I have a history with White Center. I lived here for five years, 1996 to 2000. There was a diverse food establishments here. One of my favorite places, was a Samoan restaurant. There was a grandmother, in front manually slicing taro with a machete, to make palusami (taro leaves in coconut cream). Another favorite dish here was sapasui (Samoan chop suey).  Additionally, there was Angor Wat Cambodian restaurant, now called ApsaraPalace.https://www.facebook.com/khmer.apsarapalace. Next, the Pasteleria Y Panaderia La Ideal. Such a wonderful place. I recommend this panaderias so much. The concha's are a real favorite. Smaller ones are reasonably cost, so a real bargain. Let's dive into more offerings. Ordered the fruit mini pies, flaky crust and fruity filling. Ordered flan and other baked goods not offered in many places. Some with cream, gelatin and other ingredients. Hard to decide what to order. Taqueria la Fondita is another choice .People who live here, like myself, rely on lower cost options. Came here many years later, to try Tomo. So excited to try. A Canlis high rated restaurant in White Center, aka Rat city? The ambiance is adult movie theater next door and seating in view of a waste refusal. The check in was brusque. They seemed short of staff at check in. My previous White Center experience, is to roll with lack of service. Ok, let's try this highly rated restaurant. The White Center food options have historically been generous and filling. Unfortunately, Tomo offerings are expensive and scant. I think the biggest travesty of this place,is its lack of incorporating the direct community to their restaurant. Very few residents here, wish to spend 300 on gourmet food and still be hungry. Came in after making reservation and deposit. Not the best initial service. A little annoyed we are here and checking in. However, once seated, great service. I think one of the strongest components here, is the mixologist. We ordered several cocktails, which were incredibly delicious. Also ordered the wine pairing. I think the drinks easily overwhelmed the rather scant food. A lot of time sitting on uncomfortable chairs, waiting endlessly for our small next course. Easily eaten in one minute and then the wait for more. Bingsoo inspired dessert was delicious. Overall, this is a restaurant that is not homogeneous with the neighborhood . To travel here, to pay high Canlis prices and leave hungry is a travesty. White Center is not the place for this restaurant. read more

I think for the prices it was "okay," not great. My fiancé took me here for dinner, and while the food was decent, there was no 'wow' factor. I actually felt bad because he wanted to take me somewhere special for my birthday, and it left us wanting more. We ordered the bread with butter and a salad that was Japanese 'inspired,' but really, hardly anything on the menu truly represented Asian cooking. Wine vinegar and shiso are as 'Japanese' as it really got, lol. We ordered the pork chop, and while it was cooked perfectly, and we loved the veggies with it, it came with a moat of fondue cheese sauce. When I say a moat, I literally mean half the plate. Now, I'm not a plating queen myself, but from what I do know, serving a white sauce on a white plate and having it cover half the dish is not very appealing in itself. And cheese sauce with meat? The only thing it was good for was dipping the bread in it. On top of that, they charge a 22% service fee that goes to the house. I utterly loathe this trend in Seattle, especially since they give you an option to tip on top of that. The house doesn't deserve a 22% "tip"; the servers deserve their tips. The house should raise its prices if it's struggling, but trying to pass that off onto the client is ridiculous. However, we also won't feel like we're forced to tip 50% for our meal. That's absurd. If this place was $20-30 per entree, I wouldn't be so critical, but when you're charging high prices, small details matter. A restaurant that is Japanese-inspired should understand that. Japanese culture is ALL about noticing the small, fine details, especially in food. There is a reason Japanese sushi chefs train for years just to learn how to make sushi rice alone. Japanese cooking is about perfection, so if you are going to call yourself a Japanese fusion restaurant and charge around $200 and up for two people, it better be spectacular. Side note: Not related to food, but their website is a disaster. Whoever the web designer is needs a new job. It looks like something that was made in 2005, with all the floating, annoying animations and flashing text. Ugh. read more

Tomo - New American Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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We made reservations early and were excited to dine here. Parking can be a bear on a weekend night so plan to arrive a little early. We ended up on the patio, which was a bit chilly. But our server was happy to get an extra heater going or grab some Filson blankets. She was was super friendly and prompt. We started with drinks: two Atmospheric Rivers, Parallel Lives, and a Lucky Bunny while we decided whether we were doing the wine pairing. Our friend Brian at Field Bar & Bottle Shop recommended that chat with his friend Rebar who's the somm at Tomo. So we decided to ask Rebar what should we do. We settled on the Piquenique followed by the Andrea Scovero to go with dinner. The April menu looked great and the gift from the kitchen that came out, beet arepas, were unexpected (and super tasty). The Dungeness crab starter was fantastic - I wanted to lick the bowl. The sweet potato milk buns were awesome - the salt on top was a great note. We all loved the gigante beans in tendon. The porchetta was to die for. Basically everything was VERY good! read more

