Tom of Tom's Pizza / Courtesy of Robert Michael Evans

Some of the negative comments left on the Instagram account of Tom's Pizza by a mysterious wave of haters in 2018 / Courtesy of ZenKimchi

Early reviews weren't so good.

"Awful pizza," reads one. Another reads, "This Tom guy swore at me when I said the pizza was cold!!"

OK, the early reviews were bad.

"Terrible pizzas. Cold and tasteless. The owner was rude, arrogant and pretty sure he was drunk as well. Never going back..." reads another.

The more you read, the worse they get.

"Hey Tom — didn't you say you hated all Koreans and Italians? That's why you opened up a shit pizza restaurant," another reads.

Some of them even try to get a little more personal.

"Is this the Tom that got my sister pregnant? You better call her!!!!" goes another.

Not that long after opening in 2018, Tom's Pizza in western Seoul was flooded with such over-the-top negative reviews online, in what food blogger Joe McPherson called a "Clumsy Instagram Attack."

I won't lie, this is how I first heard about Tom's — and I'm glad I didn't take these reviews seriously, because the pizza is fantastic, and the namesake owner of the place is a great guy, always welcoming to customers. I guess I should even be grateful for all these harsh messages?

Tom is busy hand-rolling pizza dough at Tom's Pizza. Courtesy of Robert Michael Evans

"They're quite entertaining, aren't they?" Tom remarked one cold mid-January evening to the customers crowded around the bar.

"Haters keep this place alive," laughed one of the customers.

"Thank you, haters," Tom added.

He never figured out who was behind it or why, but he suspects that "someone around the neighborhood" paid for a flood of fake reviews and negative comments on Instagram.

"Whoever did it, they bought me 10,000 followers," Tom said.

This unknown saboteur certainly didn't put a dent into Tom's business. Every time I've gone by or stopped in that little pizzeria, located in a quiet corner of Donggyo-dong near Hongik University Station's AREX, or Incheon Airport Express, stop, all the tables and the bar are usually filled with customers, both Koreans and foreigners.

They also get a lot of visiting tourists, since the place is reviewed highly on Google, where it has over 330 reviews with scores above 4.7.

A customer enjoys the food at Tom's Pizza / Courtesy of Robert Michael Evans

There are a lot of great pizza places in Seoul these days, cooking up various different styles, but this one deserves to be at least on everybody's top five list. You can watch Tom roll the dough himself at the bar, and the pizzas always taste fresh and tangy. The wings are also a hit. I haven't been able to find anywhere else in Seoul that serves lemon pepper wings this good.

The one weakness on the menu is the beer selection, as Tom's only offers Budweiser currently on tap and a few others in canned form. There used to be more of a selection, but it was reduced during the pandemic.

"I feel like the craft beer revolution might be over — the hype's dying," Tom said. "[During the pandemic,] I just had Budweiser. I just wanted to sell simple stuff. I don't even drink anymore as well. I do want to give customers options, but craft beers, I'd probably have to taste it first."

This contrasts with some of those negative reviews — including one or two recent ones — that accuse Tom of being drunk on the job, even though he's been sober for about three years now.

The interior of Tom's Pizza / Courtesy of Robert Michael Evans

Tom's history

Tom explained his background back in New Zealand as a "school leaver," which he said is a "modern way to say high school dropout." After leaving school, he worked as a chef, working in a hotel and getting his qualifications in London, before moving to Korea.

He first came to Korea in 2014. Before starting his own business, he worked at Linus' Bama Style BBQ. He's never been an English teacher, not even when he arrived in Korea. "I've got nothing against English teaching, but I've never tried it in my life, not even private lessons," he said.

He and his wife opened Tom's Pizza in a quiet corner of Donggyo-dong, in an alley that doesn't get much foot traffic, on May 12, 2018, a day that was decided by a shaman they consulted.

"We did it like a traditional blessing with the makgeolli and everything," he said.

They even borrowed from the custom of hanging a dried pollock [or bugeo in Korean] over the door to welcome good fortune. Although, at Tom's, they use a plush toy from "Finding Nemo" (2003) instead.

A plush Nemo hangs over the door at Tom's Pizza, Jan. 23. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

"We had no money, so we had to make a famous restaurant," Tom said.

The restaurant was a success, but they resisted the urge to expand. "The thought did cross our minds," he admitted, "but thank our lucky stars we didn't do it — due to COVID-19."

Tom's even appeared last year in a music video for the song "Gate Keeper" by the punk band 18Fevers. You can even see Tom grab the bass and play in part of the video, although he admitted he wasn't really performing music.

He explained why he agreed to let a punk band film a music video in his shop. "Because I'm leaving Korea, I took on this outlook that I just wanna say yes to everything — life's short," he said. "I wanna do the most I can in Korea before I leave. It was a great music video, a great experience — I think the result speaks for itself."

Time for a change

Tom announced recently that he would move away and give up the reins to Tom's Pizza.

"We're a young family with a young daughter, and we feel like we want a change of scenery," his wife said. "It's time for a change."

"You gotta leave at some point," Tom said. "I don't wanna be 50 doing this in Seoul."

He and his family will move to New Zealand, his home country. "Everyone's telling me New Zealand is too hard to live, so hard to survive — bring it on, I'm ready," he said. "I'll continue being a restaurateur. I'm thinking of opening a restaurant with my brother."

He said he's "very satisfied" with what he's built at Tom's Pizza, "but now I need a new challenge."

As for those online haters who tried to take down his business, he figures they'll find something else to do with him gone.

"I have a few haters, and then I say I'm closing and then the people don't stop coming," he said.

His last day is Feb. 9. After that, Tom's Pizza will continue under new ownership. It's not known yet if Tom's will retain its menu or even its name — but anyone thinking of taking over after Tom would probably be advised to keep things as consistent as possible.

Visit linktr.ee/TOMSPIZZASEOUL for more information.