Red Tomato Restofarm: Fresh. Local. Authentic.

Last year, my boyfriend and I decided to have an out-of-the-town date for my birthday. We searched online to find the best restaurant we could reach and I’m so lucky to discover Red Tomato Restofarm.

From its name, I assume that this restaurant also owns a farm where resources were locally grown and produced. This means that Red Tomato Restofarm only provides farm-to-table food to its customers. Therefore, we can assure that this restaurant serves exceptional dishes made with fresh and quality ingredients.

Their pizza alone is dope! There are only few pizza houses in Mindoro that can achieve the authenticity of the taste of an Italian Pizza and I’m happy to say that Red Tomato Restofarm is one of them. You can never go wrong if you have the freshest ingredients. 

Listed below are the RTR dishes we tried so far. 

RTR Special Pizza

For the pizza, we were torn between Cinco Quezo and something meaty so we opted for RTR Special which is a thin crust pizza topped with bacon, salami, cottage cheese and parmesan. There were only two meat and two cheese yet it looks jam-packed and inviting. When it comes to taste, it’s undeniably delicious. The thinly-sliced meat were full of flavors and the high-quality cheese gives authenticity on the flavors of the pizza.

Pizza Verde

Their Pizza Verde also attracted me because of the pesto. It’s a different take on the usual vegetable pizza like their RTR Garden Pizza. At first, I can’t feel the fullness of the flavors like as if something’s missing. I checked the seasonings and found the parmesan powder and it became the most amazing thing. However, there are only certain portions of the pizza that has pesto sauce. We all agreed that parts were the best part of the Red Tomato Restofarm’s Pizza Verde.

Spicy Spanish Sardines

We had Spicy Spanish Sardines and Marinara for our pasta dishes. The sardine pasta was simple yet divine. The wonderful flavors of Spanish Sardines, anchovies, cheese and garlic stood out beautifully. I find the Marinara bland. I was looking for the hint of tanginess of the tomatoes. But I appreciate the shrimp and mussels in it. I’ll give it a plus point because they were served really hot and another point because the pasta was al dente. 

Caesar Salad

The Caesar dressing they used here wasn’t familiar because I’m used to the modern mayonnaise-based than the traditional oil-based. It’s a bit salty but it blended well with the flavors of the greens and other toppings. You can really feel that they used high-quality ingredients for this dish and some are even homemade. I like the chicken fillet on the Caesar Salad but I think, the grilled one would be a better addition.

Mushroom Burger

This restaurant has a lot of surprises in their menu as they offer one-of-a-kind dishes and awesome fusion of food. Last time, I discovered that they also have a burger with a quarter pound patty made with 50% beef and 50% mushroom. Yep! This one’s a mushroom burger! I can’t believe that beef and mushroom make a luscious combo. The dressing and cheese they used cooperated well with the fusion. The bun is fresh and soft. 

Baby Back Ribs

It’s absolutely surprising that at a low price, Red Tomato Restofarm was able to give us a big rack of baby back ribs with corn on the side. And the ingredients were clearly not rationed. The meat was beefy and tender. However, the innermost part of the beef was kinda dry. It’s a good thing that this dish has a generous amount of barbecue sauce, which I approve, to somehow moisten it. I will definitely go back for this one.

Mussel Marinara

Red Tomato Restofarm’s Mussel Marinara proves that the Southern part of Mindoro is rich in seafood. Look at these mussels! They’re not only big. They’re also fat and juicy. The shellfish itself is quite salty and I guess it’s because they were freshly caught. But sadly, the saltiness dominates the marinara sauce. The tomato flavors of their marinara sauce was lacking. But as long as the mussels were fresh, everything will just be right.

Cucumber Lemonade | Mint Slush | Banoffee Frappe

I was totally amused with the cucumber lemonade for being natural. I thought that it’s a simple water infused with cucumber and lemon but I’m wrong. It perfectly got the flavors of a powdered cucumber lemonade despite of being organic. The same goes with Mint slush. It’s more on citrus than mint but it is not too sour and is refreshing. On the other hand, the Banoffee Frappe has the balanced flavors of coffee and banana. Both are recognizable.