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Arugula
Category: Restaurants Mediterranean Mediterranean [Edit]
953 Farmington AveWest Hartford, CT 06107
(860) 561-4888
- Hours:
Tue-Sat 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Tue-Sat 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm
Sun 5 pm - 9 pm
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Intimate
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
27 reviews for Arugula
Review Highlights
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"Phenomenal flat bread with sauces/dressings." In 3 reviews -
"For my entree, I got the filet mignon of tuna." In 3 reviews -
"I had never tried tuna before and had a bite." In 5 reviews
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27 reviews in English
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Review from Emily C.
Besides my visit yesterday, I hadn't been to Arugula in years. My roommates and I used to go for each of our birthday meals - I don't know why I ever stopped! And thankfully now I live so much closer.
Arugula is a delight. AWESOME cheese selection and housemade charcuterie plate, gorgeous flatbreads (the duck confit is a favorite), and lovely desserts (think housemade donut bites dusted with cardamom cinnamon sugar served with white/dark chocolate ganache). Yesterday, I stopped in with two friends for a late lunch. It was a BEAUTIFUL sunny day in West Hartford center and they'd never been to Arugula. While we'd have loved to have outdoor seating, the food was enough of a draw.
I ordered a glass of chardonnay and a chicken shwarma wrap. Our server was efficient, pleasant, and attractive as hell (that certainly doesn't hurt) and the entire meal was just a joy. One friend enjoyed her Mediterranean cobb and the other LOVED the curried eggplant flatbread.
All in all, a fantastic experience. Granted, yes, the restaurant wasn't very busy at 3pm on a Saturday (kinda an off time) but I've always had good luck with the restaurant service. My only gripe is that there's no glass of wine option for less than $9. At least it's tasty wine! -
Review from Bimal K.
Overland Park, KS
3/12/2012
Amazing fresh salad! The seared ahi tuna was also cooked perfectly. The prices were reasonable for the quality of food and the service was excellent. What more could one ask for with their dining experience?
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Review from Nancy R.
Quincy, MA
2/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
Amazing cheese plate for an appetizer. We could have stopped with that. However, we did go all the way and get entres. Delicious. The meat is marinated to perfection. The ravioli was wonderful. Great service. We were too full for dessert. Must try again for dessert. :)
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Review from Lisa B.
Canton, CT
1/30/2012
I love this restaurant!!! The food is consistently good and quite interesting. Everything is extremely fresh and prepared and presented nicely. I was there for lunch last week and had the asparagus and crab fritatta which was delicious. This is definitely a place to check out; you won't be sorry you did.
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Review from Sandra C.
Foodies of Central CT unite. The mother ship has been found! :))
Best food in West Hartford I ever had. Will most definitely be coming back.
Friday and Saturday nights are so in demand at this place that you can only reserve for a maximum of four people. I went with a small group of friends and immediately loved the decor inside. It was so cozy and intimate. We watched quite a few couples with no reservations come and have to come back later. It appears that this is a very romantic place for people.
The food was outstanding. I got the moules et frites and my friends got the tuna filet mignon. All entrees were superlative. I had never tried tuna before and had a bite...I was very impressed. My friends who ordered the tuna said that the staff knew what they were doing because they asked did they want their tuna rare or medium rare. Salads were large and delicious and the two deserts we got to share were delicious also. Overall an excellent dining experience and this is where I would go to impress someone special or go just to have a really really good meal.
And I cannot close out this review without mentioning the staff. We didn't have to pay extra for the comic relief of Mike our server. He's co-founder (shhhhh - he never let's on) and he was cracking jokes left and right. We were rolling in our seats holding our sides from hooting with laughter.
Want a convivial Cheers-like atmosphere with some darn good food and drinks? Check out Arugula. Maybe I'll be seeing you at the next table over. Bon appetit!
*** If you want to try restaurants on par with this fine establishment, try River Tavern in Chester, CT. I'm more than happy to recommend it here because they are no where near Arugula geographically but the food and service are top-notch. Again, bon appetit! *** -
Review from Aruna P.
Financial District, NY
4/4/2011
My first trip to West Hartford from Manhattan, and I was incredibly impressed by the food here!
MUST try:
Warm roasted eggplant & wonton "napoleon" - if you love eggplant and feta and any type of layered dish, you will find this amazing. It's really a well-combined mediterranean appetizer dish. It's fairly large and can be shared by 2 to 4 people easily.
