True Food Kitchen — Restaurant in Edison

UPDATE (Saturday, October 26, 2024): We had the perfect meals delivered to us! Stellar job, TFK! 👏👏👏👏

On most of our orders, there are still quirks and inconsistencies they are working out for delivery orders with customizations, but today everything was perfect!

I only took one picture after I already ate a third of my entrée! The vegetarian spaghetti squash was delicious and the serving was ample! The organic DiNapoli tomato sauce is simply divine! It is a simple sauce, but there's something so special about it with its natural sweetness and richness of the tomatoes. In the past, the serving size has sometimes been noticeably smaller than in restaurant. Today, I was full before I finished. There were 4 mounds of melted fresh mozzarella. There was considerable length to the strands of the squash to make them more spaghetti like.

My cardamon iced coffee hit the spot. And it's so wonderful knowing when I order it that it's 60 cal so not overly sweetened.

My long time favorite Tucson kale salad was dressed generously with big shavings of Parm (-breadcrumbs to be GF). Every bite was delicious and not mushy at all. The dressing makes this simple salad delightful!

I love their new cheesy mashed potatoes. That is probably what filled me up! The squash pie was not burnt at all and whipped coconut cream included.

I'm not adjusting my stars at this time, but if I were to rate today's order and service, it would be a solid 4.5 stars! Well done TFK!

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

We've been loyal, appreciative customers since Day1. However, repeated issues have led me to speak up honestly and write this comprehensive review. There is better QC when dining in. Too many times food was delivered badly burnt and missing ingredients. My once beloved charred cauliflower appetizer is usually too charred. Vegan burgers and GF pancakes have been delivered black and inedible. Much of the food is too salty.

The TFK app (IOS version) can be problematic and time consuming but offers better prices than on Door Dash.

The biggest problem has been inconsistency. When it's good, it's very good! Despite this all, I appreciate the healthy options and attention to different dietary needs. The nutritional information is also helpful.

The below photos are of each side of my Vegan Double Cheeseburger from an early September 2024 delivery order. They were both burnt to a crisp and without the vegan cheese and sauce, because they forgot it. That order earned a 1 star rating, but, overall, they average higher.

For dining in, I would give them 4 stars. Many of the items are quite salty so I withhold a full 5 star rating. For delivery, beware of the inconsistencies in getting orders correct—especially, if you made modifications to any items. Following up an online order with a phone call usually helps them get it right but not always. Delivery gets only 2 1/2 stars. Food sourcing gets 4 1/2 stars for avoiding GMOs and using healthier cooking oils. Note that they may still use non-organic items for foods that have high pesticide residue (such as carrots) if they're not on EWG's current Dirty Dozen list.

Also, to clarify, dining in service is excellent! It's been either 4 or 5 stars each time we were there in person. The rating for service is deflated because of occasional difficulty experienced in placing and resolving delivery orders.

They have improved on their portioning sizes for delivery. In the past, I was often given much smaller portions than the more generous ones when served in person. I think the new round salad bowls have helped.

You can read my previous, more positive reviews on Door Dash as "Liz (Gluten Allergy)."

For dining in, the atmosphere is clean and spacious. The lights are too bright for me, but otherwise it's very pleasant and there is a lot of natural sunlight coming in through the windowed walls. They also have outdoor seating but it's right next to US State Highway 1, so the car exhaust does build up. I think it's family and child friendly, though I don't usually see many children there. They do have a...

True Food Kitchen has the looks and the appeal that makes all the latest food concepts trendy: a farm to table vibe, "health" driven food, open kitchen plans, etc. While several of these attributes are desireable it can go horribly wrong when it is made to scale by corporate intentions.

We visited the True Food Kitchen in Menlo Park. We were blown away with its modern facade in the middle of mall area reminding us of visits to eateries in California or Oregon. One caveat to this review is that we were there yesterday on Mother's Day so we expected it to be slammed, which it was, when we first arrived at 2 pm. By the time we left (2 1/2 hours later!) there were open tables all over the place.

