Arto

Someone from this business manages this listing.

356 reviews

#3 of 91 Restaurants in Dorking££ - £££, Mediterranean, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options

+44 1306 644844+ Add website

Hours

Sun

9:00 - 21:00

Mon

10:00 - 21:00

Tue

10:00 - 21:00

Wed

10:00 - 21:00

Thu

10:00 - 21:00

Fri

10:00 - 21:00

Sat

9:00 - 21:00

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

356 reviews

#3 of 91 Restaurants in Dorking

Travellers' Choice 2024

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Mediterranean, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

“Burger was tasty - and the breakfast was also good and a generous portion.”

“We had the chicken sufflaki, sea bass, salad and shrimp skewers - ok overall...”

“I had deep fried brie & seafood paella.”

“Spare ribs & burger were nice; steak was chewy.”

Location and contact

170 High Street, Dorking RH4 1BG England

+44 1306 644844

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Does this restaurant serve alcohol?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

About

Arto is an independent, family run restaurant that offers a varied menu, inspired by the idea of simple and honest cooking with a Mediterranean twist. Experience classic recipes to new age kitchen adventures, where each dish reflects our passion for the highest quality food using fresh ingredients.

PRICE RANGE

£10.00 – £30.00

CUISINES

Mediterranean

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Drinks

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Highchairs Available, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Table Service

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4.5

356 reviews

Excellent

289

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Bo Smith

London1313 contributions

Great food quality, friendly service and reasonable price

Sept 2020 • couples

Very nice restaurant. We've came for a dinner while on our Surrey Hills staycation in September. Had grilled sardines and garlic prawns as starters and minute steak and duck salad as mains. All deliciously cooked and reasonably priced. The bill for two, including 2 alcoholic beverages each and service charge came to just under £75 Definitely recommend for food quality, friendly service and price.

Written 17 October 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Christine L, Surrey

2 contributions

ARTO Dorking

Dec 2019 • friends

What a find,lovely independant restaurant in the heart of Dorking town centre. The night we went the restaurant was full, you need to book for a Sat night. As soon asxwe git there we were shown to our table. A few minutes later a waitress had left the menus and explained the "specials of the day" at the same time she took our drink order. Drinks delivered promptly, which is always a good sign. The menu choice is extensive, so many lovely options it was difficult to choose. The food was very well presented and prompt. My starter which was a choice of 3 different tacos was so filling I left one. I was asked if everything was ok with it and then I was asked if I would like a doggiebag to take it home. My fellow companions all had different starters and managed to finish them. The main courses were equally delicious, I had the Lamb Mossaka, one of the best I have tasted. We declined desserts as we were all full. The restaurant was buzzing,there was a large party table next to us and all they were quite bosterious we could still talk without shouting. We had our table for 8pm, at 10:30pm one of our group wanted a coffee, sadly this was not possibly as the coffee machine, which I understand is very large was being cleaned, that was the only dissapointment. However, we were offered tea a variety of choice so we settled on peppermint. We will definatly go back and are looking to go with 8 friends early March.

Written 7 January 2020

R Jahromi

5 contributions

A Vegans Dream

Jan 2020 • none

I had a amazing experience in Arto yesterday after a lovely Sunday walk . The staff where extremely helpful and welcoming. ive recently become vegan and eating a nice meal in restaurants seems to be quite difficult. However not only was the food amazing but the options where great . The communication between myself and the staff was next to none !. it felt really personal and was nice to know hat people care about dietary requirements and actually took the time to make my meal great. Will defiantly be back again. Highly recommend.

Written 20 January 2020

linda009

London351 contributions

First visit, mixed feelings

Aug 2020 • none

We really wanted to like this place, having read all the super reviews. Firstly the good things: we were very warmly welcomed and pleased to see that new social distancing rules were in place (and we were asked for contact details) along with an offering of hand sanitiser. The couple serving customers are the owners (I think) and they were extremely friendly and eager to please. The menu reads well and there was a specials page. But then things went downhill. Warm mixers for our G&Ts - ugh - and tough, dry pork ribs. The ribs looked amazing, with a generous slathering of rib sauce, but were almost impossible to cut. Nice fries. What the Eat Out to Help Out Scheme knocked off our bill helped to make the meal better value but without that our dinner represented poor value. We waited 15 minutes to pay our bill (credit cards at the ready in our hands, looking around expectantly) but owner stood nearby chatting to a leaving customer. We might try Arto again as it's nice to support an independent restaurant but our dinner experience at Arto didn't meet expectations, sadly.

