My husband and I had dinner here last night. Â We had eaten here before so were super excited to have the risotto. Â Wow, it was really bad and we were deeply disappointed. Â It was super salty and almost soup like. Â The lack of consistency at this restaurant is really the issue so if you hit it on a good night, great and if it was last night, not so great! Â I admit it was our bad for not sending the food back, but we just didn't want to make a scene. Â Thankfully there is Yelp and hopefully they will read this review.
Review Source:We had dinner here last night. It was a very good experience. Our waitress, Misty, was excellent help getting us through the menu and my wine choice.
Our courses arrived at a very nice pace. There was not a rush to them at all. It made a very long day incredible enjoyable and relaxing.
We had the fennel salad. It was dressed well and the grapes and pecans were yummy. Â I had the Vegan Platter, it was filled with such a variety of choices. I enjoyed all of them. I ate and ate and still had more than half of platter to be boxed up. My guy ordered the Hanger Steak. It was prepared as ordered and he enjoyed the sauce that came with it. We finished with dessert and coffee. The coffee was excellent. The tiramisu was light and had just enough chocolate shavings to not over power the marscapone cream.
We had a couple of hic ups but the were quickly rectified and dinner moved forward.
We will return soon.
I liked the napkins.
I can't speak too much on the food being that I have only been here once and will probably never return. It seems everyone's tastes are generally very subjective so critiquing food with little appeal is like critiquing a blank canvas.
That being said what the most alarming single moment in our visit was the side conversations being had by from what I discovered was the manager/owner. This man's drill-sergeant type of management was a bit overwhelming and distracting from what I would believe to be a calming ambiance. I understand people may have bad days, but some of the vitriolic and nefarious things coming from this man to his employees were disheartening.
I will not be supporting a business that's supervising approach is derived from fear and insulting. You will not see me here again.
My honey surprised me by taking me out to Arugula's last night on a beautiful evening for a drive to Boulder. And what a treat it was.
Interesting takes on healthy, creative, and delicious new Italian cuisine.
Sweet and efficient server made some excellent suggestions (the mushrooms with peppers and truffled ricotta was an amazing first course, and the salad of arugula, strawberries, goat cheese and hazelnuts was absolutely delightful). Had the duck three ways for my entree and it was spectacular, as were my baby's lamb chops. Finished the meal off with their flourless chocolate cake. A great decision.
All in all, the meal could not have been better (and the '09 bottle of Boroli Nebbiolo and Barbera blend was a fine deal at under $45/ btl, and went perfectly with our food).
So dear Boulder, while it isn't frequently that we get a visa to travel to your lovely country, the next time we're into making the trip to the Land of Oz for delicious eats, we'll be hitting up Arugula's again.
Thursday was our second visit, the first being several years ago. Â While I'm really thinking 3.5*, I'm rounding up since nothing was wrong and I don't want anyone to get that impression. With reservations, we were seated right away in a booth. Â We shared a half a bottle of wine to celebrate graduation and then for meal choices, we tried a range of options. Â My biggest issue, and hence why the 3.5, it just wasn't that memorable. The food was good, the service fine, the atmosphere decent, but I didn't get overly stimulated by anything. Â So it's cute, has its own parking, and is worth a visit if you want to get off Pearl street, but it's not in my top must go list.
Review Source:Wow, where to begin, it's hard because I have so many complaints. Â So, in no particular order.
1) Part of a server's job is being able to read a table. Â While waiting for drinks our server approached us twice asking if we were ready to order dinner. Â Well, when the guests (4) are engaged in conversation and haven't even lifted the menu it should be evident that they're not ready to order.
2) Drinks: take forever. Â 10+ minutes for a cocktail. Â I appreciate that a well made drink takes a little longer, and it was a Friday night, however the restaurant wasn't full. Â Then I watched the runner attempt to deliver the drinks to the table next to us who all had full cocktails. Â Learning table numbers is something you learn on day 1 at a restaurant. Â
3) Wine. Â I have an extensive collection and like to bring my own wine to dinner. Â I expect to pay a corkage fee around $15-20. Â I was informed by server, via the bartender, that they didn't have a license to open patron's wine. Â I've never heard of such a thing before in any other state. Â Now, I'm new to Colorado so perhaps there is such a law that is unique to Colorado. Â But I did research on beverage laws and licenses in the state and most, if not all, deal with the sale and distribution of wine, liquor and beer. Â I suspect they were lying or misinformed. Â However, I'm willing to withhold judgment on the this point on the off chance that there is such a provision in Colorado's liquor laws.
