Tomi-Kro

Excellent wait staff, mouth watering food! Try the lobster tempura maki.

A great restaurant is one that both pleases your tastebuds but also challenges the envelope when it comes to unique dish preparations. This place is one of the few that holds up to that standard. I’ve traveled extensively through the US, Canada, and Europe. And every once in a while I get surprised by a gem of a find. I’ve eaten here twice now, not trusting that one visit would be an accurate recommendation, but yeah, two great experiences is a pretty good indication that my first impression was accurate.
If you’re looking for traditional fare and don’t like to experiment then this could be a crap shoot for you, but it could also be an eye opening experience of the possibilities of food.
If you come with deep pockets, you’ll have loads of fun. If you’re trying to stretch your dollars, this is not the place for you, and you’d end up being one of the unappreciative folks giving a review here.
When it comes to suggestions, ask the servers, or better still… Johnny, the host. He’ll get you on track.
I gave it a five star for originality, experience, and intimate setting. So non-​corporate and located in a cool part of Leslieville.
Go for it!

It’s closed now. Seems owners decided not to pay rent at this location while renovating and opening their new spot The Playpen.

I very rarely happen to be in this neighbourhood, unfortunately. So many restaurants! Tomi-​Kro has a unique menu. We had the Lobster Maki, Miami Ribs, and the Shrimp pot stickers. For the main we shared the Salmon. Enough food that we could barely finish the salmon.
I really enjoyed the starters, I am beginning to think that I should just eat starters, they are always so much better than the mains.
Great service, go with at least 4 people so you can sample more things!

Get the Panko crusted potato cake with wasabi mayo. Skip the rice noodle salad — it’s too sweet and a little soggy. I wouldn’t reccomend the lemon curd dessert. It’s a big bowl of tart curd, with a few berries and 2 small cookies. Who can eat a whole bowl of lemon curd? The curd itself is very good, but it needed alot more things to dip into it.
We’re vegetarians, so we mixed a whole bunch of their sides, which were mostly good.

Service was good, ambiance, nice
Lobster Maki — delish
Foie Gras crème brûlée — must order, very subtle — not extremely rich
Miami Ribs — nicely marinated and tender
Beet salad — so fresh. tasty
Crab Cakes — rich, sooooo good!
As a main — we split everything
Morrocan Lamb — medium — tender, delicious
Home fries — another must, nice masala taste. very crispy
The chicken — I didn’t try it, but I heard it was fantastic
Beef — medium rare — this was my fav dish. Served with potatoes and grek yogurt. mmmm
No dessert, we were stuffed!
Will definitely put this on my list of places to suggest for folks visiting Toronto. I’ll likely come back again on my next trip.

Hubby & I enjoy this restaurant in the hood.
They have service that is perfectly attentive and interactive, but not ever overbearing. Their food selection is eclectic and we haven’t had a bad dish yet. The Lobster Maki are definitely a favourite and rightly so.

A taste bud’s dream place. There were 6 of us, so we ordered pretty much every appetizer on the menu, and most of the entrées. Then the sharing began. The beets were delish, so much so we had to order a 3^rd plate. The scallops were done in such a tasty mixture of spinach and mushrooms, i was hesitate to share.
Only downside was the limited range of beers. oh well.

We went to Tomi-Kro’s for our anniversary the other night. I’d been hearing that it had ‘gone down hill’ in the last year or so and discovered that this was indeed the case.
My wife enjoyed her fish, but my steak was a little dry (I asked for medium, TRUE medium) and the sides we had were a little bland and not worth the money. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll gladly shell out for good cuisine, but Tomi Kro’s just didn’t cut it.
This is a barely above average restaurant masquerading as haute cuisine.

