TOMATO R+D

Makes me a little sad that another restaurant bites the dust at the Yes plaza. Prior to Tomato R+D, it was a rotating belt sushi. And now there’s a new restaurant in it’s place. I know I’m a little late with the review, but I had started it already…
We ordered the Hot Clams Special ($ 8.99), the Seafood Carbonara ($ 12.95) and the Famous R+D Okonomiyaki ($ 13.95). The portions are generous so it was more than enough for two of us.
The Hot Clams Special is a bit of a sham. It contained Clams and Mussels, even though we asked the server three times if it was ONLY clams. On the photo, it was only clams. It was pretty tasty, steamed in a salty broth and came hot on a burner.
The carbonara was a bit under seasoned. We had to ask for salt and pepper to flavor it more.
The Okonomiyaki is similar to a seafood pancake, and the taste was good — just wished it was a bit more crunchy on the bottom. Okonomiyaki tastes better when it’s a good mix of soft and crunchy textures.
Located in the YES plaza right next to Phoenix. Parking can be a hassle at times — considering there are plenty of restaurants to choose from in the plaza.

I came here with my boyfriend, and he loves their Carbonara.

I came here for lunch with my son and ordered off their lunch menu. It comes with a salad and drink. We shared the seafood spaghetti and the portion was large enough to take home for 2 more meals!
The waiter was very nice and accommodating. I loved that they gave my son his own utensils, childproof plate and cup.
Overall, i had a good experience. I’m glad there’s a kid friendly food spot so close to home that I can quickly take him to. I’ll be back to try a few other items on the menu.

Came here for the first time with coworkers after hearing about this place! The interior design had a pretty comfortable feel~ What I didn’t really like was how there was barely any lighting. Since we were seated in the back, it was difficult to take nice pictures. Now I have to rely on photo editing filters. Anyways, aside from that, let’s talk about the food!
I came around lunch time and ordered from the Lunch Special~ I ordered the Carbonara because I’m not really a seafood person. I liked how a free drink came with my order! That was a bonus and we were started off with a bowl of salad while we waited for our orders to come. Honestly, I didn’t expect such a big bowl! I barely finished because there was so much! But it did make me full so that was a good thing!~ I’ll definitely stop by here next time to try out other items on the menu ^^

Confession session: I came here twice in 5 days: X
Checked this place out after one of my coworkers raved about it. They told me it was like a Japanese pasta fusion joint and I was immediately sold. I think this might be the first kind of this type of food in the area (at least that I know about) and I’m so glad and lucky it’s close by my work!
The place is located where the revolving sushi place used to be inside the Yes Plaza next to Phoenix. The décor is brand new and seems redone. I really like the simplicity and cleanliness of it. The restaurant looks really spacious inside and there seems to be plenty of seating.
Maybe it’s just not popular enough (yet) but there’s no wait during lunch at the moment which is convenient for me. Usually, when I go there’s a cute little asian lady that is always so sweet! Service is amazing and I love it. Very quick to take orders and food comes out fairly fast.
I recommend their lunch specials, it’s really worth it! It is a pasta + drink for $ 10. Their portions are really huge and if you order any of their seafood pastas, they REALLY hook it up with the seafood!
Note:
They only offer canned sodas (3 choices only I think) or coffee. (I think this is a bit odd pairing with pasta, but… I still usually get the coffee since I don’t drink soda).
Anyway, I highly recommend!

Came here on a weekday for dinner– place was very empty so service was quick. The restaurant itself feels very modern and clean which is a major plus when eating.
I ordered the seafood carbonara, it was decent, wasn’t WOWed by the taste but the presentation was nice. I think because it’s a fusion restaurant the pasta isn’t overly thick and nauseatingly creamy but rather lighter. It doesnt cut the taste though, pasta definitely still had depth of flavor. Lots and lots of seafood (especially clams and calamari).
My sister ordered the Pilaf which was a bit like fried rice but a lot better in my opinion because some parts were crispy– nice texture addition. Price was reasonable for the amount too! A little over 10 $ for a plate of pasta.

The seafood carbonara was on point! The pasta was the right consistency, cream sauce so delicious, and they did not skimp on the seafood — I found myself thinking «wow there are so many clams» while digging in — that I finished all the pasta but didn’t finish all the clams. The original taste is good, but I asked for pepper and Parmesan cheese on the side which made it so much better.
The atmosphere is very modern and comfortable. Service was great. Would definitely come back. So happy there’s a fusion pasta place in this area!

