True Food Kitchen — Restaurant in Palo Alto

I pass by this place often and see the patio seating but I never knew it was so nice on the inside until one of my relatives decided to do a New Years gathering here. It has a full bar as well.

Lots of things are overly seasoned and salty. We shared two appetizers, the roasted brussels and the cauliflower. The brussels tasted like they were doused in lime but the mushrooms were amazing. The cauliflower had a lot going on with the medjool dates, mints, etc etc but all you can taste is the dill. The entree I ordered for the table, the pesto pasta, was also overwhelmingly sour, but it didn't bother me as much because my taste buds aren't what they used to be. However, most people in my group thought it could've included some sort of bread 🥖 to soak up the sourness.

The pizzas were my favorite savory dish. We got the squash pizza with the cranberries on the side and the buffalo sausage pizza. The squash one definitely had enough lemon almond ricotta dollops to smear.

The one thing that made this place a standout was the desserts. I ordered the apple crumble cake and the squash pie because they sounded the most interesting, although carrot cake+ice cream combo is also rare but it only came with vanilla ice cream. The apple crumble cake came with the Cosmic Bliss ice cream and the walnuts embedded in it were a nice touch. The squash pie wasn't mushy and the filling had a more solid outer layer. The crust was good and substantial, more like a tart, which I liked. I'm glad I tried the desserts here, very unique. I was originally going to get Sprinkles cupcakes after (also in this shopping center) because the dots on the walls that I was facing while dining looked exactly like the Sprinkles decor.

I got the matcha horchata as my beverage and it was pretty average. There was no matcha flavor.

Our waiter was chill but not the best. He wished us Happy 2024 and was pretty friendly in the beginning but something was a little off as we ordered and things went on. I thought maybe it was just me but the others also thought he seemed high.

Overall, definitely recommend. There are many other locations, mostly in swanky shopping centers just the same. The Newport Beach one has a nice garden and the Austin one is grand too and both locations are larger than the one here. I loved the ambience of all of them. The person, an intellectual type, who booked the reservation for us had read some books of the founder, Dr. Andrew Weil and is really into his publications on health so their mission with the restaurants is...

If you are looking for a healthy food option with lots of options for vegans and vegetarians, then this restaurant located right inside the Stanford shopping center, near the famous Stanford university may be the place you are looking for. This restaurant has lots of seating capacity with choice of indoor as well as outdoor seating. There is ample parking spots right outside the restaurant in the parking lot of the shopping center. Today we went with a couple of friends and we ordered the charred cauliflower and the edamame guacamole for starters. For drinks we ordered Adaptogenic Honey tulsi tea as well as Sparkling prickly pear. The charred cauliflower was really delicious. The char in the cauliflower was just right enough to compliment the sweet and nutty notes in the cauliflower. The sauce that accompanied it was really tasty as well. The addition of dates and pistachios was a very interesting touch which brought the dish together. The guacamole was really fresh and slightly chunky in texture. The homemade chips served as a perfect vehicle to deliver the taste of the guacamole. The tulsi tea was refreshing and it has a perfect balance from the freshness of the mint with the sweetness of the honey and the tanginess from the lemon. The prickly pear juice was also tasty although we could not get too much of the prickly pear flavor itself. For the mains at ordered the spinach and mushroom pizza, the ancient grains bowl, the chicken Parmesan and the chicken panini. The pizza was vegan and had a really good crust and the spinach and mushroom combined with the almond ricotta was a good combo for the toppings. The chicken dishes were ordered by our friends and they really liked it. The ancient grains bowl was amazing and delicious. The standout was the miso glazed sweet potatoes along with the pesto. This combined with the veggies and the charred onions and flavored quinoa was something that I really enjoyed and will definitely recommend. The waiting staff were accommodating and polite and the food was brought to us without any delays. Overall it was a very pleasant...

My husband and I ordered two main dishes and an appetizer - everything was memorable, delicious and oh so fresh! I rarely enjoy kale as it is food that I eat because I need to not because I want to. It was only a side but devoured first. No bitter after taste at all! The edemame guacamole paired nicely with a thin not-tortilla chips sprinkled of circular salt. My kim chi fried rice made of red rice, asparagus, tofu and small whole peppers created a flavorful combination of crunch and soft textures in every spoonful. I would have given this place 5 stars if not for the could-be-much-better service. We were surprised to see the place inside as huge and packed since outside seating remained empty exuding a slow vibe to passers by. Located in a beautiful outdoor strip mall, I did not expect the restaurant to serve great food. We put our name and number on the waitlist when we checked in and told to expect a text after 20 minutes. We were okay to kill time exploring the stores but after about 25 minutes, we decided to walk back despite the missing text. When we checked in for follow up, it looked like our name was not on the “list” anymore. Fortunately, it looked like the lunch crowd was starting to dissipate, so the hosts said it’s okay and proceeded to sit us. Our server hardly acknowledged us, but to her defense it was still quite busy. She probably had more tables than she can manage. We sat waiting until another employee came and just asked for our order. When we asked for kimchi fried rice, she told us that they’re out of eggs and asked if we want to substitute it with tofu. We agreed on the substitute, and later discovered that we were charged an additional $5 for it! Yikes. All in all, it was still an enjoyable lunch. The open kitchen completed the flow and free-flowing energy of the place. Perhaps, we will try some other dishes on the next...