Arucola Osteria

The best homemade pasta! Great ambiance, great food, great values. The service was good, but a little slow. Took 45 minutes to get our entrees. However, I can't wait to come back, so this is certainly not a hindrance to enjoying a wonderful meal here.

Arucola is a great neighborhood restaurant that we often frequent when at the Avalon Theater. We had a reservation but were /2 hour early and still were seated. Our waitress was excellent and got us a better table which I really appreciated. The food was very good and we will definitely be back again.

The food was really good, but unfortunately the service was really bad. We had to wait for 20 min until we could order. No one cam to check on us. We always had to wave a waiter to our table.

Great restaurant

A very busy, noisy, casual neighborhood place - but if you can hear your dining partners then absolutely worth it. I had the lamb shank; it absolutely melted in my mouth. And when the waiter say that I'd eaten everything but the plate he brought over the chef who told me how to cook it! We will definitely go back.

Arucola is a favorite of ours for dining pre- or post- a movie at the Avalon Theatre. The food is consistently delicious. There are always interesting daily specials. Our waitress this time was especially friendly and helpful. We will continue to frequent this restaurant.

My Tilapia and vegetables were great - fresh and well prepared. The cheesecake of the night was also very good.

It had been years since we were at this, our neighborhood, restaurant. One of the reasons we didn't go more often was the service. Many years ago, the servers were not as customer-centric as they could have been. Sometimes we even experienced surliness. Our waiter this week was friendly, courteous, efficient. We explained that we had a time constraint and he met the challenge without our feeling rushed. When I told him we'd stayed away for years, his reply was, "Shame on us!" I really appreciated that. We'll be back very soon!

Fantastic lasagna. Creme brulee too. The homemade pasta is key to a damned good meal. Gladly going back.

My chair was too high because my friend was sitting on the booth bench so it felt weird. I recommend getting chairs that are the same height as the benches.

Reasonable food, reasinable prices. Not fantastic but OK for a quiet dinner out.

After a questionable restart if new owners, kitchen is back. Pastas are the best choice.

Arucola remains a nice neighborhood option, food consistently good though some of the prices are out of whack. On this night we had trouble movingvtabkes even though it was not busy and the table they seated us at by the kitchen was very noisy. That is always an u necessary drag and the service ki d of trailed off from there.

Always a pleasure to dine here--delicious food, friendly atmosphere, great service. Free parking behind the restaurant is an added bonus!

I dine here frequently and find dinners to be uniformely very good. The duck special on Saturday nights is excellent. I've been a patron for about 20 years and am rarely disappointed. My companions often wish there were more options for vegetarians. The pizza is excellent and the wait staff aims to please.

Excellent Italian food. Plenty of fish, pasta, meat and vegetarian choices. Service is friendly and efficient.

Food was great, she had the lamb shank which was tender, seasoned to perfection and served at the perfect temperature. I had the quail stuffed with risotto that was "to die for." The rib bones were removed and the quail stuffed with risotto and roasted to perfection. She had a Romaine salad, fresh, well dressed and chilled. We shared an appetizer of eggplant ravioli; entire ravioli was eggplant served with a red sauce on the side. Sangiovese wine for two and espresso. Our server was doing double duty with tables on the second floor and at times had to be reminded where we were in out meal.

This was at one point a nice neighborhood restaurant with consistently decent food and friendly service. Our waiter was so poorly informed she wasn't clear on what bottle of Chianti I ordered - hint: there is only ONE on the menu! Our food came out cold, one plate with no salt, one overly salty... she literally called the tagliatelle "TAGALETTI" -- twice when serving it. Won't be going back with so many better options. It's no wonder why there was space available on a Friday night when every other good restaurant in DC was booked.

Food was acceptable but no bargain. Waiter forgot my side order. Wait staff was pleasant.

The food, particularly the seafood, is consistently good. Nice place to meet friends for dinner, which is what I did. And close to home, which helps!

We went early on a Wednesday, before a movie at the Avalon. Our waiter pointed out the Wednesday special: half-price bottles of wine, one of which we ordered. The food is fine, tasty, not pretentious, and the prices are quite reasonable for the DC area. We got there early enough to have a quiet dinner with no rush, and were out in time for our movie. It can get crowded on the weekends, but it's certainly a nice and do-able option for a mid-week dinner out.

Nice place to visit after movie. Friendly staff. Decent food.

Food is uneven. Certain dishes are very good and are a good value. Other dishes are mediocre. Avoid ordering the pizza. Service is also uneven. Sometimes food comes quickly; other times it can take forever.

A pleasant neighborhood Italian restaurant. Somewhat limited menu.

Arucola gets better all the time. We specifically enjoted our waiter Majiid - very helpful. I had only a main course - Risotto with frutta di mare surrounding it. Piping hot and full of taste. Mu wife had a cup of minestrone and then tagliatelli. We both enjoyed our dinners. We were sorry though that we ordered the house prosecco, it lacked flavor.

Pizza is generally very good at Arucola (and very reasonably priced), but on this visit it was better than usual---really excellent! I'm not sure, but I think Arucola recently changed hands and the past couple of times we've been there at dinner time in the past two months--from 7:00pm on--there haven't been a lot of diners. The menu has several changes, but overall it seems to be on a par with the Arucola of the past, just not as many patrons.

Exotic italian food, different protein , great flavor , 100% satisfaction

Great neighborhood restaurant! Delicious dishes, friendly servers and good atmosphere.

Two of our three entrees were “winners”-the fettuccine with clams and the chicken Parmesan (nothing special though). I had the special which was a gnocchi with sausage and shaved black truffle. I returned the dish and was not charged for it. I couldn’t find a truffle one, nor did it taste of truffle. I think I would stick with a more basic pasta dish next time.

Food was amazing! We both ordered pasta dishes because they have homemade pasta. One of the best meals I’ve ever had. It was busy so we had to wait for a server. I was beginning to think they forgot about us but the food made up for it. Can’t wait to go back!!

I've regularly dined at Arugula for the past 15 years and find it to be one of the most consistently good restaurants in upper NW with excellent service. There Sat. night special duck is made in the old fashion way and is excellent as are their fish dinners. Pasta is always al dente, pizza is excellent with many varieties and you simply won't go wrong with anything on the menu. Consistency in food preparation is not a common commodity and Arugula does this well. Their outdoor deck is a pleasant alternative to their cozy and comfortable inside room. I suggest reservations since it is a popular restaurant.

Portion of veal parm was about 2 oz. Cappicino foam was curddled. Squash Ravioli was sweet and not expected. We have been there before and had food that tasted like it was leftover from the night before.
We are disappointed as it was a regular place to go before the theater and with the new ownership the quality has gone down hill.

The restaurant was too warm. They had the doors open to the patio and the AC was not sufficient to keep the temperature at a reasonable level.

Really bland starters. The eggplant tower had undercooked eggplant. Unexceptional pizza. The main course, a branzino, was, however, nicely grilled and is recommended.

Food is excellent and really one of the best around the circle. Wait staff are snippy and rude. Bussers are great and more helpful than waitress. Sometimes very busy but call ahead reservations are recommended. Sometimes it all comes together but last visit hosting friends was embarrassing due to rudeness of server.

Really good pizza, lasagna and calamari. Will be back!

One of the best places to have an authentic pizza. Homemade pasta is also very good.

Lovely, reliable neighborhood restaurant that serves very good food and provides excellent service.

My family loves this restaurant. It is very friendly and accommodating. Don't be afraid to ask about menu changes or off menu items. It is great for families. Adults can enjoy fine Italian dining, and kids can have authentic pizza. Everyone will be happy.

Very good. We’ll go back.