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Great food, friendly service, nice outdoor patio. Tiramisu shave ice was my favorite. But the Ceasar salad with furikake different but still yummy. read more

Tomo - Tiramisu Shaved Ice?! It was absolutely delicious. Will definitely be back! - New American Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Agree with Erik R.'s review. We did the family menu for three and also found the service poor and inattentive. All our menus sat on the table the whole meal, we never got a water refill, and empty cocktail glasses stayed on the table the whole meal. A 22% service fee for that is just offensive. The pork chop was super fatty and one slice was quite undercooked. The pacing was off, multiple dishes at once, then a very long wait. The kakigori was bland and boring. No cohesion in the dishes. The mocktail was one dimensional. I used to love Tomo, but I wouldn't go back. The reason I gave it two stars instead of one was for the Caesar and the noise level, which was comfortable and allowed for conversation. read more

I've been wanting to go here for a while and finally snagged some NYE lunch reservations. It did not disappoint! We loved the dark electric atmosphere, the narrow seating space made me feel like we were back in NY! We enjoyed all of the dishes except for the dessert. Standouts were the chawanmushi, pasta, and beef rib. The uni on the chawanmushi was soo good and the vinegar on the egg was a new take on the fish that I'd never had before. The pasta had generous shavings of white truffle and it said the filling was chestnut, which I've never had. It reminded me of butternut squash. That with the chanterelle mushrooms was perfect. The beef ribs had the most amazing texture, and was perfectly cooked to a medium rare. The only disappointing dish was the dessert. The mousse in it was good but the pastry layers it was on was dry and hard to eat. Thankfully they gave us a little extra treat at the end with the bill, so we didn't have to end on a bad note. For the NYE meal, they also gave complimentary champagne/non-alcoholic Riesling, and a take home of yogurt and granola! Breakfast for the next day, which was such a thoughtful touch! Overall, we had a great experience and I hope to come back for their other menus. read more

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Excited to try this place considering that the chef is formally of Canlis. We're in the north end and it was quite the haul to get down there. Parking was rough. Read some reviews that said the staff wasn't friendly. We did find the host to be brusque, which didn't start for a good opening tone. However, the other staff was very friendly and accommodating. As to food, we found the Uni custard to be very tasty and also enjoyed the crab fried rice. We thought that the ahi was kind of boring, and the shrimp were overcooked. The asparagus itself lacked in quality. Cocktails rocked. All that being said, we probably won't be going back. read more

The atmosphere when you first walk in gives off very hip and modern vibes. There's minimal decor and low lighting, which is in total contrast to their maximalist website, which is just kind of funny. We started off with cocktails--Tokyo Drifter and Chikorita and the latter was delicious and so unique! Tequila + matcha + coconut is the combination I didn't know I needed in a drink. We both got the set menu (you have to have full table participation anyways..), and both opted for the Dungeness crab rice add-on. The first bite was delicious! A lightly fried (I think) daikon radish with small toppings. This was followed by the chawanmushi with shiitake and stinging nettle, which was a table favorite. Honestly, all of the courses were pretty good, some better than others, but nothing really blew me away. I knew I'd have to write this review the next morning because if I waited much longer I'd probably forget each dish. One thing that clearly stood out, however, was the amount of time between courses. While I wasn't in a hurry to leave, there was a bit of a noticeable lull between courses, especially when we observed tables next to us (who arrived later) getting the same set menu and a bit of a faster pace. It's definitely a relaxed pace and gives you plenty of time to eat and savor the plate! Service was friendly and they explained every dish, but honestly not the most attentive. Would really only come over when the next course was ready, and we had to ask for more water which I certainly don't mind doing, but feel that it would be a non-thing at a restaurant like this. The meal itself was lovely, the ambiance is nice and the bathrooms reminded me of Japanese bathrooms. But for the overall price tag (plus 22% service charge), I'm definitely not going to be back. read more

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We went to Tomo for my birthday in June, so this post is a bit late. Service was great, as were our cocktails. The food was good, yet without the wow factor that I was expecting after all I had heard. Sounds like our experience wasn't unique. read more

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All around spectacular experience. Wait staff was so friendly and attentive and the meal was excellent! My husband and I couldn't decide what our favorite bite was because it was all so good! read more

We came here for some small bites but I don't remember too much about the quality of food. I know the amount of food offered was small for the portion and it was just average. Wanted to make a shout-out here about something else that stood out though--- The bartender was very kind to my friend- she wasn't feeling well (barely ate) so he comped a tea for us. It was a cozy bar/restaurant, I would say it felt very Americanized due to clientele.. even though it was Japanese (at least when we were there). The surrounding area looks somewhat run down and it's an unassuming restaurant given the location. read more

This restaurant is a gem and I loved the everything from the food, service, ambiance to the overall vibe of the restaurant. I am just a person who enjoys food and this restaurant checked all the boxes for me. I would 100% go back and try more seasonal food they have to offer. Everything was flavorful, seasoned well and cooked perfectly. 5 out of 5 stars! read more

