Yes, it's true that there are a few workarounds that helps. Since I use headers in my tables I usually copy a word from a different cell, paste it in the new cell, double click on it and then add my text... which is slightly quicker than formatting it through the menu.
Where I don't need different formatting within the note it's much easier to just ctrl+a and then format the whole note, but that's rarely the case with more complex notes.