i was introduced to the "Tomato" by a friend who said it was one of his favorite places. Â And I can see why. Â I ordered the BB King Burger....OMG, it is one of the best burgers I've had. Â I went back and ordered the same still very good. Â A little well done for my liking, so next time I'll be sure to ask for it to be medium.
The beef is local and I'm told they mix it themselves. Â Very Good. Â The salad is organic fresh and local, also a fav.
I live very far North and i will visit Rockin Tomato when ever I am in the "Hood"
Simone Gruden
First off, the reason the pizzas here "taste good" is because they are  salty.  Still, we have eaten there and gotten pizza to go for years, since the place is locally owned and there were no pizza joints near our house (until recently).  We did notice late in 2012 that the pizzas had gotten sparse when it comes to their toppings.
But that's not my complaint about this place.
In March 2013 my husband and I bought a pizza to go at Rockin' Tomato. Â While eating this pizza I bit into a "seedless," sliced olive and broke the top off a very expensive bridge in my mouth. Â I immediately took pictures of the tooth pieces, the pizza slice and the two olive pits in my slice. Â I wrote a detailed letter about the experience and sent it to the owners along with one of the pictures.
The owner responded quickly and acted like he cared. Â Meanwhile, I went to my dentist to get a bid for the damage, which amounted to well over $2,000. Â My own insurance coverage would cover all but $900. Â So that's what claim I submitted to the restaurant's insurance company, which is ALLIED INSURANCE. Â A company I've never heard of, by the way. Â Now I know why.
At first the company responded well and wanted all the details, all over again, even though they had the paperwork I had submitted to the restaurant owners. I was told by the adjuster named Jeff Mabrey that they were going to contact my dentist (I guess they didn't believe the written bid she had given me) and would get back to me.
Three months after the incident I finally got a call this evening from some bitchy woman who started asking me questions and going over the paperwork all over again. Â I told her, "You already have this information. Â And what happened to Jeff?" Â
She told he had been "transferred to another department" but I didn't believe that for a minute (and indeed, I called his extension after talking to this woman and he still has the same job). Â The case obviously got kicked to the department that refuses to pay even a small amount for a claim. Â And believe me, $900 is chump change to an insurance company. Â But it can be a lot to an individual.
So I ultimately told the woman that she has a shitty job at a shitty insurance company (they're not ALL bad - our USAA insurance has been wonderful to us over the past 40 years). Â I told her to have a nice day and hung up.
Avoid Allied Insurance like the plague! Â And be very very careful when ordering a pizza with olives from Rockin' Tomato!
Oh, and two pizza places have opened near us in recent years and we have ordered from them with much success: Â Southside Flying Pizza and Homeslice, both on So. Congress Ave. Â But I still check for olive pits, having learned a hard lesson, no pun intended.
My favorite Pizza in all of austin. I live all the way up in north austin but i'm willing to drive down south just to get the best pizza in austin. You must try the bbq chicken pizza its to die for. Can't beet their lunch buffet only 1$ more then cici's and 100x the quality!
Also they have free pool!
OK so they got a new menu and they are obviously going through a bit of a management shake up but they now DELIVER. HOLLA! Plus they added a bunch of new crust types, mainly just two deep dish options. I ordered the other night and when they delivered the delivery guy apologized and said he'd be back in twenty minutes with a new pizza because the one he had had been crushed. No problem and I appreciate him being honest and fixing the mistake.
The pizza is good, it's not 5 star great but it's a hell of a lot better than Austin's pizza and even better than southside IMHO.
But what really makes these guys 4/5 stars are their pizza rolls. Holy BuJeezus they are amazing. Trust me, best in town.
