had dinner at arugula last night and it was honestly one of the best meals I've enjoyed in years. It's the benefit of going out but the food taste like you're at your mother's house! Jean was absolutely fantastic, forced me to get something I didn't want and I couldn't be happier! I actually am going back tonight for takeout and I'm ordering the same thing read more

Sorry to give only one star because the pork dish I ordered looked good. To start, the service was extremely slow & inattentive. That's ok if they only gave one waitperson & they look busy. I can get past that. There are signs on the tables saying "cash is king" and that there's a 2.99% service fee for credit cards. Huge turn off: there's a cash machine at the service dais up front that charges 4.00% on withdrawals. That's more than most casinos! It was late so the nearest machine was a hike, so they try to get you. Fuck 'em; pay by card & you win, but not really. Another huge turn off: they charge $3.00 additional for salad & garlic bread. The salad was a small plate of romaine lettuce mixed & no other vegetables, mixed with fruit salad(cut green grapes, cantaloupe, & pineapple) & some bland fruity dressing. The garlic bread was actually a 3" chunk of store bought premade discount garlic bread. Very sad because the waitress sold us on it saying it was worth the extra money. WTF! Worst part: I ordered twin pork chops Italiano style w/ aglio olio & rabe sides. I cut into the pork which was a little rare for my liking, but when I took a bite, the taste of meat past its prime hit me hard. I'm an idiot so I cut from a different spot thinking it was maybe just me. I was wrong! The beautiful looking pork chops tasted spoiled and smelled way past date. None of 4 person party had food worthy of eating more than a few bites. My wife & daughter had chicken parmigiana which was swimming in sauce & rubbery. The waitress asked us what was wrong & we told her. She was nice enough to take a smell of the pork chops after I told her that I would never have served them if I'd owned that restaurant. She removed them from our bill and we left hungry! read more

Cute restaurant in the heart of Spring Lake. I called to make a reservation last minute for Friday night of Memorial Day weekend and was pleasantly surprised there was availability at 7pm. It's a BYOB so even better! There is a credit card surcharge and when I made the reservation he said they preferred cash. We arrived on-time and got seated right away. Our waitress gave us wine glasses and opened our wine. We ordered and that's where everything came to a slow down. We ordered appetizers but a small salad got dropped off first. It was small but tasty. Then our appetizers arrived. The chocolate with the burrata was an interesting combination but very good. I didn't taste the truffle but the bruschetta was a nice touch. The calamari came with marinara and an aioli. All very good. Then entree time...two of the four entrees were brought to the table and they were hot and delicious. I asked for gf pasta and was told it's penne pasta but rigatoni was handed to me. I am not celiac but am wondering if I got regular pasta. We were almost done eating when the last two entrees arrived. One was correct and the other was penne vodka pasta and it should have been ahi tuna. Not only wasn't the order made but it was wrong and maybe my gf pasta.... We don't know but everything was very tasty although service needed work. read more

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Excellent chicken cutlets. Great service and excellent salads. Highly recommend this spot

Excellent service and great food. Cute whimsical setting and it's BYOB. Would recommend to everyone

Food was great. Price was amazing. The waitress, however, was rude, loud and not attentive. Because if her it made the experience less than stellar. read more

I have a group of mature lady friends that monthly we celebrate someone's Birthday. We like to try new places and discovered this place 3 months back. Initially we were so very pleased, especially with the somewhat extensive menu, that maybe we could frequent this establishment with some regularity. The Chef/Owner never seemed to have a problem with our party, on 2 separate occasions we (asking first) brought along with us the dessert of the Birthday girl's choice. No problem. Until last Thursday, it happened to be my birthday AND due to a street fair in Spring Lake, parking was very difficult to say the least. We all managed to arrive on time, and throughout our evening, the restaurant never seemed to occupy more than a few other diners, which was probably due to the parking situation. Many of us ordered from the special menu. The food was not up to the usual standard, but we were still having a delightful time amongst ourselves. The waitress brought our desserts (cupcakes) out to us with the paper plates and disposable cutlery we provided. Out of nowhere, the Chef/Owner was at our table, demanding to know "who brought the cupcakes?!}. "Are we going to bring our own food next time?!" " Maybe he should charge us a 10$ uncorking fee (BYOB) for the wine we bought ". Even singled me out and declared that "I should have served your cupcake on top of your eggplant". All in all, this was NOT a reaction expected by my group at all! Obviously this owner took out his poor attendance on us, the few paying customers he had at the moment. Honestly, there were dozens of options he could have chose, AND it did not have to include this debacle. Undoubtedly, we will probably never frequent this place again. I guess he DID NOT appreciate getting a broad base of future customers our group would have provided. I have to reiterate that twice prior we did the exact same thing with no repercussions...I have to also note that if he took anyone of our party aside we would have gladly paid a fee for serving the dessert. The experience was rude, off putting and definitely puts this place of business on the DO NOT FREQUENT LIST! read more

