slices with ponzu sauce was incredible. Definitely ordering that along with the Tomodachi rolls on my next visit, which will be soon. mmmm

My husband was looking for a new car at the Thousand Oaks auto center. After going to one dealership, we got hungry and we wanted sushi. Did a search on Unilocal and found this place. We went there on a Sunday afternoon at 12 o’clock and it was completely empty, we were there from 12 to 1:30 and we were the only ones there. It is football season so I guess people are at home watching football. We thoroughly enjoyed the sushi and rolls, if you were back in the neighborhood again we would go there for lunch or dinner.