The newly renovated, casual restaurant features and open kitchen, multiple dining areas, an old world wine cellar, and charming outdoor stone patio. The bar is a lively part of the restaurant where guests may enjoy specialized cocktails, exceptional wine or choose to have a full meal. Our extensive wine cellar offers wines from regions all over the world, making it easy to pair a glass or bottle with your meal.
We strive to give excellent service at all times and will set the pace of your dining to your needs. Trying to catch the next train out of Hartford or grabbing a quick business lunch? Just tell us and we will speed it up to accommodate you.
We are located in the heart of Hartford, CT adjacent to the historic landmark, Union Station, which is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
"My husband and I have eaten here before and thought taking the family out for Mother's Day and to celebrate my college graduation would be a good idea. Needles to say we were wrong. The website boasted a "special" menu for Mother's Day when in reality all the dishes were pretty much the same as the "normal" menu with very little ingredient differences. When the food arrived it came in waves and not altogether. It was oily and gross. The gluten free pasta was not cooked long enough and was hard as a rock. The server was clearly not happy to be there and had a late night out. The music was tool loud. We will not be returning."
Dined on 5/12/2013
Special Features: special occasion
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"We were looking to go downtown for a nice family meal. Unfortunately, the service was extremely poor. Drinks, appetizers, water all took forever to get served. The garlic bread was phenomenal, but we paid an awful lot of money for good garlic bread. We also thought the menu was a bit limiting."
Dined on 5/12/2013
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"My family arrived from all around CT and Rhode Island as Hartford was central. The hostess accommodated our party of 12 without flinching. The place was packed for Mother's day. We were served family style, which made my Mom ecstatic. Our appetizers of Calamari, Veal meatballs, and Garlic Bread were delicious. The our secondi was Pasta. One was spicy with shrimp, one was alfredo with chicken, and a house favorite, Tort Rose. All excellent and plentiful. The Mom's day special was filet mignon, w/ lobster béarnaise. How can you go wrong ? We brought our own birthday cake, and our servers surprised my niece with a song. Thanks for making this a special holiday. great Job. dd"
Dined on 5/12/2013
Special Features: good for groups, great for outdoor dining, hot spot, great for lunch, special occasion, kid-friendly
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"I had heard good things about this restaurant, and the general ambiance when we arrived was promising. However, everything else was really terrible after that. It took us an hour to get our food from the time we ordered until the time it was served, and the waitress had to be reminded to get drink refills twice while we were waiting. Unfortunately, none of the four of us found our meals to be good, either, and we're a pretty easily satisfied group. Two who had a pasta dish found it extremely bland; the seafood dish was filled with calamari and two shrimp - nothing else; the sausage dish was so salty I could not eat it. I will definitely not recommend, nor will I be back - it was a significant waste of money."
Dined on 5/11/2013
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"Hot Tomato has traditionally been one of those places we could go and know we could get in to and a place with great food and service. Maybe they were having an off night. Food was okay and all of the tables in our general area were consistently looking for wait staff."
Dined on 5/11/2013
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"Found the restaurant on the internet and took a chance. Had lunch. We were very pleasantly surprised. Appealing setting, good food, extremely friendly staff. Would definitely recommend it."
Dined on 5/11/2013
Special Features: great for lunch
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"Great spot for dining, and especially the outdoor seating. I brought a group there and the music although started out great, was extremely loud for dining and talking. No one could hear over it. That level of sound is ok for a nightclub, but not for dining. Although we had fun dancing, those who came for dinner left early as the decibel level was uncomfortable. I could never bring a group for dining, although would consider a drink and dancing. I do think the management should have been aware."
Dined on 04/26/2013
2013
Special Features: vibrant bar scene
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"Under new ownership...have not been since original hot tomato's management and staff went to Salute`. Food was dissapointing, wife and I ordered the Tort Rose and the Spasta..both were low in quality since the last time we had been there. There was a live band playing R&B resonating through the building - was extremely loud to hear and my wife and I were on date night. The manager told us that there was a party, but on a Friday night at 700 for dinner I did not want to feel like I was eating at a concert at the civic center. Overall I would not recommend or return...too many choices out there elsewhere."
Dined on 04/26/2013
2013
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"I definitely would return to try more dishes. Service was well-timed and friendly, wines were affordable."
Dined on 04/20/2013
2011
Special Features: vibrant bar scene, fit for foodies, good for groups, late-night find, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, special occasion, hot spot
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"Food was very good. Two of us had a pasta special consisting of veal, chicken and sausage. It was very good. The other person in our party had Hot Tomatoe's rosa pasta, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. The Chef came out of the kitchen to see how we were enjoying our meal, this was very nice. The service was fantastic. I would definitely recommend this restaurant."