First of all, I have to clarify. Â I am talking about the Rocking Tomato on South Lamar. Â NOT the one up north. Â They are not associated. Â I've been going there for 5 years now. Â Rad happy hour. Â Great Cheers type of bar but also a really good restaurant so you can bring your kids. Â Free pool all the time. Â Local Farm to market salad bar during the affordable lunch buffet. Â Gluten free crust if you're into that. Â $1 pepperoni rolls during HH. Â A great place to chill and work on your computer too. Great locals that show up for happy hour everyday. Â Overall a neighborhood comfort zone. Â Fun trivia night. Â Board game night. Â Fun popup stage and sound system if you wanna play here. Â Talk to the manager and he will book you. Â If you just moved here and criticize this place because of some perceived yuppyish imperfections, go to Uchi and get expensive sushi because the locals don't want your whiny ass here. Â This is about as small family owned business as you can get. Â Come hang here with everyone. Â Don't be a snob, eat good food, drink good beer, and have a great time with this boiling pot of personalities.
Review Source:Terrible service, sub par food and absolute idiotic employees. Asked for an order of bread twists, was given one. Asked for baked portobello, they were out of portobellos. Not a problem they offered me the chicken and shroom pasta, without chicken. Got it, it had chicken on it. I'm a vegetarian.
Not worth the price, not worth the hassle.
I ordered chicken parmesan and the dish was just a piece of fried chicken with gross pasta on top of it. Â Not what I ordered, can you guys please Google chicken parmesan so you know what the dish is?
Not good at all, pasta was so boring and bland, and the chicken was very unimpressive. Â The bread stick was pretty good, but how can you mess that up? Â I was impressed with the side salad and fresh veggies on it, but never coming here again and suggest you don't either!
Have been a couple of times for lunch buffett. Â I go early so they are just coming out with the pizzas. Â One time, I was the only one there and they served me like I was a king. Â You can also order a pizza to be placed on the buffet line but you get first serve. Â Â I recommend their pizzas and the service was good. Â Salad bar and drink included with price. Â Hate seeing that drink is extra.
Review Source:First off, I'm just glad I found pizza in Austin. Coming from Philly where there's 3 pizza places per block, Austin is like a pizza desert. We come here for board game nights on Tuesdays, get a pizza, and eat before playing. The pizza isn't bad. I've only tried the regular dough - more like pan-style, but they have thin and crispy and a variety of other crust styles. I didn't find it too greasy even though I got pepperoni on it. It was good the next day for lunch too. What else do you need from your pizza? Plus, they let us hang out for hours playing board games. Not too shabby.
Review Source:This is one of the best pizza buffets in Austin. Â The buffet is really the only way to eat here. Â They have some more "eclectic" toppings on some of their pizza that might push of the comfort zone of more traditional pizza fans but they also have the traditional pies also. Â The staff is very good about asking if there is a particular pizza you would like and tipping certainly gets your request a higher priority. Â This is definitely a nice spot to grab a quick and pizza filling lunch.
Review Source:Rockin Tomato leaves a lot to be desired. Â Ordered the pizza and wings, and it was not good. Â I'm not sure what the crust was made out of, but it was very dry and flakey, and I couldn't get past the first wing - it was dry with seasoning dumped on top. Â The open setting of the restaurant is nice. Â They have pool tables, so if you are into playing pool it's a good thing. Â Unfortunately I will not be returning.
Review Source:Update #2 - went from 3 to 2 now to 4 stars. No I am not schizophrenic, Rockin Tomato is. 2 recent home deliveries were spot on and delicious. Very quick delivery, proper thin crust and well prepared ingredients. I am a fan.....for now. Stay tuned!
Update to previous review about 1 week ago and wow what a difference a week makes!
This time ordered a to go order by phone to pick up. Ordered specialty pizza "all a board" with 2 substitutions and NYC thin crust. Picked the pizza up along with order ticket. I told the cashier I was picking up a pizza and she asked me if it was for dine in or to go, seems odd but maybe not. When I got home I saw that the switch of hamburger for Canadian bacon and jalepenos for green peppers had gone wrong.
Looking at the ticket and the pizza I found that yes the Canadian bacon was gone but no beef had replaced it as ordered. I also noticed that the sausage was removed for some reason also. To continue I noticed no mention of thin crust on the ticket and received the usual crust. The ticket was also marked "dine in". At least the jalepeno switch from green peppers happened but it looks like i paid for an additional ingredient instead. I will try another time but it is concerning that so many mistakes can happen on a single order.
