Part to of our Tombo experience. The first time we asked for hot sauce, and they were out... can happen so I did not mention it. This time still no hot sauce... NO HOT SAUCE!!!
The place was packed with families and lots of kids... only 2 cooks.
I went twice, and that was also the last time... There are better spots in Fairfield County, unless this Dragonfly steps up their game a notch or 2.
We went to Tombo for hibachi  lunch yesterday, despite the low rating because the two places we first tried were closed.  So we were pleasantly surprised at the wonderful meal we had.  Great sauces as someone else writes, but also nice salad,  delicious fried rice, shrimp, filet mignon, and chicken.  The service was competent and  friendly, the wine pour was good.
The lunch  prices were reasonable.
We went as a family of four on Sat. 11/18 with reservations for 6:30. Â We we arrived at 6:25 and was told to wait in the lounge where no one asked if we wanted anything to drink. Â At 6:50 I went to the front desk to inquire about our table - two different people told me to wait a minute and left the desk to go in back. Â Finally we were seated at a hibachi table where we waited another ten minutes before a waitress came to ask for our drink order. Â We tried ordering vegetable tempura (that the waitress didn't even know what that was) and though we had ordered it before there we were told it wasn't available anymore. Â Nor could we substitute filet for the steak on the children's menu which we also had done in the past. Â After another 15 minutes of waiting a chef finally came to start our dinner which during the course of the flame had to be reignited by lifting the griddle three times. Â Due to that our food was taking much longer than it should have. Â The other family asked for a clean plate as the one of theirs was dirty to begin with. Â We ordered filet and scallop, shrimp and steak - none of it tasted very good and got cold during the prep of cooking due to the relighting of the heating element. Â The scallop was very "fishy" tasting and the filet was chewy. Â The waitress never came back to see we needed more drinks - we had to flag her down to ask for water, they ran out of the scotch my husband had asked for ( he had one as a cocktail)- All in all a very bad experience for which management did nothing to try to make a bad experience good. Â We will not be returning to this restaurant even though we had dined there in the past. Â We were told "new management " when we asked about the new menu.
Review Source:I remember not so long ago watching the construction of Tombo, which is tucked away in the back of an upscale brick strip mall. At the time, I recall thinking how there were already several sushi restaurants within 5 minutes driving of this new location (FIN, Shiki, Kobi, Sakura.)
Tombo was one of the newest entries is the more trendy, hip design for Japanese and Asian crossover restaurants, joining the ranks with Tengda in Westport, Wild Rice in Fairfield, and the newest joiner to the area, Kiraku. Competition for sushi has since increased as well with smaller restaurants like Matsui on Black Rock Tpke and several others on the Post Road in Fairfield.
When I walked into Tombo recently I discovered a sign at the entry that said, as of today, we regret that we will no longer be serving sushi. Once seated at a Habachi table, what we found was a very limited one page menu with Hibachi staples. Something was amiss.
Observations which led me to wonder what was going on at Tombo included:
- restaurant was not immaculate as it had once been
- full bar was missing ingredients for popular cocktails
- server was pleasant and enthusiastic, but somewhat inexperienced
- no music playing
- kitchen (as could be seen from behind front desk) had abandoned look
- hallway leading to bathrooms was a mess and smelled foul
- Hibachi noodles and rice had a spoiled, strong fermented flavor that gave me and my guests pause. On close inspection of the Hibachi cart, I noticed the soy sauce bottle was filthy on the outside and I tried hard not to think how long it had been since it had been cleaned.
This is not the quality I've experienced at Tombo in the past. I remarked to my guests that this restaurant is showing very clear signs of distress. I don't know what is actually going on, but I would venture a guess that Tombo is breathing it's last breaths and will likely be out of business before the end of the year, if not sooner.
Competition in Fairfield County for this cuisine is fierce. Sushi has to not only be fresh, but it has to be interesting. Esoteric cocktails seem to go hand in hand with Hibachi. And Hibachi food being ordinarily unremarkable to begin with, anything less than that is going to disappoint. And unfortunately, location is everything for a restaurant. Because Brick-walk lacks nightlife sex appeal, Fairfieldites and their nearby neighbors don't view Tombo as the place to be seen. A valuable lesson for any restaurateur looking to compete in this sententious community.
I was with a friend of mine and she wanted to meet up with a friend of hers doing karaoke at this place.
The women at the back bar were not very attentive. Â I would try numerous times with both women to get their attention to order a drink.
My friend and I were a little hungry, so I had ordered the veggie dumplings and coconut shrimp. Â These are usually my two favorite things to order at an Asian restaurant. Â When the apps arrived I was disappointed to see that the dumplings looked like they were from my grocery's frozen section - they were below average. Â I then had the coconut shrimp which wasn't bad, but who eats that with fish tarter sauce? Â Well that was 1 of the 2 sauces that was provided.
That night, I woke up in the middle of the night scratching and breaking out in hives. Â I have no food allergies! Â I eat shrimp all the time! Â Maybe it wasn't the shrimp but the psuedo dumplings. Â I will not go back to this place to eat.
I made a reservation here for new years. I specifically asked for SUSHI, not hibachi, and asked if there would be a prix fixe menu as it was new years. I was told that there was no prix fixe menu and that it would be fine for us to have just sushi. When we got there, we were taken to a hibachi table. When I alerted the host that we did not want hibachi, he said that they were not serving sushi that night. When i told him we specifically made a reservation for sushi, he said he could only make us california rolls. We were VERY disappointed, not only because our new years dinner plans were ruined, but because the host did not seem to care at all. We stayed for a minute to look at the menu, but ended up walking out. Thankfully, we were able to get into another sushi restaurant in Westport.
I can not review the food, but based on the customer service I experienced, I will not go back.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,607 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,306 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,904 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,983 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
