Tomato Factory Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria

CLOSED. Many good meals here over the years. Frank opened a new restaurant. He said he was going to keep this one going, but apparently he’s decided to focus all his energies on his new restaurant. Arrivederci.
Frank has opened «Per Tutti» in Jamesburg, which was even better! I have reviewed that also. If you liked the Tomato Factory, you will like Per Tutti even better, but note the new place does not have pizza.

I thought the food was rather bland, but the service was good.

Nice little venue tucked away in a small strip mall type center. The food is reasonably priced. I came for lunch with a business associate and it wasn’t very busy. They do have homemade gelato and other ice cream in a dipping cabinet near the kitchen area. Our waitress was very attentive. I ordered the Franks Salad which is made with a citrus based vinaigrette. That was quite filling alone. For my lunch I ordered the gnocci which was excellent. Sauce was very tasty and the fresh mozzarella spread in small chunks, melted under the sauce. Too much to finish. Looking forward to returning.

This is a family favorite. We go often and enjoy it every time. Service size is great, staff is always attetive. It is consistently good. My husband judges all Italian restaurants based on their sauce and Tomato Factory is consistently good!

This place has excellent service. We came in not realizing it was BYOB (which we should have, since so many places in NJ are!). We were seated, asked for the EtOH list, and when we looked disappointed, our server told us there was a booze store right next door! So she let us leave to get our libations, and we came back and the table was set and ready for us! (P.S. the booze store next door isn’t bad either!) So the food was alright, nothing memorable, but nothing bad. Everything came in a timely manner, and our server came to check on us, but was not too intrusive. Décor is a little dated, but pleasantly bright.
I would give this place an extra half star for its excellent service!

First off this place has a huge menu, which usually makes me very leery. Alot of times I choose not to eat pasta because it doesn’t seem to agree with me. So I saw chicken portabella with rissoto and thought that would be perfect. I received my plate and it looked great. I love rissoto so I tried that first. It was pure white practically and tastes like nothing but cream, not seasoned at all with anything. The chicken looked great but barely had any taste, and there was a stray uncooked cremini mushroom in the rice.
My boyfriend got the carbonara. I have made carbonara many times before and I know it is traditionally made with egg yolk to create the sauce, not simply an alfredo base. This sauce was white as snow and also a bit under seasoned.
Our appetizer was the crab stuffed mushroom, not my cup of tea but my boyfriend seemed to like it. It was covered in their vodka sauce which did seem to be tasty. It seems like that is the only thing they know how to make here is traditional vodka sauce and marinara type sauces. Maybe the menu shouldn’t include about 50 other items then? They also brought us 2 pieces of bruschetta which seemed to be made fresh and it was quite tasty.
The service was great, but at the end of dinner she asked how everything was and we told her my meal was totally flavorless and underseasoned. I ate about 5 bites of it and it wasn’t comp’ed. Instead we were charged the full $ 19 for the terrible underseasoned meal. If only they spent as much time, money and effort perfecting their food and less on their tomato window etchings, maybe I would have had a better more tasty meal.

I love this place! My family and I have come here for birthdays and other ocassions several times since it had opened up many years ago. It is absolutely way better then any franchise Italian restaurant. I have never had a bad experience. The food is delicious — don’t worry about going home hungry because the portions are pretty big, and come with a salad.
I absolutely love the shrimp Parmesan and the tortellini Alfredo — Alfredo sauce is delicious and creamy, And I am a fan of their regular marinara sauce, sweet and tangy. I have brought quite a few people here and they have all enjoyed it.

just an update on tomato factory. Most people in this town LOVE OLIVE GARDEN. I don’t know why. I dont care. but I am Italian and DO NOT normally eat Italian food out bc I make it at home. yes I brew my pot of gravy. and sausage and meatballs. BUT compared to restaurants my boyfriend has literally «dragged» me too «kicking and screaming» this was decent.
I stand corrected on this restaurant. I visited it last night and actually ordered a «normal» Italian dinner and was disappointed. Too sweet eggplant rollatini and dried out spaghetti that they tried to rejuvenate with ALOT of gravy.(epic fail) If I do choose to visit there again I will be choosey on what I order. I do not know how people can screw up eggplant rollatini. but whateve…

I was very disappointed after eating here with my family for my Birthday. I am not a picky eater, but had no choice but to return my ravioli dish, which was horrible. It’s also way over priced, with the majority of this dishes being $ 20. The décor is also very outdated. The one positive thing, I can say is that we had a nice waitress. Will not be returning here.