Came here for dinner at around 7pm on a Monday night. The place was pretty empty as expected on a Monday night. Also, there was a girl sitting in the corner of the register playing BigBang music videos on the monitor with her phone. As much I like a good Kpop music video here and there, maybe play some other stuff? It got really old very quickly.
Because they were recommended by several Unilocal reviews, I ordered the seafood carbonara and Okonomiyaki. I thought both dishes were very underwhelming and I left very full but unsatisfied. The portions are rather large so they can be shared with another person if that is your thing. The clams/​mussels did not taste fresh and I felt that the pasta was swimming in the white sauce. The Okonomiyaki tasted a little more unique but I felt the flavor/​texture was very unappealing to me, and I normally love takoyaki.
Service: A bit awkward but still friendly. I think there might be a slight language barrier.
It is difficult to successfully pull off Asian fusion flavors, so I will give this restaurany props at least. If I come back, I will try the other dishes.
Tip: 10 percent off with check in

Asian fusion? YAS!
I honestly like this place, I don’t know why everyone is giving them a bad review.
The past few items I’ve come here, I never really had to wait. The only wait I had to do was get the waitress attention to get seated (which was only a few minutes).
As for the food, it’s pretty good. DON’T get the spinach dip though! My friend and I assume it was going to be home made chips and dip, but we were wrong. It’s basically the tostidos tortilla chips you get at a supermarket. It goes the same with the dip too, the Tostidos spinach dip, just microwaved. Was really disappointed at that.
The Carbonara Pasta is really good (especially the bacon)! Very heavy on the cream side, but I like it that way, I can’t say the same for my friend though. Also for the pasta, it’s best you guys share. It’s big enough to feed 2 people. Although, the pasta did get smaller from when I first came.
As for the drinks, it’s good, but I feel it’s over priced. The strawberry lemonade and Iced Yuza were both really refreshing, but I don’t think I would get it again, just because of the price, but don’t let that stop you though!
Overall, I would come back again. Just because I’m a big fan of pasta. ^^

I haven’t tasted alot of Asian owned pasta restaurants, but taste wise I wasn’t much of a fan. I tried the Carbonara and the Famous Okonomiyaki and both were so-​so. The Carbonara was creamy and not as thick so I liked it. The Okonomiyaki, however, was greasy and topped with a lot of bonito flakes. I wasn’t crazy about it. I also tried one of their drinks, Strawberry Lemonade. It was kind of confusing at first, because it didn’t taste like your normal strawberry lemonade. I think it had some sprite mixed in with it. Not sure how I felt about it cause it took away from the taste of the strawberry.
The pictures posted on Unilocal definitely make the food look good, but it wasn’t consistent with the taste. They do give you 10% off if you check-​in so take advantage of that!

Went for Dinner on Friday Night at 8:30. Be warned, parking’s terrible even though it’s a parking lot.
We decided to try a few items:
Takoyaki — $ 5.99
Carbonara– $ 10.95
Mushroom Rice Pilaf
Garlic Wings
Takoyaki was crunchy and fresh — probably my favorite dish. The Carbonara was okay — a little bland — could use a little bit of flavor. The Garlic Wings were good and came with a salad with garlic ranch sauce. The Pilaf was pretty good but had tons of onions so it was a little strong for me.
Pretty good price for dinner — would like to try their clams.

The Good
–Waitress was nice.
–Okonomiyaki: This was flavorful. But definitely on the greasy side.
The Mediocre
–Spaghetti di Mare: It was just average pasta. Definitely on the salty side. Nothing that can’t be made at home.
The Bad
–Overcooked Risotto Seafood: Way too salty. And honestly it wasn’t even risotto; it was rice. Would not recommend at all.
–Service: Only 2 servers for a full restaurant. It was difficult to flag down anyone.
–Hot Lemonade: $ 3.95 for a small cup of tea with no refills. Definitely not worth it.
–Bait and switch on the clams: Clearly there was a banner outside saying Hot Clams in Broth with a photo showing only clams. And when you sat down there was a separate menu advertising for the same thing. However when it was time to order we were told that it came with mussels and clams, not clams alone. Not a fan of false advertisement.

Came to try this restaurant after seeing the reviews but was extremely disappointed. The service was very slow, it took over 20 minutes to get us our drink orders. And over 50 minutes to get our food orders. Our appetizer came after we had finished our entire meal. The slow service basically ruined the dining experience.
As for the food. It was only average. The items on the menu seemed good, but mislabeled and misleading. The items we ordered did not mention it had cheese in it (which had listed every other ingredient), and when it came it was covered in cheese. The calamari on the menu didn’t mention it wasn’t a full calamari, instead it came literally as 8 pieces of over-​fried (weird aftertaste) calamari «rings» and a huge salad with pineapples. It was more of a «calamari salad» than its appetizer description. Left us basically cheated since we paid $ 8 for 8pcs of calamari rings.
Needless to say we will not be going back. They need to work on their menu and service. It is NOT anything close to Italian food. It’s verging on too much «fusion» makes me think they are confused on their concept. I don’t think they will last in that plaza (which has many better restaurant options).