4) Appetizers. Â We ordered the mushrooms and "Big Squid". Â While tasty, the portions were laughable, especially for the price. Â I don't equate quantity with value and wasn't expecting massive portions but they were quite tiny. Â
5) GF bread. Â It's delicious, but it's $4 a serving. Â I think you should be informed that there's an extra charge when you order it. Â And especially when you order basket #2. Â It wasn't the amount, we were all offended that the server didn't give us a head's up. Â We would have still ordered the first, maybe not the 2nd, but either way we would have known before the bill arrived. Â
6) The weirdest thing happened at the end of our meal.  We had paid our tab and were wrapping up our après meal conversation when the server came over, grabbed the credit card folders, and then said "it's ok, we'll be here for awhile."  Ok, it was 9:30 and the restaurant was winding down, but then why did she feel the need to take the CC slips from us?  That's a cue to "get out of here."  We were minutes away from departing the table anyway.  As a former server I found it unprofessional.
My husband and I have been here several times for dinner and it is bad! We went back thinking we had ordered the wrong dish, but every time it is super disgusting. Â Honestly, I would rather go to Burger King. It is possible I have limited options being a peskatarian; however I have tried different dishes and didn't like any of them. I will say the happy hour is priced decently and the food is pretty good. Bottom line, DO NOT go here for dinner and maybe check out the happy hour.
Review Source:Finally ventured over to Arugula last night. We sat at the bar, as the restaurant was packed when we arrived. It turned out to be a great choice--we had some good company among the friendly bartenders and other guests.
The wines-by-the-glass selection was very good. The bartender invited us to try whatever we were interested in before committing to a full glass. I had a great Albarino and Nero D'avola. My boyfriend got a really nice spicy Malbec.
Since we were emboldened by a Groupon, we went all out. The fennel salad was a great start to the meal. The citrus and mint made it bright while the pine nuts added a nice buttery flavor. We followed it with the pork belly and polenta, which was divine. I loved the little celery salad on the plate and the belly was perfectly cooked. We also had the Hazel Dell mushrooms with gorgonzola rather than feta, at the bartender's suggestion. My one complaint was that all of this food was brought out at once. The pacing was just a little off for me. I would have preferred the salad and then the hot dishes after we were finished.
Next up was the black seafood risotto. Not my fave. It was pretty under-seasoned and only had a single shrimp and scallop. However, I do applaud them for having such a unique dish on the menu--I haven't seen a squid ink pasta anywhere locally. We got the duck three ways as our entree. It was really a shining star of a dish. Delicious cracklings and confit with the hash. And we nearly licked the plate to get all of the cherry sauce. It was also perfectly cooked, which is not something you see too terribly often with duck around here.
For dessert, we went simple with ice cream and limoncello. Man, that limoncello. I feel like they might be making it with jet fuel because it was STRONG. Drivers beware.
Overall, a really nice experience. And a great place to go if you have food allergies. I am both gluten and soy free and had no problem with anything I ate here.
This was a first big dinner date night out for me for restaurant week, and that date is now my boyfriend. Â The romantic atmosphere, excellent service and fresh food helps to make you forget you're in a restaurant that doesn't fit into the strip mall it's in. Â The lighting and the lower noise volume really feel sophisticated in Boulder which seems to be lacking such places. Â I was very pleased with my vegetable risotto, but I don't remember much else about the actual food. Â I guess that's the key to a perfect romantic restaurant afterall!
Review Source:They've got some really nice food. My friends were satisfied with their dishes such as rack of lamb with port wine and grilled duck breast. I had sea scallop as my main dish and felt they could have done better.
Went there during the restaurant week and the sizes are just super tiny. I'm still hungry after 4 courses. Â Maybe will go there again and hopefully will find out what's their regular size is.
One thing I don't like there is the bread. The bread they offered was not fresh from the oven. It's more like those bread that you buy from the supermarket.
