This restaurant is the very soul of consistency. Indifferent food (think "second-tier wedding cuisine)", oblivious and unapologetically bad service, serious prices, a hidden gratuity, and a high noise level. A kosher restaurant is serving a smaller self-selecting audience, and I would guess the owners are Jewish (as am I). Should the faithful be punished at dinner for their beliefs? Eating cheese and crackers in the car is a nicer dining experience. Avoid at all costs. And what do I mean by "bad service"? Four diners at table, four fish entrees ordered. Three entrees arrive, the waitperson scurries off. The fourth is nowhere. We say, "My wife ordered the _________," and there's a blank look. A response comes, "Oh." Eventually, another response, "That'll take ten to fifteen minutes." If "We're sorry," was uttered, we didn't hear it. Eventually the entree came. No apologies. read more

It took a long time to get the food and the service was ok. They add an automatic tip on top of the food which is very expensive. The portions are ok and so is the food. read more

We so enjoy dining here....comparable to a high class diner with a broad menu (except meat) - a nice range of pasta, fish, dairy and salad dishes. Last night's meal for us was a tasty, creamy penne vodka; a sweet Asian glazed salmon; and a fresh side salad with a nice lemon poppy dressing. We were impressed with how fresh were the salad ingredients considering turnover is still slow in this seashore town. And the service was super friendly. This is a casual restaurant so no tablecloths or fancy chairs but a great choice for a weeknight or casual night out. read more

Only getting one star because zero is not an option. Food is edible but get ready to take out another mortgage on your home for the bill. Every item is up charged at least 2 dollars and an 18% gratuity is factored in to the bill. This wouldn't be an issue if the service existed, but considering the service isn't helping this is ridiculous. The food is consistently given to the wrong person and the waiters don't seem to value the customers. Consider bringing water, or given the prices maybe something stronger, because the water comes lukewarm without ice. Bernie Madoff might as well be the owner of the place with the way they steal your money. Considering there are many other good Kosher options in this area, do not, and I can't stress this enough, go here under any circumstances. read more

We ate here last night. The food was good but we had some serious complaints: 1. The service was poor. Our waitress was very nice and friendly but we had to get up several times to speak to us because she never came over to us or even looked at us to see if we needed anything during our meal. 2. I ordered grilled tempeh and received sticks made out of brown rice instead. When I complained they first insisted that it was tempeh, then they finally offered to replace it for something else for free. 3. They charge $6 just to pay with a credit card. I have never experienced this before. 4. 20% gratuity (for lousy service) comes included on the bill. Our waitress would not have even received the full amount. I had them remove it from the bill and gave the waitress her tip in cash. read more

Food 4.5 and Managenent 1. Negative: 1-immature children running a business. Don't want to go into details, but the customer should not feel uncomfortable. Customer service is poor. Positive 1-very good food We had 4 different items, and 2 salads... all very good If the owner hired happy adults, this would be an amazing place. Good luck and take my advice, I want a good kosher experience. read more

these people are too incompetent to run a food business. The first time i came here i paid $22 for some crap they call Penne Ala Vodka. The worst pasta ive ever had in my life. The serving was so small, and so expensive and it went in the trash. No taste what so ever. Even looked disgusting. I gave them another try by visiting the next year (which was last night) 7 minutes on hold on the phone just to place an order. They put me on hold and never came back, so i had to walk in to place my order. I stood for a good 10 mins before any of the waitresses or hostesses acknowledged me. I placed my order, which was a salad with grilled salmon, a avocado and mozzarella panini, and an order of fries. My total was $41. can you believe it was that expensive????? most of the food went right into the garbage!!!!!!! After waiting 25 mins for our meal to be made, they got the order wrong. I had to ask for ketchup, then had to ask for forks. Why are utensils not auomatically included in a take-out meal?? the salmon they served me was OVER cooked, grilled and crispy and dry with NO FLAVOR. The salad container was so stuffed and not enough dressing for even a quarter of the salad. So i ate flavorless lettuce leafs before i decided to just throw it in the garbage. The fries were not fries, they were oily baked potato circles, not cooked all the way through. The container had maybe 1-1.5 potatoes in it. They charged $7 for the potatoes. A fucking meal costs $7 and you are charging me that for a side???? id pay that at a decent restaurant. My boyfriends panini came out in a wrap instead of the baguette it comes with, that i specifically specified at the time of ordering. His wrap was BIG chunks of avocado and just filled with oily as hell pesto. You couldnt see or taste anything else in the sandwich. He ate a few bites and threw it away. $41 thrown down the drain, just to go home hungry as hell and to cook an hour after this "meal" Customer service does NOT exist at this place. The girls stand around talking while not acknowledging the customer standing there trying to pay/pick-up/place an order. They are expensive as hell and the food is gross and inedible. The only reason why they are still around is because they are kosher and the kosher eaters there really have not much other options so they put up with this bullshit read more