Where else but Rockin' Tomato can you get one of the best pizzas in town and listen to some great live music. It's one of the few places that still has a decent buffet. Everything we've tried has been delicious. The pepperoni rolls and veggie rolls are good, even better when dipped in the thick-as-molasses ranch. They have a decent selection of pizzas. If you can't find something you like you have the option to create your own. Rockin' Tomato doesn't go lightly when it comes to the cheese. The standard amount is equal to a double dose of extra cheese you might get elsewhere. It's a dairy lover's dream and a lactose intolerant person's nightmare. They have a decent selection of beer on tap, Fireman's #4 is a good complement to the pizza, and if you prefer soda their fountain is chock-full of old favorites, Cherry Coke being my go-to when not in a mood for beer.
I love this place for many reasons but I think my favorite is the interior. It takes me back to my youth and reminds me of a "real" restaurant. It has character and it's not forced. It's comfortable and inviting, like grandma's house. Â Maybe it's the Galaga video game by the pool tables. Maybe it's the over-sized booths that can seat a small family. Whatever it is, it keeps us coming back time and again.
I didn't plan it this way, but coming right when they opened on an Easter Sunday meant getting first dibs on all the piping hot goodness right out of the oven. Â There was only one other patron at the time so they took our requests for what kinds of pizza we wanted to see on the buffet.
I'd never been to a Rockin Tomato before but this place was a lot like Double Dave's except I liked the pizza better here. Â Great crust, crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. Â The pepperoni rolls were smaller and I'm probably still partial to the ones at DD, but everything else here was a peg above in my opinion.
First off, I've never- ever been one to bag on pizza. I'll eat the most questionable slices imaginable off street carts and food trucks.
This pizza did not do it for me. My boyfriend and I ordered the "deep dish" italian sausage  pizza, and what we got was a thin crust pizza, bent up at the edges to look like a deep dish, and absolutely caked with cheese. I'm talking like 3/4 inch worth of it slopped on top. It was definitely not worth the price [$16] for what it was....
It was quick, I'll give it that, but I wont be returning.
A friend wanted to go here for lunch. I'm thinking, Ok, this is another one of those Cici's Pizza places, which means the pizzas are crummy and the sides are terrible. So I went in without expecting much.
And I was pleasantly surprised! The pizzas are fresh, and are pretty tasty. I like the crunchy crust especially. The cheesy bread sticks are not bad either. I didn't care much about the soups, but that's the beauty of a buffet - you can pick and choose.
The atmosphere is laid back, both both booths and stand-alone tables. And for what little money you are paying, you get a lot of tasty value for your dollars!
I should begin by saying I have not eaten the pizza...I am gluten intolerant but I hear they are working on some options there. I have, however, eaten lots of the fried on the menu and its been great, but you know, its difficult to make fried food taste bad.
So why five stars? Well, a couplea reasons: one, these guys host the red leaf rocks quarterly show. Red leaf is a really cool (and rather affordable) music school that lets you learn to play in a band. Its pretty awesome to play (or watch your family play) in a real music venue. They could book professional bands but instead they give the space to red leaf. Two, they give APA walkers pizza discounts. APA has a really difficult time getting nightime walkers, especially on weekends, so this really helps APA out.
Cool place. I look forward to trying their GF pizza.
Rockin'Tomato really reminds us of the old Churchill quote 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma'. Â We say that affectionately because we like the place overall and recommend it for just about everything on their menu...except...pizza!
I know it's confusing, it confuses us too. Â We had a huge appetite the night we rolled into Rockin' Tomato on South Lamar so we decided to try a bunch of stuff, along with the standard pep and cheese pie.
For starters we ordered some cheesy bread; yeah that's right cheesy bread. Â Don't hate because 99% of pizza places in Austin don't serve it. Â Rockin' Tomato does and it does indeed rock. Â We also dug into some of their spicy pepperoni rolls. Â I'll be damned but those buggers were killer too, with a spicy pep and provolone cheese to boot. Â So at this point this place is on fire...the pizza is sure not to disappoint we thought.
