True Bistro

Vegan restaurant · Somerville

2

@eater

"True Bistro, a pioneering, award-winning vegan restaurant known for treating vegetables with a level of care and reverence comparable to beef in a high-end steakhouse, is shutting down after service on August 27. The restaurant announced the closure on Instagram, citing “skyrocketing” costs of labor and ingredient price increases as the reasons for the shutdown. “We just can’t see any way forward at this point,” the Instagram message reads. The news was a shock to the restaurant’s fervent fanbase. Many people mourned the abrupt loss in the comments section on the post, struggling to square the news with the fact that the restaurant had just won a prestigious Best of Boston award for best vegan restaurant in the city earlier this summer. “What!?” one commenter wrote. “You got rated best vegan restaurant! Please reconsider — we love you so much.” According to co-owner Linda Harrison, the restaurant had reached a financial breaking point. From the restaurant’s inception in 2010 through 2019, True Bistro had increased its sales every single year. “We were on a good trajectory,” Harrison says. “There was no reason to think that we wouldn’t just be going forward the way that we had been the last 10 years.” Then, the pandemic hit. The ensuing dining room shutdowns were crippling for every restaurant in the city, but True Bistro didn’t make money off of takeout and delivery, either. “The food doesn’t travel well,” Harrison says. As dining rooms opened back up, neither sales nor operational costs went back to pre-pandemic levels. The jaw-dropping increases in the cost of food and rising staff wages became extremely difficult to afford, and, simultaneously, True Bistro’s sales were down because not as many customers were visiting the restaurant. “I have no idea if other non-vegan upscale restaurants in Boston are struggling too,” Harrison says. “But it seems like people are just not looking for that type of [fine-dining] experience anymore.” When True Bistro had gone through rough financial patches before, Harrison, an architect, had funneled her own money into the restaurant to keep it afloat. But she retired in May from her architecture career, she says, and it became too risky to keep funneling her savings into the restaurant. The other option would have been to raise menu prices; but, in order to just break even, Harrison says that the restaurant would have had to raise menu prices across the board by 25 percent. On the current menu, a watermelon with smoked feta salad would have gone from $14 to $17.50; the fire-roasted pepper ravioli with corn would have gone from $25 to $31.25. Harrison worried that a price increase of that magnitude would alienate much of their loyal customer base, so ownership decided instead to close the restaurant. Harrison and her husband, co-owner Michael Harrison, first launched True Bistro in 2010 to fill a gap in the city’s dining scene. The couple wondered why every other major city in the country seemingly had at least one fine-dining vegan destination, while Boston didn’t. For 13 years, under the guidance of chef and partner Stuart Reiter, the white-tablecloth restaurant served upscale dishes like crispy oyster mushrooms in guajillo chile sauce with a horseradish-dill aioli, and a popular Thai red curry with rice cakes. While other well-liked, vegan-friendly restaurants existed like Veggie Galaxy in Cambridge and Red Lentil in Watertown, True Bistro carved a different path as Boston’s fancy vegan destination, akin to famed vegetarian and vegan tasting menu spot Dirt Candy in New York City. Boston’s dining community is already feeling the loss of the restaurant. In the wake of the closure announcement, True Bistro was so inundated with reservation requests that it has since stopped taking new reservations while it works through existing table bookings. “I think we had a good run,” Harrison says." - Erika Adams

Boston’s Groundbreaking Vegan Restaurant True Bistro Is Shutting Down - Eater Boston

1153 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02144 Get directions

truebistroboston.com
@truebistro

2 Postcards

See full details

More Places For You

Somerville Bike Kitchen

Community center · Somerville

Welcome to your go-to bike co-op, where friendly folks help you fix your ride, learn skills, and enjoy a vibe filled with community spirit and local eats.

1 Postcard

LEGO Discovery Center Boston

Tourist attraction · Somerville

Nestled in Assembly Row, the Legoland® Discovery Center is a vibrant family haven brimming with Lego-themed rides, a 4D cinema, and endless interactive fun for kids under 10.

1 Postcard

Masala

Indian restaurant · Somerville

Masala is a lively Indian and Nepali spot in Teele Square featuring a vast menu, a promising lunch buffet, and a casual atmosphere that's hard to resist.

1 Postcard

Hot Box Pizza & Roast Beef

Pizza Takeout · Somerville

Hot Box in Bow Market serves up a delightful mix of North Shore roast beef sandwiches and South Shore bar pizza, creating a quirky, local dining experience.

15 Postcards

Bow Market

Market · Somerville

Bow Market is a lively, two-story marketplace in Somerville, buzzing with diverse food vendors, local boutiques, and a cozy courtyard perfect for gatherings.

24 Postcards

Aeronaut Brewing Company

Brewery · Somerville

Aeronaut Brewing is a vibrant Somerville hangout where craft beer lovers bask in bold brews, live music, and Venezuelan bites amid a fun, communal atmosphere.

11 Postcards

Hen Chicken Rice

Thai restaurant · Somerville

Nestled in Union Square, Hen Chicken Rice specializes in comforting Thai-style chicken rice, serving up crispy and tender options with fragrant ginger rice and spicy daikon soup, perfect for takeout or delivery.

6 Postcards

Redbones Barbecue

Barbecue restaurant · Somerville

Nestled in Davis Square, Redbones serves up hefty helpings of BBQ and Southern sides in a lively, laid-back atmosphere, perfect for group outings and late-night munchies.

6 Postcards

Highland Kitchen

American restaurant · Somerville

Highland Kitchen serves up inventive Southern comfort dishes and creative cocktails in a lively, neighborhood hangout perfect for casual dining.

13 Postcards

Southern Kin Cookhouse

Southern restaurant (US) · Somerville

Southern Kin Cookhouse serves up a tempting blend of classic Lowcountry and Southern dishes in a spacious, cozy setting, perfect for casual dining and brunching.

4 Postcards