Arugula has been my favorite restaurant in Boulder for about a year now. The food is fabulous. I recommend sitting at the bar, where you might be lucky enough to get Christian working that evening. He is bartender extraordinaire. The food has never failed to be anything but delicious. Highly recommend!
Review Source:Be advised if you are going there, demand not be seated at the first table. Â One person gets to sit half in the walkway and be hit be everyone coming past, and to make matters worse, right on the other side of 6" glass partitition groups of servers stand withing 3" of your head or clank dishes at the level or your ears. Â Who puts a prep station right next to a table. Â I had to stop our conversation 5 times because we had two or more servers standing looking right down at us from the other side of the partition. Â I leaned back in my seat which put me past the partitition in the aisle and one of the servers stood off the end 3" from my face. Â I understand maximizing floor space but good lord, that table could have been in an episode of Seinfeld. Â CLEARLY no one from that restuarant has ever sat in that table and tried to eat. Â Including travel to India, China, Hong Kong, that was the absolute worst seating I have ever experienced.
Review Source:Overall, I had and experienced better, and probably won't be back.
We had reservations, (early November) but you must ask for a booth ahead of time if that's what you want. So we were sat at an awkward table, that stuck out into the pathway to service area, which just wasn't wide enough.
I love that they offer 1/2glasses of wine. I'm a light drinker, and sometimes even a full glass is too much.
The foie gras was excellent; buttery and decadent. They brought wrong thing first. my friend had run back home to get something she left, so I restrained myself, and the wrong item sat at our table for almost 10 minutes. Â They suddenly brought another plate, and replaced it with the foie gras, explaining that they didn't realize it was the wrong item.....they just changed to the fall menu.
The salad was over dressed and the vinaigrette was overpowering. Because of this I couldn't finish my small salad.
Striped bass entree for dinner, with pea shoots that were fibrous  and awkward to eat.  It was very  "Un elegant" in it's presentation, but the flavor was OK.
Oh Arugula, what has happened to you?
I was surprised to go to this page and not find me giving a 5-star review of this place earlier this year. This was far and away my favorite restaurant in Boulder. Perfect portioning, evidence of respect for the food, over-the-moon amazing service. Yep, this place had everything going for it.
But something has happened. I don't know what, but somehow the place has gone astray.
My husband and I have been here about 5 times over the past 2 years and it always blew me away, as detailed above. Until this week. I came here Monday night with my husband and a close friend who was in town from Michigan for the week. My main motivation was their Boulder First Bite menu that they feature every Monday: Three courses (antipasti, primi, secondi) for $26. I was thrown off by the fact several of the offerings had changed and every single secondi item except for the one vegetable-only dish came with a $2 upcharge. To me this is tacky. If you are going to upcharge, do away with the notion of a prix fixe menu.
Our waitress seemed like a typical college student who doesn't give a crap about tips. Her level of "real" service, which you'd expect from this place, was negligible at best. Normally I find their menu helpful for friends with allergies, because they label what is gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, etc. However my husband can have meat and sheep/goat cheese, but not any cow-based diary products (butter, cream, parm, etc). He asked our server and she just snipped "The vegan dishes are labeled on the menu." When he again emphasized he isn't vegan and just wanted to know which dishes could be made without cow diary she just stood there and said "Um, I don't know really" and made NO move to ask the kitchen, be helpful, or generally, you know, do her job. She then asked if we wanted drinks and I said I'd look at the wine list after deciding on courses, and again she snipped, this time a quick "The wine list is on the table" and immediately flounced away. When the bread came, my husband asked about the ingredients, and a list of beers on tap. She came back with "The chef who made the bread is already gone so we don't know" and he had to remind her about checking on the beer. The bread thing caught up with me later when I saw another table being served other types of bread. Is there a possibility she could have found out those ingredients? Maybe. That kind of stuff really digs at me at places that I generally expect to go the extra mile for service (and before you judge, I want to throw out there that I tend to tip 20-25% in those cases whether it's on a $15 check or a $70 check).
Anyway.
