Arucola Osteria

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.

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.

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.

A pleasant neighborhood Italian restaurant. Somewhat limited menu.

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.

Nice place and my other family member's food was good and looked appetizing; mine not so much. My salmon was not cooked all the way through and was raw at the end. Also my spinach was tough. I could've been cooked longer. The sangria was very good. I did like that everything was fresh.

The service and food were excellent

This is a good neighborhood restaurant. The food is good and so is the service. It has a nice ambience. It’s not over the moon, but a nice little place to go to before a movie or out for a bite. I’d go more often if they had whole wheat pasta, since I like to eat healthy and am a vegetarian. I’d also be more enthusiastic.

The tables were too close together. They had squeezed them in so as to make it most unpleasant to sit at our table, a table for two, but arranged so we shared a corner of the table, instead of across from each other. The table was not designed for this. There was no way to fit our legs under the table. We had a reservation, so should have been at a table designed for comfortable dining.

Very enjoyable. Good food, good service, good value.

Wait staff are friendly and accommodating, but are hurried. Food is always delicious, and specials are varied and interesting.

We used to love this place, but they make no effort to accommodate our allergies, and we’re tired of paying high prices for mediocre food. Our server was sweet, but after we’d been over gluten free with her, and she’d gone to the kitchen to get answers to our questions, she offered us bread, so we reminded her we were gluten free, at which point she blushed and said she didn’t know what that meant. IOW she had had no training, which is very unusual in 2018. Won’t go back.

All fine food and service ok but a bit slow to come back

Quite good dinner. After our arugula salads, we shared the linguine with clams and mussels and the pork tenderloin with green beans and sweet potatoes. Both were excellent.

Arucola has a nice atmosphere. The waitress was efficient and polite. The food was unremarkable and the kitchen service was extremely SLOW. It is not on my list for a return visit.

They were closed for renovations. Minus points for not notifying OpenTable.

We got there at 6:30 on a Saturday evening. We got a window seat. The restaurant is a small friendly neighborhood place.

We each had a glass of wine (price was very reasonable), ant bread and olive oil was presented without having to ask for it. Our entries were very good, and what I would consider to be large. Food was cooked and presented very well. We skipped desert. The restaurant was very quiet at first, but became louder as it filled up, but was never too loud for conversation. Total bill was $92 including wine, for two. I left a 20% tip.
Summary: we’ll definitely be back!

We had four amazing entrees and three sensational appetizers, not to mention a great bottle of red wine, two finally crafted Grey Goose martinis. Appetizers were eggplant tower...grilled eggplant and tomatoes sliced, stacked and seasoned, fresh beets salads that was fresh, crisp and perfectly dressed, and the tomato caprese...where did they find such great tomatoes this time of the year and that elegant mozzarella cheese. Entrees, linguini with eggplant in a very tasty red sauce, grilled branzini filet with grilled vegetables, pasta with steamed mussels and clams with a very light yet tasty red sauce and papradelle pasta in a light cream sauce with fresh peas and other lightly sautéed vegetables. The bread is excellent and the service is fantastic.

Excellent!

Neighborhood Italian restaurant made a successful transition between owners

Let me start by saying ALL staff had great customer service attitude and skill. The kitchen needs big help. Forgot one of our entrees all together. This also happened to the table next to us. The explanation of offerings on the menu isn't what you receive and they didn't have a lot of what was on the menu. Pasta looked like ramen noodles from a bag, soup looked like straight out of a can...but through it all the staff worked really hard and just couldn't deliver what the restaurant claims to have/be. Unfortunate because they also have a really nice atmosphere.

The fresh pasta is fantastic. Their bolognese lasagna is the best I've had in a restaurant in some time. I couldn't decide between that and the filet mignon ravioli so I went with their option of both. Could not have been happier but then I topped it all off with creme brulee. Wow. What a meal.