Tomato Bar Pizza Bakery — Restaurant in Valparaiso

We ordered 2 medium pizzas, 2 orders of ranch dipping sauce, and 1 order of bread sticks for pickup, and came in when it said the order would be ready. Once inside, I spoke to 2 different hostesses about the order, and they didn't seem to have a good system for finding out if an order was ready because there was a lot of running around and checking on things before they inevitably explained they were still working on 1 of the pizzas, and to come back in 15 minutes (it had already been 50 minutes by that point). Not a huuuuge deal, as I understand things get busy, but anywho: came back 15 minutes later, and 1 of the hostess staff, Brooke recognized me and went to check on the order again. There was even more running around and chatting with people this time (other hostess staff, a person cleaning tables, 2 kitchen staff, etc). Brooke came back and explained the order said vegan, but their ranch sauce isn't vegan. I explained it was weird since it was ordered from the vegan section of the menu (which, apparently aside from the ranch, all non-vegan items were removed). I asked if the sauces could just be replaced with red sauce, which they said was no problem. When they went back to replace the sauces, another convo with kitchen staff happened, and when Brooke returned they explained the vegan pizza also had non-vegan sauce on it. They offered to refund or remake the pizza. I requested for it to be remade. I explained we were staying in a hotel that was literally around the corner, and asked if it could be delivered (since the other pizza and sticks would be getting cold as we waited). They explained they don't totally do delivery, but could ask their manager. I said it's not a huge deal... Since the inside of the building was jam-packed with people, we opted to wait outside (which also wasn't great, since it was 55 degrees outside).

Eventually the pizza came out, and we left (with the rest of our order being cold by that point).

Not once did a manager come and check in. I have no idea why the error wasn't caught before we arrived the 1st time when it was read on the ticket, or when we arrived the 1st time (when we were asked to wait an additional 15 minutes), or why nothing was offered as compensation. Management dropped the ball big time at every point along the way. I tried to be very understanding, with everything going on with covid and how busy the restaurant was (which is why we tipped very well!!), but I've also been a restaurant General Manager, and know that having absolutely no contact with them through all of this is flat out wrong in the customer journey. I explained to Brooke that they were amazing, but leadership were sub-par. I explained I know how it feels to be unsupported by leadership, and that they did very well regardless.

We were excited about the vegan options, but overall the experience was a negative one with their systems and management being lackluster. I hope the crew gets to see reviews, so they know they are great, despite working under poor conditions with leadership not helping.

I also know sometimes management can be failed in being supported by DMs/owners, so I won't claim to know the full failing here. Just pointing out there was a failing that someone should address and share with...

I walked inside this restaurant with the intention and hope of getting a great pizza. I’d say I did just that!

There was a bit of a wait to be seated, but that wasn’t a huge deal. We requested a booth, so it did take a bit longer. They don’t seem to have a ton of seating for booths.

I ordered a Diet Coke and we ordered the Cycles Gladiator Chardonnay as our wine choice. The Diet Coke was in fountain-form and really smooth. The wine was also very smooth! I wouldn’t say I’m a huge wine fan, but this glass sure did hit the spot.

We ordered the Cheese Bread for an appetizer and the 14” Soulchaser pizza for our main kick. This pizza has red sauce as the base with mozzarella, provolone, Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Ground Beef, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, Onions, Black Olives, Roma Tomatoes, Ham, and Hardwood-Smoked Bacon on it. That is quite a bit of toppings for your buck.

The Cheese Bread was awesome. It came with a cup of marinara to make it even more awesome! I wish it was a bit bigger, though. Maybe that’s my inner fatty talking. The Soulchaser pizza was a pretty good size. I wouldn’t say it’s a cheap pizza, but you do pay for the quality they bring here. Geez, it had so many toppings for one pizza, but it was so good. I liked how it wasn’t greased up and had more of a dry crust feel to it. I did enjoy the bread of the pizza throughout, too. Their crust is not the type of crust you want to leave on your plate, trust me. If anything, I’d grab another cup of that marinara and make my own dipping sticks out of it!

The service was prompt and friendly. Our waiter kept up on refills and had a great attitude!

Overall, I had a good time here. I like how it was a bit darker inside, for privacy. If I’m in Valparaiso again and craving pizza, I’m sure I’ll be...

The Tomato Bar turned a potentially disappointing experience into a fantastic one for me and my friends. This place has delicious pizzas and great customer service, with a decently cool atmosphere and a good selection of craft beers on tap.

Some friends and I ate dinner here on a Saturday night. The pizzas we got had a lot of flavor, and were more interesting than I expected, which was nice. They were LOADED with toppings, and had a great crust, so I was full after just a few slices. They also have a relatively good selection of craft beers on tap. The place is smaller, and has a chill atmosphere, and it was a perfect place to go with a group of friends.

We ordered a few pizzas, and had a sort of detailed mix-and-match/half-and-half plan that we requested, and we were told this was perfectly okay. When the waitress came out with the pizzas though, they had screwed up the order, and we ended up recieving way more pizza than we had ordered or could possibly eat. We probably should have been more careful in explaining our admittedly confusing order.

Despite being annoyed, we were prepared to just quietly eat our meal, and get out of there. However, the manager, who seemed like a pretty cool guy, came over and talked to us after hearing about the confusion, and graciously worked out a deal with us. He and the apologetic waitress treated us very kindly despite the mix-up, and we left quite happy and loyal customers.

I feel like most places wouldn't take the time to keep customers like this, but I certainly appreciated that they went the extra mile. The Tomato Bar is now literally at the top of my list of places to...