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The food, the service and the vibe were overall a wonderful experience. Will be coming again. read more

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I'd give my experience a modest 2.5, but had my friend and I kept on talking about what we didn't like about Tomo after the fact, the rating would have dropped even more, so we stopped talking about our experience. First off, this place has no sign! If you are walking around White Center and getting lost trying to find this damn place, you are not alone. The interior decor looks nice, but a reviewer had said the inside looks like an "oasis" - no, it doesn't. Calm yourself. Here is a detailed summary of each of the dishes we got in our set menu (and some of them contain suggestions on how to make the dish better): - Summer squash chips = this was a nice starter with a refreshing taste. Too bad it was only 2 of them between my friend and I - we would have wanted 10 each. - Cheese, Tomato, and Nardello Pepper = this is essentially a twist on caprese salad. Not bad. - DAC Cocktail = a daiquiri with subtle cantaloupe flavor. Not overly sweet, but was strong and appreciated the cantaloupe-ness. This was around $16-$17, so not sure it was worth it. We're in White Center, not Vegas. Get off your high horse. - Beef Tartare Tostada = "wtf is this" was my initial thought. There were too many greens shit on top of the tostada so it made the thing astringent, but the greens also contained this tangy flavor that doesn't go well with beef tartare (and, in fact, overpowers the little mofo). Also why the hell were there ikura eggs? This added nothing to the dish aside from disappointment. My suggestion would have been to get rid of the greens, replace them with perilla leaves, toss the ikura, and instead crack a quail egg yolk in the center. Then, you (the customer) could mix the egg yolk with the beef to keep it moist. - Summer Lettuce Salad = comes with mint and bottarga. This was refreshing and nice to have, but nothing special. - Sablefish Katsu = this is my favorite dish! Gives me all the umami feels with the miso, mirin, and black sesame oil. Honestly I probably just like this because it's something I would make and eat at home, but with a nice scallion sauce as an added touch (I'm one of those people who run for Asian food after vacationing in Europe). Also side note, the fish was a little overcooked so better to undercook as it will likely keep on cooking by the time it gets served. - Gelato Dessert = comes with cherries, honey, spruce, and almond. Flavor was decent, but that's about it. - Sarsaparilla Bingsoo = another wtf moment. I don't know if the chef just likes to challenge themselves from time to time, but I don't get the sarsaparilla element. The flavor profile was interesting but if you blind taste tested me I couldn't tell you what was in the dessert. And why were there marshmallows? This colorful diarrhea, by the way, was $20. While the servers were friendly and the bathroom looked cool with its hi-tech toilet, I think my friend and I had certain expectations with Tomo, especially when booking a reservation OVER TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE. But aside from my comments about the dishes above, it's not like they were aesthetically pleasing either (they weren't). I remember when I had kaiseki in Kyoto everything there looked pretty (but unfortunately that was pre-IG days). Also doesn't help that we still felt hungry afterwards. Oh well, I guess we have Tomo to thank for leading us to the Salvadorean bakery nearby. The tamales, tres leches cake, and horchata there were AMAZING! Finally, this is the ONLY establishment I've been told to not film their employees due to protecting their privacy. First of all, I was not filming your employees when I had my phone out. Secondly, your employees are not that important such that I would film their ass - as stated above, get off your high horse. I was going to feature this place on my Ig/YouTube channel, but now my conscience has stopped me completely due to the foregoing reasons. Was this a good experience? Yes. Would I want to experience this again? No. read more

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Ambiance is cozy and inviting. Our server was attentive and provided great service even when it got busier towards the end of our dinner reservation. We ordered 4 dishes and a dessert to share among 3 people which was enough. While it was great trying a la carte menu, it can be little pricy. read more

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After tasting their fixed menu, it was hard for me to distinguish where the chef(s) were going with flavors. The first two courses hinted at Chef Brady Williams' heritage but the last three seemed out of place. You assume there's a hint of Japanese and certain courses did do that. For a meal that's $100+ per person, I just don't think it's worth it. First course was a cold tofu dish with peas and warm tempura snap peas. It was a nice way to start the dinner and you definitely tasted the freshness of the ingredients. Second course was a fish dish. My first bite of the sablefish tasted a bit off but the rest of the dish was fine. The beans and broth was well seasoned. Third course was asparagus. This kinda took me by surprise as the dish was quite citrusy/sour. I suppose it almost acted like a palate cleanser. Fourth course was tri-tip and my cut had quite a bit of sinew. It was a tough course to get through since every bite was quite chewy. Last course was a frozen yogurt and we opted to add their kakigori of the day. I'd say the kakigori was the winning dish of the dinner. Cocktails - I tried Mei's Milk Punch and Parallel Lives. Both were bourbon drinks and quite refreshing! I'd come back for their cocktails and want to try their a la carte menu. Service was friendly and on point! ...and yes, the bathroom does play whale sounds. read more