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Food was absolutely outstanding. The Branzino, sole, rosemary crusted salmon and almond crusted St. Peter's fish were particularly superb. Fish was clearly very fresh (like you'd want in a restaurant that close to the ocean) and the cooking techniques and seasoning were all spot on, resulting in tender, flaky, fish with excellent flavors. The zucchini chips were light and crispy and super flavorful. The roasted potatoes and charred broccoli that came with the branzino were cooked perfectly both re flavor and texture, and were a delight to eat with the lemony wine sauce from the branzino. The zucchini mushroom risotto on the daily special was flavorful, creamy, comforting and everything a risotto should be. The portobello ravioli were indulgent with a richly flavored, Parmesan intensive creamy Alfredo sauce. The cheesecake was airy and fluffy and decadent. The decor is a cute bistro style. Service was good, friendly and prompt. We came here twice while on vacation it was that good. Yes, the prices aren't low ($30-40 for fish entree, pasta in the 20s) but that's quite honestly what the going rate is for food of this caliber in both kosher and non kosher restaurants. If you're looking for nice dairy and/or fish, this place is 100% worth it. Will definitely come again. read more

Service is the worst. 0lace was empty. Placed order of basically salda and sandwiches after half hour asked when order would be ready and they hadn't started. 15 minutes later asked again.. after 50 minutes!! Orders were finally brought out. No apologies. Took time to pay as well as order had to be reentered. Worst place ever. read more

Aweful! Food was horrible service was extremely slow and the prices were outrageous,, would not repeat!

I'm not an aggressive reviewer by any means, but this place was the pits. I've never had worse service at any eatery, and I've been to some sketchy places. We were not provided water by our server, and upon requesting water, we STILL did not receive any during the course of our meal. Our order was messed up, we were charged extra for things that would be considered complimentary add-ons in other establishments, and they had the gall to include an automatic gratuity charge in the bill. If you're looking for a healthy food place to relax and unwind, look elsewhere. For the prices Down to Earth is charging, you can get a great meal with exceptional service at Kaya's Kitchen in Belmar. But if you can't make it to Kaya's, you're honestly better off going hungry. :) read more

The only reason I'm giving more then one star is because the food is pretty good. However that is the only thing good about this place. I'm pretty sure the waiter did not say a single word to our table during the entire meal. He just dropped our orders on the table without asking who ordered what. The real kicker however was the bill. Everything on the menu is at least a dollar more and the pre factored tip was NOT worth the service to say the least. I would recommend going to any other place in the area because disappointment is inevitable at this place. read more

OK, so I came back here last night with my wife and eldest daughter. We were seated promptly and had a choice of table, since we were early for the late evening rush. The waiter seemed like a very green waiter and would abruptly leave us as soon as he either dropped something off or took the order. We were also under the impression that he really didn't want to be there. I had the angel hair pasta with tomato basil sauce which states on the menu that they make it there.. Well, either they throw some Crushed tomatoes in from a can and maybe.. Just maybe a bit of basil in.... But nothing else! Horrible sauce. It seems like many of their pasta dishes have this same sauce.. That said, my eldest had a Cajun salmon, which she said was good.. Just not really what she would call Cajun. My wife had a salad with tuna steak pieces which was tasty. I surely hope they improve their tomato sauce and train that waiter. That being said, there was a more senior waiter there that did pitch in and take care of us as well as his other tables, which was refreshing and was redeeming, or I would have dropped them to 2 stars. read more

I couldn't find this place on Google Maps but fortunately Yelp was on it. Reasonable prices, good diversity, good vegetarian options and a clear commitment to clean, healthy food. I had the Kibbeh (worth a try) and 2 veggie "sushi" rolls along with one of their fresh juices. Not the normal business travel food. I still feel great...very full and content but not lethargic. Not your ordinary restaurant. Very tasteful and simple. read more

Quite a depressing experience - food that we received was good, but the service was ABYSMAL, and they finally brought my entree after 45 minutes, and begging, and by that time, my family had all finished eating, and the waitress just threw it in front of me and ran away, without any apology or niceties. No manager on the premises, and they ran out of many ingredients. Very disappointing and aggravating. I left the place hungry :( read more

My wife and I had dinner at down to earth last night. I must say that the effort being put into this restaurant is resulting in an excellent experience. Food was great, service was excellent. Its great to have a healthy dinner with a very friendly atmosphere. I recommend the Market Salad with well done blackened Salmon. Try it you will love it!!! All the best. read more