A group of us went here on a Friday night. We originally tried going to the the restaurant with the nose over the door, but there was an hour wait for a table. We were pretty hungry, so we walked down the street. I’m so glad that we went to Tomi-​Kro instead.
The ambiance is perfect and the food is very delicious. We pretty much ordered everything on the menu including the roasted beets, and we were not disappointed.
The dish that stood out for me was the Filet of Beef. The meat was cooked to perfection and the wasabi mashed potatoes were awesome.
The shrimp tempura was really good too. The shrimp was huge. The breading to shrimp ratio was balanced.
For dessert, we ordered the flourless chocolate cake, lemon curd, and cheesecake. All three were good, but the lemon curd was the best.
The food, service, and ambiance made for a very enjoyable dinner. I will definitely go to this place again.

Tomi-​Kro is a very happening place to have dinner on a Saturday night. The mood is upbeat and lively, the service is great and the food is delicious.
There is not much I can say about the lobster maki balls that hasn’t already been said — they are worth every bit of praise they’ve received. I’d be tempted to make a meal out of these alone, except at 12 dollars a pair, that would be one expensive dinner, not to mention I’d miss out on all the other original menu items.
So I placated myself with half a lobster maki ball (shared the plate with my 3 dinner companions) and chose the salmon with garama masala potatoes and craime fraiche. For sides, the green beans, and coconut cauliflower.
Yum.
No complaints from anyone at the table while we chowed down.
Dessert: Dolce de lece cheesecake and a latte. Also had a bite of the Key Lime Pie, and though I was happy with the cheesecake, the Key Lime was definitely the more flavourful option.
I asked the waiter what «Tomi-​Kro» means. He said it means «small space» in Greek. I pointed out that «To Mikro» means «the small [space]», and that the hyphen is in the wrong place («To-​Mikro» would be more correct).
Perhaps that’s why he spilled the last of my latte on me as he was clearing the table. No matter, this restaurant rocks, and I’ll be back.
(OK the latte-​spill was an accident; the server was very apologetic and I still think the service was great).

Not much to add about this place except to say that I’m not easily swayed and I arrived thinking it was going to be way to hip and trendy for my liking. The food was imaginative and excellently prepared.
Update: I’ve been there twice now, with visits a few months apart. It was just as good the second time. However, I think they could vary the menu more. And I wish the tapas were easier to split between four people.

Great atmosphere but way overpriced for fairly tasty food. Charging $ 12 – 15 for appies and $ 22+ for a piece of salmon and a small handful of fried potatoes is not on. Then $ 5 more to get some veggies as an extra? Ok so if you’re going to charge that much then at least do the service properly — serve all appies together — not with a 7 min gap for the last one to arrive; make sure everyone has cutlery when you seat them; proper tea service means pouring boiling water over the tea bag, not serving hottish water with a sealed teabag beside it.
Not worth it in my opinion

Great east end resto. Great ambiance, tasty food, and friendly staff. The lobster maki lives up to it’s reputation. We reordered twice — that’s right folks 3 servings. The other dishes were great. We enjoy the tapas style dining. If you are in the east end I would definitely check it out.

Late night at Tomi-​Kro. A 9pm reservation was secured for a Saturday night, and even though we showed up a little late (drinks at Comrade were good!) they had plenty of tables at that late hour. The music selection set the mood as chill and hip. We enjoyed it throughout the night, though it may have been a little loud. The atmosphere is also set with mood lighting, which is partly to disguise the oldish and quick make-​over feel of the walls. The art on the walls, though is amazing and conversation-​provoking.
As for the food, though not labeled, there are tapas– items to be shared, appetizers, entrees, and sides. Some of the entrees incude rice and enough that you wouldn’t think to order a side, others only have the protein and maybe a veg.
I loved every minute of the lobster maki balls– tempura style! The mayo sauce may have been a little too much, though. As a main, I ordered the curried seafood hot pot, which was AMAZING! Spicy, for those who like a spicy curry and full of mussels, scallops and fish.
Only so-​so reviews for the rare duck breast, and the garam masala home fries are simple and maybe not impressive enough for the price.
Service was decent, though they probably wanted to close up by the time we were done.

