TrueFood Kitchen

Around the same time that the Market opened in the Santa Monica Place, a new restaurant on the first floor also opened--TrueFood Kitchen. It's a little confusing when trying to explain to someone the Market and then also TFK because the concepts are similar but they sit on absolute opposite ends of the mall. The Market's concept is local gourmet shops that offer foods to buy and take home or to eat for a treat. TFK's concept is a sit-down restaurant with fresh local foods that are healthy enough for you to feel good about eating out.

I have been to TFK twice and I loved it each time. Unfortunately, I haven't tried lots of different things--my meal was so delicious the first day that I had to get it again the next.

TrueFood Kitchen has a variety of things on their menu from soups and salads to sandwiches to other fresh specialties. Due to the nature of their fresh and local healthy feel the price tag is kind of high. It's worth it, but this isn't an everyday place with most meals $13+--and some of those too small to count as a full lunch.

The restaurant serves fancy spritzers, bottled vintage-style sodas, tea and water. Don't look for your diet coke fix here. The spritzers are around $4 a piece which is pretty pricey although I noticed that some of them offer refills-but you'll have to qualify which. I tried the Red Moon the first time and was disappointed by how tart it was. I was hoping for a sweeter red orange flavor. The second time I ordered the honey lemonade and it tasted like it is called--lemonade with honey...I'd rather have it without the honey.

For my entree, I ordered the grilled halibut tacos. The meal comes with three palm-sized soft corn tacos stuffed to the brim with large chunks of halibut, cabbage, pickled onions, tomatillo salsa and cojita cheese. Each ingredient tastes as though it were made just for me. The tortillas were the freshest I have ever had. The tacos came with a small bowl of pinto beans topped with a little salsa fresca and some cheese--making these beans stand out from the traditional side order. My friends ordered a variety of other menu items including the turkey burger, the bison burger, the ahi sliders, the ravioli (small for an entree), and the salads (sure you can add fish but it will bring the price up to $20...for a salad...).

I also sampled the chocolate banana tart and as a non-banana lover it was absolutely fantastic! I loved the caramelized banana, the crunchy tart bottom, the light chocolate flavor--even the dollop of whipped cream. However, one tart cannot feed five people..just one person, $7.

I love this restaurant. I think the food is fantastic, I think the service is good, I like the fresh healthy feeling. I don't actually know how healthy the food is except that they tell me so since the calorie listing isn't on the menu like other restaurants around town these days. But the food does feel healthy when eating it and the chefs line the wall in view to show they aren't hiding anything that they cook. I will continue to go back here again and again--but as a special treat, the prices here are not low enough for every day.





TrueFood Kitchen, 1st Floor
Santa Monica Place

Santa Monica, CA 90401
Map