I really wanted to like this Tomatoes Apizza location, but there were just too many issues with our pizzas last Friday evening, 01/10/20. Don't get me wrong, the pizzas were okay, which is one of the reasons why I gave three stars, but I'm still having trouble understanding how they got voted "Best Pizza in Michigan" and "One of 25 Best Pizzas in the US." Some buddies and I go to their location at 14 Mile and Middlebelt on our lunch break for their $10 all you can eat pizza buffet and we love that. The pizzas are usually decent with some good options for toppings and they feature a salad bar with fresh ingredients and a pop is included in the price.
I called in a carry out order at the location on Woodward near Maple and I clearly should have done more due diligence because when I was told the cost of my two large pizzas was $58, I was in shock. That's a lot of money for pizza. The first pizza had black olives and pepperoni and the second pizza had Italian sausage, onions & mushrooms. So that means that the five toppings cost about $19. I was told that the pizzas would take about fifteen minutes to cook, which is what I gave them, but they weren't ready when I arrived. The man who greeted me was super nice and friendly, which is part of the reason why I gave three stars instead of two, but I had to sit and wait another ten minutes to get my pizzas. I told him about how much my buddies and I loved the buffet at the other location and he said they have the all you can eat buffet too, but it's $8 and it doesn't include a drink. I was confused how they could do that because there were only three tables and hardly any space in the waiting area. While I waited for my food I watched four workers converse while one of them turned my pizza in the oven. I don't want to micro-manage anyone, but it just seemed odd that they had so much time to talk while another customer and I were waiting for our orders.
The nice man brought out my pizzas in large boxes and they were piping hot, which was awesome. When I got home I opened the boxes so my family could eat dinner and the slices were in odd shapes-giant rectangles and trapezoids. That's not a complaint by any means, but it was a noticeable difference compared to slices I have seen with other square and round pizzas. The large pizzas were in the shape of squares with round corners.
The toppings were big pieces of vegetables and meats and there were a lot of toppings, which I appreciated, but I think they under-cooked the Italian sausage before they put it in their prep station. The Italian sausage left way too much grease on the pizza. It was almost unbearable.
The cheese on the pizzas was okay and I was hoping for a crispy crust, but it was soft and wet in some spots. I mean, these were thin crust Brooklyn-style pizzas, so a crunch on your crust is required.
The restaurant was extremely clean, which is a huge deal for me, but I just can't get past the monumental price of $58 for two large pizzas. We ended up with a lot of leftovers, so the amount of food we got for $58 made sense, but the quality was not even close to "Best Pizza in Michigan" and "One of 25 Best Pizzas in the US." I could have spent $10 less at Crispeli's and received better pizzas. I will still be a regular for hte lunch buffet at the location at Middlebelt and 14 Mile, but I don't think I will be coming back to this location for pizza. There are just too many better restaurants in my opinion. read more