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We ordered the family style for $ 78 per person and the portions for 2 were very small. I noted the gentleman next to us also ordered the family style but he was alone; and it was the same price. He then ordered the crab rice and Chicken separate. I felt a bit cheated as the food was mid and $200 bucks for 1 meal that left me desiring more. read more

OVERALL: 6.9/10 (Yelp Converted Score: 3.45/5 - rounded to 3/5). My partner and I found this place on Yelp and saw that it was really nice for drinks, so we went to go find it... and almost got lost. We didn't have reservations, but we were willing to be seated at the bar - which there were two spots left when we arrived! Verdict: it's better if you get a reservation and sit at a table (the menu is definitely different), but don't expect to leave full - this place isn't meant to be an "eatery". In my foodie partner's words: "not special". 1) VARIETY/SELECTION: 6.5/10. The bar menu is pretty sparse for food, but there's entire pages for drinks. For food, there's only olives, duck prosciutto, fermented radish chawanmushi, korokke, sunchoke, tuskune, and two desserts - semifreddo and kakigori (shaved ice). 2) FRESHNESS: 7.5/10. Duck prosciutto was the freshest of them all, but the pork tsukune had the most flavour (despite taking the longest to come out, since it was being prepared fresh). The rest weren't that memorable, but fresh enough to not be terrible, so that's a plus. 3) VALUE FOR MONEY: 6/10. Drinks were decent, but food is at-most passable; the food is definitely overpriced, since we ordered (in addition to a cocktail each): - Duck Prosciutto ($14) - these are very thin slices, and not very many. Full of flavour, though. - Sunchoke ($16) - the sauce was quite nice, but I was surprised at how small the dish was. - Pork Tsukune ($12) - basically two small sausages with an egg. Not much else to add there. This took so long to come out that they didn't end up charging us for it, so I can't mark this down too far. - Black Sesame Semifreddo ($12) - the yuzu sauce here was the highlight; this was pretty much the only dish I felt was nice (and at least mostly worth it?). All of the food felt overpriced by at least $4 each (especially the sunchoke dish - that was closer to $6-8 overpriced). Including drinks, tax, and tip, this came out to $80.59 for two people. Given that both of us left hungry (We went to a pho place across the way after this), it's... meh. 4) SERVICE: 7.5/10. The bartender was solely the bartender for EVERYONE in the restaurant, AND they were serving the folks seated at the bar (my partner and I). It took a while to get water (after we ordered cocktails) since they were so inundated with requests, but it really made me think that they could have used more help back there. For the most part, the food came out quickly, and the drinks were promptly made. The tsukune dish took the longest (around 30 minutes to come out); the bartender apologized, since there was a mix-up in the ordering, apparently, and comped that dish for us, so that was nice of them (+0.5). Generally, it was hard to flag down the bartender to get anything else though, since their attention was so focused on making drinks for the rest of the restaurant (it was maybe 15 tables, but it's still a lot of drinks to make for one person). 5) CONSISTENCY / FIRST IMPRESSION: 7/10. This place is hard to find: On their own website, they mention the landmarks around this place, but it doesn't mean you'll be able to pick it out of a lineup - during the day, and especially not at night. There's no signage, anywhere on the front or on the door - it's only when you walk in that you realize it's the right place. There's no "on site" parking here, so you have to park along the street in the vicinity of this place (which is shared with all of the other nearby businesses). That said, my initial impression was positive - there's a generally chill vibe, and the front-of-staff let us know that the bar was the only available option (even though there were tables that were probably reserved, but not accounted for, in the entire time we were there). read more

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Meh! I was excited to try this place. Service was great, food was underwhelming. Pretty pricey for the food quality and options. The most interesting thing was the fancy toilet. I would not recommend. read more

I've been to Tomo for the past three of my wedding anniversaries! (I've only had 3 :)) I love it every time! Always a good experience, the ambience is very sleek and the service is impeccable. The first time we went was our first experience with a tasting menu back in 2022, it set the bar high and is one of the best meals we've had!! The second time we went, we had the tasting menu again but we also did the wine pairing and to date it's the best dining experience I've had. The crab chawanmushi paired with a delicious white wine really blew my mind and I've been chasing the high ever since! For dessert that night they made a sweet and vinegary blueberry rice vinegar and vanilla treat. One of my first times having vinegar in a dessert that was so forward, I am forever changed. The third time we went was also exceptional, we got a great view of the kitchen and the service was great. We feel like we are treated with care and love each time we are there. I can't wait to go back and have some more Kakigori and chawanmushi! read more