What came next was a colossal let down. Â The pizza arrives and we can tell right away that something is a little off. Â Maybe it's the cheddar cheese blend, maybe it's the cardboard crust that has clearly been rolled with a pin and docked to shit by an amateur in the back, or maybe it's the overzealous and kicked up sauce that tastes like a spicy paste. Â All the momentum the place had going for it came crashing down like Charlie Sheen's career in the blink of an eye. Â A little further digging and nosing around and we found that the place does indeed go the cheap route on the pizza prep front, even going chain style and baking in a conveyor oven. Â Our crew was so let down by the pie that we left it and headed back to the cheesy bread and pepperoni rolls to top us off. Â The large pie was barely touched and we finished everything else off. Â Lesson learned.
This is the place that should be the local neighborhood pizza hangout. Â We really dig the atmosphere, the music, the people, the beers on tap, and the pool tables. Â But their pizza just doesn't have much love in it.
Every group of coworkers has 'that' guy. Every Friday, I gather a group of coworkers together and go out to lunch. Like any democratic coworker lunch outing, the group votes for a lunch spot to hit. Like clockwork, 'that' guy (I'll call him Mr. Brown) votes for the same mediocre to average lunch spot in hopes of swaying the group's majority vote. In this case, Mr. Brown always voted for Rockin' Tomato and to nobody's surprise, he was outvoted almost every time. However, we felt guilty this time around.
Why?
He confessed that he votes Rockin' Tomato every week because his newlywed wife has forbidden him to eat pizza over the past few months. At all. Like any human suffering from a bout of food withdrawal, he dreamed of going to a pizza buffet to stuff himself until he could stuff himself no more.
So we went.
I've been here a few times and the pizza is just flat out, not good. I don't believe in the saying that bad pizza is like bad sex. Yes, there's unlimited amounts of pizza. Yes, it's better than the other pizza buffet. Yes, the pizza is usually hot. However, the pizza lacks flavor, the crust is too dry, the breadsticks are barely passable and you feel terrible afterwards to boot. I would take bad sex over bad pizza every single day. But then I wouldn't be writing Yelp reviews now, would I?
Mr. Brown truly believes it's the best pizza in the world now. I ask of you newlyweds, please don't do this to your husband. Thank you.
This is my favorite pizza in Austin. Â For some reason, this is the one spot that doesn't cause debilitating heartburn immediately. Â
 This is not a place to come to if you're just looking to be seen, rather, a place that has quality ingredients, very cool wait-staff, and an atmosphere that allows you the twenty minute eat and run or the three hour indulgence of draft beers. Â
 Once the afternoon rolls around, the specials abound.  I rhymed.  Dollar this and dollar that and they have some very dank beers on tap.  These are all for two bucks starting at 6. Â
 I enjoy going for a quick lunch buffet that includes homemade soups and a fresh salad bar while I also enjoy going after for five for half pound sirloin burgers and fries for 5.00 and Scrimshaw pilsners for 2.00 . Â
 This place is a gem and if you ever feel the need to enjoy a cold brew and good air conditioning..this is the place.  The regulars and wait-staff will talk if you want..or you can plug in and surf the tronz at a corner table without being disturbed.
Here's the thing: there just ain't much out there (at least in South Austin) in the way of delivery. You got your pizza joints, and you got your chinese joints. Chinese food around here all tastes the same, and that gets really old. And what's more, I've recently begun a dairy-free diet, which means most pizza places are out of the question, unless I choose vegan cheese, which is typically just depressing. Â The great thing about Rockin' Tomato is that I can order any of three yummy, giant salads, a spaghetti with meat sauce pasta dish, OR and of several yummy, giant sandwiches. All of these without a dash of cheese or cream sauce. The hubby can still satisfy his pizza pie craving, all in one order. The best part? Every time I order from RT, the ingredients seem fresh, fresh, fresh, and especially on salads, that's crucial.
