Food Blog | Tomo Japanese Restaurant | Raffles Hotel | Wafi | Dubai

This week on the blog, I wanna share some of the most authentic Japanese cuisine experiences I’ve had since I’ve had in Dubai, and it is none other than Tomo! This is a comfy Japanese restaurant near Wafi Mall (Raffles Hotel is connected to Wafi Mall).

A few restaurants in the Wafi area have really caught my interest lately, including Brasserie by Daniel Boulud, so check that out if you’re looking for restaurants in this area as well!

Ramen Egg Noodles (from Chuka Gozen set)

Context: Came here for lunch with my family of 4. Do note that the bulk of this review will be about their lunch offerings. Do note that the lunch menu may change seasonally.

Where It Is

This is one of those restaurants where you will have to go a fair distance for, given it’s near Wafi Mall but what I’ll say is that it is pretty worth the trip! You can either park at Wafi Mall or leave your car in the hands of their chauffeur services - free of charge if you’re a guest at the restaurant.

Address: Raffles Hotel - Wafi - Sheikh Rashid Rd - Umm Hurair 2 - Dubai

 

Operating Hours:

Daily: 12:30pm to 3:30pm , 6:30pm to midnight

I recommend making a reservation prior to going. You can do it very easily through Eatapp.

What it Costs

My family of 4 ate here for a total of AED678. This is what the breakdown looks like.

Tokujyo Sushi - AED240
Stamina Don - AED90
Sushi Maki Set - AED126
Kaisen Don - AED87
Chuka Gozen Set (Strong Pork Flavour with spicy cod fish roe on white rice) - AED100
Still Water - AED35
Total - AED678 (VAT - 5% and Municipality Fee - 7%)

Price per person - AED169.5

I would say it’s pretty easy to cut that price per person down as we shared a Tokujyo set. I would say that by comparison, I think that the Sushi and Noodle sets (lunch only) represent better value. With the Tokujyo Assorted Sushi (a-la-carte menu), you get the Chef’s selection of 10 different sushi. With the Jyo Sushi set (lunch menu), you get 8 different pieces of sushi, a Japanese Udon/Soba and the dessert of the day.

Granted, there may be a small size difference (my dad and I said there was a size difference between the set and the a-la-carte option, my mum and sister said there wasn’t, so the difference is negligible), but I think the lunch sets that come with the udon/soba are more worth it.

How it Tastes

The bottom line is this. This is not a fusion restaurant. This is an authentic Japanese restaurant (with the exception of the servers). The food really reminds you of something you would probably get from Japan, and I wouldn’t necessarily say that about other options (although delicious, like Roka, Zuma, and Goldfish). I’d probably say that the only other really authentic Japanese experience I’ve had so far is Sushiro at Expo 2020 (and that’s temporary).

So, starting off with the Tokujyo Sushi Platter. (AED240)

Really tasty sushi. You can tell just from looking at the pieces of sushi that they are high-quality pieces of fish and their taste absolutely reflects this as well. I had a few pieces including the one with salmon ikura - and they were all great! Super yummy with lots of flavors. The type that you would be happy to eat on its own without the soya sauce and wasabi.

But as I said, I still think you get better value (for lunch), getting either the Jyo Sushi Set (8 different pieces of sushi + udon/soba + dessert for AED168), Sushi Maki Set (5 sushi, tekka maki, salmon maki + udon/soba + dessert) or the sushi set (5 sushi + udon/soba + dessert). One thing to note is that I actually think in the end, they give one serving of dessert for everyone regardless - so maybe don’t factor that in.

This is a nice pivot to the first main - the sushi maki set. (AED126). You get 5 fantastic pieces of sushi and your choice of udon/soba. I honestly actually really like the udon noodles. They have tempura flakes inside that really make it super yummy. The broth is also really clean but tasty (the lighter type of broth).

I honestly think that if you want sushi, I highly recommend getting the sushi maki set. You get your mix of an assortment of 6 different maki, as well as 5 nigiri and some udon/soba noodles to complete your meal.

I had most of the Stamina Don (AED90). The stamina don is basically wagyu beef with sweet sauce and sauteed pork with ginger on rice. You get miso soup coupled with this donburi. I think it is basically an upgraded Yakinikyu Don and the first thing I will say is that this dish is LARGE. To the point where I was almost struggling to finish the whole thing (I eat a lot usually).

Taste-wise, this is basically very similar to Yakinikyu Don - but of course, upgraded because of the pork and wagyu beef that they used. The sauce is great - not too heavy but bursting with flavor. Honestly, this is as authentic of a bowl of donburi as you will find anywhere in Dubai right now.

I didn’t really try too much of the Kaisen Don or the Chuka Gozen set, but I will mention the Chuka Gozen Set (AED100).

It comes with a half portion with ramen egg noodles (with choice of sauce), rice (you can get spicy codfish roe on white rice, pork fried rice, roasted pork mixed with white rice), and 3 dumplings as well as a dessert of the day for AED100. This is another option for you hungry folk who want to try a few different things - because it has a mix of a lot of different things for you to try.

And finishing off the meal, you have a delicious scoop of sorbet. Ours was a (at least I think) mango sorbet. A really nice palate cleanser to finish off the meal. Really light dessert to finish off a really yummy meal!

Star Rating

9/10. Really good, authentic Japanese food and it’s really hard to fault them for anything. Everything is honestly super yummy.