Tomo has become one of my go-to stops whenever I'm up north visiting family. It's one of those places where everything feels consistently good--comforting food, friendly service, and a relaxed atmosphere that makes it easy to settle in. The menu is solid across the board, but the standout for me is the salmon cakes. They're genuinely exceptional--crispy on the outside, tender inside, and full of rich salmon flavor. The rest of the dishes are always fresh and well-prepared, and the staff is warm and attentive without being intrusive. Whether I'm grabbing a quick bite or having a longer meal with family, the experience is reliably smooth and enjoyable. A dependable, welcoming spot with great food. Tomo is absolutely worth a visit if you're in Arcata. read more

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Serving consistently fresh fish and delectable Japanese plates with something for everyone. in a welcoming atmosphere, where service is unparalleled. Always worth the wait, Tomo is a cornerstone of the community, a place to see familiar faces, and special occasions for any reason, it's no surprise Tomo has been the "go-to" for exquisitely prepared Japanese cuisine and sushi on the North Coast for more than 30 years read more

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I was in town visiting my brother and his wife, they took me to Tomo for dinner. I had the best meal! We had quite the variety of food (brussels tempura, Larrupin station, gyoza, and yam yemp to name a few of the items). And the Tomodachi was pretty incredible too. Our server, Brandon was very attentive, and a good recommendation for sushi. The atmosphere was nice, we were seated right in front of the sushi station. read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

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Casual older restaurant, food was decent and service was great. I had the spicy chicken teriyaki and sautéed vegetables. read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - Teriyaki chicken and vegetables - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

Food: Various dishes from the special menu. Most impressive were the unagi sushi, mango roll, tempura roll, tempura Oreo and rainbow poke bowl. I do wish I could have ordered the yam batter balls. Service: The server constantly made sure to check up on us. Ambiance: Restrooms and tables appeared clean. I appreciate that there were two main seating areas to choose from when the restaurant isn't too busy. If I am not mistaken, I believe I saw fans in the ceiling which is specially helpful in the area where it gets muggy as mentioned by the person I went with. read more

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Tomo is a great place for sushi! Beautiful ambiance. Great for a date night or treat yourself moment. Every server I have had has been on top of it! read more

What a delightful surprise, to find Tomo in the hotel we stayed at in Arcata! The food was great, especially the pan blistered Shisido peppers. I also had the ebi shumai, yum! read more

Tomo...was it something I said? I don't think the service could have possibly gotten worse, unfortunately. The food itself was alright, but the vibes were actually disturbingly unpleasant, I felt like I offended the entire staff as soon as I walked in. I was able to squeeze one greeting out of three separate employees, hallelujah. My waiter was at least better than the hosts, but obviously didn't feel like interacting with me, and is only doing so because his job depends on providing the bare minimum to me. Everyone has that thousand yard stare too, might wanna check for a gas leak or something. Please pay your employees a little more if possible to make them not so depressed or maybe one more round of customer service training? The food was unfortunately not good enough to save my experience. I hope the rest of Humboldt continues to love Tomo, but I guess new customers are not welcome there. (Shoutout to the one chef with blonde hair and piercings who wished me a good night with a smile as I was leaving, that's the only tomo I made at Tomo ;D) read more

I found the Tomo Japanese Restaurant as I was walking around Arcata and am very pleased about the sushi they had to offer. Opening up with the miso soup and cucumber salad was a great start, I highly recommend the salad, it was fresh and crisp. The oyster shots were one of my favs for the night as well, perfect balance of citrus with the raw fish! Lastly the sashimi plate was delectable, I can't say that I was a fan of the octopus (personal bias opinion), but overall I was very happy with my dinner at Tomo. read more

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Ambiance was fine. Kinda reminded me of a cafeteria rather than a historic hotel restaurant. The smell however was very strong fryer smell (that permeated through the entire hotel). We stayed on the third floor and could smell it the entire time the restaurant was open. Fruit nats flying around near the bar ALWAYS make me question cleaning habits of the bar and the bartender kept smelling the glasses before using them to mix drinks and I ended up with a mat in my drink. Both server and bartender were very nice and attentive. She to all the events leading up to ordering food we decided to pass, finish our drinks and went to another restaurant. read more