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Repeat as many times as necessary: Pretty does not equate to value or taste. The restaurant space is an oasis. Clean lines, dark, moody yet calm and inviting. It's reminiscent of Umi's and Momiji in Seattle. The bathrooms feature Japanese toilets with bidets and sounds of whales to mute the noise. They were all very nice touches and a stark contrast to drab of White Center. Reservations need to be booked about a month in advance and the tasting menu is $78 pre tax and tip. A 20% service gratuity is automatically added on top of the bill, which is to be expected. Our group of 5 spent $750 here for the tasting menu and drinks. The menu changes seasonally but you are able to add on items a la carte. The dinnerware is beautiful and made locally, but the plating of the food itself was visually subpar opting for a bland minimal presentation on muted natural ceramic. The food itself was quite standard, nothing to write home about. The only thing that stood out about the dinner was the grape sorbet at the end, which was very tasty reminiscent of those grape hi-chews. Cocktails were great, and had a lot of flavor, As a new restaurant with a tasting menu, the pacing was terrible. 7 items in total: 5 dishes, with 2 additional amuse bouche took over 2 hours. We started dinner at 8:30pm and didn't get out until 10:40pm on a Sunday evening. Service was attentive the entire time, but the pacing and portion size from the kitchen left a lot to be desired. Portions of the food were on the smaller side, leaving us unsatisfied. A great place to tease your curiosity but this is not a place that you would dine on a regular basis. +1 Vibe +0 Taste +0 Presentation +1 Service +0 Value read more

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Our experience at Tomo was very mid. Not great, not terrible. I don't regret going but the cost for what we experienced means we don't plan to come again. In terms of ambience, the music was loud and my side of the table was sticky when we sat down. Honestly, if I could get a 50% refund, I would. We were seated looking into the kitchen which I loved because we could see food being prepared. The chefs on Appetizers were very efficient. Things seemed a little behind in the Mains section and that was still true based on the long stretch between our appetizers and mains. At times, there were multiple wait staff clustered waiting for food for their tables. The best thing (and honestly only item I'd boast about here) were the Sea Lettuce Rolls! They were soft and umami. We splurged (literally $4 a parker house roll so $16 a plate) and ordered a second plate. The first plate was lukewarm but the second had a much cozier temperature. I was excited about the Beets, Yogurt, and Shiso, and while good, it didn't have shiso! I would have said something if we were able to catch a staff member before eating, but we were hungry. I'm pretty disappointed about the missing ingredient that made me want to get this in the first place. This was also $16 for some very thin beet slices and a spoonful of yogurt. Yikes. The Dungeness Crab Rice was an unexpected gumbo. Very small portion considering it was $24 for a few spoonful of rice between two people and five chunks of crab. Came out almost cold. The Halibut Collar with Clams and Serrano Jaew was pretty delicious and the fish was very well cooked, however some of the clams were still really gritty. Temperature was lukewarm. The sauce was good. $45 and I don't think I'd pay that again. The Fried Chicken was unevenly salted and overall not salted enough. The onions were super long and overcooked so difficult to eat, but were were still hungry and wanted to get as much of the $38 out of that dish as possible. The is also a 22% service charge. Normally when I see this, the staff are excellent and always coming to check on us, but my fiance said he'd only leave a 15% tip if we had a choice. Nobody was rude, but they just weren't attentive and we were forgotten near the end of the meal when trying to get the check and leave. read more

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Our food journey at Tomo was wonderful, and the service was, as well. Special shout out to "Loren" Sp? (Lots of tattoos) He has such a nice tone. And was always nearby, anticipating what we might need. We went with a set menu, and would go that route again. Each course had its own unique and complete taste and texture, but they all seemed to compliment the next. Here are a few pictures of the evening. We will most certainly be dining with Tomo again. read more