The delivery time is always at least 10 minutes faster than what the guy quotes me over the phone, and said guy (whomever it may be that night) is usually very pleasant. I've never actually gone into the shop and dined in, but it seems comfortable and lived-in, like your cool uncle's game room.
Minus one star for only offering one size of pie (Large) for specialty pizzas.
We went into Rockin Tomato for lunch recently. Â We had ordered the garlic spinach calzone along with the chicken mushroom alfredo pasta.
The calzone had mozzarella, white american cheese and crushed garlic spinach. Â I was a bit underwhelmed with its flavor being surprisingly bland. Â After a couple of slices of the calzone, I cannot eat anymore. Â So I try to sneak bites of the chicken mushroom alfredo pasta. Â With ample chicken and penne pasta, this was pretty good but also needs some parmesan for some flavor.
Looks like between the two plates we average to 3 stars. Â Next time, I will stick with the pastas and the pizzas.
This place is pretty close to my house.  I have no groceries in my house and just don't feel up to shopping tonight, so I thought I'd get a pizza to go.  The place has character, and there were some characters in there playing pool.  The young girl taking orders was cute, polite, and very pleasant.  I ordered  a large "All Aboard" on their regular crust and a pint of Shiner while I waited.  It only took about 15 minutes for them to make my pizza.  I got home and dug into the pizza; it was pretty good.  Not the best I've ever had, but respectable.
This place has made it onto my "I know I should be eating grilled fresh fish and a salad, but I'm too lazy to cook tonight" list.
I am very disappointed with the service I received from Rockin' Tomato on South Lamar. When I initially called, I was put on hold for 6 minutes before I hung up, re-dialed and someone answered. I understand people can get busy, so I joked that they forgot about me, and they took my order of fried mushrooms and a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. I asked them to please include crushed red pepper and parmesan cheese, to which the order taker replied that parmesan and crushed pepper were included in every box.
When we got our pizza, we opened the box. Aside from the lack of cheese and pepper, we realized they also had forgetten the pepperoni. I called the restaurant and kindly told them that they has messed up my order. The manager, named Mark, got on the phone and in an unmuted discussion with the order taker, he said, "Well, my order taker said you didn't order pepperoni, so what do you want ME to do about it? There's nothing I can do."
I hung up in disgust and will be disputing the charge with Chase Bank's Mastercard Dispute Department.
I am very dissapointed. I've been to the restaurant on many occasions for open mic nights and had pretty good pizza and service.... but the way this manager handled this situation left me severely disappointed.
For good customer service and excellent pizza, save your money and visit Homeslice instead
First, let's start with the important stuff: Â Rockin Tomato has A+ delicious pepperoni rolls! Â Yum yum yum! Â The crust was nice and crispy and not too greasy and the cheese and pepperoni are in good supply and tasty. Â Double Dave's pepperoni rolls are my benchmark, but these are very close behind. Â They come with marinara or ranch. Â I'm a ranch girl and their ranch, while not the best ever, was very good. Â I didn't try the marinara sauce, but it looked really good. Â Cheese sticks also looked awesome. Â Mmmmmmmmmm...
And the pizza is really good too! Â I would say it is definitely better than any of the standard delivery pizzas. Â The original crust is good - on the thinner side, but not super thin. Â Toppings were good. Â The sausage was very tasty! Â I'm not always a fan of the sausage but this was very good.
Service was good. Â It's counter service and then they bring the pizza out to you. Â Not a lot of interaction, but they girl behind the bar was very helpful, even letting us taste some beer when we couldn't decide what to have! Â As far as soda, FYI they have Pepsi products.
Thursday is karaoke night. Â It was a fairly decent set up. Â I'm not sure what time they usually get going, but last night it wasn't til 11. Â
The only slight negative was that I thought prices for pizza were a little high. Â Large pizzas start at ~$10 and then each topping is $1.50 or $2 depending. Â They do have a few specialty pizzas with a bunch of toppings that are in the $15-$18 price range, but if you want to customize your own pie, it'll get pricey quick.