Incredible food. If you are in the area, don't bother going anywhere else. Chicken parm night for the win!

Food delicious and service great. Cozy atmosphere. Food quality is outstanding. We'll visit again and again.

Delicious food and great service. Atmosphere was like being among friends. Looking forward to returning to try more on the extensive menu.

Just happened upon this little gem of a restaurant. I was staying nearby and walked into town hoping to find a place for dinner. And lo and behold - Arugula!! The restaurant is very warm and inviting. It is a BYOB. The menu is extensive. There were also several specials. So many things to choose from. I had the Twisted Shrimp. Omg sooooooooooo good. I highly recommend Arugula. read more

This restaurant is small and the decor is very cute and cosy. The food was tasty and it's a BYOB, which is always nice. However, there was only one waitress when we were there. She was very rushed and it felt awkward asking questions or wanting more water, etc. Considering the circumstances, she did a good job taking care of us but it would have been better if there was more wait staff. We will try again to see if this is normal or if it was just a bad night. read more

one star for the pleasant server one star for the french fries and croissant one star for the lovely outdoor setting i'm convinced the chicken salad was made of canned chicken I think it's ridiculous to have little ketchup packets instead of a bottle for your convenience. read more

We came here for lunch to celebrate my Mother's birthday. Great food, service and atmosphere! We had the Tuna Tartare which was amazing. The blackened fish over ceaser salad was cooked perfectly. And the clam chowder was good to the last drop. The music was perfect. read more

Arugula Spring Lake - Clam chowder - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Spring Lake, New Jersey

Spring Lake business district has a charming small town air. They even rent some Seward Johnson (Grounds for Sculpture) sculptures of various ordinary people. You might wander around town and check these out before or after your meal. Arugula is a small BYOB restaurant. So, make a reservation and bring your favorite wine. The ambiance is charming. Last evening, Teresa was our attentive and funny server. We started sharing the Eggplant Tower, tasty and certainly big enough for two. And, entrees come with a small house salad. For entrees, we had Ahi Tuna Steak and Drunken Swordfish. All these fish dinners are $33. Both dinners were quite good. Chef George has an extensive menu, surprising for such a small place. We had no room for dessert. Overall, a pleasant dining adventure (first time for us here). We will return. read more

Arugula Spring Lake - Entrees 10/20/22 - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Spring Lake, New Jersey

I called: 'We have a reservation for 12 tomorrow so I tried to search your menu today and looks like your site got hacked'. The man who answered: 'Yeah, you mean the oriental gals popping up? I can't get rid of it!'. No air of; 'We are aware of the situation. In the meantime, you can find our menu by ---'. Our reservation, under 'Turbitt', includes 5 Asians. The 'gentleman' who had answered was totally unprofessional and gave me a bad first impression. But I decided to leave it to ignorance and bad manners. So we sit and it's time to order. Two of us ordered skirt steak and two of us ordered pork belly. Server abruptly comes back 10 mins later and announces 'no skirt or pork' and stands, annoyed, waiting for them to order a new dish immediately. No air of: 'Sorry, we seem to be out of----. Here are the menus. I'll give you some time to look it over again'. It was rushed order. She was totally rude and ungracious. But decided to leave it to her having a bad day and bad manners. Food arrives. I didn't touch what they claim to be garlic bread (cold bread topped with a liquid cheesy sauce). We moved on to the mediocre calamari, the smallest eggplant 'tower', tasteless portion of escargot (out of the shell conveniently as I suspect they were canned), overly sweet salad dressing and wings drenched in a thick and strangely spicy sauce. One of us received a small portion of overcooked scallops. I got overly salted clam linguine. And so on and so forth. It was totally underwhelming and an overpriced dinner. I gave it 2 stars because we had a nice night DESPITE the food and DESPITE the service because we were amongst a fun and lively group at our table. My honest thoughts- I rate this place on a scale from 1 to 10: a 3 for food and a 3 for service. My husband says a 3 for food and a 2 for service (is he old school to expect friendly service?). I am sure this place gets by because of its loyal clientele and its location. But nevertheless, it's sad that they don't even try to have some pride in who they are in the culinary world. read more

