My Favorite Florida Eatery
On my recent trip to Florida, one restaurant chain stood out for both taste and value – Sweet Tomatoes (also known as Souplantation in some areas). We happened into it one afternoon after rejecting the nearby Italian restaurant we’d been considering.
Sweet Tomatoes, Dania Beach
When we walked in we were greeted by a salad bar several feet long, and this on its own would have been enough to keep us happy. Not only did it have a huge selection of fresh individual salad items (including a couple of things I’d never heard of), but it included three lettuce based salads, two pasta salads and potato salad. You could put as much on your plate as you wanted, though we discovered that if you were too full of salad you would miss out on the other items on offer. To accompany your salad you could choose from water, iced tea, lemonade, strawberry lemonade and soda.
At the back of the room was a section where you could choose from three hot pasta dishes, get a jacket potato, pick up some Italian bread (two varieties), select one of six soups and pick one of three desserts. You could get unlimited refills on all of these – and the drinks – for just under $10. What a great deal! We didn’t even have to worry about losing our table while getting refills, as there are cards on the table which say ‘I’ll be ripe back’ to let staff and others know that the table is occupied.
Even my normally finicky six year old enjoyed the novelty of being able to choose what went on her plate, and we enjoyed the delicious, healthy food.
Top picks from my family include:
- Cheese focaccia (my daughter loved it)
- Chili
- Black bean soup
- Cornbread muffins
- And of course, the salad
We liked it so much that we went back three times while we were in Dania Beach and will definitely be going back on our next trip to Florida.
Tags: dania beach, Destinations, florida, food and drink, restaurants
October 14th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I could almost live in these restaurants, but I’d put on too much weight if I didn’t cut down those portion sizes, which are all under my control. Great healthy food.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
It is one of our favorites as well. The all-you-can-eat aspect can be dangerous for us, but we know to have a big, healthy salad beforehand, instead of going straight in for 5 mountains of macaroni & cheese
October 16th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Yes, those portion sizes will get you every time, Stephen, which is why James has the right idea
November 8th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I was looking up Sweet Tomatoes in Hollywood, Florida on google and came across the picture on here and thought it was pretty funny because I’m in the front of the restaurant, cleaning the windows. After seeing the picture, I wanted to see what website it was on so I clicked to the page and ended up reading your review. I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself at the restaurant; we try our best to make sure you do. Also, I’m not sure if you’re signed up or not, but if you go to sweettomatoes.com, you can sign up for Club Veg to get buy one get one coupons a couple of times a month through your email. You get to save $9-$10 per coupon. Your total comes out to around $13 for lunch and $15 for dinner (drinks included). It’s a real money saver. Hope you come visit us soon!
November 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Hi Kelli
How amazing that you are in that photo! It was so busy I couldn’t get one without anyone in it. We’ve signed up to Club Veg and will definitely be stopping by the next time we’re there.