I hate to give ANY place one star. It's not my nature, and it seems almost spiteful. If you don't have any thing nice to say, don't say it at all, right? I am sorry karma gods, but I just HAVE to say something about this place. My boyfriend and I decided to change things up a bit and try this restaurant. As a local, I had seen this restaurant around, but never had a chance to stop in and give it a try. The weather and our moods were sunny, but little did we know we were about to enter a cloud of DOOM. We were promptly seated, and I would say about 1/3-1/2 of the tables were filled. There seemed to be several waiters/waitresses working, as there was a table in the back of the restaurant designated to them to sit and text while they neglected their tables. We sat around for a solid 7 minutes browsing the menu before anybody came to ask what we wanted to drink. A waiter abruptly came and asked what we wanted to order, no mention of drinks. No problem. So we just asked for tap water. We ordered our meals, and I, being allergic to both dairy and garlic, asked if my meal could be made without garlic. Yes, the waiter said. Yes. Time goes by, no water in sight. The dehydration and irritation starts to kick in as seemingly every other table has a pitcher. Hey, whatever. Four or five waiters in a small, half-empty restaurant? I get it, whomever you are texting is really important! After a wait, we get our meals. MMMMM! Zucchini pasta with pesto, mushrooms, tomatoes, and about 3-4 small sticks of deeply deeply deeply fried tempeh. Was it even tempeh? Who knows. Portion? Decent. I swirl my fork and take a nice hearty bite of my pasta. Immediately, I tasted the garlic. I looked down to see large pieces of it throughout my dish. Fabulous! My cold bathroom floor won't be lonely tonight! I ask the nearest waitress to please return my dish and make me the same dish. She takes it, no problem, no sympathy. I had to convince my poor boyfriend to eat his meal without me, since mine took a solid 20 minutes to remake. They remove his plate before my meal is even brought out. At this point, we're pretty angry. No water, no food. Whatever. I take a few deeps breaths, and when my meal is brought out, I eat my soggy zucchini noodles and two sticks of deep fried mystery meat replacement. Finally, we are finished, and our initial waiter drops the check off at our table. I ask to please speak to the manager, who turns out to be a young lad sitting at another table chatting it up with his friends. Good business, am I right? He comes over, blank-faced, and I tell him that we were very disappointed with the service (I explained all of the above to him), and he says "okay i'll take off the service charge and discount your meal." Fine. That's agreeable. Although it BAFFLES me why this restaurant thinks they are entitled to have a service charge. Maybe its because the service is so pitiful that nobody ever wants to leave tips! He leaves, no apology or any sign of actually giving a shit, and returns with our discounted bill of...wait for it...5%! Five-percent? Oh, and the two deep fried pieces of tempeh or whatever it was cost 4 dollars. My boyfriend and I left the establishment, not angry, but just cracking up. Oh man, save yourself some money and go to Cave, or Kaya's or Seed to Sprout. read more

Second visit today--very pleased. This lunch was even better then the first, the waiter was more experienced and responsive. The honey mustard salmon special with garlic green beans and brown rice was delicious. The soup was a bit cool but, upon request, the waiter brought it back to the kitchen and it was blazing hot the second time. It's not the mistakes that matter--it's how you take corrective action that counts and I was impressed with that. Everyone seemed happy with their meals. Most of the tables were taken but they seemed to be keeping the patents happy and serving the meals in a timely manner. Definitely a good dairy , vegetarian experience with the usual kosher prices you'd expect. read more

Food here is very good. However, as with the prior restaurant, the service leaves much to be desired. Tables are not properly set for customers, the waitstaff (usually understaffed) is inattentive. Something is wrong in the kitchen, too, as appetizers take quite a while to be presented and the main course quickly follows. If this was not a kosher establishment, I'm not sure it would survive. In other words, with a scarcity of kosher establishments down the shore, places that would not survive in a competitive environment can squeak by. read more

Being vegan, its hard to find a good place to eat that I can also bring non-vegan friends and family to. Down to Earth is the answer! There are several really delicious pasta and fish options that will please an omnivores palate, as well as healthier fare, such as the "Macro Bowl". My personal favorite is the quinoa salad with tofu. The sauce is pure heaven! Another good option is the "Market Salad", made with olives and three different kinds of beans. Its a filling dish in itself.The decor is nice and the service is quick and courteous. read more

Kitchen is straight out of Gordon Ramsey's "Kitchen Nightmares" and not the end part. Food is mediocre, hardly kosher (if you don't tell em they won't know right??). oh and that 18% gratuity that you're forced to pay for your waiter/waitress? it doesn't even go to your server. the owner pockets it and the employees are paid crap. do not go to this restaurant. there are plenty of other edible Kosher restaurants on the jersey shore to go to. read more

Drove an hour to get here. Got here at 10:53. Place is closed and not opening for an hour. Unhappy disappointed kids and frustrated mother. Update your listing here and on google. read more

We love the food at Down to Earth. Whether we are ordering takeout to serve guests or eating in the restaurant, the food has been excellent. Everything is prepared to order and is made with fresh ingredients. Every time I serve the food from Down to Earth to my guests, they are blown away with the taste and quality. I have sent many friends to the restaurant and they have been pleased with the food and have returned again and again. The restaurant has sushi, fish, pasta and salads and more!!! read more

I Never post reviews but feel obligated in this case. l was here on a busy Sunday night with my family. The portions are not filling, the food is just average and the service is BAD! Hope you don't have to go to the bathroom because it is disgusting. Our waitress gave us attitude. They automatically include an 18% gratuity in your bill regardless of the size of your party . . Beware! read more