First red flag here were our cocktails which were so waterdown that I thought I was drinking an orange seltzer although it was supposed to be an aperol spritzer. Surely it was refreshing but for $14 buck? I don't think so. Then we ordered. One of our group ordered the Mother's Day special of Strawabery quinoa pancakes but the waiter said they didn't have anymore (supply issues?). A young diner of ours wanted to have french fried but they didn't have that either. But we were fine, this is there thing. But that's were our ordeal began.

We waited an HOUR before we began to wonder where our food was. Remember we're acknowledging that it was very busy in this huge place so we were patiently waiting. At the 1 hour and 15 we knew there something horribly wrong so we alerted our waiter, who should have notice how long we had been waiting; he barely visited our table. He even forgot a request for straws for some of our drinks. After the mention of concern, since this is an open kitchen, we could see the waiter talking to the expediter and then a manager type. The manager then came back to us and apoligized for the order and that part of our meal would be discounted "deeply". One of us asked if they could send out some appetizers to hold us over and the manager said that he wouldn't want to do that as then our food would come out. Fine. Well our food still did not arrive for another 20-25 minutes. We seriously considered going to the Shake Shack right next door for fries. More than ample time for a plate of carrots with hummus, or cauliflower, etc. During this time we obviously saw the pancakes being made in the kitchen. Hmmmmmm

By the time the food came it was admittedly delicious. My kale salad was awesome, perfectly cooked with some added tofu glazed in a delicious vinaigrette. I would however steer away from the poke because it's basically a tuna tartare appetizer: it barely made it up the middle of the bowl for $24 dollars. OOOF. Of all the pokes we've eaten before were at least twice the amount served yesterday.

In the end we were discounted 35%. Quite honestly with the volume they pull there, they could have comped the whole meal and have me thinking I would definitely try this again and maybe its just a bad day. But that made me realize that they only just care about money and not their customers. So, no I don't think I will be going back. Sad because that kale salad...

A majority of the reviews here are likely paid reviews. This place is outrageously and unreasonably pricey and the amount you end up paying is never equivalent to the taste quality and portion you receive.

Taste:

Their food is usually overcooked or under cooked. I had their turkey burger and you can tell the middle part wasn’t done cus when I took a bite it was like biting into flesh. They add too much salt to some foods or the flavor just lacks. I understand they’re going for “organic healthy Whole Foods” but they need better cooks. Sometimes you can taste the burned parts. Just not worth the price.

Quality:

I believe a quality meal consists of food that isn’t soggy and wet, greens are fresh the presentation is appealing and the food smells great. You’ll find yourself picking through your food enjoying some parts hating others. Chewing their kale sald feels like you’re chewing leather. The amount of money they make you pay for a salad is dehumanizing.

Portion:

You can probably go to Whole Foods and get more quality meals from their food bar and you’ll end up paying less and get even more. These ppl will give you a dry stale salad and when you ask for chicken to be added it’s literally about 6 tiny pieces and you’ll be paying $8-10 to ADD the chicken. I order their Margarita Pizza and their gluten free crust and regretted. The pizza came as a tiny little pan pizza, here I was thinking it would be a large pizza with adequate cheese, sauce and chicken. I added chicken and the total for that entire tiny little pizza was $40. I could get to large pies for less that $40 somewhere else. When I finished eating my hard rubbery dry pizza which lacked enough sauce and cheese I was still hungry.

Overall be careful with this place. I noticed why they’re always empty. Just because the area is somewhat affluent doesn’t mean ppl with money want to overspend for food that poor in quality, taste and unreasonably priced high for small portions.

Btw I’ve eaten here 3 times. Each time hoping it would get better. I’m done. Don’t bother. Believe these other reviews if you want.

I have it one star for the service staff. They really try to be nice and I’m sure the owner probably pays them...