Arthur's Restaurant

I have been to Arthur's twice, for dinner. The second time was to make sure the first time wasn't a fluke. That was definitely a bad decision on my part. On the first occasion, I ordered a Seafood Cioppino that was prepared and cooked in parchment paper. As my wife and I opened the parchment paper to observe the contents, we were surprised to find that half of the dish was uncooked. The octopus was completely raw, and some of the pasta was cold on the underside. We also ordered a mussel dish, and found that some of the mussels were bad. This restaurant is perfect if you want to have the place to yourself. It's quiet, and there was only one other couple in the entire restaurant. When we saw the menu, we figured out why. The average price for one person is $30.00! I'm sure most of us aren't used to paying $30 for undercooked or bad food. On our second visit, we decided to head over to the bar . This place is great if you wish to quit drinking. The bartender did not know how to make a Washington Apple. We sat for 15 minutes while he hunted down the ingredients, well, some of them. He made the wrong drink. Let's not even talk about their "drink specials." They were special because no one wants to drink them. Here's a quick summary: If you like paying high prices for a 70's decor restaurant, with mediocre service, and undercooked bad food, Arthur's is the place for you. Otherwise, head over to the Jack In The Box behind the restaurant. The food is better, and at least the drive-thru attendee smiles at you. Pros: It's quiet? Cons: Bad undercooked food, unfriendly service, high prices, 70's decor and ambience more

I was extremely disappointed to learn that the advertised price for Mother's Day Brunch that we found on Aurthur's website was incorrectly posted for 23.99. Instead it was 35.00 a head. When making reservations, I was asked how I found out about the special brunch and told them I found the 2008 menu on the web via a random search for brunch in Santa Clara. I was not corrected at the time of making the reservation that the price was misprinted. The food was good, however by our 12:30pm reservation half the dishes were sitting out for quite some time. It was a bit of a shock when the bill came for a party of 10 ppl that the price was not what was quoted. We questioned the price and they simply stated that it was misprinted and nothing would be done about it. I have worked in restaurants for years and this is a big no no!!!! I am currently in the high tech industry. They should have taken the time to have their webmaster fix their website. I heard two other customers complain about the same thing. Cons: Poorly treated when confronted about the misquote of price on their website. more

What a great find. New menu & great service. Old Arthur's has a new outlook. Food & service great. I'll be going back. more

I heard that Arthur's changed ownership 30 days ago, so I went there for lunch to check it out. The bright spot was the service. My friend wanted lamb chops, but that was not available at lunch. Our server checked with the kitchen, and they would make a rack-of-lamb at lunch. Service during the meal was attentive, but not overly so. The reason for the good service is that at 1:00 when I left, there were only 3 occupied tables! I found out why: the food is marginal. I ordered an Asian chicken salad. The greens appeared a bit aged, and were practically swimming in a overly spicy soy sauce. The chicken was hard to find too. The rack-of-lamb was middle of the road, nothing to write home about. If you prefer decent service over good tasting food, and you want to be alone, Arthur's could be the place for you. Pros: Attentive, flexible service. Cons: Food not worthy of this price point. more

at Arthur's. The dessert is so yummy there and Alex, the manager is as pleasant as can be. I highly recommend this place for a quiet, romantic dinner and/or cocktails with friends. Pros: Plenty of parking, Great service, Yummy desserts more