Gaithersburg, MD (Rio Washington Center)

Avoid this restaurant. I made a birthday lunch reservation for 8 people for an outdoor table weeks in advance. When I made the reservation, I was assured multiple times that True Food Kitchen took outdoor reservations. It’s the biggest reason why I chose them and I let them now how happy I was for that service. When I arrived two minutes before my reservation I was told by the hostess that another party of 8 had arrived a few minutes before my party arrived, and the restaurant gave my reserved table away. The hostess was very rude when I asked how the reserved table was given away, and said that although there were plenty of two-person tables that were open, they couldn’t move the tables because a staff member had recently injured her hand moving the table. When I offered to have my party move the tables closer, she acted frazzled and said she would get her manager. She walked away - only to return a few moments later and directed us to two four-person tables, and then left without saying a word. We weren’t even sure it was our table because of how she suddenly left. My party moved the tables together to make an 8-person table, and we seated ourselves and started talking. A few minutes later, a manager came out and told us that we couldn’t move the tables because it could lead to the marble tabletops chipping. She then had us move the tables back to their original spacing. We asked if they could still be close just not touching. She refused again. The weird part is that other marble tables were touching. The entire experience was so awkward and confusing. We left without eating, and walked across the street to Uncle Julio’s, which immediately seated us at an 8-person table outside. Between the restaurant giving away our reserved table before our reservation time, and the rude behavior of the staff, we won’t be returning to True Food Kitchen. There are plenty of other places to eat in Rio that treat customers with kindness.