Sweet Tomatoes

For the past year and a half, I’ve been coming here almost every week. In the past couple of months, I’ve noticed the quality of service gone down. Every time it would be something new. First, there were no soup bowls out and I had to find an employee at another station to put some out. Second, I witnessed an employee putting a piece of focaccia (from the the station) in her hand, not a plate, and walking away like she was about to eat it in the back as a snack. I don’t know if it’s because of an employee shift change, but twice I’ve come at around 4:30/5 and they didn’t have any French bread and only old pieces of Focaccia. I’m paying dinner prices at this time so I would at least like some fresh bread. Another time, they had no soup spoons and again had to wait for some. Today, I read a muffin labeled «Baked Donut Muffin». Of course, I wanted to try it. Unfortunately, it was mislabeled and was a lemon muffin instead. I’m not a fan of lemon baked goods so I was quite disappointed! I then noticed all of the labeling in the bakery section was mislabeled. A couple of months ago, they also raised the prices. Prices went up and service/​employee quality went down!
I give this place 3 stars only because the quality of the food is still pretty good. The salads are still always fresh. If it doesn’t get any better here, I may have to go to another Sweet Tomatoes.

Salad comfort food. Fresh and tasty, with something for everyone. I think it’s a very good value; and they always give a senior discount without asking.

Very sad tonight. No silverware, most salad bar items were not labeled, all empty tables were STACKED with dirty dishes and there were many many empty tables, drink area was destroyed, soup pots were empty, no bowls or plates were available in the food bar area, and the table signage was out of date by 3 days.
We normally come here once a month with our 4 kids, but it was just the 2 of us tonight. I know that it will be a very long time before we return

Tonight we went to Sweet Tomato on Bernal Road in San Jose. We go there about once every 3 weeks for lunch but tonight decided we wanted a light dinner so we went there.
The priced have increased recently with no apparent changes. There is no difference between the food selection served at lunch time and the selection for dinner except for a chocolate funnel cake being added for dinner. There are other differences but you have to look for them:
Lunch Dinner
Moderate price 30% higher prices
Food items are kept filled up Food items are allowed to run out
Fewer service personnel More service personnel but slower service (?)
Food is fresher Food is allowed to sit around and dry out
There are no protein items There are no protein items
The pizza type bread is moist The pizza type bread has no taste at all
Over all the quality and quantity of food is the same but at a much higher price at dinner time.
Don’t go for dinner.
The booth seats need to be replaced or just recovered.

Walking in there were no trays and none of the staff acknowledged it. As we went through the salad bar, everything was messy and mushrooms were found mixed in with broccoli. I mean this place is a mess and staff is not in sync. Condensation and residue from use before are found on the plates. When you go to the soup bar, soups are literally out til it’s finished, or until it’s disgusting. Things like the whipped butter were not replenished. This establishment is despicable If I were the president of sweet tomatoes, I would definitely close down this location. This is not the sweet tomatoes dine in experience I was expecting tonight. Overall this is a .5 star rating. Sadly I can’t give them a half star. Ridiculous.

I’ve tried this Sweet Tomatoes several times but I’m always disappointed. The food isn’t very fresh. The dressings taste strange. The dining room is normally a mess and it’s hard to find a clean table.

I’m usually not a fond lover of salads but the fresh made ingredients make me a fanatic. The salad here is amazing and the soup is so earthy and fresh. The only down side I have is the lack of variety in foods. You can probably make about 3 trips of food and probably try the whole buffet already. Other than that, all the food is extremely fresh and always leaves me in a good mood instead of wanting to throw up like other buffets

Not quite ready for prime time. No salt or paper shakers on ANY table in the restaurant. Salad bar on the entire opposite side of building from hot food. Bathrooms lack hot — or even warm — water, casting doubts in my mind if overall cleanliness. (Also the urinals are weirdly close together with no dividers — very odd)
A couple of fixes and they’ll be worth visiting.

Terrible place to eat at. I’ve literally given this place 10 chances to right itself, but it’s still the worst ST I’ve been to.

For a Sweet Tomatoes, this place is not bad at all. We’ve been here a few times for dinner and I don’t think it’s super busy or anything, which is nice. The food is normal and usual like any other Sweet Tomatoes. Their soup and salad bar has good selections and always change it up for variety, which I appreciate.

Came here not expecting much for I thought it would only be salads, and soups, but I was surely won over once I saw the wide variety of soups, and salads and extras like the potatoes, desserts, and bakery. Everything tasted great, especially the teas. Definitely wouldn’t mind coming back for more in the near future.

Large Sweet Tomatoes and food is just as good as any other chain. However, hardly any workers here, no one to pick up dirty plates, and only one cashier during lunch rush.

We love Sweet Tomatoes its always fresh it’s always delicious and the staff is always super friendly we’ve been coming here for years and we plan on always coming here for the years to come.

