Hot Tomato Pizza — Restaurant in Fruita

The pizza is incredible. Probably the best pizza I’ve ever had, actually, short of maybe this one place in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood. But the experience is maddening. I don’t know who thought that the best way to get your food was to wind the line directly through the dining room but it makes for a terrible experience. While you wait, and the wait can be eternal, you’ll stand over others as they eat and will find yourself constantly shuffling forward and backward to allow traffic to move past you as meals are brought out, patrons approach the bar, or as kids run to refill their sodas. They’ll take a beer or wine order while you wait but instead of making the line more bearable it means you’ll have to guard against spills and sit down to eat with an empty glass. Once you finally order, you’ll have to battle other guests for a spot to sit. When your food comes, you’ll get to eat it for an audience of patrons waiting in that infernal line, bumping into your chair, talking over your shoulder, and ogling your food. The noise level will prevent you from having a conversation while you eat if the lack of privacy doesn’t. If after all that you still want to try the pizza, it is good after all, make sure you decide on Hot Tomato early because, for as busy as it is, they close at “8-ish”. That’s right, 8 o’clock PM, about the time I’ve ruled out cooking in favor of eating out. I get that Fruita is kind of a sleepy town and people aren’t out too late around here but it’s exactly because everything closes so damnably early, not because we don’t WANT to be out! And that goes for every day of the week except Sundays and Mondays when its inexplicably closed entirely. A hopping pizza joint with wonderful pies closing at 8 PM on a Friday night is just baffling to me who moved here from a big city. C’mon Hot Tomato, I want to love you but you...

This is a place doing the right kind of business. We were down there for a mountain bike retreat and had been crushing all day. We walked in, and were instantly greeted by workers welcoming us not only to their establishment, but to town as a whole. They really take ownership of the community vibe in this town, very rad. We ordered beverages and proceeded to order pizza. While waiting, we observed the workers having an absolute blast at work. Joking around, laughing, etc. The coolest part is they were making quality pizza faster than I've ever seen in the least stressful manner. The vibe and atmosphere are incredibly well sorted for the audience too. Cap all this off with a manager that rocks in every way. She takes wonderful care of her workers from what we could tell of our limited time there. "Attitude reflects leadership" so they say right? She came and personally asked us how our pizza was tasting and was doing work along with everyone else. If you want good pizza go to Hot Tomato in Fruita, Colorado. If you want to see what good management and quality work environment look like, go to Hot tomato in Fruita, Colorado. Lastly, if you want to have a really good time, go to Hot Tomato in Fruita, Colorado. Bring a jacket though because the workers are hotter than the pizza (due to working by an oven the size of a small house of course), which means the temperature might be...

Update to my review from 2 years ago (3/21/25) -This place smelled phenomenal upon walking in. I was very glad to be back here and get my gluten-free pizza! The staff was very helpful. When I ordered they actually went back to the kitchen to ask whether I could get their normal specialty slice pizza made as a gluten-free option instead of just saying no. I appreciated the extra effort. I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly but I thought 2 years ago they were making their own gluten-free crust but I have a feeling they are using the normal Udi's brand gf pizza crust now, but it was cooked very well and nice and crisp for me. A little disappointed that they're using the basic brand (Udi's) because it's not my favorite, but if you cook it okay it can be all right.

My 18-year-old son had the smaller calzone that serves one to two people and that was plenty of calzone for him and boy can he eat. My husband and daughter enjoyed their regular pizza, especially commenting on the tastiness of the crust.

(First review) We always stop by here on our Spring Break trip to Utah. Their pizza never disappoints. The added bonus is the yummy gluten free pizza I can get. We also like that we can order on our way in so that we don't have to waste an hour stopping to eat. The calzones are large and were enjoyed by my son as well. I love all the outdoor...