True Food Kitchen - Palo Alto

Review summary

1. w

   wendy

   VIP

   San Francisco

   12 reviews

   3.0

   12 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   We have frequented this restaurant for years and they seem to always have quite a bit of turnover with their employees. We definitely felt it today. Our reservation was at 1215 and we were seated on time but there was a very long line of people and the hostess seemed very overwhelmed. Once seated, it took a while to get our water and be able to order. I almost felt like I was inconveniencing my server since he was so busy. It’s not his fault as they seemed quite understaffed and he was busy going from table to table as best he could. I ordered the teriyaki quinoa dish with the addition of steak. But the kitchen messed up our order and put the steak on our pizza instead. The food came out at quite different times. My husband waited quite a while for his burger to come and then my 10 year old waited even longer for his Mac and cheese that he ordered. I don’t blame the server for these mistakes as he was apologetic and it seemed to be the kitchen that didn’t have things under control. My husband had a view of the kitchen and he could see they were overwhelmed with the number of tickets coming and he saw another table returning something to the kitchen because of a mistake. We usually just like to be in and out, but this meal definitely took quite a bit of time due to how overwhelmed most of the staff was and the mistakes from the kitchen. We do like the food, but certainly the service could be improved.
   

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2. L

   Lisa

   VIP

   San Francisco

   13 reviews

   3.0

   13 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   Unorganized and inefficient hostess station. Had to wait in line for 15 minutes with a reservation. Hostesses struggled managing the front and asked same questions multiple times.
   

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3. C

   Carol

   VIP

   San Francisco

   43 reviews

   4.0

   43 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The hamburger was great but it took 3 try’s to get the soup to be more than lukewarm. The servers were very nice but I was disappointed on this visit.
   

   True Food Kitchen - Palo AltoResponded 1 day ago

   Thank you for your feedback, Carol. We apologize for the issue with the soup and appreciate your patience; we'll work on ensuring a better experience next time.
   

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4. E

   Elle

   San Francisco

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Our waiter was awesome but the hostess was rude. Food was delicious as always!
   

   True Food Kitchen - Palo AltoResponded 1 day ago

   Thank you for your review, Elle! We're happy to hear you enjoyed the food and had a great experience with your waiter. We'll address your feedback about the hostess.
   

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5. L

   Lilian

   San Francisco

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on January 13, 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   Food was very salty and dry. Not the quality I had expected.
   

   True Food Kitchen - Palo AltoResponded 3 days ago

   I apologize for the disappointment with the food quality, Lilian. We appreciate your feedback and will work on improving our dishes to meet expectations.
   

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6. C

   Carnicmom

   VIP

   San Francisco

   27 reviews

   3.0

   27 reviews

   Dined on January 11, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Food was good. Long wait time for service and food. Clearly not enough staff working. Not our waiters fault as he was really good and responsive. But 20 minutes just to put in our order is a bit long. Hopefully next visit will be better cause food was worth the wait.
   

   True Food Kitchen - Palo AltoResponded on January 12, 2025

   Thank you for your feedback, Carnicmom. We apologize for the long wait time and appreciate your patience; we'll work on staffing to improve the service experience for your next visit.
   

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7. C

   Christian

   New York City

   4 reviews

   5.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on January 10, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Big menu of options. Came for a team meal. Plenty of space. No wait. Great service!
   

   True Food Kitchen - Palo AltoResponded on January 13, 2025

   Thank you for your review, Christian! We're happy to hear you enjoyed the variety on our menu and the great service during your team meal. We hope to see you again soon!
   

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8. N

   Nakul

   San Francisco

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on January 6, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Our server was very helpful and took our order quickly. It was not very busy but order took quite long. But food felt fresh and I think that is why ig took long. Highly recommend visiting True Food Kitchen
   

   True Food Kitchen - Palo AltoResponded on January 7, 2025

   Thank you for your review, Nakul! We're happy to hear you found our server helpful and enjoyed the fresh food. We appreciate your recommendation and hope to see you again soon!
   

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9. L

   Laura

   Central Coast

   6 reviews

   2.0

   6 reviews

   Dined on January 5, 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   The check-in area was extremely crowded, and it was hard to get to the hostess stand and tons of people were just blocking the door, making it hard to go in and out to use the bathroom. We sat on the patio, which was nice and we're glad that they allow dogs, but we were informed that they could not turn on additional heaters. The food was extremely mediocre especially for the price point. We were also informed immediately upon sitting down that they were out of many many items, including oat milk, which is in the majority of their coffee type beverages. Seems weird that they were already out of stuff at 1:00 p.m. somebody in my party also ordered a tofu scramble and requested that it not have spinach, and we were informed that it is pre-made and that would not be possible; we didn't realize we were coming to a cafeteria type grab-and-go situation, we thought this was a restaurant where food was going to be made fresh... The service was very poor, our server did not seem to know much nor was he particularly helpful, and the hostesses were honestly rather rude but at least they were quick to seat us. I have been to other true food kitchens and I'm sad that this one was not as good of an experience as others.
   

   True Food Kitchen - Palo AltoResponded on January 9, 2025

   I apologize for the crowded check-in area, limited menu options, and service issues you encountered during your visit, Laura. We appreciate your feedback and will work on improving these aspects to enhance the overall experience at our location.
   

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10. S

    Steven

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    4.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on January 5, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 2

    Overall food and atmosphere were good. Server Keo was very good, but the kitchen was slow. Biggest issue was the bathroom was very dirty and unpleasant
    

    True Food Kitchen - Palo AltoResponded on January 7, 2025

    Thank you for your feedback, Steven. We're glad you enjoyed the food and atmosphere and appreciated Keo's service, but we apologize for the slow kitchen and dirty bathroom; we'll address these issues to improve your experience.
    

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