Banana chocolate phyllo dessert - it said on the menu that it takes 15 mins extra to prepare, and it is totally worth the wait. Two large triangles of warm chocolate banana cakey-mush covered with light flakey phyllo dough ..... if you are a chocolate or general sweet tooth person, I highly recommend this.
Other than that, I also got to try the grilled calamari from the appetizer list. Large grilled calamari pieces with a flavorful dessert...you must like olive oil to enjoy this. For my entree, I got the filet mignon of tuna. I liked the tuna itself, but it came with a bit too much sauce/gravy that it was sitting in. I would have liked this plain and with the sauce on the side.
Regardless, the food was all large portions and well-prepared. We had a bottle of oregon red wine which went perfectly. It's a quieter restaurant scene, with no separate bar, and perfect for a couple or a small group looking to catch up. -
Review from Wendy G.
West Hartford, CT
12/21/2011
This is a lovely choice for lunch with a girlfriend. I LOVE the food... The charming look of the small dining room with a great view of the West Hartford Holiday Shoppers outside... And I'm a big fan of their unusual tea flavors and tea pot presentation. This is a winning choice for me.
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Review from Liz E.
Jamaica Plain, MA
7/30/2011
I loved Arugula. What a delicious dinner we had here!
We started with a great bottle of Rose, nicely recommended by our waiter. For an appetizer, we split the grilled halloumi/watermelon and it was delicious. The cheese and watermelon were perfect together. There were some roasted tomatoes on the plate which were good, but the consensus at the table was that it didn't really do much for the dish.
I ordered the falafel appetizer for my entree. It was great falafel, very flavorful and accompanied by a tomato/cuke salad, some flatbread with something delicious spread on it (I have NO IDEA what it was), and olives. It was perfect for a light entree. Also at the table for entrees: the couscous/chicken/veggie dish, which was so flavorful, colorful, and delicious. The pizza. THE PIZZA. We had the duck and chorizo pizza. I would drive from Boston to West Hartford to eat that pizza. It was aMAzing. -
Review from Taryn M.
11/8/2010
Very quaint, romantic kind of atmosphere, great feeling aura. It took the waiter a long time to come over to our table at first, but it gave us time to look over the amazing menu. After that he was quite on the ball, very polite and not too pushy, which is important.
The duck confit & chorizo flatbread was absolutely delicious, as was the escargot appetizer. Can't wait to go back to try another one of their delicious sounded flatbreads! One of their specialty desserts was a pumpkin creme brulee, but I was too full after dinner to partake. I will definitely return. -
Review from Patrick B.
Marlton, NJ
7/29/2011
Whoa! I love this place. Easily my favorite West Hartford restaurant (with the (max burger is a close second). Bottom line, the duck is the best around - it's my favorite dish in all of connecticut. the pollenta is pretty good too. cool ambiance, love it.
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Review from Ellen E.
West Hartford, CT
11/4/2011
Loved it! A late dinner. We had the bistro steak and pumpkin ravioli and the malted milk ball creme brûlée. Each bite a wonder. Personable waitress and after the kitchen closed we ended up sitting and talking with the owner/chef and others-- one of the best dining out experiences in awhile...and we eat out a lot.
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Review from Danielle B.
Coraopolis, PA
6/14/2010 2 Check-ins Here
Food was amazing and worth 5 stars, but the service is a 2. The waitresses were overwhelmed and it took 20 min just for her to get my friend and I a bottle of wine. The wait would have been much less noticeable if the wine came quicker!!!
Food was worth the wait though - had the falafal with hummus added and the pita bread was grilled and mouth-watering!!!
Ambiance is very unique and perfect for West Hartford! -
Review from Arun C.
San Francisco, CA
7/27/2008
I haven't been here in years, but I remember having one of the most dense, rich, and decadent chocolate desserts I've ever had here. It looked like a brownie, but when I went to cut into it my fork was met with considerable resistance. Nice, I almost had to ask my friends to help me finish it. That doesn't happen too often.
The main course I had was a "filet mignon of tuna", and I remember enjoying it. Not as memorable as the dense-as-a-black-hole dessert, but well seared on the outside and raw in the middle. -
Review from Eli Z.