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Okay West Seattle, I see you! I was in town visiting & getting to know this area as I've only really spent time in the downtown area. I can confidently say that Tomo is a gem worth traveling for (from Michigan or just from downtown really!) I mean truly any place that has a five-course tasting menu for $68/pp is at least worth a second look. Yelper Elva G. snagged a table of 6 for their 2nd night of service! Clutch. It's a 28-seat restaurant so you have to be on it like Coachella tickets! We had some some pre-dinner drinks at Beer Star and walked over. Upon entering the space, I loved the sleek, modern but warm vibes! It was like I was back in Los Angeles....without all the pretentiousness. I mean the dress code in the FAQ straight up says "We don't believe in dress codes. We do, however, encourage you to wear clothes." So, it's ACTUALLY super casual! For their dinner tasting menu, you can pick between the standard or vegetarian menu. I appreciated that Ally - our server - was super flexy. While she assured me that the aged lamb on the menu wasn't gamey, I was able to swap that dish out for the maitake entree so I did a combo standard+vegetarian menu basically. So, my night went a little like this: *Wine Pairing reco from Andy - the Wine Director! In the vein of not being pretentious AF, he recommended delightful yet affordable wines that weren't being sold at 300x mark up! Ask for a recommendation!! We had a very lovely & light red - 2020 Seven Springs Pinot Noir. *Amuse Bouche - a buckwheat tostada - very lovely little bite, no complaints *Sungold Tomato and Cherry - the balance of flavors made this super mouthwateringly delicious! Loved how tart it was. Michiganders, it reminds me of the pickled tomato dish at Mani. *Summer Squash, Hemp, and Arugula - sooo savory and wonderfully seasoned! The main note that I recall from this dish was sesame/gomu-goodness!! *Albacore, Shokupan, and Sansho Peppercorn - I don't love albacore but this was delightfully delicious. It was lightly breaded with the shokupan (Japanese milk bread) so it was almost katsu-like! Big fan of the sansho which is, to me, like a yuzu meets ma la peppercorn. I usually have it on hotate (scallop) sashimi but loved it on the albacore! *Maitake, Asado Negro, Arepas - Even though I had the maitake and not the lamb (which again wasn't gamey at all - had a bite of my friend's!), this ate like beijing duck to me. The asado negro had this umami goodness that was reminded me of the sweet bean (Tianmian) sauce. The arepas were a really nice twist on the usual fluffy steamed bao. This was a peak experience for me. I mean it's like that Ratatouille moment when he's brought back to childhood...except I love it when it's a bit of a mindboggle when the form is completely different but the flavors conjure up warm and comforting memories! *Beeswax, Peach, Almond - Our server described it as fragipane tart, peach compote, fluffy cloud of beeswax cream, topped with bee pollen! As the highest compliment in Chinese culture goes - it wasn't too sweet! The textures kept it interesting. The closed with their version of an after dinner mint and it was INTERESTING. Worth a try but not my favorite - basically a mint marshmallow! My friends enjoyed their cocktails so definitely worth a try too! read more

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I wanted to love this place because of the chill vibe - nothing says "hole in the wall" discovery like parking in front of an adult video store when you roll up. The space itself is great and I love the bar. Everything else? Hit or miss, with pretty big swings in either direction. The pork chop was delicious... and I grill A LOT of pork chops. The food runner mumbled something about using vintage charcoal (assuming grill?) when she dropped it, which I would have loved to hear more about. The fried chicken dish was also great (and fried four times - how do you beat that?!?) and close behind the pork chop in terms of things I'd drive 45 mins from the east side for. The sweet potato dish did not work for me, and the sweet/salty combo of potato with roe just fell flat. The biggest challenge I have with Tomo is the wine service. The restaurant hypes its wine program and they have a pretty exstensive list across both wine (Hofgut Falkenstein for a value win) and beer/cider (Floodlands Constellatory Practice, etc.). Love that, and I understand why they're proud of their list and the thought that went into it. The pricing on the wine, however, borders on exhtortion ($900 Allemand is Canlis+ pricing) and the corkage is $50, which might be the highest corkage fee in Seattle. I can deal with that and chalk it up as a cost of going to a trendy/James Beard restaurant... but wtf is up with the stems? If you're charging me $50 for corkage (and I'm fine with that, as I'm choosing bottles for a reason), give me a Zalto or even Riedel not a small, $2.99 pilsner/iced tea glass that I'd pound Ranier out of at a Seahawks tailgate. Either you have a top-end wine program, cost it accordingly and deliver the entire service or reconsider your pricing model. FFS, just get decent stemware; I'll pay the higher prices and stop complaining. read more

Opening night - still have some service/timing kinks to work out, but the ingredients were well thought out and the finished plates were delicious. You start out by choosing between a regular and vegetarian menu. Our table all chose the regular. Yuzu shiso sake cocktail was tangy and well balanced. Wonderful wine list both for bottles and by the glass. The starting buckwheat crackers and squash with miso were so much more flavorful than I expected. Absolutely loved these. The ahi was katsu-style breaded and I thought could use a bit more sauce or fat and been thawed a bit longer - but it was a unique take. The lamb belly was decadent, though I have to say the knife I was given was not quite able to cut through the connecting fat of the larger lamb piece. The accompanying arepas were so well made and a great addition. The finishing dessert was really just lovely. I don't usually like sweets but this was so fresh and the honey was such a nice flavor. Really really enjoyed it. Servers and all waitstaff were really just so nice. But we arrived around 8pm and we're not served a drink until 8:30 and our first course until about 9:15. After that, the courses came smoothly. But we did have to flag someone down to order wine. We did not opt for the extra shaved ice kakigori dessert as we were all quite tired by 11pm. It was also very warm from about 8-10pm and our whole table was sweating. Thankfully I think it got cooler around 10, whether that was due to the cool night or AC. Overall, I have to say what Brady Williams does with vegetables and unabashed ingredients is nothing short of miraculous. I really wish one of us had tried the vegetarian menu to compare. I'm sure that we're will be nothing but rave reviews following the first few days. read more