Absolutely perfect. Delicious pasta fagioli soup. Creamy and hot fettucini alfredo. Came back the next day for take out, remembered my mother and I. Very personable staff and fantastic food. Will continue to fork out 15 $ a plate until the day I die.

Meh. Service was fine. Food was ok, but overpriced. Décor was nothing to write home about. It is BYOB, but that might be the only thing I was happy with. I wasn’t moved to tell any of my friends about this place. I probably won’t be back. Might be more upset if I paid. Thanks for taking me out, girlfriend!

I’m Italian and eat Italian food at home plenty (we just call it food at home). It has to be a special occasion for me to go out and eat Italian, but when I have to I do not mind Tomatoe Factory. When you walk in the owner often times will greet you himself. I can not think of a time he has not been there and that shows me he cares about his business. BYOB and the dudes at the liquor store next door are cool. I live so close that Ryder’s lane Liquors is my regular spot anyway. I enjoy the gnocchi in a variety of sauces, and the Lobster Ravioli is delicious. Reasonable prices and good size portions is what keeps TF open all these years. On big holidays (Mothers day, Valentines day) go to TF not Olive Garden (about as Italian as Snooki) there will be half the wait and twice the quality.

My boyfriend and I have been coming here since we moved to New Brunswick 4 – 5 months ago. Not sure where all the bad reviews are coming from but we’ve only had great experiences at Tomato Factory. It’s BYOB, which is great. Your choice of a soup or salad comes with each entrée. The salads are nothing grand, but always appetizing. I ask for a Caesar salad for my order and they are always accommodating.
I usually order the Chicken Milanesa while my boyfriend typically orders a veal entrée or something with scallops. The Chicken Milanesa is amazing. It’s not a very heavy dish, as there is no pasta, but it’s lovely and filling. There is just the right amount of arugula, mozzarella, tomatoes, and balsamic.
The service is wonderful. Most of the time when we come here, we are 1 of 4 or so tables. Last night was apparently really busy for them. They had about 4 large parties and the rest of the restaurant was packed. We were seated immediately by the owner and our waitress was very attentive throughout the entire night. We did not have to wait to order drinks, our entrée, more water, or dessert/​coffee as she was always strangely arriving at the most convenient moments. That’s a skill!
Dinner for two with two entrees, a shared dessert, and two coffees will run you around $ 60 total but it is well worth it!
In any case, highly recommend.

I honestly like this place. Friendly staff, quiet atmosphere and the owner has greeted us many times. I would recommend. This place is nice for a setting for 2 or even a family outting. You should try.

Two words: Hidden Gem
Yes, this place tucked away off Ryders Lane is way way way better than your franchised Olive Garden or some fake (_​x_​) Italian restaurants.
I highly recommend this place.

This place has nice ambiance and the food is delicious. I tried the salad and the pizza and both were great.

Amazingg Italian food! Ok, I know I am no expert being an Indian but I thought it was great. It’s BYOB and the service is very friendly and accommodating.
What I fell in love with:
Appetizer:
Stuffed mushrooms with crab meat in the pink vodka sauce.
Entrees:
Lobster Ravolii (MUST HAVE!)
Mussels and clams linguine in white sauce
Dessert:
Tiramsu
Total: $ 73.00 with tip.
Honestly, my friend and I had no complaints. It was delish.

This place is close to my house but I never went because of the not so fab reviews. Well yesterday my brother picked me up from the train and was insisting on going here. Glad I finally did. The food is good. We had pizza and penne vodka then shared. The Past Faggoli (spelling haha) was delish as well. I do agree however that the prices could be a bit lower for what you get and the atmosphere.

I’ve eaten at this restaurant several times and only once had a bad meal. The service is friendly and the food is good.
I’m not sure if the food here is any better then your average pizzeria. An establishment like this, I would expect higher standards. The food is good, but don’t expect anything great.

My wife and I eat dinner hear once a week and continue to do so based on the great food, the friendly staff, and the cordial atmosphere.
The restaurant does not have a liquor license but you can bring in your own wine with no corkage fee.
There are very creative appetizer and main course specials each week offering meat, fish, and pasta which will often make it hard to choose.
We love the personal margarita pizza as an appetizer and we often order the weekly specials although the regular menu items are all quite good.
Home-​made gelato is always a great choice to complete a great dinner.
Consistency in the quality of food is an absolute necessity for any restaurant and Tomato Factory never disappoints.