The food. Something has also gone amiss with the food. Everything was okay, but VERY rich which is unusual there. I am used to less of a heavy hand with the dishes. The chunks of cheese in my sauteed mushrooms and gnocchi were huge. The gnocchi was unusually fluffy; still good, but not as dense as usual. The portions were TINY, but served in 13" plates. This is just not a good idea in general unless you expect people to expect next to nothing which really wasn't the case. My main course, sea bass with polenta, was about 3oz of fish, cooked well but not that flavorful, and covered with some kind of chopped vegetable ragout that really overpowered the fish flavor. The polenta was about 3" square and 1" thick. Not nearly enough after two even smaller courses preceding. My friend got vegetable risotto and it was not risotto in any interpretation. The rice was longer grain, not starchy, not creamy, and felt undercooked on my tongue. It tasted good but the dish itself should have been named something else, or executed differently. If you make risotto different, ok, that's your thing, but warn people about that. If I had ordered the dish and expected beautiful creamy, pearly risotto made of abrorio rice, I would have sent this back.
Throughout the meal our service as decent; plates cleared quickly but a bit too much time between courses (and it was not terribly busy), our water glasses were kept full, pretty standard stuff. But after dropping over $80 on First Bite courses that left me feeling highly unsatisfied both in quality AND quantity, and a waitress who I felt earned about half the tip money I left, I will not be coming back.
I also want to make a note that this was, from what I gather, NOT an isolated incident of a waitress having a bad night or the kitchen being "off." A couple coworkers went there last Saturday and had a similar experience, to the point that I apologized profusely when I heard about their frustrating dinner and feel personally responsible for their waste of what could have been a nice evening.
Sorry Arugula. I thought you had me for life, but you lost me this time.
I am late in writing this review. Should have done it months ago actually . . . this place is a full WOW.
M person wanted to take me on a nice date and had done some looking and decided on this place. It. Is. Divine.
We often joke about "Boulder Service" being about hiring pretty people who only pay attention to other pretty people. This service is spot on, attentive, and seamlessly becomes part of the excellent food and enjoyment.
Also, their menu is something not soon forgotten. I haven't had everything on it, but hope to. Currently, I strongly recommend the warm spinach salad, the fennel salad (it tastes so fresh that you wonder where they're growing their vegetables), and the pear and gorgonzola gnocchi. (Full disclosure: I heart gorgonzola cheese and they seem to also, so clearly it's a match made in heaven.)
Their ingredients are amazingly fresh and wonderful, it takes a chef who knows what s/he is doing to get gnocchi right, the blend of flavors they put into dishes is delightful, and the service we got was, as previously mentioned, wonderful. I want to go back and eat everything on their menu!
I was told that the cocktails at Arugula were to die for by a friend who works in the kitchen at Tangerine.
On Monday I went as a special occasion with my boyfriend whom I rarely see because he travels for Cannondale and is caught in the middle of the PRO cycling challenge. We rode our bikes across town to have drinks and some food at Arugula.
After the waitress sat us outside, we ordered drinks and she looked at our ID's. Both my boyfriend and I recently moved from Austin Texas. We both have Texas ID's and are both well above drinking age. Yet she took only my ID away from me and went inside to verify its authenticity. She did not return and left us waiting for more than ten minutes. While all the other waiters in the house came to the window and peered out at me (my boyfriend and I were the only two on the patio) then went back to the bar to gossip to the bartender. The bartender never came to peer himself to see if, through the darkened window, he could decide what age I was by looks alone but all the others did. After waiting very long and feeling very alienated my boyfriend went inside to find out what was going on. The waitress told him she could not serve us because they could not find their ID book to verify my ID's authenticity. We got up to leave, she coldly apologized but did not in any way offer to us that we may stay, skip drinks and still have dinner. I went inside with my boyfriend to speak to the manager who was apparently also the bartender. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that every customer near the bar that night had known all about them denying us service as all staff were gossiping about it loudly when I returned to confront the manager after being denied service by the waitress.  He coldly told me that it wasn't the waitress's decision not to accept my ID but his. Then looked at me, "I am not accepting that ID because the picture is wrong". He said loudly at the bar. Then looked at my Naropa ID like it was a pile of trash and tossed it on the counter in front of me. He somehow has memorized the form and shape of every state ID photo without needing the book to analyze it or also looking at my boyfriends perhaps which is from the same state???? He seemed to treat us like children at a liquor store trying to scam peach schnapps. My ID is in perfect condition and is not cracked or taped as the manager of Arugula later told his boss.  I am 26 years old, I manage a commercial trucking property and go to school full time. My boyfriend is a 42 year old professional in the cycling industry. I was treated like a foul fourteen year old with a homemade ID card. my ID has never ever ever been declined. I have never been so humiliated and degraded in my life by a person whose job it is to make me feel welcome in an eating establishment. This situation was handled so badly by everyone involved but most specifically your manager who should have came out himself and told us he was not going to serve us long before ten minutes went by. Instead he sent all his staff  to ogle at us thru a window and treated us like insolent children when we inquired why we were refused service.  I was excited to have cocktails and food at a place that came highly recommended and instead cried outside after being completely humiliated and treated unfairly by the Arugula Staff. No matter the quality of the food, no matter their stress over fake ID's, nobody wants a rare romantic evening out to turn into a scene like that. Absolutely no one. I also work in the service industry and would never dream of treating someone that bad.