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I'd wanted to go to Tomo for a long time; reservations were hard to come by. I finally got in for a friend's birthday dinner. The wait was worth it. 4 of us had the 5-course sampler, with 2 wine pairing flights. The meal got off to a tough start with the salad being wildly underwhelming, but it improved dramatically from there. The summer squash was almost the perfect dish - simply sublime flavors and texture. The halibut was the most delicate I've had of a fish I ordinarily don't enjoy. Overall a magnificent meal. The wine pairing was another story altogether. None of them worked either on their own or paired with their course. Too dull, too sour, too boring. The dessert wine (an extra charge?) was the most disappointing. With lots of upsell opportunities sprinkled throughout the meal (which we usually added on), Tomo is as expensive as it is hard to get into. I'd happily go again, but I'd skip the wine pairing. read more

Tomo is an upscale trendy restaurant hidden in White Center. It was definitely an experience and all the waitstaff were very kind and knowledgeable. The restaurant decor and ambiance was very hip and cool. Each course of the tasting menu was very innovative and my favorite was the starter dip with salmon roe, the beans and squid dish, and the pork collar that was perfectly cooked. All the flavors were extremely unique and I actually left feeling very full. This would definitely be an impressive date night/fun experience! read more

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Somewhat discreetly located next to an adult video store. Dark and cozy interior. We sat at the bar to watch the mixologist and they had very unique cocktails; one included drops of olive oil on top. The 5 course menu was tasty especially the focaccia bread. Definitely worth a try but I was more impressed with the cocktails than the food. Great service and enjoyed talking to the mixologists and all their creations. read more

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My husband and I enjoy Tomo as a special date night spot. As West Seattle residents, we were a little surprised that this fine dining concept would choose white center as their location, but after 4 times going here, we enjoy the juxtaposition of the casual (and sometimes gritty) location with a comfortable sophistication (ok it is bougie). Personally, I like the patio, they have heaters, blankets, and you get some of the white center feel- it's unique. Service has always been gracious and friendly. They are professionals. The auto gratuity is well deserved. And everyone seems legit cool and is into where they work, but not in a self satisfied way. Food is delicious and inventive. I feel like the items they create isn't what everyone else is doing. I like their concentration on vegetables. Really some of the best preparations I have had. For picky eaters the set meal might be difficult, but I think the "no choices" gets me out of my shell. Recently, their sweet bread tartine was my favorite course and that is something I would likely not order. Cocktails are really good too. Balanced and boozy- canon level without the fanfare. During dinner, we always plot how we can recreate them at home ( but never quite succeed). Some things to consider, it is one of the more affordable prix frixe restaurants in Seattle but it is not cheap. However, Seattle isn't a cheap place to run a restaurant either. This isn't going to be a fast dinner experience; revel in lingering. White center isn't everyone's cup of tea. It is a little rougher (though my husband from Chicago land laughs at my definition of rough) than the junction. And if you aren't ready to commit to the full experience, try for a walk-in bar seat for a cocktail or bite. That's what we hope to do soon. read more

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I really enjoyed my dinner at Tomo. The vibe is (somehow) casual fine dining. There's no dress code, and in true Seattle fashion, there was a variety of looks throughout the place. Servers were in neutrals and light materials (it's July and HOT). There's nothing else like Tomo in White Center. We sat near the open kitchen area and got to watch the staff put plates together with tweezers. Very "The Bear" minus the screaming. Each dish was carefully put together and a whole team would support serving the dishes to the tables. They seem to work well as a team, and we interacted with at least 5 staff throughout the dinner. The wine sommelier was knowledgeable and helpful. We opted for a few cocktails and two bottles of wine. It was my birthday though, and I was a little disappointed that there was no effort to acknowledge that (a glass of bubbles or even a hand written note would be a nice gesture). The menu changes as it is seasonal, so I won't go too into detail about each dish but our table loved these little meat pockets, super savory. My favorite was a halibut with snap peas, just so flavorful without being heavy, the green hue is stunning. The dessert was incredible too, a salty ice cream with a Lucious chunky cherry sauce. It's expensive if you're getting wine or cocktails on top of your dinner. The bread, crab rice and shaved ice are all optional add-ons to the set menu, so it can add up. Our bill was around $850 for four people after drinks and add ons. However, we left feeling full and satisfied. This was a splurge and it was special. We were there a little over two hours, you are not rushed out, but if you're on a time limit I would not suggest the set menu. There is an a la carte menu, but your whole table must do the tasting if that's the route you're going (so be mindful if you're inviting friends on a budget). I'd definitely go again for a special night. read more

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The Caesar salad was great, as was the pork chop. The rest was average or so. But for the price, the service pacing was poor despite ordering the family style paced meal (first 3 dishes arrived at once anyway) and it was incredibly difficult and slow to get a drink... Despite sitting at the bar! Just not worth the price point. read more

Went here for my birthday. I loved the ambiance and service, but the food isn't worth the $. We did the tasting menu which was about $100/pp without drinks. All of the dishes are acidic and it felt like throughout the menu, there wasn't variety in taste because of the abundance of acidic flavors. We had 2 primary protein dishes. The pork was exceptional, and the albacore Katsu was ok. We enjoyed the Kakigori but it had a lot of dry spots. The food here rotates seasonally. I would consider going again for the ala carte menu, but probably wouldn't do the tasting again. read more