When I was a kid I remember loving the once every blue moons my parents would take all us kids to fresh choice. It was my favorite buffet place as a kid. Now… I’m not sure if I’m jaded by having been to a few buffets or if I’m just older and have had better quality food.
This place is a germaphob’s nightmare… Scattered is a wasteland of half eaten trays of food as you navigate around to try and find a spot like you’re Lewis and Clark looking for new land to conquer, you’re met with the eyes of many other families looking to fight you for your spot like you’re piggy about to get punk’d out of his spot in «Lord of the Flies.» Speaking of flies… The food was supposed to be fresh. At least the salad… They had tongs but I was staring at people touch the food with their hands like hygiene was against their religion. Plus I picked up a frozen yogurt bowl and it was contaminated: someone decided to leave their apple pie in between a few (who the heck puts it in the middle of clean bowls?).
The line was moving at the Speed of DMV when it’s lunch break hour… Speaking of speed: they had two lines for the salad bar when entering and one person as the cashier. She was jumping back and forth like she was captain of the titanic and she genuinely believed she had everything under control when the boat already was capsizing.
Guys… Normally I don’t ever give a really poor score unless it was pretty bad… The food wasn’t the worst but it was hurtin’… The service at the salad bar had traffic backed up to the door and nobody to help the girl at the register… Plus everyone was staring at the salad like they had never seen food before… If you can just avoid this place.

Sweet Tomatoes is Fresh Choice’s twin. Sweet Tomatoes is great for people who like all you can eat salads & standard buffet foods like breads, pastas and soups. They’re open until 9PM daily. Their current limited time special is orange lava cake (offered until ⁷⁄₁₅). They have a different breakfast menu that is served from opening until noon. It includes stuff like French toast, biscuits, eggs, waffles, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt & potatoes.

Good for family dining or even a 2 person date. Make sure to come hungry to get your money’s worth. I noticed from time to time they put a new soft serve ice cream flavor, which keeps dessert interesting. Great selection in the bakery. Soup and salad bar with a little something for everyone. Thumbs up.
–TS

Sweet Tomatoes (AKA Souplantation in some areas) is a trusted chain, with the same food at all of them. The only variation is some times they’re not clean, the food isn’t as fresh etc. but I’m happy to report this one is just great. Friendly staff, clean and fresh, this location is A-​Ok.

I came here for a nice relaxing dinner but that is not what I found when I arrived on a Friday evening. I found a line out the door and everything was crazy busy inside, I did not really want to go anyplace else, but what I wanted was inside here. I decided to stay and enjoy a dinner here. To my surprised the line was very fast, i was able to get a sit, but then I had to dodge all the kids running around (yes, I am a parent too and that is not how my kids act in a restaurant).
The food was very fresh, as I figured they were going through it so fast with all the people there. I was able to get soup, bread and desert as well as refills of my drink, and I was doing good. As for the employees the manager did come up to my table and collect plates which I had finished with and ask how I was doing, she was pleasant and happy to be working. All the other employees that were running around crazy were very busy, but they still had a smile on their faces. The kitchen staff was doing what needed to be done both in the salad area and in the hot area. Overall, i have been coming here for a while to get good food at a good price.
If you are looking for a salad and enjoy the company you are with, this is a good place to stop by.

I don’t think buffets are worth it most of the time, but this one is an exception to my heart. Sometimes I get Sweet Tomatoes cravings, no lie! Parking is no problem here.
My go-to’s:
Wonton Happiness salad: I swear this used to come with chicken, but they changed it or something! I used to eat like three plates of this, but these days I’ve been finding with too much sauce, so I make my own these days.
Chicken noodle chunk soup: The best soup you’ll get here! Besides the Asian ginger one they have sometimes.
It’s a bit hard to list the food because it depends on the day (they have specials) and what time you go, really. Sometimes certain foods can be good and sometimes they’re horrid. If you go during dinnertime they serve a dessert which you can view online (and you’d better hope it’s the chocolate lava cake because that thing is
).
You can get discounts if you subscribe to their emails, so make sure you do!

Too TIRED and LAZY to cook tonight?
Are you missing out on eating healthy CARBS?
Love eating variety of SOUPS and MUFFINS?
Craving an endless sea of SALAD and GREENS combinations?
Look no further, Sweet Tomatoes (ST) has got you with an AYCE (all-​you-​can-​eat) salad, soup, pasta, breads/​pastries buffet in one convenient location!
TL;DR? Healthy alternative to fast food when you’re craving decent, reasonably priced foods. Spacious restaurant located on suburban Bernal Road. Friendly service. Must trys: Chicken Noodle Soup, Clam Chowder, Blueberry Muffin. Avoid like the plague: Chocolate Muffin which tastes like stale paper cardboard.
Service, Location, Ambiance: A
Food Quality, Prices: B
Overall ST is a comparable restaurant to the closed Fresh Choice. My family and I were done exercising and playing badminton, and we decided to load up on greens and carbs. This place is packed on a Saturday night! Although there were many patrons, the foods were usually stocked and piping hot fresh. I appreciate their 5+ choices of variety of soups which include Chicken Noodle, Clam Chowder, Chili, Onion, Black Bean, etc. so pick whatever tickles your fancy. There are 4 choices of Muffins to which I say, eat the Blueberry, skip the Chocolate! Their Mac ‘n Cheese and Steamed Potato are pretty good as well :)
Service is great and I actually sympathize with the diligent workers here. Even on a busy Saturday night, the young female employee took the time to chat with us in between clearing dishes. The ambiance is nice for a casual sit-​down. I wore my gym clothes and everyone else was just in jeans or t-​shirts.
Every single time I eat here, the chocolate muffin is TERRIBLE but their chocolate chip cookie is DIVINE. What gives Sweet Tomatoes?! How can they taste so different? Muffin from fury carb hell and cookie from heavenly paradise. My brother decided to challenge my chocolate taste buds and ended up throwing away 90% of the chocolate muffin. I totally told him so. Blehhhh the memories of that cardboard tasting muffin still haunt me in my dreams.