The Couch Tomato Bistro

Great selections for a casual lunch in Manayunk. Lots of things to choose from, with sandwiches, wraps, and salads on the board amongst other things. Pretty casual, and very accessible.

The food was great, I ordered the southwest burger, so juicy and delicious. My two other friends go the fried goat cheese salad and the portobella burger. Both also said their food was delicious. I loved the complimentary tasting of their tomato bisque, which is super tasty! Only reason this isn’t 5 star is because of the service. Our server didn’t check up on is that much and this was on a Tuesday night (aka the place wasn’t that busy). We had to ask to get our waters refilled. We did get seated right away though, so that was nice. Food was superb and five start, service, not so much.

Another great experience at the Couch Tomato Bistro! As always, I thoroughly enjoyed my pizza and plan to bring friends and family when I’m in the area!

With a move to the Manayunk area pending, my bf and I decided to check out main street on a hot memorial day weekend. With the rest of the city gone to the shore, we had the pick of anywhere we wanted to go. Having read about the glory of the Couch Tomato Bistro, it was an easy decision on where to go.
When we got upstairs, we were promptly seated right away, and the server explained that due to a private party in the loft the menu was limited to pizzas and salads. I was disappointed because it was the sandwiches that originally caught my eye, but I was quickly won over by a pizza with fig jam instead of red sauce.
We ordered drafts, of which there was a fun, somewhat unique selection. The incredibly kind waiter even switched the TV channel to the lacrosse game we wanted to watch, and then brought us samples of the tomato basil soup and orange-​almond biscotti. Despite the hot temperatures outside and my usual distaste for tomato soup, I slurped it up very quickly — it was that good. The biscotti was unusual but paired excellently.
Our pizzas were very good — we both finished them and left happy. On our way out we noticed all the details (surveys for pizza coupons, free valet parking) that really show how far the owners are willing to go to make their customers happy. This is a great local spot, and I’ll definitely be back — can’t wait to try the sandwiches!

I came here today with two friends for lunch and were seated immediately. Unfortunately they did not have there lunch buffet — apparently they only have it on weekends. They did have a $ 10 lunch special menu so I ordered the grilled cheese with tomato bisque. The tomato bisque was very good but was very hot when it arrived. The grilled cheese was good but there was too much bread and not enough cheese. They also gave us some almond basil biscotti with tiny cups of tomato bisque to try for free while we waited for our meal which was a very nice touch. Our waitress was very courteous and checked on us often. I love coming to this restaurant and I highly recommend it to others!

Ordered the chicken entrée. Received a complimentary tasting of their tomato basil soup with their almond tomato biscotti. They were not only delicious but they left me wanting more. The Breaded chicken cutlet entrée was very good and I could have split it in half and had dinner the next day… But I didn’t!
I completed my new meal with the Mango gelato. It was delicious!
Excellent service and food.

I would recommend bacon and goat cheese it is absolutely full of flavor. If you are looking for a simplistic pizza the prosciutto it is lite yet great as well. Overall great experience in Manayunk.

Cute place in Manayunk with a nice selection of handcrafted pizzas and burgers. The pizzas are very customizable because they make it from scratch; for example, I asked for a wheat crust. The specialty pizzas combine many delicious, fresh ingredients that work very well together. They’ll also bring you out a little cup of creamy tomato soup with a biscotti before the meal. Nice ambiance as well, with attentive servers.

Excellent food, customer service, and atmosphere. Very unique take on classic Italian fare.

New to the area, and have had nothing but perfect food and a healthier choice and options
Their calorie cruncher pizza is literally the best!
Have not had ANYTHING bad from here!!!

Cute restaurant in a bright space. Menu includes fresh and healthy ingredients. Nice date place on Main St. Service is usually pretty good.