Everything was excellent. Tonight was my first meal at arugula and I was completely satisfied. The atmosphere was casual and upbeat, the service was good and my meal was complimented perfectly with a nice glass of Nero, cabernet sauvignon. I had the arugula and orange segment salad, delicious and light, fallowed by the bison bolognese and a small gnocchi with caramelized pears served in a rich cream/gorgonzola sauce. Good work arugula I will be back.
Review Source:We went for a wine dinner and were blown away. Â They brought in the wine maker from Friuli Venezia Giulia (where the local and famous restaurant Frasca takes their style from). He told the story behind his wine and they explained how they thought it complimented the food. Â The chef, manager, and winemaker made rounds to every single table (we were surprised they stopped by us since it was obvious we were the youngest and poorest there!). Â Everything was on time, the pairings where phenomenal.
Only complaint is the raw garnishes. Â Just weird to have beautifully cooked and plated food with a side of parsley and raw red peppers. Â We felt like it brought the plates down a notch.
I'm not accustomed to the world of strip malls but outside the city, these little rings around parking lots seem to hold certain unknown gems that deserve a stand alone building in more urban a landscape. And here, nestled between a dry cleaner and a pizza parlor (generally; I don't remember its exact neighbors on the strip) lies a little treasure of a high class Italian restaurant I would never have known about if not for Yelp.
Walking in on a Friday night without reservations, our party of four lucked out by being seated right away. The hostess advised that they typically recommend reservations on weekends. The decor is classy, refined and very white table cloth. It feels expensive and the service is attentive and friendly, extremely accommodating and never pushy. They offer a large assortment of daily specials, though with a tendency to run out of the more popular dishes later in the evening (consider 8pm late). I really loved how they offer the pasta dishes at full or half sizes, since sometimes those rich dishes can be too much to handle. My green salad ($6) and half sized Bison Bolognese ($11) was simply perfect. The pinot grigio that I drank throughout the evening was also crisp and citrusy ($7) and was the perfect recommendation from our server.
We stayed after the meal and drank more, never feeling rushed along. With three glasses of wine each and a full meal of apps and entrees we each left only $50 lighter in the pocket. I'd definitely recommend Arugula for a fun dinner out or romantic date, so don't be deterred by the parking lot facade.
Went to Arugula because my wife and I got a Groupon for them and since it was about to expire, we went.
Although we arrived fairly on a Saturday afternoon rather than Saturday evening, we were not made to feel unwelcome by the staff, which was attentive, though not intrusive.
Upon seeing the specials of the day, I immediately decided on the cioppino, as did my wife. However, we were undecided on an appetizer or salad, all of which looked terrific on the menu. On our waiter's recommendation, we both decided on a caprese salad.
The caprese salad was delicious, as both the tomatoes and mozzarella were fresh and tasty, but what really tied it together was the basil-infused oil that was drizzled over it.
The cioppino was also delicious, with shrimp, mussels, fish, scallops, and calamari in a tomato-fennel broth. It was served in traditional San Francisco style, with a few pieces of a toasted crusty Italian bread (the name escapes me). And like the cioppino you get in the North Beach neighborhood in San Francisco, it was hearty and satisfying. They should really consider making a part of the regular menu.
Arugula is not cheap, but you get what you pay for: Great food and terrific service.