Written 7 August 2020

Claire m

Dorking8 contributions

Dire, Dont bother

Feb 2020 • family

Decided to give somewhere different a try. One entering was welcomed by a friendly man with broken wrist. Initially sat at a table at the front of the restaurant but moved as it was very drafty. Ordered starters which came out quickly, all good so far. Then my sea bass turned up... skin was wet and not crispy but I was willing to let that go, took a bite and a foul taste of off fish, then the smell of the fish hit me. I cannot believe this was in the kitchen let alone being sent out to a customer. It could of walked out by itself it was so bad! By this time the original waiter had left for the evening and another one who really didnt care, took it away and asked if I wanted anything else as the fish wasn't to my taste!! I'm sorry is off fish to anyone's I would not recommend this place to anyone. Give it a miss, lots of good restaurants in Dorking, this is not one of them. Avoid!

Written 18 February 2020

Jon

Sutton20 contributions

All round fantastic

Nov 2021 • none

We were staying at a local hotel and booked Arto as it was close by. This visit on Saturday night exceeded all expectations. The restaurant was warm and cosy ,we were greeted with smiles and friendliness Drinks were ordered ,we drank wine by the glass ,my wife and daughters white wine was decent and reasonably priced I had two large glasses of merlot and was equally pleased The restaurant has regular specials , we chose to share the crab stack with avocado , it was perfectly seasoned, the calamari was fresh hot and crisp My daughter has the lamb shank ,beautifully tender , my wife and I had the calves liver from the specials .we finished off with chocolate brownie , recommended by our waitress ,a good choice Special mention must be made of our waitress . She was young and very knowledgeable and very professional. It was so refreshing . If we return to Dorking we will book for another excellent evening. Suggest you do not miss out on this restaurant

Written 9 November 2021

Emma W

Great Bookham48 contributions

We had great expectations but they weren’t met

Feb 2020 • family

We had great expectations of this place but it failed to deliver sadly. Starter of avocado and prawns was with a hard unripe avocado and prawns were hard and crunchy - clearly frozen. Main course of pork chops for approx £15 resulted in one chop on a bed of cous cous. The chicken kebab was tasteless. We really wanted to love this place but sadly the food just didn’t deliver. Service was great but let down by bland and over priced food. Please please please bring the standard of the food to meet the service.

Written 15 February 2020

Maria M

1 contribution

Valentine’s Day!

Feb 2020 • couples

My partner and I booked a table at Arto for Valentine’s Day on Friday and we had a great evening. There were some decorations put up around the restaurant which was nice. I particularly liked that there was no expensive set menu and we were able to order from the a la carte menu which is unusual for restaurants on Valentine’s Day! The food, as always, was fresh, home cooked and full of flavour. We love the varied options available on the specials and will continue to come back. Please don’t change a thing!

Written 16 February 2020

Sxchad

3 contributions

Won't be returning

Mar 2020 • family

Staff were friendly but food was tasteless, prawns were certainly not fresh,very dry and chewy...looked forward to chicken Slovaki but it almost tasted steamed - no flavour at all....shame really. At a time when people may be questioning whether to go out at all restaurants need to make sure the decision is not one of regret.

Written 8 March 2020

littlevoiceloudvoice

Crouch End92 contributions

We tried Arto for the first

Jul 2020 • none

We tried Arto for the first time today for a family birthday lunch. From the range of choice on the menu to the excellent, friendly service from Chris and the delicious food, it is now a firm family favourite! I would highly recommend it. Even though it was a Monday lunch, it was still a great atmosphere. The waiter (Chris) was by himself serving the whole restaurant but was incredibly attentive and efficient. Everything we ordered was a good size and very tasty (and affordable!) We will be back next time we are in Dorking. 😁

Written 27 July 2020

Samuel

16 contributions

Great ambiance and food at a reasonable price

Oct 2020 • none

Me and my friends had come from a hike up Box Hill and were looking for dinner. We almost passed by, expecting based on the external presentation that it'd be very expensive, but turned out to costs us each about £20 with starters and a main. Our host was excellent, very friendly and professional. The food itself was brilliant - it tasted like authentic Mediterranean cuisine. Would 100% go there again.