Meriden, CT
7/11/2010
Made a return trip to Arugula last nite after a couple years. So sorry we waited this long! Food was amazing. Fresh bread and oil to start off was good. We split the Moules et frites and they were the best interpretation we have ever had. Mussels steamed with tomatoes, curry, black olives & onion marmalade, served with sweet potato fries & saffron-tarragon mayonnaise. I would go back again and again just for these mussels. After we tried to split the Wild Mushroom flat bread but our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. It was amazing and I'm glad I brought the rest home. Wild mushrooms, onion marmalade, mushroom duxelles, shiitake, portobello, blue cheese & asiago,
finished w/ truffle vinaigrette & baby arugula. Every flavor played so well against each other. Great combination. A nice bottle of Dolcetto D' Alba and it was a perfect nite. Looking forward to the next time. -
Review from Ann T.
7/2/2010
I ate here for lunch last summer and have wanted to go back but my husband read the reviews and was put off by the bad reviews for service. It was my birthday last night so he acquiesced. We arrived 30 minutes early but were seated immediately. The hostess promptly poured water and the waiter was over in minutes to take our drink order. Everyone was friendly and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Service remained good throughout the evening.
They have a good beer menu with three selections on tap, and we both ordered the Kona Fire Rock Pale Ale (delicious!). We split the Kofta (lamb meatballs with three sauces, grilled pita, salad of cucumber, feta, tomatoes, and radishes. The dish was very good (especially the sauces) but the meatballs were a bit dry. The last time I had them they were perfect, so I would try them again.
My husband had the tuna with sauteed spinach and roasted tomatoes. He really liked it but could not finish because he was full. I'm not sure an appetizer is necessary considering the portion sizes.
I had the Duck confit & chorizo sausage flat bread which had onion marmalade, smoked mozzeralla, chorizo sausage & mushroom, baked & finished with duck confit & frisee dressed in a truffle vinaigrette (copied that from their website). I cannot stand the smell of truffle oil and they willingly left it off. It was excellent! It was too big to finish so I brought at least half of it home. I will definitely be back! -
Review from Jillian C.
West Hartford, CT
6/29/2011
The food may be enjoyable, but the service is atrocious. We came on an evening where something was obviously amiss in the restaurant (who knows what; no explanation was offered to us), but the rude behavior of the owner/manager was really inexcusable. If you are going to have a restaurant in the center, decent food is not enough. Good service and ambiance are vital and Arugula has neither. The experience was actually so terrible that, every time I drive by, I think "ughh, I hate Arugula." You will be much better off at Bricco, Treva, Barcelona or Oyster Bar.
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Review from Stephano G.
Portland, OR
11/14/2009
The only thing better than the food here is the show in the kitchen. I recommend going on a night that is insanely busy. With any luck, you're in for a show.
Either way you've got the food. Unique stuff. The wine and beer menu used to be amazing, but I haven't been there in ages so it may have changed. -
Review from Ph B.
West Hartford, CT
1/23/2011
The food is quite good, the ambience is very nice especially if you get the table by the window and then can watch the world (or what passes for that in West Hartford) pass by. The downside is that the service can be very slow though friendly, Doesn't seem to depend on how crowded it it.
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Review from Peter D.
New Port Richey, FL
8/12/2010 2 Check-ins Here
There have been some mixed reviews on here but I noticed thy nobody really complained about the food so I decided to give it a try. This is a nice little Mediterranean restaurant right in the center of the trendy West Hartford strip. The ambiance was comfortable and the wait staff were friendly and timely. The food was great! I had the sushi-grade tuna mignon. It was excellently prepared rare. My better-half once again out ordered me and had the Israeli Couscous. This was couscous tossed with chicken, eggplant, and other veggies mixed with a curry powder flavor. It was so good I eagerly waited for her to hit her usual half-serving "I'm full" and traded her plates! This is a good choice for a nice evening out in West Hartford. I look forward to going back so I can get my own couscous and to see what else she orders off the menu!
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Review from G M.
Fairport, NY
Updated - 4/23/2011
Another successful dinner last night. As always nice cozy ambiance.
We had rosemary polenta for appetizer. It was very flavorful and the sauce was especially very delicious. I was sopping up the leftovers with the nice soft bread. The appetizer was big enough for three of us there. The balance of flavors was just amazing.
We ordered a wild mushroom flatbred and the Pate Rillette and confit. The flatbread was to die for and the duck confit was done just right.
We had hand made donut nibs with chocolate ganache for dessert. All I can say that it was sugary goodness.
The service was great.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/10/2011
The food is really awesome. We discovered this place by accident. Just a small place on west… Read more »
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Review from Michele T.
Hartford, CT
8/16/2008
Very Good!
Will I go back?