If you have money, go to this place. It's expensive $20/dish avg. but you won't regret going there. The food is delicious (warning: small portion, you will be hungry if you only order an entree even if it's pasta). The service is nice (waiters are attentive, attractive but not annoying, my water glass was always full), the ambient environment is decent (not too crowded but not intimate. patio seating available when weather permits). Food presentations and food combinations are excellent (you need to ask the waiter to get you some black pepper because they don't have any sitting on the table, which is a good thing because you know it's always fresh!)
Overall, I recommend checking it out if your budget allows :)
I found myself driving in a parking lot looking for 'Mista Italian'. Clearly Garmin was on crack as this place did not exist. I decided as I was driving round and round in the parking lot if there was no Mista, I'd get myself some Thai food- which I'm usually not against but when you have that craving (which is such a gross word to use. I don't like feeling that my feelings or desires for something overcome me- people with cravings become servants to it)... What was I saying?
Oh yes. So I had a HANKERING for some Italian. Mista got me thinking of pasta, wine, and bread.
So I spot a small place called Arugula. It looked like nothing special and was on the east side of an okay looking shopping center. I got inside and instantly felt at ease and breathed a huge sigh of relief. I don't know Colorado and whenever I'm on the road traveling, about to embark on another dinner alone, I always hope for the best...
I sat at the bar and got there 15 minutes after my favorite hours (you know, those happy ones) were over. I must have complained enough or looked like I needed un poquito vino because the bartender hooked it up on the sly.
My meal...
Duck breast with the skin still on! and parm risotto
Make your own olive oil dip
House made almond & fennel biscotti
What I'm ordering if I ever find myself in Boulder again...
House made lemoncello
Tiramisu- they were all out!
Honey & spice marscarpone; cheese with clove, cardamom, cinnamon, fresh fruit and walnuts
Goat cheese pasta
Goat cheese stuffed quail
How could you not love Arugula?
They are one of the best values in town. The markups on the wine are so reasonable for a restaurant that it's kind of shocking. The food is always great...as is the service.
The Monday night deal is crazy - and I love that it's two starters and an entree rather than an ap, entree, and dessert.
I read through the Yelp reviews, which, for some reason, were somewhat mixed. But having heard good things about Arugula, my wife and I went for the first time to the sight of what was one of our favorite restaurants in Boulder (the original Laudisio's). We were both very impressed, and had great meals. We both started with the Arugula house salad, which was excellent. For the main course, I had the Shrimp Orechiette which was extremely tasty with a good quantity of shrimp and a new kind of pasta for me. My wife had the hangar steak that was cooked perfectly in a savory sauce.
The service, if anything, was overly friendly - not perfect, but certainly good enough for a "neighborhood restaurant".
We've both agreed - this is one of our new favorite restaurants in Boulder, right up there with places like Radda, Aji, The Med, and dare I say The Kitchen?
Arugula is not cheap. But they make up for it with Incredible food, excellent, unpretentious service, and most importantly (in my book) very generous portion sizes!
Many of the pricier dining options in boulder totally skimp on the food, even though you're paying over $20 a plate (um, The Kitchen?).
Arugula is very, very good food and for your money you'll have enough to take home for a second meal.
I think the food here is better than any other Italian place in or around Boulder.
Great lunch! Â Most importantly, the food was really good. Â And worth mentioning, the attention to sustainability in both the materials used for the build out and in the ingredients they choose to serve. Â Highly respectable, IMHO.
I had a house salad and 1/2 portion of  gnocchi.  Portions - the salad was generous with fresh, perfectly dressed, organic greens.  I especially enjoyed the parsnip. Yeah, parsnip. A pleasant surprise but still very simple - what a house salad should be.  Gnocchi was generous in portion (I couldn't finish my half order) and just decent.  I've had better but the elements where all there. The manchego was delicious but entire dish could have used more salt and I'm not a huge fan of pears on anything but salad.
My friend got the vegetable panini and said it was "ggGREAT!". Â Super stacked with veggies and bread, if that's what you're into, was reported to be very good. She could only finish half due to her substituted side of squash soup. Â She thoroughly enjoyed that too!
Waiter was good, a little slow to take order but pleasant. Â I appreciated that it was busy enough for a Friday lunch but not the scene that many restaurants on Pearl are. Â We were too full to try the desserts but they looked very inciting - "dear flourless chocolate cake, I'll be back!"
Arugula is great! The first time I ate there was shortly after they opened, I have been back many times.
