Gaithersburg, MD (Rio Washington Center)
The Hulls
This True Food location was a fail for us.
AVOID the huevos ranchos, the meal was more of an undersized appetizer vs an entree. I kid you not, two 5” corn tortillas, one fried, and a teaspoon-sized portion of pickled onions. We sent the dish back, this was unacceptable at $15.
Portion sizes are way too small and the entree prices are not justified.
Our tuna poke was interesting, fresh fish, but everything else lacked flavor and freshness.
The Terriyaki veggie bowl was overcooked and missing anything that resembled flavor. The single piece of avocado was good, nothing else worked.
We are sorry TFK, something is wrong and needs adjustment at the Gaithersburg location.
Aleah Jensen
This location is not the best. Food was mediocre, got the wrong order, staff seem to not care and don’t know what’s going on. Would recommend going to another location because true food in general is good. Redeeming quality is they can accommodate celiac!
Prashant Waiker
Service was very slow. Had to ask to replace the dirty glass - a bug or something was inside in the glass. Food tasted more healthy and okayish in taste. Overpriced for small quantity. Herb potatoes were bland and they don’t serve with ketchup or any sauce. Pesto pasta was the only above average dish. Korean glass noodles was not very flavorful. Grilled Chicken Sandwich (TFK Original) did not have much seasoning - less flavorful than Chik filA chicken salad for sure. They do have lots of vegetarian and vegan options. Maybe good for people who are looking for these options but definitely not recommended for taste.
Valerie Durrant
Hit or miss is the best way to describe this restaurant - for food, service, and availability. Have been 3 times and had one great experience, one mixed (great good, but not consistent with description), and one weak (very slow service, didn't get the order right, one entree was tasty but the size of an appetizer and the sandwich was dry). We tried to go again last Sunday and were turned away because they had a large group and didn't have sufficient staff to cover others.
Janice Kim
I’ve been here at least 5 times and the food is always hit or miss. Today, our table was delivered the wrong food several times. Also, I always enjoyed the vegan cookies and ice cream for dessert due to my dietary restrictions from certain food allergies. But today, it had caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream on the top of the ice cream. I asked my server if this was the correct dessert because the previous times when I ordered this it never had the caramel, chocolate, or whipped cream. I was assured this was the correct dessert and it was vegan and gluten free. I don't believe this is true due to the allergic reactions I am having.
Yvette Chisholm
The worst bartender/waitress. She was angry and dismissive, brought a dirty plate and couldn't get her attention. Asked for water a few times and had to ask someone else. There was a waiter who happened by who helped us get water and clean plates. Overall it was so disappointing. The cocktails were not balanced and weak. The food was scant. I had been to this restaurant in Falls Church and it was great. I don't think I will be back.
Coral Colón
I have ordered from doordash before and liked the food (specially the Gf options) but the dining experience was not what we expected.
We went on a Friday night- the kitchen looked fully staffed- but inside it was empty. We ordered 2 burgers and somehow it took a full 40 minutes even though I could count the number of tables with patrons on one hand. We could see the people in the kitchen chatting which did annoy us. My bun came in burnt and the waitress offered to replace it so we waited on that too. Not the waitress’s fault, she did what she could. $40 for 2 ok tasting burgers with that much wait time was not worth it.
Natalia Campero
The food was delicious, the drinks were ok, but the servers seemed to be too busy…
Ryan
The pulled chicken was super dry while the queso was good it was not $12 good.
A Local Guide
There are a ton of people working here, but zero urgency in serving customers. Service is slow, even bar service, and there is no good reason for it. Literally, there are a ton of people working, but just walking around or cleaning glasses?
Kris Meister
I came in on a Saturday to watch some playoff hockey. Big mistake, I asked to switch on the hockey game and ordered, but two minutes later they told me last call, and that they close in 15 minutes.
It was a really bad experience and their bar is extremely uncomfortable. It's over priced for what it is. The bartender was not communicating well, and she clearly just wanted to leave. I highly highly do not recommend.