They need to learn about allergens in food . I had a salad and the fruit was different than the fruit listed on the menu. Scary as I have a lot of allergies and could not eat some of it . When I told the server she was really not interested . DO not think that I will go back , but maybe I will for a pasta dish read more

Been eating at George's spot since his time on bridge Ave in point pleasant. Always delicious food... from the bolognese, egg plant tower, crispy pasta, we found out much too late how amazing his take on chicken parm is. Great service as well. A tradition we always enjoy. read more

We went for restaurant week with 3 other couples. The food was awful. Appetizer was a watery eggplant with non-description sauce. Served warm to cold. No bread or salad available Main course was just as bad. Small canned shrimp with a few larger ones floating in a watered tasteless sauce with over cooked pasta. ALL dishes were either a potato or pasta dish....pre-made. Desert was just as bad. Frozen chirros....mashed pie. NO coffee available.. As soon as one dish was done (if you even ate it) your next course wad on the table!! Horrible food. Chef came out when we first sat down. Said he couldn't cook!!!! He was right read more

THE BEST. 10/10. Accommodated our large group and provided the most exceptional service. If you get the honor of being waited on by Ms. Jean, you will not regret it! We will be coming back. Thank you, team arugula! read more

Wonderful dinner. Intimate ambiance. Best Calamari appetizer fresh with tomato dipping sauce. The bolognese my wife ordered was delicious, and she is known for her bolognese. A great compliment. My eggplant special with sausage and onions was fabulous. But it wasn't only the food that was special, our waitress Jean was friendly, helpful. And the owner George was caring and delightful. A must place to go. read more

Our waitress was phenomenal. She was very knowledgeable about the menu and answered all of our questions. The food was delicious

Delicious!!!! Chicken parm was excellent. Salad scrumptious. Desert, bread pudding was yummy! Loved every minute! We will be back!

Came here for an early dinner on a Thursday-- outside patio seating (Covid compliant). The menu has so many great options, it's hard to make a decision on what to get-- just means multiple visits are in the future. Service was amazing and the food was SO flavorful-- equally as amazing. Would absolutely recommend and will be back. read more

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I just had the best teriyaki chicken i've ever had. The place is BYOB but thats not a problem in my opinion. The server was attentive and timely and very friendly. The space feels cramped but for me thats not a major issue. I will be coming more often for this meal. read more

They got our group of 10 in on a Saturday night and we had such an amazing experience!!! Jean is the sweetest and most fun server - her recommendations were top tier; everyone finished their dishes. Will definitely be coming back!!! read more

We went to Arugula this weekend and I truly am amazed at the diversity of the menu and the vibrancy of the staff. Chef George is a visionary and his menu items are unique and carefully crafted. I had the seafood diavolo and my fiancé had the chicken francese. It was perfectly cooked. As an appetizer we had the calamari and the cheesy bread bites. So delicious and marinated in garlic. I loved how the calamari also had an aoli sauce and a marinara sauce option to choose from. They had outdoor seating and indoor seating which is perfect for catching some sun. Can't wait to try the Godiva chicken!! Arugula, as a Doctor of Pharmacy, is pharmacist approved well done! read more

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The pasta bolognese was spot on. Pasta was Al dent perfectly seasoned. The Veal Milanese was all breading. It was also overcooked, dry and flavorless. I will say that the complimentary salad was surprisingly delicious and unusual. The service was friendly, unobtrusive, yet efficient. As far as the appearance goes, spent a few bucks and replace the disgusting stain and moldy ceiling tiles. read more

great low key summer lunch, seated outside without a worry in the world. started with the clam chowder, my two favorite dishes are below. five seats outside with umbrellas to shield us from the sun, they even accommodated a furry friend in the outdoor seating. looking for a laid back, coastal vibe with some time to spare? come on through. if you got no chill, this is not the place for you. the server was very sweet. read more