Happen'n sushi joint where all that's missing is the sake bombs. Young and loud, party crowd on an otherwise court Tuesday night. Maybe it's because Covid has so many other places shut down. Mostly groups of 4 coming in after...work/class/surfing/fishing...? Not sure there. Very casual and a good place to get your drink on with friends. Maybe not the best place for sushi. #1 special $8.75 the salmon skins comes across as delicious bacon bits. I'm a fan! Chirashi Sushi $23.95 is thinly sliced sashimi over rice. I'd like to see what you get from the Chefs Assorted Sashimi for $45.95. I hope it's more than double cuts for the price. Skipping this. Lemon Cured Salmon $4.75 for 2 price nigiri has a bright, lemon finish. Nice if you're a lemon fan. Too much for me. Hamachi $5.95 for 2 piece nigiri was buttery smooth. Good cut. Convenient to the square Happy service Good food read more

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One of our very favorite places to eat in Arcata for a few decades now. Never disappoints! We do try the restaurants here and there, but keep coming back to Tomo's as a lot of our guests have food sensitivities, and many of the restaurants refuse to accommodate "sensative eaters" The owner of Tomo's Joe and his solid crew with number one waitresses like Mimi really take good care of all of our guests no matter who they are or what their desires and needs are. If you're local or just passing through, you can't go wrong with Tom by far the best in town keep up the good work staff! For those of you who are gluten-free, this is a great option. They will accommodate you, and they will be honest with you and they are educated about what they serve. read more

Good

We went here for a family movie and dinner night. The wait was 25 minutes and so we ended up sitting at the bar. Luis was our bartender/server. He was very friendly and great service. The food was very yummy. We also had the sunomono salads, miso soup, and veggie gyoza appetizers but I didn't take photos of them. The gyoza were so good! We ordered 4 rolls. The cucumbers were exceptionally crispy and fresh. Ingredients are key to good sushi. I would definitely recommend Tomo. It's an upbeat atmosphere and kid friendly. read more

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Tomo has such a good variety of rolls! Everything is very fresh and very tasty. Their appetizers are also always worth trying. Very neat location and full bar! Their cocktails are so good! They have really good happy hour menu items as well, daily from 4 to 5:30 I think! read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - a plate of food - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

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After touring the university, we arrived in time for the Happy Hour specials. We shared so many delicious dishes. The hamachi was fresh and the escolar was like butter. Great service and value. read more

amazing service, the people are very nice. food is amazing too. i recommend getting your main dish, then as a little dessert get some unagi or something read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

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Great Happy Hour menu and friendly service. Does separate checks which is a plus for me.

Tomos has been our favorite restaurant in Arcata for a couple of decades. I've yet to find a better sushi restaurant, anywhere.

I've been wanting to give this place a try for a while now. I wandered in on a Sunday evening just around 5pm and the place was practically empty. Located in Arcata square surrounded by many other shops, it's nice place to dine especially on a lazy weekend. We heard about the chef's special Sashimi plate so we went in already knowing what to order. Quite hungry, we ordered 2 additional house specialty rolls as well. The sashimi plate was phenomenal. It takes a while to come out (as the menu states) due to the way the sashimi is plated. There were about 7 different cuts of fish, some steamed shrimp and a few slices octopus. The fish was delicious and tasted fresh. It came with a miso soup, sunomono salad and a small side of rice. We ordered an extra serving of the sunomono salad and ultimately regretted our decision. The cucumber was swimming in vinegar dressing and the cucumber was cut quite thick. As for the rolls... I forget the names but one came with lemon cured salmon and the lemon taste as too strong for my liking. The second roll with fried asparagus was much better. None of the rolls really stood out to us, some flavors seemed a little too fusion for our taste buds. The service is friendly and the restaurant is clean. There are also TV's if you want to catch a game during your meal. They offer a daily happy hour as well. conveniently located in the arcate square so you can walk to dessert after sushi. Get the chef's special Sashimi! read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - Chef's special Sashimi - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

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Great service and convenient location for those who are staying at Hotel Arcata--all you have to do is go downstairs for dinner! Keep in mind that as of May 2021, their hours are from 4-8pm. My partner and I ate out from here twice during our 3 night stay because we were able to find something to accommodate his allium intolerance. The #1 special, which is a 5 piece roll with albacore, smoked salmon, avocado, and salmon skin, was his go-to. (He had a reaction to it during our second stay; however, it's possible that he took a piece of my brother's #4 roll--which was yummy but also has green onion in it. For any fellow allium intolerant/allergic people, please confirm your server or the chefs to verify that you'll be able to eat the #1 safely!) From what I've seen by comparing menus of other sushi joints in the area, Tomo's has the cheaper nigiri prices. We were impressed with the amount of fish we were served when we ordered nigiri, as we are do not have those kind of larger portions where we currently live. If you're going to order one of the specialty rolls or inside out rolls and have an appetite, I'd recommend buying two rolls. I was initially not impressed with the fact that only a handful of rolls have raw fish in the futomaki and inside-out options--everything is else is smoked, fried, or cooked, but hopefully you won't let this judgement carry on too far. Their Larrupin station roll, which has smoked albacore, larrupin dill mustard, green onions, and avocado, caught my brother and I by surprise. We hope to try more next time we're in the area! read more

