TOMO Restaurant — Restaurant in Ottawa

Garbage. Perhaps the wost dining experience I’ve ever had, and coming from someone who is experienced in hospitality and restaurant service, this place is everything short of professional. Please read this before you consider spending your hard earned money at Tomo because they will insult you to your face.

My friends and I made a reservation for NYE for 9:30, we arrived on time, but were made to stand and wait for 40 minutes because they were not prepared even despite the table they sat us at being empty since we arrived. Any respectable dining establishment would give the clients a glass of champagne or offer them something as they wait to be seated if the restaurant wasn’t prepared to seat them despite them arriving on time for their reservation. ESPECIALLY on an occasion like New Years Eve.

They eventually sat us without wiping the table first, then apologized for the wait and said they would “make it up to us”. Once we are sat, they gave us table settings for maybe 8 of the 11 people in the group. We order drinks and food around 10:10, and dont recieve recieve them for 45 minutes even when all we really ordered was wine, champagne or beer. There were approximately 2 cosmos to make, so im not sure why that took 45 minutes. I understand it was New Years Eve, but the restaurant really wasn’t that busy, with many tables being emptied out around 10:30, and yet nobody would clean the dirty tables for another half hour after they were empty.

Eventually we complain because we waited 45 minutes for drinks, and they apologize and say they are “really slammed” because it was the busiest day of the year (it was not even relatively busy for what you would expect on NYE, coming from my own experience as a server and because of the empty tables all around us). I suppose it was a understaffing issue, but seriously, prepare your team beforehand if you expect to be busy on a holiday. Anyways, they tell us once again they would make it up to us, saying he will bring a round of shots. We thank him, but then the shots arrive…and they were fully just water with the faintest lingering scent of tequila. So, obviously we were now upset because they told us they would make it up to us, then proceed to give us water shots like some sort of insulting prank.

We then bring it to the attention of the manager he argues with us for a bit, and insists that it was his most premium top shelf bottle of tequila (it was casamigos). He tries gaslighting us saying that the reason why it seemed like it was water is because its premium tequila, as if this entire table has never had casamigos before. He then leaves and comes back admitting his bartender shook all of the shots with ice first. His way to make it up to us was to give us “free entry” into the club portion of the evening, which simply was not enough. We didn’t even have the chance to really enjoy our meal before they converted it into a club and started blasting WAP by Cardi B as we try to enjoy our sushi.

Everything that could have went wrong did, and all of it could have been avoided on behalf of the management at Tomo. I am extremely unimpressed with how lousily and atrociously managed this place is, especially when considering its price point. As someone in this industry, I would be genuinely embarassed to work for this zoo that they call a dining establishment. No brain cells...

Very disappointing experience. The sushi tasted stale, artificial, and cold—not fresh at all. Service was poor, with rude staff and unprofessional attitude throughout. We waited over 50 minutes for our food with no explanation. As a sushi lover, this was one of the worst spots I’ve tried. Definitely not worth the time or money.

Edit: We equally regret visiting your establishment and wasting our money—however minimal you may consider it. Your response is not only unnecessarily aggressive, but also filled with inaccuracies.

First, no one in our group insisted on a booth. Like any customer entering a restaurant, we simply asked if one was available. You had already agreed to seat us before any online reservation was made. One member of our party was still outside and, not knowing if we were going to be seated, made a reservation online to avoid being turned away—something any cautious diner might do. To suggest this was done to manipulate your system is disingenuous.

Second, we were not a demanding table. We accepted the middle table and were polite throughout. What we did not appreciate was the lengthy wait between dishes: about 20 minutes between each appetizer and nearly 50 minutes before our rolls arrived. Since we were sharing, we expected to order more as we dined—but the delay made the experience tiring and frustrating. Despite our hunger, we left much of the food uneaten because it simply didn’t taste good.

We had already reviewed your menu prior to being seated, and it took no more than five minutes to decide. We attempted to flag the server, but she arrived late. We were patient, knowing it was a busy Saturday night, but that does not excuse the delays or the dismissive tone in your reply.

Your aggressive response to negative feedback is telling. Rather than acknowledging a customer’s poor experience, you’ve chosen to publicly shame and dismiss us. We did not “sabotage” your business—we shared our honest experience. If this is how you handle criticism, perhaps it explains why others have felt similarly.

We will not be returning, and your tone has made sure of that. Thank you for confirming that our initial impression...

I have been here many times and the food has been amazing. But unfortunately I will not be returning as I just recently booked a reservation on their website and received a call from them the next day stating that I would need to send an e-transfer of $50 to them that would be reimbursed in cash after the bill was given. I understand restaurants need to ensure that reservations are fulfilled so tables are not wasted, but I think it is incredibly sketchy to receive a phone call with no listed name on it along with no mention or warning of this being required when I first booked the reservation on their website. Tomo needs to add a warning that you will be required to e-transfer to them or require a credit card when booking reservations on their official site. It is completely unprofessional to be requesting $50 e-transfers from just a phone number. I was forced to cancel my reservation because I did not feel comfortable e-transferring whoever the person on the other end of the line was. I checked afterwards and the phone number they were calling from was not even the same as the phone number on their official website.

Updating my review to reply to Tomo: I’m really disappointed with my experience at this restaurant, and unfortunately, the response I received from Tomo only reinforced my concerns. There seems to be a misunderstanding of what actually happened. I was contacted only once via cellphone to pressure me to e-transfer $50 or cancel my reservation, and it wasn’t on Valentine’s Day as mentioned – it was for a different date.

While I understand that restaurants may require deposits for busier weekends, I was surprised that this wasn’t communicated more clearly. Many restaurants provide a heads-up that a deposit might be required, or at the very least, they ask for a credit card to keep on file for security. Unfortunately, there was no such notice on the website or during the booking process.

I shared some constructive feedback on how to improve this process, but instead of addressing my concerns, the response I received was defensive and untruthful. I had hoped for a more professional and understanding approach to...