Tipsy Tomato Bar and Pizzeria — Restaurant in Derby

Today was my first time attending this restaurant, after hearing so many positive things about the food. When we arrived there, there were maybe two people at the bar, and we found ourselves a table. For the first five minutes, or so, there was not a bartender present. A few minutes later, the bartender appeared, glanced our way, and did not make any attempt to approach us. Instead, the bartender made friendly conversation with another customer that it was apparent he knew well. Another five minutes went by before he finally approached our table and asked what we would like to drink. His demeanor was less than friendly, and borderline rude. He did not even tell us his name, or smile. Our drinks were brought out a few minutes later, and then we were left there, sitting without him coming back to see if we needed anything else, including food. He continued to talk to other customers that he obviously knew, and was on his phone frequently -he did not even glance our way for a full 15 to 20 minutes.

Finally, he did approach our table again, and asked if we wanted a second round I told him sure the drinks came out, and again we were left alone without him checking to see if we needed anything. At this point we had been at the establishment for over an hour, and I definitely wanted to order food- we had to actually summon him over in order to place an order. When I asked questions about food items he responded that he didn’t really care much about the items that I was inquiring about. Again, his demeanor was less than friendly, and it seemed like we were a burden to him. All in all, we were absolutely appalled with the service and lack of courtesy and respect. Upon reading other reviews, I noticed that other customers have also complained about similar issues. It’s a shame- especially because the food is pretty decent. We will not be returning and would never recommend this establishment to anyone.

I also noticed that for any customer who places a negative review, the establishment is extremely defensive and places the blame on the customer. This obviously is not in good character, and only shows that the restaurant could care less about the customer...

Edit/Update: The owner continues to update their response days after I left the review, behaving like a stubborn child who heard the word "no" for the first time in their life. I would like to turn attention to the fact that the owner's replies on multiple negative reviews asks for two things: that the pizza be consumed on-premises as fresh as can be, and that if you don't like the food, talk the owner to work it out.

Let the former point sink in: Pizza - one of THE most iconic delivery items in the US - doesn't travel well from The Tipsy Tomato by the owner's decree on MULTIPLE replies. That's wild. As for the latter point: I'm not sure they'd be so receptive to negative feedback based on the behavior/attitude in their responses.

I really only like to leave commentary when I've had an exceptional experience or as a warning for others to beware. For the cost and quality of the pizza, I think two stars is more than fair and I stand by that rating.

Lastly I'd like to note in full transparency (despite the owner's weird narrative) that both pizzas were opened within an hour of pickup and both were tried within that hour. The picture I posted that the owner is obsessed with was indeed taken a full day after we got the pizza and I'm not trying to hide the fact that I reheated it - that's what you do with cold pizza. As I was sitting there eating my sad excuse for overpriced pizza, I decided to leave a review as a service to my fellow pizza lovers. My review was based on the pizza the day we got it, not the day after. I stand by that.

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Sad excuse for a vodka pizza. Thin, chewy crust with an absolute lack of meaningful flavor. Got a large and a small pie and they are the same size.

Also who puts basil on the pizza before it goes in the oven? I have some serious well done big leaves stuck on my pizza. Sad to say this will probably be my last time ordering from this place, seemed like a pizza chef in training ruined...

I can’t comment on the food quality, as I threw mine in the trash before I tasted it. They couldn’t handle simple requests like “no onions” and “toasted”. I’m local and won’t be going back, plenty of other pizza places in the area that can get an order right.

Google won’t let me reply to owner, so this edit will do. 1. Your Italian combo comes with lettuce tomato onion oil and vinegar and a couple other things. Looking at your specialty sandwiches again, many come with onions standard. I can take a picture of the menu if you would like to continue this discussion. I requested no onions (actually I requested lettuce tomato oil and vinegar)... absolutely ridiculous you would even say that... your kitchen staff saw “Italian combo” and made an Italian combo as presented on the menu. Doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to solve the case. As for the time it was around 630 on a Saturday night and there were about 5 people there, so I’m sure you were very busy. I really don’t know how many stars you want when u screw up... I know we live in a society where you get 3 stars just for playing but really what do you expect?. I honestly wouldn’t have written a review if you had only made one mistake, it’s the multiple mistakes on the same item... just no attention to detail. A credit for my order is useless, when I called back I was offered. Why would I want that, so you can screw up again?.... no thanks. As for fair? What is more fair then trying your establishment, giving you every opportunity to get my continued business, you screw up, and hold you accountable? Maybe next time read the review and say: “how can I fix the issue?” For example look at how you communicate, does our POS system limit changes to our set menu? or how you check orders before they leave the kitchen? but no, you say nothing comes with...