Sweet Tomatoes

I moved to Colorado from Tucson Arizona 12 years ago and have been going to Sweet Tomatoes all those years in both states. True the prices have increased over time so it now costs about $10 to eat their with a friend if you join the online membership and bring your coupons each time. They have everything you would wish to be available on a salad bar, everything is fresh, clean silverware, plates and tables, friendly bussers that come by and bus your tables and even offer to refill your drinks. Whoever is running this salad bar chain has done an excellent job and deserve praise. I have never gotten sick from eating there or been turned off by their many soups, chile, stews, pastas, fruit bar and the array of salad lettuce, toppings, dressings, oils and vinegars is remarkable. They have every beverage at the self serve station including endless ice teas and water and fresh lemon slices. The bathrooms are clean and spacious. They have the option for you to fill up take-out containers and bring food home. I really don't understand how anyone can complain about anything at this wonderful place for anyone, business folks, singles, friends, families. Not everything is low fat - they have real, not fake, mac n' cheese and different pasta toppings, fresh baked potatoes, healthy foccaccia and fresh topping pizza cut up small which all smells wonderful but I skip all that and leave it for the kids and skinny people! I get full from a mountain of salad and healthy salad toppings, there are so many dressings, olive oils and vinegars - but I like to make a fresh lemon juice and olive oil dressing, I always have a little bowl of chile or soup and I often treat myself to fruit, jello, or a mini soft ice cream cone if I am not too full from my salad. You never leave a tip here. What is to complain about? It is frugle and absolutely satisfying. more

I came in here expecting a cheap soup and salad place (because soup and salad IS cheap), and it was $8.89 per person which is outrageous for what you get PLUS $2.79 for drinks. It is just a buffet people. Also it was packed! Better off going somewhere with better food for a better price and somewhere that doesn't feel like a school cafeteria. more

I really like the salad and soup here. I would not go here on Sunday for lunch, the church crowd over takes the place. I have never been disappointed in the quality of food here, it is also easy on the waist line. Pros: fresh produce, great soup, and low calorie ice cream Cons: buffet more

All right, is Sweet Tomatoes a little cheesy with its plastic trays, sneeze guards and enormous pictures of produce growing in the field? Of course. But I don't know anywhere else where you can spend $6.29 at lunch or $7.49 at dinner and get so much good-for-you food. (Let me say that these prices are not the menu. Almost every week in the coupon section of the Sunday paper there is a page of Sweet Tomatoes coupons. Plus we get coupons in our mail all the time. Often people in line hand you their extra coupons. In fact, about the only place where you can't find a coupon is on their website.)\r Now about the food. The salad bar itself is large, with probably 100 items, but it's not exactly THRILLING (unless garbanzo beans and baby corn are exotic to you, in which case yahoo!). Odd also is that the tomatoes are neither sweet, nor particularly great. What is nice is that you can put as much or as little of each item on your salad, and it is royally fun to see the mountains of salad walking away from the cash registers. Don't be shy in piling up your plate--no one else is!\r Sweet Tomatoes strength seems to lie in the rest of its food. The soups really are fantastic, with lots of depth, and there are typically 5-6 interesting varieties available at any time. The pastas are cooked in small batches, and while the sauces aren't imaginative, they are good (the macaroni and cheese is my favorite way to counteract my healthy salad). The breads and muffins are really good and moist, and oftentimes a bit more creative than the other dishes. And don't be afraid to try the seasonal fruit-bran muffins--these ain't your grannies bran muffins!\r While there is a healthy alternatives dessert bar with jello, cottage cheese, and sugar-free pudding, it is the frozen yogurt sundae station that gets the attention after dinner. And if you opt to put your sundae into a pasta dish instead of a dessert bowl, know that you're in good company!\r So imaginative? Nah. Tasty & healthy? Mm-hmmmm. Pros: Tasty, nutritious, and always a coupon lurking around every corner! Cons: A little cheesy; sometimes really crowded more