I looked up the word ‘found’ in the dictionary the other day. There was a picture of Tomi Kro next to it. Whaa happened? Everyone and their mothers AND their pugs decided this was a good restaurant?
You’ll be lucky if you get seated in the dining rooms without a reservation on a Friday night. I wasn’t. So we got seated in the lounge area beside the front door. A little on the drafty side but a great excuse to order more warming cocktails which also help drown out the clanking noises of the kitchen since you’re likely seated next to it.
No matter. Order your food. Because if you are at Tomi Kro, that is what you should be there for. The melt-​in-​your-​mouth tuna, the ready-​to-​explode-​with-​flavours duck, the soft-​like-​a-​cloud crabcakes. Oh my god. The Food! All those clanking kitchen noises have a purpose people!
Tomi Kro has a rotating menu which means the tuna I had might not be on your menu but worry not, because whatever IS on your menu will be just as noteworthy.
Please save room for dessert. Oh, and make a reservation.

Great time here this past Saturday night.
Despite not having a reservation, the front staff were able to squeeze us in, giving us a couple of seating options. We ended up taking a spot right near the open kitchen, which made me a little edgy at first, with the tight fit and waiters passing by with plates overhead but we quickly came to marvel at the coordination of all the hustle and bustle. The kitchen staff seemed to be very much on the top of their game, knocking out finished, beautiful looking plates throughout the busy night.
As for the meal… delicious through and through. We decided to split the first courses, which consisted of crabcakes with some type of chutney on the side and a sauteed calamari plate that included roasted garlic, peking duck, in a citrus vinaigrette. Incredible combination of flavours, which complemented rather than overshadowed or clashed one another (fancy way of saying, «we kept saying, ‘wow, great flavours. yum’).
For drinks, we decided to go with cocktails then some wine by the glass for wines by the glass, rather than a bottle, and found the Valpolicella a great pairing for the duck and sweet potato dish we each had as an entrée; I think the vanilla in the sauce reduction picked up a slight vanilla oak in the wine.
This was my second visit to Tomi Kro and while my first visit back in 2005 left me somewhat indifferent, Saturday’s experience definitely won me over. Can’t wait for my next visit.

Letdown! Not nearly as good as the hype, but still good. High expectations be damned, Tomi-​Kro will not serve a perfect meal.
Dinner was good, but certainly not as good as I’ve heard. We had the Lobster Maki Balls, which were GREAT. We also had the Salmon, which was perfectly cooked but strangely flavoured (roasted red peppers and teriyaki-​ish sauce) so it was south of OK. The curried Cauliflower was GREAT, but expensive (how much IS cauliflower these days?) The Duck breast was well, well done (as in way over-​cooked.) The Mojito was EXCELLENT and the pomegranate Mojito was sub-​OK. I’d try it again because there’s thought behind the food even if the cooks aren’t.

I have to agree with the existing reviews. Tomi-​Kro is up there on my top of Leslieville or Toronto lists.
I’ve heard people call the front /​church area Toronto’s culinary triangle thanks to Lucien, Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar, and Colbourne Lane, but in fact between Tomi-​Kro and Gio Rana’s (The nose) on the same block, this area of Leslieville seems on its way to becoming a more casual and trendy rival. Yet another data point to support my claim that Toronto’s future is in the East.
Amazing and unique ambiance, great good, and good service (don’t remember it being standout) make it both a great date place or large party gathering.

Finally, a place in Toronto that I dream of going back to! The décor is totally funky, and the location in Leslieville is great… but the food takes the cake here.
We ordered six different tapas-​style dishes from tuna tartare to steamed prawn dumplings (with soy ginger dipping sauce); seared scallops served on a bed of duck salad to lobster maki roll. Incredible.
The halibut was sauteed on a bed of julienned snow peas. Wow.
The key lime pie was divine.
I can’t recommend this place enough: a foodie’s haven..