Tom’s Sushi House

Tom’ s sushi is basically the first bento box place I ate after i came to la and it is pretty good u can also buy wings in the wing stop nearby. The owner of the sushi house s also pretty friendly and updates his menu often.

I honestly don’t get all these 4 or 5 star ratings. Granted, people have different tastes and like different things. But «great sushi»? Come on. The portions are indeed huge. But the quality… It’s so generic and just, not good at all. I went to try it out based on all the glowing reviews. Ordered an appetizer of shrimp tempura, a rainbow roll and a salmon tempura roll. The app — I have never seen so much fried batter attached to a shrimp in my life, period. It’s freshly fried up alright, but the batter was three times the size of the shrimp (which was actually decent quality by itself), and you bite into it, you bite into a mouthful of just oil and batter, with an aftertaste of shrimp somewhere. That’s NOT what tempura is supposed to be.
The rolls? Huge and low quality, again. The rainbow roll had some sushimi on it, which was ok, but the California roll part of it, disgusting. The salmon tempura roll was ginormous, but again, so much batter that overshadowed pretty much anything else.
A huge disappointment. I just don’t get the high ratings.

Unlike most combination Korean/​Japanese places (which are always run by Koreans), Tom’s has GREAT sushi. It’s almost as if Tom was Japanese.
Every roll is a winner, whether it’s a basic Yellowtail avocado roll (with no sauces so the fish has to be quality), or a fancy shrimp tempura roll.
And Tom is very friendly, asked me several times if I enjoyed my meal, wanted to know if he could get me anything else…
Get it to go and you’ll be very happy. Eat there, and just realize that you’re literally sitting outdoors IN a parking lot. So, zero atmosphere. Actually, negative atmosphere, with the street traffic and cars coming and going. Tom’s looks like one of those locksmith shacks in the corner of mini mall parking lots.
The sushi is really good (not fantastic, but you’ll really enjoy it). But it’s a bit pricey (not great value) for the full package of what you’re getting, it’s the same price as sit down restaurants.
But I’ll be back! And I’m going to try the Bibimbap!

Tom’s is right down the street from my apartment, and I went there once when it was the other place. I think this is a new owner.
Anyway, solid food — it’s not mindblowing or anything, just good, solid food that is nice and comforting after a long day. Got the chicken bento box, chicken is awesome, tempura is breaded like frozen fish sticks (the style, not the taste — I’m not a huge fan — much prefer the more traditional way — you know, where the batter is like fish ‘n chips — not sure where this fish analogy is coming from… but for what it is, it is pretty tasty), SEAWEED SALAD (yes!!), and california rolls (solid).
I was a bit sad because I originally ordered the Chicken Kimchi Fried Rice, but they didn’t have kimchi. Next time!
I also had a side of udon… and I THINK it was supposed to come with noodles (I had no noodles), but I got just the soup (which I totally drank on its own).
The owner (I think he was the owner) is super nice. Glad I finally tried this place.

As an original Korean New York City immigrant, raised on Bokeumbap, bimbimbap, and udon soup, I was SO surprised by this little unassuming shack I stumbled into after my chiropractic appointment across the way on SM Blvd!
Wow! It was like having Genuine Korean street food in a very unlikely locale.
My favorite, hands down, is his Kimchi Bokeumbap (kimchi fried rice) that comes with a fried egg on top. It totally satisfied my comfort food needs and was extremely tasty.
I like it with a side of the udon noodle soup!
My second favorite is the tofu bibimbap (mixed rice): such a wonderful and generous range of veggies in it!
For the price, the convenient location and the quality, I will stop into Tom’s any day for my Korean fix! It’s true: it’s totally GHeTTO in its placement in the parking lot of a strip mall and bad furniture but for me, it’s part of its no frills charm.
Plus, the patron is a truly lovely guy.