Best sushi ever! The management and staff are fabulous and spot on in their service! The food is outstanding and the pricing is moderate in comparison to other sushi restaurants! read more

BEST sushi EVER! We were visiting our daughter here and we were only there for 4 1/2 days and we ate here three times! I literally couldn't get enough. Thumbs Way way up you have to go! read more

3.5 stars The food is good, but not great. I prefer the cooked items here to the sushi, especially since there doesn't seem to be any salmon that isn't smoked or lemon cured. Boo. Monthly drink specials are often awesome, so check them out. The service is spotty, sometimes great, sometimes annoying. read more

I love the food here! It's consistently very good, wonderful presentation and great friendly staff.

Long time, 20-plus year, fan of Tomo's Consistently good rolls, nigiri and sashimi. Full bar offers a variety of well made cocktails and sake options are solid. Service is always friendly. I know a Chardonnay drinker that wishes they had more options but I always have sake with Japanese food so not my problem. read more

This is by far the best Japanese restaurant in the area- great dining experiences- but there can be a wait and the happy hour is a shining star, but arriving early is recommended. We travel 40 minutes up to Arcata for date night about every other month and the service is excellent ! Yes if you order the sashimi plates it will take time since they prepare it super fresh but worth the wait. Good sake choices and beer selection. read more

I've started to return to Tomo after a long break and focused on the specials which have been a delightful step up from what's on the menu. Another nice surprise is their local Redwood Curtain beer was $4.75, crazy awesome and a reason to come rather than $6 at the brewery. Customer service is usually very good!! read more

Summary: they were open when very few options existed, it was food, the service was good, I wouldn't go back. The service at the bar was friendly and quick, which was encouraging given how busy the place was! That said, this was some of the blandest sushi I've ever had. Which is too bad since the menu descriptions were really interesting! It was all fine, but certainly not good. All of the flavors were very muted, or in some cases overpowered by other ingredients. Somehow one of the rolls was a bit dessicating, which was not a pleasant surprise. This was one of the few places open the night before Thanksgiving in Arcata, so we were happy to even get in. read more

This has long been among my favorite sushi places ever due to their ability to consistently deliver a wide variety of sushi rolls at the highest quality. The nostalgia + quality of food is what makes this 5 stars for me. Food 5/5 - Given the range of sushi options on the menu, Tomo does them all well. I've tried plenty of their rolls over the years, and I've never been disappointed. The flavors are generally much more subtle than they are sharp, and they go well with the fresh garlic and wasabi. Some of my favorite rolls include the Paula roll, Hot Hamacita, Japanese Cowboy, and Philly roll. They all pack their own unique, delicious flavors. There are plenty of good appetizers as well like the chicken katsu (extra crispy), and a hot sake complements any meal well. Service 4/5 - The service is solid. Our waitress reassured us a few times when our sushi took a while to come out. Our water glasses were refilled regularly and dishes were bussed often. Ambiance 4/5 - Tomo does a good job of making the lobby of Hotel Arcata into a Japanese-themed venue without overshadowing the history and significance of the situations. The restaurant feels clean and well-lit, making for a please dining experience. Value 4/5 - Sushi rolls run from $7-13, making Tomo pretty average in terms of price. The rolls are filling though, and the other menu items feel like they're worth the price as well given the proper quantity and high quality. read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - Hot tuna roll - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

The service was good, and the ambiance was fine. But, with the exception of the miso soup and edamame, the sushi rolls were... not good.