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This restaurant has so much hype around it and after finally getting reservations to go for a table of 4 on a Friday night - it was quite a lackluster experience. I thought the portions were definitely small, the menu was okay, and service was also just okay. I came on a rainly night as well and parking was hard to find and surrounding area wasn't very pleasant. The menu for the evening was a fig and straccietella appetizer, gem lettuce salad, albacore, lamb and chocolate for dessert. The best dish of the evening was the cheese and fig at the beginning, and everything else fell flat for me. The flavors were fine, but not "inspiring" or new/different. For the presentation, price point and hype around this restaurant, I was expecting something more. The portions were smaller than I would've liked... definitely felt like everything was a taste or sample rather than a full plate. I don't have a huge appetite, and I left the restaurant hungry. Drinks were great! Cocktails were on point but also quite pricey at about $16 each. We didn't get the wine pairing, but if we did, it would've been $68pp. Service was okay, I didn't feel like they were particularly attentive, nor did they ignore me. They did swap out the cutlery after each course which is nice. I thought the dishes took a while to come out, so the entire dinner took us 2 hours even though we didn't order anything else (nor did we get the kakigori). Would skip next time and opt for another place for this price point. Dinner with drinks came out to be $120 per person before tax and tip. Plus the Lil' Woody's burger on the side after. read more

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Losing its luster Still enjoyed the food and vibe Still don't have a phone Haiku review read more

I had heard about Tomo and all of the accolades it has received for the past couple of years and finally had a chance to visit. We had an early reservation on a Friday around 6:00 p.m. so it wasn't too crowded then. I did some research on what to order and the consensus was the chicken and the steam burgers so that's what we went with. I hate to give a negative review but unfortunately have to. The food was interesting, not bad, not great, but I would not order either dish again. The steam burgers were something you could make at home pretty easily and the chicken, to me tasted more like a fish and chips batter with honey, but with chicken instead. Not bad by any means, but not amazing either. But food aside, the things that stood out negatively were 1) very slow service, took forever to get a glass of wine and orders in; 2) we ordered what thought would be a nice $100 bottle of red wine which took more than 20 minutes to arrive and the server said that it had to be cooled down which really made us wonder how they store their wines (the wine was cooked and we should not have accepted it); and 3) they automatically add a 22% service fee to the bill, which I don't have any issues with, but the service was very slow and the server didn't tell us about the automatic gratuity. I usually don't pay much attention to the details of a bill, but I almost tipped an additional 20% on top of their 22% but caught my mistake last minute. I think most restaurants should remind customers if they are adding an automatic tip, which I have no problem paying just so they don't tip twice. I will go back to Tomo again, but will order different menu items and hopefully the service will improve. read more

One of the most creative and welcoming restaurants I've ever had the pleasure of eating at. The food and service are always at the highest level and they host fun pop up events with exciting chefs and winemakers from other cities as well as cool up and coming local folks. And literally everyone who works there is just incredibly kind and cool. I love this place. read more

Food - over seasoned, food was either too salty or too sour?! Steamed egg - enoki mushroom on top was overly sour, dish didn't come together well bread and butter - this was solid manila clans - sauce too salty, rice cakes were stuck together, which is a little nit picky on my end BUT for the price you're paying... Dungeness crab rice - a little confused by this dish, vision sounded great, execution wasn't there. Still too sour?? Wish there was more crab for a $24 surcharge Kakigori - this was probably the best dish after the bread, tart and citrus forward Price - not worth the price at all, for food and service, you would expect a lot more than this. Not to plus another restaurant but we went to Canlis the night after, total bill was very similar, food and service greatly surpassed Tomo. Service - not attentive, our water cups sat empty for over half the time we were there read more

Hype deserved. Perfect vibe. Servers incl the somm were super knowledgeable. Loved the veg-forward creativity to the menu. read more

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Food: I did the set menu, not many good things to say about any of the dishes. The profile of the dishes are on the tart side and not balanced. 1. Tomato dish: would have appreciated it if they had use heirloom tomatoes because it would atleast add more texture. 1/5 2. Grilled squash: some pieces on my friends plate were too burnt, atleast the corn was balancing out the tartness a bit. 3/5 3. Albacore katsu: nothing special about this dish or sauce. Fish was good quality. 1/5 4 stuffed Ck wings: stuffing should have had some element of added texture. Cooked okay 2/5 5. Crab rice: again sour and nothing special. 2/5 6. Pork collar: this part of the pork is more fattier than other, so it would be better if it was more cooked. Meat was cooked medium rare so the fat was very hard to cut considering the type of steak knife they gave us. Sauce was good 3/5 Price: not too pricy but not cheap. Would expected it to taste better. Automatic 22% sc Service: service was great. Ambiance: good Overall would not be back. read more

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