Italian Tomato Restaurant — Restaurant in Richmond

My wife and I have been frequent visitors to the Italian Tomato since they first opened back in 2007. My family and I have literally tried everything on the menu and overall, everything is top notch. Even though, the service staff have changed over the years, but the quality of service and food remains at the forefront of why we have been going back over the past 15 years. That said, I have had the pleasure of meeting both owners on more than several occasions. After you meet them, it is clear why they are successful restaurateurs and more importantly as businessmen with deep roots to Richmond. They each have their expertise; one oversees the entire kitchen operation to ensure quality is consistent and the other has his pulse on service aspect of their business. Both embody the great ability to keep customer service as the forefront of their operation. From my experience both hold themselves and their staff accountable to provide exceptional experience, service, and great tasting food - may be this is why most restaurants fail within their infancy period - but not these guys..... KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK

What prompted me to write this review resulted from a detailed conversation I had with our wait staff during dinner last night. I was informed that a patron to their restaurant and a family member was trying to tarnish their business by leaving a bad review out of despite. When we got home, I spent a few minutes and read the reviews left by both Julia and Frank Zhu (Sounds like a father and daughter). Although I have no problems with people expressing their opinion and sharing their feedback but what bothered me was how entitled can a person be. I understand your child loves their pizza and planned to order his favorite toppings for dinner, but it is at that moment to teach your child that sometimes in life our plans may change, and we may not be able to meet our self imposed level of expectation. Sometime the level of reality alters our path but being entitled and cause a raucous may not be the best approach in life when you don't get your way - well I suppose Frank Zhu forgot to share that tidbit of life lesson with his daughter which obviously sounds like another generation of Zhu's that may missed the boat all together on how to be kind and understanding.

The fact that Julia mentioned that her resolution was to order outside food and was upset of the outcome, clearly shows how entitled her mindset is.

Hate to break the news to you but most restaurants will not allow outside food or drinks served in their establishment due to health reasons. So do I think asking a business to deviate from their policy, specially something that could have disastrous result for that business - what if someone ended up with a food born illness resulting from the outsourced meal - grants such entitled and selfish negative and irresponsible feedback.... I wonder if Cactus Club, Earls, Milestones, and other reputable restaurants would accommodate such outlandish request.... The answer is going to be a resounding NO!

I also found it comical that Julia Zhu ended up giving Boston Pizza a 4 star and not a full score even though both food and service was excellent as per her review posted!!!! Enough said.

In conclusion, our entire planet has gone through major changes over the past few years and watching business such as Italian Tomato coming out of the pandemic, truly proves that great businesses such as this will be able to pivot and survive based on their core values if they continue to stay at course.

The Zhu's may not come back - THANK GOD - but you have solid supporters in us.

P.S. Try the Veneziana,...

Italian Tomato Restaurant

Address: 8380 Bridgeport Road, Richmond, BC V6X 3C7

Italian Tomato Restaurant is a well-established spot known for classic Italian comfort food and generous portions. While the pasta dishes were well-executed and the ambiance inviting, the experience was significantly undermined by poor service, making for an unbalanced visit.

Food

Fettuccine Pescatore

A seafood-forward pasta featuring baby clams, shrimp, scallops, and mushrooms in a robust tomato sauce. The fettuccine was cooked to the right texture, and the tomato sauce had a pleasant balance of acidity and seasoning. However, the seafood portion was notably small, which left the dish feeling somewhat incomplete given its description.

Rating: 7/10

Linguine Milano

This dish includes Italian ham, mushrooms, and peas, served in a choice of cream sauce or a garlic olive oil white wine sauce. The linguine was well-prepared, retaining the right level of firmness, but the dish was slightly too salty, which distracted from the otherwise well-balanced flavors.

Rating: 7/10

Ambiance

The restaurant exudes a warm and inviting atmosphere, enhanced by classic décor, a comfortable layout, and a well-curated selection of background music. The setting is casual yet polished, making it a pleasant spot for a relaxed Italian meal.

Rating: 8/10

Service

Service was the most disappointing aspect of the visit. The waitstaff lacked engagement and attentiveness, failing to provide even the most basic hospitality gestures. No initial drink orders were taken, there were no follow-ups throughout the meal, and at times, staff were completely absent. A simple request for a refill required calling the front desk, as no servers were available. This level of service is well below expectations for a restaurant of this caliber and detracted from the overall experience.

Rating: 1/10

Price

While the seafood portions in the Fettuccine Pescatore were disappointingly small, the restaurant does offer large overall portions, making it a reasonable option for those looking for hearty Italian fare.

Verdict

Italian Tomato Restaurant delivers solid, well-prepared pasta dishes in a charming setting, but the subpar service casts a shadow over the experience. While the food and ambiance make it a potentially worthwhile destination, the lack of basic hospitality makes it difficult to recommend without reservations.

A restaurant with promise, but service improvements are essential for a truly...

The stars are for the FOOD only! we are usual at this restaurant, having said that not expecting something unusual. Had reservation for 7:45, we were on time, showed to our table no wait. Waited for good 10 minutes without any greetings from anybody after sitting down. Then our "server" stormed by and ready to take our orders, not offering any drink, not even water as a start, we know what we want and we go with her flow and place order as per her 'order', and asked for water (hot but forgot to mention we want lemon with it) and of course that wouldn't come automatically, that's ok, so we asked for lemon. Two of us sharing a full order which we said at the beginning of order, no plates were offered for the meal so we ended up using the bread plate for our meal as we figured she's too busy to serve "just" our table and there's never even a slightest smile. Half way, one of us remember there's no bread served, so we asked, with a very arrogant look and tone, we were told that bread is 'complimentary', and was ran out as they were very busy earlier, not apologetic at all, that's the way it is, make us feel that we are asking for something extra because it's 'free'. We brought our own containers being environmental conscious, then with swift service we were offered the bill, one of us is suggesting '0 tips' but second person is a server so do not want that to happen, ended with 10% tips, if it's not for peace among the diners, NO TIPS will be given to NO SERVICE and very bad attitude, we all felt being discriminated. Later at night, one of my friend texted me (we met at the restaurant) and asked how's dinner, I say food is fine but not the server, then she started to tell me just before we went in, there were 5 parties that just finished. Well we all can understand the server might have been busy, yet it's her work (and she's getting tips, hopefully). it's not our fault to go in after her busy time and get her attitude instead of service. A long story in short, we do not really want to tip 'you' but...