I'm 2nd generation Italian and have been fed home cooked Italian meals from my immigrant grandmother all my life, as such I usually harshly judge Italian restaurants, going so far as to not eat at them. However, with Arugula, I go out of my way to eat there.
It has a good atmosphere, the manager/chef's father is frequently there introducing himself to people and talking about his son. And I highly recommend the fried polenta.
I always think American food is too big. But tonight I get it that too big is better than too little.
Tried First Bite menu continue for Mondays. When I went out, I'm still hungry.
Food is not bad, but as Risa says, unremarkable, at all.
BTW, every interval of the dishes took too long time to wait. We took almost 2 hours there. Maybe I'm just not a gentleman for this kind of Italian restaurant.
In a word: unremarkable. Â In two words: unremarkable and disappointing. Â Granted, I feel as though it is not entirely fair to judge a restaurant based on its Restaurant Week (or in this case, First Bite Boulder) menu; however, I feel a little more justified doing so here, as Arugula boasts this prix fixe menu on Mondays year round.
Generally speaking, I felt as though the food was pretty without being substantive. Â The ingredients were subpar (e.g., chewy mozzarella in my caprese salad) and the dishes poorly executed (e.g., tomato accompanying my dining partner's pear and gorgonzola gnocchi). Â The effort was there; the skill was not. Â Mind you, had I prepared the meal myself, I would have been quite pleased. Â That said, I expect a higher caliber of food from a restaurant, and particularly from a restaurant whose entrees normally run in the $20 range.
Of the three courses, the entrees themselves were the highlight -- mine being creamy polenta and nicely flavored shrimp. Â My dining partner also enjoyed his lamb stew. Â The entrees, however, did not compensate for the pedestrian two courses that preceded them.
As this restaurant is very convenient for me, I'm sorry to say that I won't be returning anytime soon.
The hubby and I met a couple of friends here for First Bite Boulder: 3 courses for $26/per person. Â Excellent deal and a great way to try out a few dishes from a new-to-us restaurant.
We arrived a few minutes early and were seated right away in a large, comfy booth in the back of the restaurant next to the bar. Â I'm trying to think of the right word for the atmosphere. Â The light fixtures, bar and tables seemed kind of like 1950's retro (?) and the lighting was kind of gray, cold and gloomy. Â A few candles and fewer overhead lights would go a long way to warm up the ambience.
The "choose 3" menu was extensive and featured 2 choices from their soups/salads and small plates menus, and 1 choice from their entrees menu. Â With so many excellent choices it was easy to piece together a truly unique and satisfying 3-course meal. Â My meal consisted of the Hazel Dell mushrooms with white polenta and gorgonzola (YUM); potato gnocchi with shrimp and spicy creamy tomato-vodka sauce (Oh hell yes!); and hangar steak with marsala wine sauce, mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach (FABULOUS!!!). Â The ingredients were fresh and each dish had beautifully balanced flavors and the perfect portions for a 3-course meal.
Their wine list was also extensive and full of great values and some off-the-beaten-path selections. Â We were able to find a bottle of the perfect Pinot Noir to complement all of our meals.
I understand that Arugula has this 3-course deal every Monday night all year long. Â That deal is enough to keep us to coming to Boulder many more times to try out more of their fascinating menu choices!
This was a perfect lunch experience from start to finish. Â Welcomed by a friendly greeting from the European-sounding hostess/waitperson, shown to a comfortable perfect table, Â I arrived just in time to enjoy the lunch menu. Â That's good, because it's a lot less expensive than the dinner menu. Â There is a delightful-sounding special dinner on Monday nights though. Â (Note to self: Â return to Arugula with Mr. Mysterious Romantic Date Man for Monday night dinner--soon!)
Well, I rambled a bit in that first paragraph.  A professional restaurant reviewing journalist I'll just never be  :o(
So after quickly looking over Arugula's lunch menu, I decided to order trout. Â I was happy to find out that I could also order their special soup of the day with it, which was a creamy butternut squash soup with walnut garnish. Â So very good! Â Beyond verbal description--it was THAT good!
I do so wish I had written down the details about the trout. Â I have consumed a few trouts in my life, and this preparation was among the best I've ever tried. Â
Even their iced tea was amazing.
