Cafe Artiste

One of my friends and I go here for specialty coffee and cookies about once a month. The food behind the display cases looks delicious, and from the line of people at the counter every time we’re there for the past many years, it must be good.
The coffees are delicious and piping hot and reasonably priced. Plenty of seating inside and out, and a wonderful convivial atmosphere. The paintings on the walls are beautiful and diversified and for sale.
Sometimes, though, the wait to place your order at the counter can take about ten minutes, which isn’t much, really. Your food and/​or beverage can be brought to your table when it’s ready.

Great guys. Very personal and fun. Good pasta and salad. Nice location. Local business worthy of support.

You must experience Cosimo’s 5 course menu. If you call in the morning he will let you know what he will be serving that evening. We were greeted by Cosimo and the table is beautifully set with olives, mozzarella and tomato bruschetta and a olive oil and balsamic to dip the most wonderful rustic bread. It’s BYOB and he has decanters. Next course was a mesclun salad and he brought out filet mignon meatballs that were heavenly followed by homemade pasta with bolognese and because one person in our party doesn’t eat red meat he whipped up an amazing pomodoro sauce for her pasta. The entrée was Tuscan chicken with roasted potatoes which was incredible and he offered seconds if you were so inclined. Desserts were either homemade cheesecake or peach pie with a marscapone topping that was the perfect ending to the meal. Be prepared because he only takes cash or check and tip is not included in the $ 45.00 per person price. Also if you order the cappuccino to complete the meal they are $ 5.00 each. Even with those extras not explained it’s a wonderful meal in Spring Lake.

What a memorable place to eat at while in Spring Lake. My friend recommended it and I brought another couple with us. Cosimo makes you feel like you are in his living room and makes everyone the same dinner and makes you feel like you are back in Italy in his own home and since you don’t want to come empty handed to someone’s house it’s byob.
Lots of courses and totally homemade tastes.
Only downside is that Unilocal says he takes credit cards but he doesn’t.
Def know he is closed for dinner on Tuesdays and Wednesdays but definitely try it out if you are in Spring Lake.

A cosy little Italian place with mouth-​watering food. I had some chicken with roasted vegetables and they were nothing short of divine! My 14-​month-​old was screaming for more chicken and roasted carrots that looked like tiny sausages.
Very friendly staff, making you feel at home. Tables inside and outside — your pick. Located right next door to a small art gallery.
One of the best places we ate in a while. Definitely will be back

The person who runs this place is a complete a*****. We called up and reserved a table and we show up at the place– the restaurant says open but he refuses to give us table, he actually said that this restaurant is closed and this is at 7:30pm. Top class racist!

Straight up out of Italy. Expect old school style genuine Italian cooking. Like being in your grandpas kitchen. No menu, just trust him and order up a whole bunch of food. Don’t be a picky American just trust the owner and try things, the food was unreal and I’m a picky eater ! Must go/​try.

Not kid friendly. When we arrived at the restaurant with a stroller (which housed my quiet 4.5 month old), the owner told us they were packed and could only accommodate us outside. The place was empty, but we were happy to eat outside. Then another gentleman who worked there walked up, saw the baby and muttered something in Italian. Suddenly the owner said they could not accommodate us even outside. He then suggested we go to the pizzeria down the street because that was good for kids. So rude!

For something unique, you must try this place. No menus, you just walk up to the counter and choose from a number of made fresh that day selections. Ordering this way seems easier and less time consuming. We went for lunch on a Tuesday. There were freshly made tuna sandwiches on rustic Italian bread, turkey and provolone, shrimp salad sandwiches too, along with egg and cheese on croissants. The pasta entrée was rigatoni, rotelli, and orrechete in red sauce. The salad was amazing, fresh romaine mixed with a panzanella bread salad that had chunks of delicious fresh mozzarella, and soaked italian bread, fresh tomatoes, red onions chick peas, and celery and was dressed in oil and vinegar. Nice, big, meal size portion. The bowl of pasta my child ordered, also huge.
We chose to eat at one of the outdoor tables on this beautiful day but there is plenty of indoor seating as well. Nothing fancy about this place and the counter area is small but it was a very enjoyable experience. The owner really does make you feel as if you are being cooked for by a relative and the food has a great homemade quality. The salad alone is totally worth a return visit. The only awkwardness is that we weren’t sure if we should leave our plates outside since we brought all our own food to the table. We brought them in but there was no place at the counter to leave them.
Lunch for 4 came to $ 40 including drinks. Pretty reasonable!

This place was a pleasant surprise! My wife and I were wandering through Spring Creek and we came son this café by chance.
It is pretty unique… no food menu. What is out is what you can get. There is good sandwich/​panini selection (cheese, tuna, turkey for example) and a salad (with or without meat). The owner (I think) is behind the counter making the salads. Super friendly but the ordering and paying process is a little chaotic. I had the turkey panini (hot great bread and super tasting cheese) and my wife had the salad (vinegar and olive oil is the only selection no meat for her). Beans, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, red onion all on top of leafy greens. Both were truly excellent. Lots of tables inside and out.
Definitely a go back to place!

I have been coming to Café Artiste for over 5 years and it has never failed me! The fresh salad is incredible! I dream of it! Cosimo is a character who makes the experience unforgettable! He makes you feel like you are eating at a relatives place.
You never know what he has cooked but whatever it is it will be delicious. There is nothing run of the mill about any of the food served here! It is small but that adds to the charm of the place! Once you step inside the door it’s like a community feeling. Regulars smile at you and share their opinions on how good the meal is!
I will say that the price does fluctuate as one day I pay $ 8 for lunch and the next week it might be $ 10! Nothing outrageous but I make sure I bring a few extra bucks as it is cash only!
I recommend this place as it is an awesome experience in a quaint town that you would not think would have such a flavorful Italian restaurant!

