Sushi Tomo

Overview:

Sushi Tomo is a Japanese/Chinese restaurant located on McKnight Rd. They are open for lunch and dinner throughout the week with daily specials now being offered. You can get Japanese classics like ramen, tonkatsu, sushi, and bento boxes. However, they also have Chinese staples like general Tso's chicken, beef with broccoli, and sesame chicken. Sushi Tomo offers an extensive drink list as well. You can order Japanese whiskey, beer, and soda. 

You can eat at a normal table or sit at the sushi bar at Sushi Tomo. The latter provides a great view of the professional sushi chefs making your rolls. However, they also offer takeout or delivery if you do not want to eat at the restaurant. Uber Eats is the delivery partner for Sushi Tomo and they regularly run delivery deals up to 40% off which you can use on an order here. Sushi Tomo does offer online ordering and pickup through their website which has fewer fees. 

The Food:

Tempura Bento Box

For dinner, I ordered the Tempura Bento Box. It was an elaborate Japanese meal with many different sides making for a unique eating experience. The main compartment of the bento box was the tempura which included fried shrimp and veggies. They provide a mild savory dipping sauce fort the tempura. I thought the batter was crispy, light, and delicious. Next, they give you three pieces of nigiri and three pieces of California roll. The nigiri was tuna, salmon, and I think red snapper. All three were great, with the fish being super fresh. Sushi Tomo is also known for their California rolls so that was also fantastic. The two Japanese sides they provide are tako (octopus) salad and seaweed salad. The tako salad is on the left side in the above picture and had a chewy texture but overall was flavorful and had a vinegary taste to it. The seaweed salad is the green side on the right and is seasoned with sesame oil, sesame seeds and some type of vinegar I believe. This is one of my favorite Japanese dishes and it is very refreshing with the rest of the meal. 

Chicken Katsu Ramen

The rest of the dishes were ordered by the people in my group. This dish, the chicken katsu ramen has deep fried and breaded slices of chicken breast. It also contains a soft boiled egg, scallions, mushrooms, and lots of ramen noodles. The broth is a cha shu (pork belly) bone broth which gives it a rich umami flavor. Sushi Tomo is branching out and serving more ramen dishes including this one which is new to the menu. 

Shrimp Tempura Ramen

The next dish is shrimp tempura ramen. It is also a new edition to the menu and consists of the same fried tempura that was in my bento box. It is placed directly in the ramen which also has an egg, scallions, and mushrooms. The base of the ramen is a shoyu or soy sauce broth giving it a flavorful umami taste. I am glad Sushi Tomo has added this dish as the crunchy shrimp tempura balances great with the broth and noodles in the dish. 

Beef Teriyaki

Another person in my group got the beef teriyaki dish. This came out on a hot metal plate which made the presentation very cool. Sushi Tomo claims it is a New York strip steak that is broiled and then served over veggies. The veggies at the bottom were zucchini, carrots, and onions. After trying a bite of the steak later in the meal, unfortunately I thought it was really tough. The steak was cooked well done and the texture was not great. However, the teriyaki sauces and sesame seed garnish did help the overall taste quite a bit. I just wished the steak was cooked better. 

Service:

The service at Sushi Tomo is always great when I go. Our waitress was very nice throughout our meal and always came around to check and see if we needed anything. When we were placing our drinks she offered a sampling of their whiskey menu. They have a special running called "Whiskey Wednesday" where on Wednesdays you can sample any whiskey and also get $2 off a glass if you decide to order one. 

Our food came out in a reasonable time with a few dishes like the steak taking longer. At the end of the meal we were deciding whether or not to get dessert. The waitress overheard we were celebrating a birthday and she immediately offered us free birthday desserts which was very nice. From previous experience i have also liked their takeout service as it is always fresh and ready to go when I pick it up. So whether you eat inside or get takeout, you will get great service at Sushi Tomo. 

Atmosphere:

The inside of Sushi Tomo has undergone a very substantial redesign in the last year. They have put up a new sign outside so people can better see it when driving down busy McKnight Rd. Additionally, the inside has been totally transformed from what it used to look like. First, the walls have been painted a brighter white color. They have also added vintage Japanese posters on the wall to better style the restaurant. 

However, my favorite change is the addition of windows all around the inside dining area. This change has made a drastic difference in the ambiance and atmosphere of the whole restaurant. Now there is great natural light coming into the restaurant. Especially in the evening, the windows face west which lets in tons of sunlight. All of these changes make eating at Susi Tomo much more inviting and the inside of the place just feels more modern and not outdated like it used to. 

Rating: Excellent |⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐|

Sushi Tomo is one of the best Japanese/Chinese restaurants in Pittsburgh. They consistently serve high quality dishes like sushi, chicken katsu, and Chinese specials like General Tso's chicken. My latest visit here was very impressive with every aspect of the visit from the food to the atmosphere and service was fantastic. I really like the recent renovations they have done which makes the place feel completely different. The only complaint I had was the beef teriyaki steak was tough. However my meal, the tempura bento box, was delicious and so was the rest of the food. I think you should put Sushi Tomo on your "try next" food list as it continues to impress me with its quality!