I like the decor, too. Â Arugula made a wonderful impression on me this first visit. Â I hope to return.
P.S. Â The service here was seamless, and the lunch prices are
what one would expect for quality chef-prepared cuisine.
I had heard so many good things about this place and the other yelp reviews seemed pretty good too. I too, am torn. On one hand my scallops in a strawberry and balsamic reduction were out of this world but the strawberry risotto that came with it was one-dimensional in flavor and after a few bites I was done with it. I struggled with giving them 3 or 4 stars. I decided 3 because a 4 star place I would definitely go back to but I'm not so sure about Arugula. I think for the price you can find better and you can also find better for less cost.
I'd say for the 2 of us on my b-day we dropped about 100 bones. For that much money I expect a freaking candle in my dessert. I also expect to not be sat next to the big top giving a presentation. Put one of us away from everyone else.
What bothered me the most was the service. While the support service was fantastic our server was not. When I ask for a suggestion on food or wine or dessert, I do not expect you to tell me the most expensive thing on the menu every time. That, my friends, I can figure out on my own, thank you very much. Did she not get the memo that we're in a recession??
Now that I have really thought all this through I am re-thinking my star situation. I would not recommend this to my friends, so dear reader I will not recommend it to you. 2 stars it is.
I'm absolutely torn by my experience here.
The decor, the ambiance and service should have matched a delicious, high quality meal. However, this was not the case.
Our wine was excellent, chosen because we could get it by the glass.
My salad and rack of lamb was very good. Also, I truly enjoyed my olive oil cake and sorbet dessert. However, my side of white cannelloni beans and pancetta was undercooked and had obviously been sitting. It was also under-seasoned and uninteresting.
My mom's pasta was awful, and had obviously either been cooked wrong or had been sitting out before being resurrected and put into her dish. It was simply an unacceptable dish to serve.
I really wanted to like this place and they get stars for concept service, ambiance, wine and my lamb, but the pasta was such a miss, I may not be up for a second go.
I'm so grateful that I live in a town where there are so many great restaurants! Â Arugula is no exception! Â It's a comfortable little place, Laudiso's old home, with an excellent menu.
The weekends are the best time to go however, they offer specials based on whatever is the most fresh and embrace local as often as possible. Â We've had some of the most amazing seafood dishes here and the Buffalo Bolognese is crazy good!
The sommelier is quite knowledgeable and talented and the Father of the owner is a pleasure to talk to as he makes his away around the room.
I'm almost in shock how much I enjoyed dinner here. It was pretty much perfect.
Ordered the strawberry scallop entree, which was, yes, strawberries and scallops with risotto and a balsamic vinegar reduction. It wasn't anything I have ever eaten before. And it was epic.
Many of the ingredients are sourced locally, which always wins with me. Add the fact that the service was spot on, tables aren't crowded together (a dining pet peeve of mine) and the walls are adorned with wine corkscrew art and you have ... well, a winner. Cheers.
Delicious and authentic Tuscan food. The dishes are creative and varied. We had a wonderful appetizer plate with an array of meats, veggies and cheeses which was fantastic. I had the pork tenderloin and my wife had the hangar steak, and we were taking turns eating off of each other's plates. They had a wide and varied wine selection, and the servers know their stuff.
The decor was cool... salvaged bits of wine paraphernalia. The entrance looked like pretty much every restaurant in Europe that opens onto the street.
I'd definitely going to return.
I've been looking forward to trying Arugulas since I heard they were taking over the space formerly housing Mista Italian Kitchen and then before that Laudisio's--both among my favorite restaurants.
Arugula's didn't disappoint--granted the entrance was funky, but we quickly got over that and settled in for a lovely lunch. Â Enoying delicious chewy bread dipped in olive oil is a wonderful way to wait for the first course. Â We split the mushrooms, which were heavenly--rich, savory, foresty, and the right amount to split for a lunch first course.
We then split the penne with goat cheese and sausages--it was also really good, but the mushrooms were the sensation of the meal. Â Wine list was good--nice variety, affordable, and flexible (they provide glass, bottle, 1/2 glass, 1/2 carafe, and carafe prices).
I know we'll be back for many Friday lunches and we'll probably take the kids there for dinner as well.
Thumbs up for another great Italian bistro on Iris.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