My cousin’s lovely girlfriend and I are really into Asian Fusion food so the three of us met up for dinner here on a Saturday early evening around 6:30ish and luckily for us I think we barely beat the dinner crowd.
My cousin ordered a Peach Italian Soda ($ 3.95), his lovely girlfriend ordered the Mango Italian Soda ($ 3.95) and I ordered the Strawberry Lemonade Soda ($ 4.25). We liked the drinks, but they were a little on the small side considering their price. The Strawberry Lemonade was a bit sweet but at the same time it was really addicting… in a good way.
We shared the Hot Clams Special ($ 8.99) to start and we had the Seafood Carbonara ($ 12.95) and the Famous R+D Okonomiyaki ($ 13.95) as our entrees. The portions were huge so it was more than enough for the three of us to share.
The Hot Clams Special comes on a heater and it actually has a lot of clams with little mussels in a broth. We really liked the clams, but could care less about the mussels. The clams were sweet and juicy, but the mussels were really dry and tasteless. I’m pretty sure the mussels were recently frozen and then reheated prior to our meal. Nevertheless I still thought it was a great value.
The Seafood Carbonara comes with mussels, scallops, shrimps and calamari in cream sauce. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the cream sauce was on point. There was just a good amount of sauce, not too watery but not too dry. I think this dish would have been much better without those mussels.
The R+D Okonomiyaki is a Japanese savory pan fried pancake with cabbage, bacon and seafood. It is topped with all these sauces to add sweet, salty and creamy elements that ties everything together.
Overall I think we had a pretty good meal. It wasn’t the most delicious fusion meal in the world, but I think it was good enough relative to the prices. I’m sure I’ll find my way back here to try some of their other items too.

My bf and I came over the weekend at 6:30pm and was surprised to find only 2 customers inside. We ordered the seafood carbonara and the octopus okonomiyaki to share, as well as the highly raved strawberry lemonade.
— Strawberry lemonade: from the other reviews, I asked if they could make it less sweet but the waiter said it’s pre-​made. It tasted like 7-​up and strawberry syrup, nothing too special.
— Octopus okonomiyaki: to be fair, I’m not the greatest fan of okonomiyaki. It was too saucy and cheesy for me, and the strong flavors were a bit overwhelming for my palette.
— Seafood carbonara: the sauce was rich and creamy, and they gave a generous portion of seafood. This was our favorite dish out of the two — I’d recommend it!
While I’d give the food a 3/​5, they did do a great job with the presentation of the dishes. Gave an extra star because I really appreciated the servers periodically asking how we were doing and refilling our waters.

3.5 Star
Came here during lunch break. I love pasta and seeing this place have some good review of pasta. I was excited! The place was not too crowded when I got there and i got seated right away.
Food
Strawberry Lemonade-​4 star
This was pretty good. Refreshing and sweet. Somehow it taste artificial though but I don’t mind.-
Frutti Di Mare Seafood Pasta –2 star
Honestly, this is super normal. The sauce was not rich and the seafood was not fresh. I can taste that those clams and calamari were straight from freezer. The portion however, is huge though. We had lunch special portion but it was huge when they serve and its awesome!
Carbonara– 4 star
The sauce was creamy and rich. I like how they mixed bacon into this dish. I like it and i would like to order this next time.
R+D Okonomiyaki– 5 Star
I LOVE their okonomiyaki. The bottom was crispy. When I ate it, I can taste the crunch of the okonomiyaki and the veggies in the okonomiyaki were yummy too. I like the texture of this okonomiyaki.
I would not mind to come back and try other stuff but definitely will not order Frutti Di Mare Seafood Pasta anymore.

I came here on a Saturday night in a group of five. Our server was helpful since it was all of our first time here. They basically have three types of main courses: pasta, rice, and okinomiyaki.
We ordered both carbonara ($ 10.95) and seafood carbonara ($ 12.95). The difference was that the regular carbonara is more creamy and mixed with mushrooms and bacon. I absolutely loved this dish! The seafood version was less flavorful, but filled with mussels, shrimp, calamari, scallops, and a cute little crawfish. The way they presented the food looked like the crawfish’s little home, it was cute. We also ordered the bacon and kimchi pilaf ($ 10.95) served in a skillet. It was tasty considering I’m not crazy about rice dishes. Lastly, we had the R&D okinomiyaki ($ 14.95). It’s a dish fit for two people or for sharing. Actually, all the dishes were plentiful.
Everything was tasty and yummy. Also, I’d recommend adding the small house salad ($ 2.99) because it’s a pretty big bowl of salad. It comes with mixed greens, dressing, cherry tomatoes, and pineapple bits. It was refreshing and delicious. I like it.

