Tombo Grille — Restaurant in Forest Acres

The food was superb and I would definitely go back again. With that being said, I didn’t give Tombo five stars because of the snooty and rude attitude given to me by the hostess and the embarrassment she brought to us.

For medical reasons, I required booth seating and expressed this to the hostess and pointed to my medical device as proof. We had made a reservation but had forgotten to request a booth. When I arrived, I immediately asked if the seat they were going to seat us at was a booth and was told that they had us at a 2 top and that they could not seat us at a booth because it was a four top. As I stood there and looked around, I noticed four other tables, three of them being booths, that were four tops but we’re occupied by only two people each and two, soon three, unoccupied booths. I pointed this out to the hostess but she was still insistent on seating us at the small two top against a wall. I kindly asked her if she would explain the situation to the manager. She made a smart remark, rolled her eyes and huffed as she walked away and then loudly discussed her slanted view of the situation. The manager took a look at the reservation list and came back to me and said that we were perfectly fine to sit in the booth. There were no other people physically in the restaurant waiting to be seated and all this took place with me in the middle of the back of the restaurant standing among the other patrons. This was quite embarrassing.

Tombo seems to be a fine establishment and I would like to dine there again. In the future, I hope the hostesses are properly educated as to what their primary duty is... to WELCOME patrons and make them feel...

Tombo Grille, nestled at 4517 Forest Dr. Columbia, SC 29206, is an absolute delight! From the moment you step inside, you're greeted by a warm and inviting atmosphere that will make you feel right at home. While it may appear small from the outside, don't let that fool you – once you step inside, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the spacious interior. We kicked off our dining experience with the delectable Chopped Salad, a delightful medley of romaine lettuce, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, diced egg, toasted almonds, savory bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, all dressed in a creamy honey mustard vinaigrette. It was a refreshing start that left us eager for more. Next, we indulged in the Korean BBQ Spring Rolls, which were a true culinary delight. While the hoisin dipping sauce wasn't quite to my liking, the spring rolls themselves were absolutely wonderful on their own—bursting with flavor and perfectly crispy. For our main courses, we had the pleasure of trying the Corned Beef Special for Saint Patrick's Day, a delightful nod to tradition that left us feeling festive and satisfied. We also sampled the Chicken Parmesan, featuring tender chicken smothered in lemon herb ricotta, pomodoro sauce, and melted mozzarella, served alongside angel hair aglio e olio. Each bite was a symphony of flavors that left us craving more. Overall, the food and atmosphere at Tombo Grille exceeded our expectations, making it a true hidden gem in Columbia. We highly recommend paying a visit – you won't be...

It may be easy to dismiss my review at a glance because of the rating but I encourage you to do your research about this restaurant. Having lived in forest acres for many years my wife and I are very familiar with the cuisine in the area and visited Tombo Grille to try something new.

I made a reservation through Open Table and arrived at the restaurant around 5:30. While we were seated upon arrival we saw no sign of our server for 10 minutes after being seated. After getting our waters our server asked if we would like and other beverages to which we responded, “no,” due to my wife being pregnant. Our waitress seemed taken aback by this response, why I have no idea because of our situation, and left our table without offering to take our food order. After waiting for another 15 minutes without seeing our server again, we left. To make matters worse the restaurant was minimally busy during our stay, in fact there were at least three hostesses by the front of the restaurant happily chatting away with no regard to the lack of service we received.

Our visit with Tombo Grille was quite disappointing and I hope the service will...