I’ve had several visits here, all highly satisfactory. Definitely a good choice for dining in Manayunk, with food that’s always fresh and freshly prepared.
Most recent visit, they brought out a complimentary small tomato soup and a somewhat sweet biscotti — unusual, but a really nice combination, and a nice way to be welcomed. Check out the draft beer list, although they also have interesting choices in cans and bottles (I made the mistake of not readying the beer list carefully, and got a been in a can — not the worst thing, but do pay attention when ordering if you want draft). Pizzas are excellent, although some people might consider them to be more in the direction of a flatbread.
I have special praise for the staff, however, for my most recent visit, when I dropped in with about a dozen friends. They got the group seated promptly, and took all the orders accurately, served the food with remarkable speed, and then, without our asking, offered to split up the checks for the table. This was real hospitality — our large group really tested them, and they truly passed.
According to the sign out front, they have a valet parking service to solve the Manayunk parking challenge. (I’ve never used it.) There’s also metered parking right across the canal in the Venice Island Performing Arts facility lot. It’s an easy walk across the canal to Main Street and this restaurant.

I worked here years ago before the bistro opened and I knew the owners prided themselves on fresh organic ingredients. I got a coupon for a free pizza for my birthday and heard they have a good draft selection so I went with some of my ladies. They are vegetarian and one is gluten free. There were many options, all labeled on the menu, for us to share and enjoy. We ordered two gluten free pizzas and were very happy with them. If you have experience with gf, you know it can be subpar to the real thing but this was decent, more like flat breads, and the topping mixtures were delicious. We also split a dessert. Some of the desserts were out, it started to get a little comical because the waiter kept coming back to tell us, but we were happy with dessert and our waiter was a constant pleasant helpful guy, Jordan. We will be back.
My dad has also been happily employed here for a couple years. They treat their employees well and seem like business owners who care about customers and employees.

Love this place. The ingredients are so fresh and the pizzas are so yummy. Great place for a healthy lunch. I had the best chicken Caesar salad I’ve ever had today. I had a iceberg romaine mix with chicken, eggs, croutons and grated Parmesan. The pizza was also awesome. My friend had the food pyramid. Such a colorful array of food that you can be sure you’re eating healthy. I’ve been coming here for
Years and have never been disappointed.

I’ve always been a huge fan of the café, but I tried the bistro for the first time last Friday night. We started with the cheese board. I was impressed by not only their selection of cheeses but their quality of cheeses, especially since I like to consider myself a cheese snob. I ordered the pasta with the seasonal vegetables for dinner. It was delicious. I loved their choice of vegetables. The pesto cream sauce was on point. I also added the shrimp, which I highly recommend. My friend ordered the Mac n cheese, and she really enjoyed it. I had high expectations coming to the bistro especially since I love the café, and the bistro definitely exceeded them. I can’t wait to come back!

Overall we really enjoyed ourselves. I like the upstairs vibe. We had the pizza soup, Florentine flatbread, and mussels over GF penne in white wine sauce. The pizza soup and the flatbread were SO yummy. The pasta was not good though, very thin with almost no flavor. They have it in a tomato sauce also, could be better.
Big menu and very accommodating staff. Definitely try if in the area.

So glad we choose this place for dinner. Their pizza soup was so delicious and filling! Had their gnocchi. Also VERY delicious. The staff was super friendly and fast! Loved it! Highly highly recommend.

The Couch Tomato is a great place with great food. It has fresh options whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or just have various food allergies, like myself. No matter what your order you will not be disappointed. The Pear-​fection salad is the best! However, the Santorini comes in a close second. The staff is always friendly and welcoming, and the complimentary valet parking is an added bonus! You owe yourself to eat in or order out. You won’t be disappointed.

If you are looking for a restaurant in the Manayunk area that has quality, fresh food and diverse menu options… this is your spot! Their lunch buffet is amazing (and I wish they brought it back to weekdays) and they have the best tomato soup I’ve ever tasted (and I don’t even like tomato soup, so that’s saying something). A good, affordable, local gem.

