February 14, 2017

Tomodachi Sushi – Austin, TX

I have been a chef-owner and restaurateur of a top-rated Japanese restaurant, so I do consider myself a sushi snob. This doesn’t mean I won’t eat or enjoy an occasional nigiri or sushi from Kona Grill or even Whole Foods. When I first read the reviews about Tomodachi Sushi and its owners, I had to give them a try. They reminded me of my former restaurant because of its quality, consistency, and creativity as their focus.

Tomodachi has become one of my favorite sushi restaurants in Austin. They live up to the principles that make for a great sushi restaurant: 1. People that truly enjoy the mastery and art of sushi. 2. Ingredients that are the best and freshest feasibly available 3. Creativity that pushes the boundaries of tradition. 4. Service that reflects customer satisfaction being the priority. My experiences dining at Tomodachi have continuously exceeded my expectations. Our first visit started with the Nobu New Style Sashimi as an appetizer. It worked well as a starting course since it cleansed and prepared our palate for the main course. Our main course of nigiri sushi comprised of our own ‘omakase’ sequence consisting of: Aji (Horse Mackerel), Japanese Tai (Red Snapper), Hamachi (Yellowtail), Kampachi (Amberjack), Shiro Maguro (Albacore), Bincho Maguro (Escolar), OToro (Fatty Tuna), Sake Toro (Fatty Salmon), and Uni (Sea Urchin).

This may sound like a lot of sushi, but sharing nine orders between two is a relatively good amount of sushi as a dinner course! Each nigiri sushi was treated perfectly, with a sauce or accompaniment that highlighted the fish that it accompanied. Every bite was excellent! Our final course consisted of two rolls from their extensive roll menu, both of which were super creative and great tasting.

On our next visit, being on day 11 of the Whole30 Program, we ordered an entire meal free of rice. This “Tomodachi Whole30” meal consisted of two Nobu-style appetizers, a hot rock steak appetizer, nine orders of sashimi, and two riceless rolls. This actually made for a surprisingly wonderful meal and we didn’t miss rice one bit! We did notice that the final bill was higher than a normal dinner, but it was probably similar, if not lower, than if we had included our usual cocktails and sake.

I highly recommend dining at Tomodachi Sushi if you are ever in the Austin area!