TovalaReviews of tovala.com

Have been using tovala for 2 years.Don’t care for the quality of beef,too stringy,tough.Need to add more sauce choices.Stop 2 portions meal option.Some meals portions not worth the price. Difficulty contacting customer service.Overall a good food service.

I love the convenience of my Tovala oven. Seriously, I don't care if you've never cooked a meal in your life. This oven makes "cooking" delicious food accessible to anyone! The menu is typically pretty diverse, and the food is quite good. Everything arrives in convenient packaging and is always fresh. It also remains that way for at least 2 days after the best by date. Customer service is quick and effective at handling problems. I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because there are a few meals I've gotten that I didn't care for. And occasionally the side item portions are a bit too small. Also, the food rating system could be better. If you like a meal, there is no way to review it beyond giving it a thumbs up. And sometimes, as is the case with the chicken picatta (sp?) meal I made today, it is SO good that I want to say more -- like this was amazing. Please offer it every week! But a thumbs up is all you can give. I wish they'd change that. (You CAN leave feedback for a meal you thumbs-downed.) But overall, I've never been happier with a subscription service. Particularly a meal-based one.

I purchased the oven and have been doing the meals for about a year. Never had one issue with quality or delivery. The only reason I gave the company 4 stars is because of sodium content. There are very few low-sodium options. Otherwise, I highly recommend. Sorry to see all the low-star reviews.

I changed my review because they sent me a new oven an it works well an the meals are good nice to have when you don't want to cook good value for the money I wrote the bad review because it took so long to get some one to do something about my broken oven

The steam oven is absolutely amazing! All the proteins come out moist. The menu options continue to expand, and always offer so many options every week. Sure, the prices are high, but they’re in line with mid-tier fast food (think Chik-Fil-A or In-N-Out). Quality is usually exceptional, and when it’s not, their customer service is right on it. It’s given us time back each week, and given our adult disabled son a healthy eating option with the ease akin to microwave meals.

POSITIVE UPDATE: After a couple months of reaching out to customer support with no improvment to the delivery issues, I was on the verge of canceling my account. In a last-ditch effort, I was finall able to connect with someone who was able to switch my account to a more reliable carrier and request additonal ice packs and insualtion for my boxes. Since then, everything has been much smoother. Most boxes arrive on the scheduled delivery day, some the day after, but always with ice packs still frozen. As I said in my original review, the actual oven and meals are fantastic. Of the hundreds we've tried, there have been maybe 3-5 duds. The menu is always fresh and has tons of variety. My biggest complaint is that the program is very much geared towards individuals and couples, not families. The oven is small, and if you are cooking for more than two people, you'll have to do two rounds of cooking in the oven (which isn't terrible since the cooking times are so fast) or hack the recipes by combining multiple components into each tray to make them fit, however, this can throw off the programmed cooking times, so you have to always check for doneness. It's manageable but takes away some of the convenience factor. I'd like to see more family-friendly portions/kits. Finally, there are the aluminum cooking trays. The scientific community seems to be undecided on the long-term effects of cooking in aluminum, and since I'm cooking for kids, that has become a concern for me. I've started using small enameled ceramic bakeware in place of the aluminum trays whenever possible, which again, cuts down on the convenience and doesn't reduce any waste since the trays are still shipped with each kit. And again, the ceramic bakeware throws off the preprogrammed cooking times. I'd love to see Tovala develop a set of safe, nonstick, reusable bakeware that can be purchased separately and offer adjusted cooking times and the ability to opt out of aluminum for those customers who choose that option. Original review: I've been using the service for over a month and have yet to have a single successful delivery. Their logistics are a complete disaster. First of all, my weekly order of 10 meals ships in two separate boxes, which is a problem to begin with. The two boxes in our first two orders arrived on different days, all late. Of the eight boxes I've ordered so far, two arrived one day late, five arrived two days late, with ice packs completely melted and food spoiled, and one never arrived at all. So, of the 40 meals I've received, only 10 have been safe to eat. I thought this was a carrier issue, but they have since switched my account from OnTrac to FedEx, and it has only gotten worse. Their packaging is terrible. The boxes are thin an d prone to damage, the insulation is minimal, and each box has only one or two small ice packs in it. Other meal services I've used would include 4-6 monster ice packs for a similar order and have thick, dense insulation that actually feels like it is keeping the food cold and safe. Customer support is quick to *credit* - not refund - the delayed food, which is fine, but keeps you stuck in the loop. My requests to escalate my concerns have gone unanswered, and my most recent representative just stopped responding to my chats. The few meals I've actually been able to enjoy have been very good - simple, clean, nutritious - and the oven has been easy and fun to use. The only reason for two stars. I really want to like this service and product, but they just can't deliver - literally. I'm holding onto hope for our next box, but if they can't get it right, I'll be canceling and demanding a refund.