Dined on 04/19/2013
2013
Special Features: good for groups, great for outdoor dining, neighborhood gem
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"If you head to Hot Tomatoes on a Sunday, you will find a very limited menu. There are appetizers and just a few entrees. Salad is not on the menu, but you can get a small amount of lettuce for $6. The garlic bread that this restaurant used to be famous for is mediocre at best. Service was extremely slow despite the fact that there weren't alot of people there."
Dined on 04/14/2013
2012
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, great for outdoor dining, kid-friendly, romantic, special occasion, hot spot
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"We ordered two of the steak dinners @ $36, rather disappointed with lack of tenderness. Not to mention gristle. Table was small for 4 adults, ambiance was severely lacking, but our waitress did very well considering the number of tables she had."
Dined on 04/06/2013
2013
Special Features: special occasion
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"very nice lunch with friends - garlic bread was outstanding. Our meals themselves were average. I ordered the tuna with salad. The piece of tuna should have been thicker and seasoned better. I ordered it very, very rare - didn't come that way - no taste. It would be easy to fix - some pepper, sesame seeds or mango - needed something extra for taste."
Dined on 04/06/2013
2010
Special Features: hot spot
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"The Easter "Family Style" dinner was a good idea with several different dishes like a mini buffet but all at your own table! The quantities were more than enough for the 5 of us. The food itself was fine but not as good as I would have hoped. And considering that there were no choices on the menu for the day, I'm not sure why they would offer garlic bread at an extra cost."
Dined on 03/31/2013
2012
Special Features: kid-friendly
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"We attended a special wine dinner and really enjoyed the food, the wine and the company. Hot Tomato's is our new favorite restaurant."
Dined on 03/27/2013
2009
Special Features: vibrant bar scene, fit for foodies, good for groups, great for outdoor dining, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, special occasion, hot spot
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"My husband, a friend and I went for lunch on st patty's day. Staff was friendly and attentive, food was excellent, atmosphere was beautiful yet welcoming. My husband and I are planning to return with more friends to experience the dinner scene and the wine room."
Dined on 03/17/2013
2013
Special Features: good for groups, notable wine list, great for lunch
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"The service was excellent, the waitress knowledgeable and prompt. The appetizer of fried calamari very good. Both entrees were disappointing, we brought home almost full plates only so as not to waste food."
Dined on 03/16/2013
2005
Special Features: good for groups, notable wine list, romantic, hot spot
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"Our group of seniors was treated with wonderful hospitality and accommodation. As a group we return as often as we can. We highly recommend it to everyone. The food is consistently excellent and at reasonable prices."
Dined on 03/12/2013
2013
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, great for lunch
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"Every year at this time we go to this Resturant during the Big East tournament. This will be our last. We were seated right away which was a plus because we made the reservation for 4:30 and the next game started at 6:00. Our orders were taken, and then we waited over 25 minutes for the food to arrive after we talked to our waitress as to what was going on. My wife's meal which she has always "enjoyed" before, was missing the main ingredient in the dish, "sausage". Two of the other meals that had chicken cutlets were very "dry". The Resturant did give a credit for the one dish missing the sausage , but we will not return again to Hot Tomatoe's. u"
Dined on 03/10/2013
2011
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"We made the mistake of going on the day that Hartford celebrates St. Patrick's Day. For us older middle-agers we found the noise level really loud, hard to hear conversations. Being right across from the open kitchen added to the din with chefs calling out orders, etc.
The change in chefs or whatever is probably responsible for the disappointment with a signature dish, the Torte Rose. Not enough tomato taste and in general not real tasty. The spaghetti squash dish was wonderful as usual. So it's confusing on why the difference in the Torte.
Anyway probably no return visit is in our future."
Dined on 03/09/2013
2011
Special Features: hot spot
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"Things seemed somewhat disorganized. Three different times we were served food that wasn't ours. Our drinks took a long time to arrive. The food was good, however it seems that they have changed some recipes since the last time I was there a few years ago, and items I used to love, weren't as good due to this."
Dined on 03/02/2013
2011
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"Stopped by with my wife before the theater. We were seated right on time with our reservation. Our service was outstanding. Our waitress was fantastic very knowlegable and attentive. The food was very good. Very fresh and abundant. Not the best for the price but the service made up for it. We'll definately stop in again"
Dined on 03/02/2013
2013
Special Features: vibrant bar scene, romantic, special occasion, hot spot
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"It was our first time visiting Hot Tomato's and I'm glad we did! The food was delicious! We had the garlic bread, which was absolutely awesome! Our entrees were equally awesome, this place comes highly recommended!"
