I went in expecting a mall Japanese restaurant. I left thinking about tuna and the best food from Niigata Prefecture.
That’s the honest summary. Tomi Sushi, a brand devoted to serve genuine Japanese food, sits above Novena MRT, inside Velocity @ Novena Square, Singapore. With a history tracing back more than half a century to Niigata Prefecture in 1954, this restaurant brings the blessed region’s renowned fresh fish and Koshihikari rice to diners here.
This is my take on whether Tomi Sushi Singapore‘s Novena outlet is worth your time, and where it earns it.
First Impressions: Classic Japanese Cuisine in a Blessed Region
You can’t get much easier than this. Velocity sits directly above Novena MRT on the North-South Line, so there’s no wandering, no hunting for an entrance. You come up the escalators and it’s there on the second floor.
Inside Tomi Sushi Singapore, the room is quieter than the mall around it. Tomi Sushi leans traditional rather than trendy, closer to a proper Japanese restaurant than the fast-casual sushi chains it shares floor space with. The lighting is relaxed, warm without being dim, and the whole place carries a cosy, unhurried feel. Nobody’s rushing you.
The sushi counter is a thoughtful touch, allowing diners to watch the chefs prepare nigiri sushi and other dishes with great care. It’s not an omakase counter, and it doesn’t pretend to be. The experience is accessible rather than ceremonial. You’re here to eat well, not to watch a performance.
I’ll say this plainly. As a setting, it’s comfortable but modest. If you’re after atmosphere as spectacle, this isn’t that. What it offers instead is a calm table where the food gets to be the point, which suits me fine.
What I Ordered: Best Food from Tomi Sushi
Tomi Sushi serves numerous varieties of amazing and delicious sushi including nigiri sushi and crispy tempura dishes alongside fresh salad and hegi soba, a Niigata specialty made with funori seaweed, in their menu. I came for the sashimi, and specifically for the tuna, because that’s where a place like this either proves itself or doesn’t. Portions are filling but balanced, aiming for perfection in every bite. Here’s how it went.
Sashimi Moriawase (Assorted Sashimi)
SENDs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
If the set lunch is the sensible order, the assortment is the one that tells you the fuller story. This was a plesant surprise.
The composition shifts with the season and what’s fresh, which is exactly how it should be. What I appreciated was the range across textures. Salmon, soft and mildly sweet with those pale lines of fat, sat alongside firmer, cleaner-finishing options. The presentation was traditional, arranged with care rather than piled flat, resting on ice with shiso and daikon doing their quiet work.
Freshness is genuinely the strength here. Every piece tasted like it had been handled properly and served chilled, and that consistency across different fish is harder to pull off than a single good slice.
The only caveat is variety versus quantity. An assortment like this is a tasting exercise as much as a meal, so if you’re arriving very hungry, you’ll want to pair it with something more filling. I’d happily order it again, though next time as part of a larger spread rather than on its own.
Sashi Set Lunch ($32)
SENDs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the practical order, the one I’d point most first-timers toward.
For $32, the set is a fair introduction to what the kitchen does. The sashimi arrived chilled, which matters more than people realize, cut cleanly and served with the usual companions of wasabi, soy sauce, and shredded daikon. The miso soup on the side was warm and steady, the kind of quiet accompaniment that grounds a meal without asking for attention.
The fish itself tasted clean and fresh, no lingering fishiness (yes, I know it is fish), which is the first thing I test. My one honest note is on thickness. The slices were on the moderate side rather than generously thick, and depending on your preference, that either reads as refined or slightly mean. I found them fair for the price.
As a value proposition, this is where Tomi Sushi makes its strongest case. Lunch sets here have a reputation for being good value, and I understand why. I’d order it again on a weekday without a second thought.
Maguro: Akami, Chutoro, Otoro
SENDs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is the order that made the visit worth writing about. Tomi Sushi offers all three tuna cuts, and taken in sequence, akami to chutoro to otoro, they turn a plate of raw fish into something closer to an education. Eaten lean to fatty, you feel exactly how one fish transforms depending on where it’s cut from.
The akami came first, deep ruby-red, firm, with that clean, faintly mineral tuna flavor and almost no visible fat. It’s the cut people underestimate, but a good piece tastes focused rather than dry, and this one held up.
Then chutoro, the middle ground, softer and lightly marbled. For me it was the most balanced of the three. Enough fat to turn creamy, enough tuna character left to still taste like tuna rather than pure richness. If I could only order one, it would be this.