Written 8 October 2020

Jacqueline C

3 contributions

NOT OBSERVING SOCIAL DISTANCING

Aug 2020 • couples

I phoned to book a table to check social distancing would definitely be in place, as it is very important to me. Having bern very unwell. Upon arrival I again said about social distancing and was assured it would be the case. We sat down at 7.05pm to what started off as a lovely evening, feeling very comfortable, as the guests in the restaurant where all socially distanced apart. A family of three then came in and they sat them about 12 inches away from the side of another couple. The restaurant started to fill up very rapidly. A couple of ladies came in and they sat literally right behind us, not a 1 metre away. I asked them politely if they wouldn’t mind moving to the next table because of lack of social distancing they said of course not and totally understood. Seconds later another couple came in and they waitress sat them directly behind us again, the lady behind me was about 12 inches from my chair to her chair. The staff do not wear masks or visors, to protect guests and themselves. I said to the waitress about lack of social distancing and she shrugged her shoulders and didn’t respond. I said to the lady whom I think was the acting manager that took the booking this isn’t social distancing, she said I’m so sorry, I pointed out the closeness of the guests and she again said I’m so sorry. I said sadly it’s seems to be all about the money and very disappointed as I had checked twice about social distancing, prior to coming for an evening meal. She said I’m so sorry again. We have been to Arto many times and had takeaways to support the restaurant through Covid but we will no longer be supporting this restaurant. Our evening was over in less than an hour, as a result of allowing guests to sit so close and not feeling safe.

Written 28 August 2020

Meri I

1 contribution

Great atmosphere and amazing food

Nov 2022 • friends

We visited Arto as a group of 4 last night, on an extremely busy Saturday evening. The atmosphere was great and we were served by a very friendly lady who served our drinks quickly. We all shared a selection of starters (calamari, halloumi fritters and chicken skewers) and I had the seabass which was excellent, my husband the chicken souvlaki, and our 2 friends had the lamb shank and seafood paella - all of whom commented on how much they enjoyed their meal. We found the meal to be reasonably priced and ended up enjoying some wine until around 10:45 as the restaurant was still quite busy. We will definitely be back!

Written 27 November 2022

VSDLondon

2 contributions

friendly bistro for all occasions

Jul 2020 • family

We were impressed with the food. Highly recommend the pork belly and the plaice - beautifully cooked and presented. Exemplary service from the attentive waiter. Good wine list. Inviting ambiance. Children (with autism) made very welcome. Happy to have found a cosy, local Dorking bistro, with a varied menu and lovely staff. Well done Arto, see you soon.

Written 22 July 2020

anita

Dorking2 contributions

What a absolute GEM !!!!

Aug 2021 • family

Visited this little gem of a restaurant on the 29th July 2021 with my daughter and grandson The waitress was very polite and showed us to a cosy table and brought over some menus and drinks menus There is a huge range of food available !!! Very hard to choose what to have …. We ordered some drinks and we finally choose from the menu some starters Nachos with chicken Potato skins Halloumi bites My grandson had fish gojuons and chips The restaurant is very peaceful and clean . While we waited for our food we chatted with the waitress who was very pleasant When the food arrived we where overwhelmed by the amount of food we received It was amazing !!!! And present in a very appetising way . As these where starters they where plenty full and the best nachos I have had and the halloumi bites where perfectly cooked . Potato skins where again perfectly cooked My grandsons food was again of a large portion and presented well on his plate . We where asked if we needed any sauces to compliment the meal and any other drinks for the table . We sat and enjoy the food and felt relaxed and cosy as it was pouring with rain outside . This restaurant is very clean and service is outstanding . The toilet area is on one level and spotless !!! HUGE belly filled compliments to the talented chef 🙏 I would recommend this restaurant or lunch with the family or a romantic evening meal as the setting is perfect I will return to try the breakfast menu as this is substantial too and who knows maybe a romantic meal with the husband ( hint hint )

Written 5 August 2021

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