My boyfriend and I have been here several times. I was vegetarian and now I’m vegan, so this is one of two places in town that I can guarantee a couple options to choose from. My boyfriend eats meat, so this isn’t strictly a «veggie» review.
There aren’t many vegan options, but you can get a good portobello burger (which is somewhat rare), a pizza or a couple of other things. If you eat dairy, then your options are pretty vast and the food is good. And if you eat meat then you’re golden. But, having said that, my boyfriend has ordered a «customized» burger the past two times we were there and both times he was disappointed. He feels that they over cook everything. It’s always well done even if he asks for medium. Their policy is actually to not ask you how you want it. We’ve spoken to the manager both times– the first time because not only was his burger overcooked but it took 45 minutes to come out. Granted, the manager there is amazing and she is always so helpful and very nice. So the issues were resolved for us. But I will say this place is definitely overpriced. Especially if you’re vegan. Omitting regular cheese and adding Daiya cheese costs you $ 2! On a burger! That’s insane. A package of Daiya cheese at Shoprite is less than $ 5 and it will be enough for 10 burgers. So they definitely aren’t catering to the veggie crowd as much as you’d think. It’s sad that most places will charge you more when you just want less! Example: omit chicken from a salad but add avocado? Up charge. Hopefully this restaurant can reassess their menu & price structure to be more friendly to our pockets so I can visit more often. And fix your burgers so my boyfriend can come with!

This place was amazing! Great food and wonderful service. I would recommend this place to anyone! I loved it so much I instagramed my experience @deeslifeadventures if you want to check out the food.

What a cool place. The Couch Tomato is one of my go-​to restaurants for a quick, fresh and delicious meal. It has a great casual atmosphere with a very interesting menu (strawberry salad with the chocolate vinaigrette is my FAVORITE) and a more than impressive craft beer list to boot. The buffet is also stellar and a great way to try a bunch of their wonderful offerings.
The only downside I can think of is the portion size — I would expect a little more for the price. Regardless, ignore my one criticism and go anyway. You won’t regret it.

Wonderful service. Our waitress, Candice, was very accommodating! 5 stars for food and service :)

Had a dinner date here and the food was fantastic. What really kick started the night was the service by our waiter Aaron. He was really friendly and professional and went above and beyond. I had the Chicken Parm and it was cooked perfectly. I will definitely be coming back!

New menu is awesome — lots of gluten free options! I love the atmosphere and lofty feel. Service is always great. My husband and I consider this one of our «go-​to» places (we have been living in the general manayunk area for about 5 years now); the recent menu changes have made this feel like a true hidden gem. We recently brought relatives from out of town here and they enjoyed it as well.

First off, hats off to Craig as he is the most proactive restaurant owner I’ve ever experienced on Unilocal.I’ve corresponded with him on multiple different occasions and I know he wants nothing more than people to have a great experience at his Tomatoes.
After my last less than stellar experience, Craig reached out to me and I promised to return — which I did last night. The service experience was MUCH better this time around, so thank you! Our server, Aaron, was friendly, attentive, upbeat, and just overall great. It got pretty busy after we were seated and it looked as though there was just the one server handling all the tables but he didn’t let that stop him one bit! We never felt neglected, he checked on us a few times and made sure our waters and drinks were full! It was such a pleasure having a much better service experience this time around!
The food, as always, was top notch! We did the cheese board again and this time I went with the gnocchi and my friend got the fig and pear pizza. I seriously love that cheese board, everything on it is so delicious! The gnocchi was SO GOOD and I especially loved the sausage ragu. It was so filling, I couldn’t even eat half of it after destroying that cheese board lol. My friend liked the pizza as well — I had tried that one before and remembered it being delicious so that sold her on getting it.
Thank you again for inviting me back for another try, I knew you wouldn’t disappoint this time!

Couch Tomato Bistro is a great location on Main Street. The atmosphere as well as the service was friendly and welcoming. I suggest starting off with their tomato bisque soup! It is a really great and comes with homemade croutons to dip. I also would suggest the short rib pizza it was a great gourmet pizza. They have a full bar selection as well. Defiantly will be going back!