Dined on 02/23/2013
2013
Special Features: neighborhood gem, special occasion, hot spot
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"Appetizer - sweet potato ravioli was great. Very light and not over filling. Dinners were great - Chicken Parm was fantastic as was the Original Tort Rose. Both very filling. Portions were huge. Left-overs were great. Dessert was a little disappointing. Orders the Brownie sundae. Two large chunks of brownie, small scope of ice cream. Not very pretty... looked like it was thrown together."
Dined on 02/23/2013
2012
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"We had 5 pm reservations on the night of a show at the XL center. we sat easily on time. The we ordered a salad and garlic bread--salad came, had to ask twice abouthe bread--great when it arrived. That was 5:20. Our dinners didn't arrive until after 6:15. My husband's chicken Parm (not a difficult dish) arrived on a round plate used for aps -- not the long dish as we had seen at other tables being served around us-hard to eat with out spilling it. We've been there before, but most likely will not go back."
Dined on 02/23/2013
2011
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"Was not impressed with menu for Valentines Day. Food was just OK. Nothing special about my sea bass and my husbands chicken tasted like something I could make quickly at home. Our waitress was very friendly."
Dined on 02/14/2013
2009
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"Had heard that the resturant was outstanding but would really rate as OK. Food was good, service fair, two items ordered were not what was served. Server had no real concern with the oversite. Would be a good place for large groups."
Dined on 02/13/2013
2013
Special Features: vibrant bar scene, good for groups
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"The 5 course meal was a lot of food, although the waitress didn't let us know that we could order the garlic bread (as we walked out we saw that other customers were ordering the garlic bread and were pretty dissapointed). The first course was good, the scallops were cooked well (no sear though, and only two of them) and the Italian grilled cheese was good. The Caesar salad had a little too much dressing on it, but the salad with apples in it was great. The waitress didn't tell us that one of the pasta dishes had meat in it, so we weren't able to eat it. The pasta alla vodka sauce was extremely creamy. The stuffed sole was mediocre at best and reminded us of banquet food. Overall, it was a nice experience."
Dined on 02/14/2013
2010
Special Features: romantic
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"We took a large group of hungry college athletes and were very impressed by the ambiance, attentive service but most of all the high quality food. Healthy options such as grilled vegetable lasagne (no pasta)and the house chopped salad were perfectly prepared. The fried mozzarella not so healthy but sure was good! Hartford neighborhood gem. We will definitely dine here again when in Hartford."
Dined on 02/02/2013
2006
Special Features: good for groups, neighborhood gem, hot spot
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"We had dinner in the bar area with a group of friends. Arrived in time for happy hour and enjoyed the Taste of Hartford dinner specials. The jazz trio was fantastic. This was our second visit In a month and we were happy to see that the jazz trio wss back."
Dined on 02/01/2013
2009
Special Features: vibrant bar scene, fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, special occasion, hot spot
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"The food was good as well as the portion sizes. The mixed drinks were ok. Small and pricey. The environment was nice including the guitarist. Service was good. Our waitress was nice,friendly,and efficient."
Dined on 01/26/2013
2013
Special Features: good for groups, notable wine list, romantic, special occasion, great for lunch
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"Food was excellent. Went for the Taste of Hartford-three course meal. The selections were great. We would go back. We left very satisfied. The only problem was that it was a cold winter night and the room was drafty."
Dined on 01/23/2013
2008
Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, special occasion
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"New ownership has changed the menu, but not too much. Meal was excellent. Absolutely try the classic garlic bread with a wonderfully smooth blue cheese sauce. You will ask for a spoon after consuming the bread."
Dined on 01/19/2013
2011
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"Hot Tomato's has quickly become our favorite restaurant. Friday night we planned a party of 8 for dinner in the bar. We were ultimately joined by a dozen more friends who came for the music. The jazz trio played from 6:30-9:30 and was outstanding. The food is consistently excellent and the chef made a special dish for a fussy member of our party. The bar scene was lively but not rowdy which is perfect for my 50 something taste. There was a terrible traffic jam on the way that caused us to miss the 6:30 end of happy hour. When the manager learned about the traffic he extended happy hour another hour for everyone. Kudos. We always find parking on or across the street and Hot Ts will give you a free appetizer if you had to pay in the lot.A+"
Dined on 01/18/2013
2009
Special Features: vibrant bar scene, fit for foodies, good for groups, great for outdoor dining, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, special occasion, great for lunch, hot spot
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"Food was good. But very slow and in attentive service. We arrived late, so it seemed as though closing up was more important than serving us. (though there was a party of 12+ there too, so they obviously weren't closed."
Dined on 01/18/2013
2013
Special Features: vibrant bar scene, romantic
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