YYTwice
This place is nice located in Rio , however their food was so trash and over priced. Definitely not it . Overrated for sure
Dana Farmer
I usually order delivery $$. At first my orders were consistently good. However, with my last four orders, I'm starting to notice inconsistencies in my orders. For example, too much chicken, not enough cheese, overcooked, or doesn't seem fresh like the turkey burger I just ordered. Please work on this. I will probably order again after I get over the last four disappointing orders. I gave two stars because the kale salad is consistently good.
Raquel Ceppi
I was eagerly looking forward to trying this new addition at the Rio and was surprisingly shocked at how little of a variety of food options offered on their menu. There is basically one option per category of food served available. We order the Brussels Sprouts and Dumplings as starters which everyone at the table enjoyed. I shared a chicken sausage pizza with my 13-year old daughter, my father enjoyed his salad w/chicken, and my brother enjoyed his meal (forgot what he got exactly). I did try the Matcha Horchata which was surprisingly on point
The service was great and efficient.
I only gave 3-starts out of the disappointing slim-pickings menu. I didn’t find any of the main dishes necessarily appealing from what I read/saw which is why I ended up sharing a pizza in the end.
I recommend taking a good look @ the menu b4 trying True Food Kitchen so you don’t end up as disappointed as I did
Christine Baboomian
Love the concept of this restaurant, but I was very disappointed. The staff was very friendly, so this is not a negative review towards them in any way. I've been wanting to try this restaurant for years and finally did. I almost wish I hadn't. The entrée salad (chopped salad) was very small and lacking flavor. The added chicken was also lacking flavor and was left uneaten. I was excited to try the spaghetti squash casserole. Again, this dish lacked flavor. The only saving was the glob of melted cheese on top. The hummus was ok, not great but not horrible.
The concept of healthy, fresh, non-inflammatory meals is a great concept. However, the execution was horrible. Food can be flavorful AND healthy, fresh, etc. As my husband put it, the menu was pretentious to be pretentious.
Overall, staff were friendly but the food was a waste of money.
Nishant Sonawane
I got vegan double cheeseburger and Kale salad. I usually eat at home. This might be the reason for the following review. Kale salad was super lemony that I couldn't eat it properly and burger patty was extremely salty. Though food quality is good.
Chris G
The dinner at True Food Kitchen was an epic fail. I rate the service two out of five stars. Training on customer service is greatly needed. The food was also two out of five stars. Their "seasonal curry dish" resembled a cold stew served in a bowl. Both the front and back of the house were a disappointment, throw in a few over priced drinks for a total bill pushing $85... I don't see how this gimmicky chain is going to make it. Good luck. ...From a former server and healthy dieter.
vindhya juvaa
Service was good. Taste was okay and the quantity to price ratio is high!. Panang curry was average, chicken parm sandwich was a disaster it was no way near the parm sandwich.
Nina Moustafa
Nice looking interior. Food was rather bland tasting. We both ordered the avacado toast and there wasn’t much avacado under the egg. Also the egg was not cooked enough, kind of slimy. We also ordered a side of steak that was on the menu and they brought a hamburger. When we pointed it out to the manager, he said all they had was teriyaki steak which was not how the menu described the item. Service was just ok and it wasn’t that busy for Saturday at lunchtime. Strawberry lemonade was tasty. My friend asked for unsweetened iced tea, but she said it had a peach flavor. Wouldn’t rush back there and really wouldn’t recommend to others.
Jarrell Crowder
I don’t know what happened between the last time I visited True Food Kitchen Rio (3 weeks ago) and tonight, June 4. I reserved a table, 2 days in advance, for 7:30 and didn’t get the table that I reserved.
The staff, the 1st time I visited, was SUPER friendly. Not tonight- they were rude and not accommodating or friendly at all.
I was very excited when this opened but the image is MUCH less impressive after tonight’s visit.
The food was great the 1st time but not tonight. It was just average at best..
SO disappointed because I’ve been telling everyone about this place.
Maybe they couldn’t keep up with the busyness. Bummed.