I’ve been bugging the hubs to come here with me for dinner. We came here for dinner and shared the Seafood Carbonara and R+D okonomoyaki. The food took awhile to arrive. The presentation for the food is nice! But the food itself is meh. I feel like they forgot to salt the pasta in the carbonara. It had a nice and creamy sauce, noodles were cooked perfectly, but there was no flavor. There was a good amount of (very small) clams and mussels. Unfortunately, there was a lot of small pieces of clam shells mixed in the pasta. The Okonomoyaki was flavorful and pretty big. It’s very filling!
Service was okay. Prices are reasonable for the portions. However, I didn’t feel the food was that good or memorable. I’m hoping I just came on an off night. I would love for this business to do well because it’s a welcoming addition to the area! I’ll probably visit a second time around.

Tomato Research and Development: still needs to do more of both.
Alright, so this place is fairly new.
So although I am giving it two stars, I am willing to go back when they’ve settled in so that I could give it another try.
But why the two stars?
Well, it’s not all bad — it’s just that it can be so much better.
They have some good things going for them.
First of all, they’re in prime high school hangout location. Yes, parking sucks on the weekends, but they’re surrounded by some good eats and they get a lot of foot traffic.
Also, their concept is cute — decorated with incandescent light bulbs hanging from the ceiling; food served in bake ware; outsourced popsicles from Front Porch Pops. Cute. Semi-​hipster. However, the menus tied together with a ribbon is a less successful attempt at the DIY look.
How’s the food? This is where they need the development.
Okonomiyaki — It’s alright. It’s crispy on top — they slather everything with their R+D sauce. It IS in the salty side — so I almost feel as if this dish is to be meant with something else to balance it out: rice? bread?
Carbonara — It’s creamy, rich, and flavorful. But it’s just a LOT of pasta. I know for sure that their portion size with decrease once they realize that they’re serving too much. Also, I would have liked to see a piece of bread served with the dish — something to balance out the creaminess of the Carbonara. It was just too much.
Katsu — The presentation is cute. Rice next to salad; rice topped with katsu; served in a loaf bake ware. But cold salad placed side by side with hot rice? The lettuce quickly got soggy. It was a race for crispy salad! Also the consistency of the curry was too thick to be used as a dipping sauce for the katsu.
Mushroom and bacon rice pilaf — Probably the best dish from what we ordered. They use sticky rice so the rice is chewy — but again, overkill with the R+D sauce. Why is everything so salty? Perhaps a ploy to sell their drinks? It’s a large portion of just rice. They serve pickled radish, but throughout the meal, I just wanted something super acidic to cut through all the rich flavors
Popsicles — Yummy! I love Front Porch Pops! After an entire meal that consisted of R+D sauce and rich curry, I just wanted to cool my mouth down. I wanted something super tart… a lemon that was doused in lime juice. Suggestions? Try their blueberry lemon curd. Avoid the salted chocolate (so waxy it doesn’t feel cold).
Tomato R+D, don’t be offended.
Take this as constructive encouragement or «Research.»
Plus, this is just the opinion of one person… but I will be back!
You’re off to a good start… keep on working at it!

LOVED IT!!! Everything we ordered was scrumptious!
Bacon & mushroom carbonara: oh so delicious! It was sooo soo creamy I helped myself to seconds ;) Bits of bacon blended perfectly with the shrooms and the noodles. GET THIS DISH! *hint hint*
Spaghetti di mare: pasta with mussels, clams, and tomato sauce. This one wasn’t too spectacular but it was good with the right amount of tomato sauce. Overall, there’s nothing special about this dish.
Clams & mussels pot for $ 8.99: WHAT A STEAL! The clams were pretty juicy and tasty. typical clam taste paired with some sweet «soy sauce» and wasabi. Occasionally you’d get sand bits in your mouth which is just a tad gross.
Okonomiyaki: flavorful and crispy on the outside. It’s one of the more tasty okonomiyakis I’ve tasted. They slice it into pizza slices for you and voila. it hits the spot on your taste buds. A little salty and creamy when you bite into the center.
Strawberry fizzle: strawberry bits in strawberry soda. It was awesome. so awesome I practically guzzled mine :)
I’m actually very excited to visit again and see what else they have to offer…