Arugula Spring Lake - Arugula Salad - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Spring Lake, New Jersey

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Great place, definitely a hidden gem in spring lake! Food by Chef George is awesome, from appetizers to dessert. Service was great too. Small and cosy place, very welcoming. Definitely recommend and we will go back! read more

We were a large party but had a reservation for 5pm. Despite the early time they were already out of some entrees, which we were told 10 minutes after placing our orders. Servers were kind but unprofessional, salads were brought without asking what dressing we wanted, food was good for the most part but presentation was mediocre. Inside every menu there was a flyer with "CASH IS KING" encouraging you to pay cash with something like 'paying cash means we keep all profits and big banks get $0'.... Overall just a disappointing experience and much different than what I experienced previously. read more

Every single bite was more incredible than the last! My boyfriend loved his zucchini flower appetizer (stuffed with a copious amount of cheese and fried) and I think I'll be craving the burrata appetizer for weeks to come. You can tell that every dish is made with care and taste Chef George's love and passion for his food in every bite. Our waiter was very attentive and the outdoor atmosphere was great. Almost every other table was filled with regulars and after eating the food, I have no doubt why. Portion sizes were amazing, food was outstanding, and the staff was fantastic. Can't wait to come back for another date night very soon! read more

Arugula Spring Lake - Burrata Black Truffles - Venues & Event Spaces Near Me - Spring Lake, New Jersey

Excellent service and very good quick bite. Eat inside or outside with nice Italian music . Eggplant parm sandwich I can vouch for ; very very good. The lady had the shrimp salad "very good"! read more

Things were going just ok but really went south at the end of the night. My son ordered the surf & turf which the menu clearly states comes with filet mignon. When it arrived it was an unappetizing piece of meat that was pretty inedible. Definitely not filet mignon. When we asked, they said they were out of filet mignon so they gave us something else. When we were done I asked for them to take it off the bill and the owner demanded that the waitress bring the steak inside to show him how much my son ate! When he saw that it was barely touched he agreed to take it off but still tried to overcharge us by more than $70! It's also worth noting that we were the only patrons in the whole restaurant! Avoid this place. read more

Had a pleasant dinner here with my family for the holidays. Gino went above and beyond to make sure we were well taken care of. All the food was delicious, overall a great experience. Highly recommend. read more

Outstanding great meal, food was perfect, staff was great , service on the money , the ambiance. Chef is great.

This place has a huge menu - it's a combination of Italian, Latin American and New American. Portions are also enormous so take that into account when you order. I thought each dish could have been plated better - everything looked a little messy. Felt the flavors were never spot on, but the meal was good enough. Brazilian chicken wings: these aren't dry, they come very saucy. Wish they had a little more spice to them. Burrata salad: thought this was to come with truffle but instead there was a lot of dark chocolate bits and grape in there. Unusual combination and I was disappointed there wasn't truffle. Osso Bucco: messy looking with the sauce - was hoping for more finesse to a meat entree Clams with pasta in oil and garlic: tasty but felt there was too much garlic and oil. Definitely big enough to share for two. The tables felt closer than ideal in light of Covid - FYI they don't have a designated outdoor space (like a backyard garden or patio) so it's a tight situation on the sidewalk outside the front of the restaurant. Also noticed the chef did not wear a mask while speaking with patrons. The other staff did wear masks, though I felt service could have used one more person to make sure all the tables have enough attention. read more

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The food was horrid. Heavy, weird combinations, visually unappetizing. service was fine, although not upbeat or engaging. The whole atmosphere was dreary and uninviting. Very disappointing for a lovely location. read more

What a great Sunday afternoon celebrating a friend's birthday at Arugula. Service was outstanding! Food was plentiful and tasty. BYOB is a plus. read more

This used to be one of our favorite places for lunch, but no more. The fresh cut garlic has been replaced with garlic from a jar and the arugula.is over cooked, served with droopy penne- not the cannelloni beans described on the menu- a surprise charge of $20. . The sauce is thickened flavorlessly and clumpy- even the clams were gooey. I don't know what happened to the old chef, but the new chef has no idea how to cook Italian food. Also a $4 charge for credit not revealed until one checks out. read more