Finally the otoro, pale and heavily veined with white marbling, the fat softening on the tongue almost before I’d finished chewing. It’s the luxurious one, rich and lingering. I’ll be fair and say richness like this is best in small doses, one or two pieces before it starts to feel heavy, but the marbling delivered what otoro should.
Eaten in that order, with only a light touch of soy sauce so the fat wasn’t drowned out, the progression is genuinely satisfying. This is the reason to come. Order all three, taste them in sequence, and you’ll understand tuna better than you did walking in.
Service & Overall Dining Experiences: A Great Pleasure
Service is where I’ll give credit while staying honest.
On the strength of recent feedback and my own read of the room, the staff here are attentive in an unshowy way. Orders came without fuss, and there was none of the distracted, forgotten-table energy that can plague busy mall restaurants. It’s not warm to the point of chatty, but it’s competent and considerate, and at this price that’s the right balance.
The pacing suited the room. Dishes arrived in a sensible rhythm, nothing rushed, nothing left languishing. Given how crowded lunch can get here, that coordination is worth acknowledging rather than taking for granted.
The thing to understand is what Tomi Sushi is. This is genuine Japanese food served in an accessible, traditional format, not a chef-led counter where you’re paying partly for interaction. Measured against that, the service does its job well.
Things to Know Before You Go
A few practical notes before you head over.
Location: Velocity @ Novena Square, 238 Thomson Road, #02-76/77, Singapore 307683. Directly above Novena MRT (NS20) on the North-South Line, so transport is the easy part. Additionally, Tomi Sushi has 4 outlets (like in Millenia Walk) plus Tommy’s sake bar in Singapore, making it a notable name among Japanese restaurants here.
Opening hours: Roughly 11:30am to 2:30pm for lunch and 5:30pm to 9:30pm for dinner. Official sources differ by about 15 minutes on the opening time, so don’t turn up on the dot expecting the shutters up. The 9:30pm close is consistent.
Estimated spend: The sushi bento and osusume lunch sets are affordable, with prices from $32. Premium tuna à la carte pushes the total higher, so budget according to how deep into the maguro you go.
Reservations: Advisable rather than mandatory for ordinary meals. The sushi course meal specifically requires advance booking, so plan ahead if that’s your goal.
Crowds: Lunch gets busy, partly because the lunch sets pull people in. If you dislike queues, aim slightly off-peak.
Two quick tips: The Koshihikari rice is worth paying attention to if you order chirashi or nigiri sushi, since Tomi Sushi uses 100% Niigata Koshihikari and it shows in the texture. And if you’re comparing value, the $32 osusume lunch is the yardstick against which the à la carte sashimi has to justify itself.
SENDs Verdict
Price Range: $–$$
SENDs Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tomi Sushi Singapore’s Novena outlet doesn’t try to dazzle, and that restraint is rather the point. It serves classic Japanese cuisine with a real Niigata Prefecture lineage, and its sashimi is consistently fresh, properly chilled, and cut with care. The tuna progression is the standout, genuinely worth ordering for its own sake, while the lunch sets carry the value. It won’t satisfy anyone chasing omakase theater or the thickest possible slices, but as accessible, honest sashimi in a mall, it delivers more than it needs to.
Perfect For: Sashimi lovers who want something more traditional and substantial than mass-market chains, without stepping into expensive omakase territory. Also a solid, easy lunch for anyone working or passing through Novena. The restaurant is highly recommended for those seeking authentic sashimi dining experiences with affordable pricing and good quality food.
Skip It If: You’re after an intimate sushi counter experience with extended chef interaction, you want dramatic sauce-heavy rolls and aburi spectacle, or you measure a meal purely by how thick the slices are.
SENDs Tip: Order the akami, chutoro, and otoro together and eat them lean to fatty, going light on the soy sauce so the marbling isn’t lost. For value, anchor your visit around the $32 Sashi Set Lunch and add premium tuna only where it earns its place. Make sure to also pair out their sushi and sashimi with their signature green tea and their good sake.
A Last Word: Genuine Japanese Food in Singapore
I didn’t expect much from a sushi restaurant tucked above an MRT station. I left thinking about the way one fish can shift from lean and firm to soft and buttery, three cuts telling three different stories on the same plate.
That’s what stays with me about Tomi Sushi. Not spectacle, not novelty, just fresh fish handled with the quiet competence of a place that’s been devoted to serve genuine Japanese food since 1954. It’s genuine Japanese food in an unglamorous setting, and there’s real honesty in that.
Whether it suits you depends on what you’re after. If you want ceremony and theater, look elsewhere. If you want clean, traditional sashimi and tuna worth slowing down for, pull up a chair at Novena and order across the cuts.