My fiancé and I just moved to Arcata a little over a month ago and, being sushi hounds, have been asking around for the best sushi in the area- the answer has been the same every time: "Tomo, Tomo, Tomo!" Unfortunately our first visit left us more than a little disappointed and will unfortunately be our last unless something changes. The roll options have little in the way of raw fish- the few that do only offer hamachi, tuna, and salmon which is oddly cured in lemon- possibly trying to hide subpar fish quality? Well, whatever. The Americanized stuff isn't what we look for when going to a nice sushi joint anyway. But I did try the number four and the Paula's roll just to gauge the maki and they were mediocre. But at least they were cheap. If that were the worst offense I probably wouldn't even have bothered to write a review. The one star is for one reason, and one reason only- the sashimi. It was an insult. We looked at an online menu before arriving and saw the sashimi platter priced at around $32- a little pricey, but if it's good sashimi that's actually not a bad price. But when we arrived, we were told that the online price was wrong- the sashimi combo actually costs over $10 more. Okay, that's getting expensive, but again, on the upper end of reasonable- IF the fish is good. But after spending nearly $50 on a single sashimi platter what did we find when we opened the box? The thinnest, skimpiest, smallest portions of sashimi we have received at a sushi joint EVER. I'm talking see-through, translucent, TINY. And okay every place has their own style of cut but if they're going to be that small there had better be a lot of them- except there wasn't. Certainly nowhere near $45 worth of fish, even of excellent quality- which it wasn't. The salmon had next to no marbling, and was again basically marinated in lemon. They charged extra to substitute Tako in as a choice and there was so little of it there may as well have been none. We aren't snobs by any means and we definitely aren't complainers. But we have eaten at top notch sushi places up and down California and when we pay a lot of money for a sashimi platter we expect to walk away from the meal with our fish craving satisfied- this is hands down the skimpiest, most subpar sashimi for my money I have ever gotten. And I don't blame the staff- they were all friendly and wonderful- this can only have come from the owners looking to save a buck. And as Humboldt doesn't have much in the way of sushi to begin with they probably usually get away with it. But take it from someone who knows better- the portions and fish quality is BS for what you're paying. The freaking OCEAN is a mile away. You'd think Humboldt could step up its sushi options. read more

Clean, very well organized, very good food, friendly ambiance, and Happy Hour! Menu has a wide variety for all to eat. read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - Grilled Goosepoint Oysters, Yakitori chicken - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

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I've been here a few times over the last 15 years. The food is ok, but the space and the furnishings have no semblance of refinement or even maintenance. Tonight the smoked tuna was incredibly dry, and our cheap-quality table was rickety and stained. The staff are super nice and accommodating, The absolute worst part for me every time is the gross carpet. Please replace the carpet with a non -absorbent material because I imagine it is just soaked in seafood juice. read more

I have loved Tomo for more than 20years!!! But unfortunately with the current situation of curbside and what not , it seems there is no organization in the kitchen. Seems like the hot food gets made first. Then sits for 45mins or an hour and 15 minutes in my case while waiting for the sushi portion to get made. Causing the tempura dish to go soggy and the main courses to be lukewarm. I'll just wait for a better time to go back. Or just order one or the other, Sushi or cooked food. Not both. read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - Maguro Sashimi Plate - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

Arrived on a Monday night. On waiting list around 10 minutes before seated. Waited another 10 minutes. Food came in generous portions and tasted good. We had chicken katsu, which was slightly sweet and tender, and came with side fruits, and poke salad (red tuna, avocado and crunchy seaweed), which was refreshing. Had the katsu come with some salad and the tuna been a little fresher, the meal would have been more satisfying. Service was mediocre and has room for improvement. read more

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I recommend going for the appetizers and cocktails. Tasty appetizers at a reasonable price from 4pm to 6pm. They also have some very nice cocktails that are reasonably priced. Their sushi rolls are cheap but the quality reflects the price in my opinion. Hardly any fish and only about 1/4 inch thick cut so if you want really good sushi this is not the place. The ambience was great yesterday, busy place but the service was great! read more

Stopped in and ate at the bar. The food, service and ambiance are excellent. Definitely would come back. There a excellent bartender there and I can't remember his name but was a young man on his 20's I'd say and has dark hair, sorry I can't remember your name but apparently was t remembering much, including my wallet I left behind. Thanks read more

After a long day of driving, we were a bit reluctant to venture far for dinner, and ended up walking just downstairs from our room in the Hotel Arcata to this restaurant (conveniently located just off the hotel lobby). I was particularly interested in the lemon cured salmon, which we ordered as nigiri, but it wasn't to my taste at all as the lemon really overpowered any salmon flavor. Also, the portion of edamame was enormous - it could have easily fed four people as an appetizer. We also really enjoyed the tempura yam roll. The interior has lots of well-kept aquariums for fish watching while you are fish eating. It is a bit odd that all the windows are covered though. Do they not want you to be looking outside? Or is it people looking in? The service was ok although the waiter was weirdly focused on putting our sushi plates at a diagonal angle right in front of us (even though we already had edamame plates there and I had my phone out on the table which was sort of nudged out of the way to put the food RIGHT IN FRONT OF US). That is, there was a whole other half of the table with nothing on it where the sushi plates could have been placed. There were some references to locally smoked fish on the menu, which I thought was pretty neat since it's hard to do "local" with sushi. read more

Tomo Japanese Restaurant - Sure, it looks great on the table now that all our stuff is out of the way. - Japanese Near Me - Arcata, California

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Still hohum, sadly. There is much better sushi other places. Used to be so much better. Has not caught up to itself. Portions are small and not very interesting. read more