Dining Out in Boston - True Bistro

True Bistro - Somerville, MA

Crispy Artichoke - True Bistro

My family and I had the chance to try True Bistro recently for my belated birthday dinner. There are only a handful of 100% vegan restaurants in all of Boston and so far this is the only "fine dining" one I've discovered in the city, making it a very popular place. They don't take reservations so the only way to avoid a long wait is to arrive earlier in the evening (or morning, if you're going for brunch). 

I was eager to try the whole menu, since for once I could eat everything on it! With the help of my family, we did get to taste a wide variety of dishes. We ordered a bottle of Riesling that everyone enjoyed and even jotted the name down for reference. For appetizers, we had the Crispy Artichoke and House Made Ravioli. The Crispy Artichoke was the favored dish, served with baby spinach, harissa, Israeli cous cous, lemon, and dukkah. Though small, it was fresh and had great flavor, the fried bits of artichoke did the trick. The Ravioli, with sweet potato and galangal filling with lemongrass coconut cream, were good, however the cream sauce was overpowered by the lemon flavor and it was a little too sweet to start off a meal. 

Phyllo Triangles - True Bistro

For entrees, we ordered four different dishes - Red Curry with Tofu, Phyllo Triangles, House Made Tagliatelle, and Roasted Squash. The winner? The Phyllo Triangles! Good thing there were two orders of this at the table. It was presented beautifully and came with two triangles stuffed with caramelized onions, swiss chard, seasoned tofu, and sorrel cream. My dad, who was skeptical and disappointed before the meal about the lack of meat on the menu, really enjoyed it. The one to pass on? The Tagliatelle was too simple and bland compared to the other dishes. 

Dessert was discussed before the meal began so no matter how full we were I insisted. We ordered three desserts - The Pumpkin Cheesecake, Death by Chocolate Cake, and the Napolean. The Pumpkin Cheesecake was perfection and my favorite of the night. It had a pecan crust and bourbon and brown sugar cream. The Death by Chocolate, though highly rated by Yelp reviewers was my least favorite. I should have known by the name, but the chocolate was just too rich for me and it was very dark giving it a more bitter taste. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake - True Bistro

House Made Tagliatelle - True Bistro

House Made Ravioli - True Bistro

Red Curry with Tofu - True Bistro

Death by Chocolate Cake - True Bistro

Overall it was a delicious meal and the waitstaff did a great job, however our entrees did take a little while to come out after we had devoured the appetizers. They acknowledged my birthday and gave us the chocolate cake on the house! I'll be back for sure. I've heard great things about brunch here so I hope to give that a try soon!

True Bistro

1153 Broadway Street

Somerville, MA 02144

True Bistro Website