My friends and I came here for a lunch one day. It was certainly the best pizza-buffet I've been to so far. It beats Cici's, and Cici's beats Pizza Hut (its not hard to beat Pizza hut).
Plenty of freshly cooked pizza, in a nice rotation. They use quality ingredients, and they have a decent vegetarian selection, too, unlike some of the other buffets where I had to always ask them not to put meat on something.
The interior is pretty comfortable and well-decorated. It feels exactly like a pizza place should, with stools and all.
Another selling point is that they have a foosball table, which is fun to play after getting all stuffed on pizza. This place brings me back to old pizza places back home, with arcade games and everything silly that kids enjoy.
Rockin Tomato is probably one of my favorite places to hang out, especially during their Thursday night karaoke. Â Most people probably only know rockin tomato as a delivery place, but it's definitely worth actually going to the store.
The pizza is about average, but the breadsticks are where it's at. Â Cheesey garlic breadsticks are incredibly good, as big as a pizza, and only cost $4. You can get beer by the pitcher to wash it down for $9.
But the highlight:  oh yes, karaoke Thursdays.  It gets going around 10, and the wait to sing is never too long--at most around 30 minutes. And  except for the occasional screamo metal kid that sings something, it tends to be a good 80s mix of music--my fav.  They also have one of the better song books I've seen around town.
They don't seem to have much in the way of regulars with one giant exception--everyone that works at Alligator Grill next door apparently comes over here to drink before/during/and after their shitfs. Â The AG people tend to be a little cliquey, nor do they want to let you play pool with them, but other than that, it's a great spot to hang out.
Why two listings for this location?
Anyways, my actual rating would be 3.5 stars. The pizza is decent (although their original crust could stand some improvement) , the calzones better and the appetizers are somewhere in between. It's certainly superior to Pizza Hut or any of the chain places and no more expensive, despite what other posters here say. Delivery time is usually good, unless it's a Friday or Saturday night.
Not sure about the actual restaurant, though, as I've never eaten there.
Although I cannot comment on the actual Location, I can comment on the pizza. When we first moved into our apartment there was a Rockin' Tomato flyer hanging on our door, and we were starving. So after moving in all our boxes and most of our furniture, we made the phone call for delivery.
The menu was very detailed and everything on it sounded awesome. So we decided on a pizza and made the call. On the phone I was informed that there was a $20 minimum on delivery [not stated on the flyer] and our pizza was only $18. They offered that we could buy a 2 liter and that would get us to $20. So after totaling our bill it was over $22 with tax.
Yes the pizza was good, was it worth the hour wait and the almost $30 [bill + tip]? Hells no. If we ever get RT pizza again, I'm sure we will stop in instead of having it delivered. Seriously, I could have Pizza Hut delivered two nights in a row and it would still be under $30 and taste just as good. Crazy.
I don't remember the pizza here, but I remember having a good time.
They have the staple beers on tap, my poison of the night being Shiner. Â And the beer goes down GOOD. Â Conveniently, it was karaoke night, which is always fun for me but hardly so for the other bar patrons. Â The wait to get on stage is not brutal, and there is quick bar service and two pool tables to keep you occupied while you await impending doom. Â The crowd is mixed as far as cliques and cliches go, but not segregated. Â I found this place rather personable. Â Maybe too personable; as the two o'clock hour approaches a larger-than-normal percentage of men roam around like vikings and grunt around trying to find a girl to take home. Â Sloppily. Â
Rockin Tomato, nonetheless, appeals to people who attempt to make a chill evening (it is a pizza place, right?) but somehow always find themselves wicked drunk and wondering how such a night got so raucous and fun. Â Good vibe.
horsies,
andrea
Rockin' Tomato on South Lamar is good on workdays for a lunch pizza buffet. Â They have a nice range of meat and veggie pizzas to please everyone.
Also, the Rockin' Tomato also turns into more of a bar vibe at night. Â They have live music, decent beer prices and the regular assortment of expected beers.