During a day trip to Spring Lake, my fiancé and I decided to wander around town looking for a lunch spot. Thanks to Unilocal we found this little Italian spot.
This was the kind of Italian place where you look at a menu. You just look at what they have set out and order what is on special. I was a bit skeptical of this style (remembering it only from my time in Greece, when I never had any idea what anything was and didn’t understand enough Greek to figure it out). But all of the foods looked familiar so we ordered confidently and waited in the patio out front.
The salad was hands down the highlight of the meal. It was so fresh and delicious! It is big and easy to split between two people.
The one other issue with the no-​menu style is that you don’t know what the final bill will be until you get up to the cash register. But the damage wasn’t too bad. It ended up being $ 30 for lunch for two — two sandwiches, a shared salad and drinks.
I would definitely recommend this place to anyone going to Spring Lake!

I have been coming here for lunch since my high school days working at the ice cream parlor next door. Cosimo makes these huge fresh salads topped with fresh mozz, bean salad, cucumber and tomato salad, and delicious bread. I understand he is serving dinner now, and I would definitely try it out. I usually just get my salads to go, but he’s got tables with umbrellas set up outside so you can eat while taking in the picturesque Spring Lake downtown. Love this place!

I loved this place! Cosimo, who I assume is the owner, is so passionate about the food. As said before, there is no menu. As we were crossing the street to this place, Cosimo greeted us saying he had a five coarse dinner for us. We sat down and he brought us bread with balsamic vinegar, herbs and olive oil. He followed this up with a bowl of homemade rigatoni with bolognese sauce, delicious. The next coarse included a meatball, Italian sausage, a roasted chicken drumstick (neither my wife or I like drumsticks, but these were delicious) and sautéed spinach with garlic. We could have had more meatballs but we were already stuffed. For dessert we had a choice of peach pie or carrot cake. As we were about to leave, he asked us «Do you want a cookie? I made them today.»
My one regret is that I live in California and can’t come here every week.
One thing to note is they only accept cash or a check.

There is nothing else like Café Artiste in the area — odd hours, no menu and an over the top owner. For dinner, it is only open Sat, Sun, Mon and Thurs for a 7pm seating — and you need a reservation.
We went on a rainy Saturday night and every table was booked. In fact, they stuffed our party of 3 into a table for 2 so we were very cramped. And while we started out being annoyed at this, the rest of the experience helped us overcome the bad start.
While everyone sits at their own table, it is a somewhat communal experience as the owner Cosimo and one other waiter just start bringing out each course to the tables and yelling things to the room like ‘who wants another meatball?“
It is a lot of food — on the night we went, our courses included a delicious salad, a bolgonase pasta, shrimp with pesto sauce, chicken, filet mignon meatballs, vegetables, and then 2 types of dessert. It is BYOB.
The owner and staff couldn’t be nicer and the food is really quite good. If you sign up for the emails or follow on facebook, you’ll get the menu updates.

Cosimo is friendly and engaging, and his food is outstanding. This is a guy who cares A LOT about his customers’ satisfaction. Everything from his delectable chicken breasts to tasty pasta and fresh salads is great.
It doesn’t even matter what you order. Just ask Cosimo to prepare you dinner and tell him for how many people. You’ll get ample portions and top-​tier quality regardless. It can get crowded, but that’s for a reason.

Stopped by Café Artiste tonight hoping that Cosimo (owner) would be around since we were early for church and were dying for a cup of coffee. We pulled out front and saw that the lights were on but sadly, the café was closed. Just as we were about to drive away, out of the back popped Cosimo!
Cosimo walked right out the front door, up to our car window and said ‘whatta U Wan”…we said «coffee»…he said. c’mon.c’mon, cmon-​in!
Anyway, he invited us in and we wound up having his fantastic cappuccino and some tea, a few of his cookies and as usual, everything was great, and Cosimo really is a great guy.
Not a big dinner review to write here, just a little experience we had at Cosimo’s Café tonight on Christmas eve :)
Thanks again Cosimo from me, my sister and the little ones!

Nice looking place, great outdoor seating, interesting selection of food.
The owner is pretty great, funny and engaging.
There is no menu here for the most part, everything is home made, it’s like going to nonna’s house and picking out what to eat based on all the stuff she made that day. Panino, fresh salads, chicken, meats, fresh veggies.
We came here for lunch, I ordered the chicken livers with peas, it was served cold which wasn’t a bad idea but I think the livers could have used a good blanching before hand, a little on the livery side, the peas were a nice touch to even out the liveryness. The wife ordered a garlicky baked chicken with potatoes, good flavor, also served cold, which is a unique way to eat chicken, it had great flavoring with the garlic. With 2 drinks it came out to $ 25, not bad because you’re having home cooked food, but anyone could make this stuff at home.
I would love to come here and try it for dinner one night.

Cusimo was very sweet and we tried the lentil soup and salad with chicken, he is from Italy so was speaking Italian to my mom.
The inside is unassuming from the food was delicious. If I come back I would definitely go back… food is literally like a slice of Italy. Unfortunately there are no menu’s but the daily selection of fresh foods give a wide variety of offerings from meats, salads, soups, pastas and panini’s there’s something for everyone.
I would highly recomend Café Artiste to anyone in Spring Lake!

Cosimo opened my eyes to a world where every dinner creation creates a celebration in my mouth.
I never care what is on the menu because everything he makes is the best. The menu changes daily and he is always experimenting with different ingredients.
Café Artiste is seriously my favorite place to eat. I have never experienced anything close to the quality of food from here.