TLDR: great food, service is a joke.
The food is truly to die for. Great sandwiches and soups, though overpriced.
Service though, is another story. They were «out of plates» so they left our sandwiches on a counter only to get cold rather than asking us if it was alright if they used paper plates.
They boast their rewards system. 1500 spent on catering, and nothing for free.
Finally, catering came an hour late one time. Did nothing to show us they were sorry, after having collected their 40 dollar delivery fee. They simply said, «well remember for next time.»

Love Love Love the Bistro! Although I’ve ordered pizza from Couch Tomato many times before, I only recently got to dine at the Bistro for dinner. The service is awesome, staff super friendly and the food is great. Once seated, the server brought us complimentary tomato bisque which was so yummy. It’s something you will have non-​stop cravings for. And it’s vegetarian!
The salads are fresh, the pizzas are all perfectly made and their apps and entrees are really good too. Wine and beer list also top notch. It’s def my new favorite place to dine in Manayunk!

Okay. I don’t quite understand what the hype is about the food here. We tried the prosciutto pizza here and honestly there was nothing special about the pizza. The dough tastes like something that my oven can produce. If you’re looking for artisan pizza look elsewhere, like Bufad or Pizza Brain. Giving it two stars because of great service.

Where do I even begin? The food here is simply fresh, amazing, and delicious! I’m
hooked!

I had a pretty good experience here but not the best. This was my first time here, and I came for the lunch buffet. It was on the smaller size, but it was only 12 bucks so you can’t beat that! The pizza was excellent which I would definitely go back for. I liked the bacon and goat cheese pizza. There was a pesto pasta dish that had too much cilantro so I wasn’t a huge fan. Another pasta dish was just okay. The soup was wonderful and the Cesar salad was probably my favorite! I would go just to get the salad. The atmosphere is cute and the staff was great. I saw they had a bar, too. I think if I went back I would order off the menu because of the other great reviews.

This is my favorite Philly restaurant. I drag all my friends here.
I have celiacs and their gluten free pizza is AMAZING and their sandwiches are great too. I haven’t had anything here I didn’t love.

Went here for brunch on a Sunday. Their brunch is a buffet selection with a variety of pizza, pasta, salads, veggies for the lunch section and then French toast, bacon, and granola for the breakfast selection. For someone who prefers the breakfast option over lunch, this was slightly disappointing since I don’t eat bacon. However the French toast was amazing and came with cinnamon sugar butter.
I also ordered a Bloody Mary. Their Bloody Mary recipe is a little weak and I would not order it again. I asked the waitress for horseradish and hot sauce so I could spice it up a little, and she was great and brought me some. She even admitted that she has been trying to tell the manager to change the recipe but they refuse.
The outdoor seating here is first-​come, first-​served. So get here early if you’re trying to dine al fresco.

This visit was better than the last :)
We had a voucher for a free pizza in the bistro and we’re happy to use it!
We really wanted the Maui wowie pizza toppings that you can get in the café but was not offered as an option in the bistro. We asked the waitress if this was possible and she made it happen :)
Glad we did bc it was awesome!
I ordered a flight of beer (see pics) which I somehow missed on my last visit.
I am a big fan of flights since I am a big fan of beer and this allows you to sample a plethora of drafts! I was not disappointed!

Shortly after you are seated, they serve you a tiny cup of their acclaimed tomato soup as an amuse-​bouche. The food is delicious with options for all dietary preferences, and they also have a decent beer and wine selection. They frequently offer specials for two — double them up for your group of more because the savings are noticeable. For example: two beers, salad, large pizza (creative and healthy topping combinations) and dessert for under $ 40.00. It was a nice and inexpensive choice for our gathering. Don’t forget to tip your server as though you’re paying full price for your meal and drink.
We stopped in late on a Saturday afternoon, and were delighted to be in the shadows of a child’s birthday party where it appeared as though the service staff was having as much fun as the guests.
I noticed comments in reviews about the challenges of parking, and we made the same mistake our first time here. Take advantage of the valet parking, it’s free!