Not for a while. Bit of a cramped dining area and Mediza is better, when craving that Mediterranean-fusion cuisine, on top of the fact I have so many more places To Try before returning. I also have a list of To Return places that are far better.
It was, as I said, very good.
#1 Excellent bread, (we had to ask for it otherwise we would have never known). It was even better than Cavey's French bread.
#2 Innovative and inspiring menu. I began with the Kofta, and had the Napoleon for my entree. The curry from the eggplant danced in my mouth. Phenomenal flat bread with sauces/dressings.
#3 Light flavor profile with the pumpkin sage and goat cheese ravioli that was the equivalent to the little black dress. Always a classic.
#4The slow motion spiritual moment occurred when I lifted that fork full of dried pear and white chocolate croissant bread pudding to my mouth and it penetrated my lips. Yes, I said penetrated because it was that good.
One negative- Our meals were swimming in pools of oil. I am familiar with the Mediterranean diet but this was an obscene use of EVOO.
I loved the wine list even though the quartino is a bit of a marketing scheme. The quartino allowed us to keep our drinking at a moderate pace.
Our server had a great attitude, but he wasn't around and we had to ask for that magnificent bread to be brought over after we saw our neighbors were given bread.
LBD classic quality, but you save the LBD when you run out of options. I haven't run out of options yet.Listed in: Top Restaurants
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Review from Luke D.
Plainsboro, NJ
10/3/2010
You have got to go here.
The ambiance is great. It feels like a really nice little cafe. The limited seating means that you can talk at a normal level; it's not too loud, and great for a group or romantic evening.
The food - ahhhh. Delicious. The menu is a great collection of different Mediterranean cuisine. From modern lasagna to traditional hummus and falafel, you will find something on the menu that you will like.
Unlike other reviews, the service is excellent, just the right level of attention. -
Review from Holly E.
Seattle, WA
4/12/2010
This is as good as it gets in West Hartford. Creative cuisine executed exquisitely, wonderful beer list, great servers. I've been here many times and have yet to have a bad experience. Their flatbreads (especially the fig and asparagus one) are really good if you want a cheap option (and available for take out as well!)
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Review from Amira A.
Santa Ana, CA
7/18/2010
I've only been here once but the experience was memorable. Their flatbreads are fantastic - flavorful and filling but still light. I didn't have any problems with the waitstaff. we were a party of 3 and our waiter gave us excellent food and drink recommendations. I'll definitely go again. Looking forward to trying their fruit and cheese tray.
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Review from Michael R.
Plainville, CT
12/7/2009
Arugula gets a corrent score of 4 for the food and a 2 for the service from me.
The decor of the restaurant is very pleasant with French/ Medditeranean pictures and accents. The dining area is small and the tables are pretty close together. It's comfortable when its not busy but cramped when capacity is filled.
On a very recent visit, my wife and I stopped in for a late lunch on the weekend after shopping, and we were very hungry. We were seated promptly, but waited about 15 minutes for the waitress to come by to place our order. She stopped by to ask if we wanted drinks early...then disappeared. It was after the lunch rush and she and another waiter only had to cover about 7-8 tables. About 10 minutes after we ordered, we asked for bread(we were starving at this point) which we were informed was an additional charge. Fine with us, but why do they have olive oil and plates on the table when you sit down if they don't plan on giving bread in the first place. Because they warm up the bread it took another 7-10 minutes for that to be brought over. Once it arrived, it was very good....warm, mini-baguettes with less outer crustiness.
Ten or 15 minutes after we finished the bread the sandwiches we ordered arrived. I had the chicken and prosciutto panino and my wife had the croquet of ham and fontina cheese. Both were accompanied with a side of field greens in a light coating of a slightly sweet vinaigrette dressing....pretty good. The chicken and prosciutto panino had very good grilled chicken flavors and the bread was toasty but still soft enough that it didn't scratch the inside of my mouth as I bit into it. Very good, though the prosciutto flavor never came through at all. My wife's ham and cheese croquette was like a baked ham and cheese sandwich on a soft bread. A pretty good combination of cheesiness to hamminess, easier to eat with a fork and knife since it's was very hot when it came to the table.
Overall the food was very good, but not spectacular. We noticed other tables waiting impatiently for their meals to arrive as well, and even though we waited about 40-45 minutes before getting our food, a table that was seated before us was still waiting for theirs. The waitress also handled the paying of the bill by not actually looking at us and barely acknowledging us as she said the obligatory "How was your meal?" and "Thank you for comming."
The restaurant is appealing enough in it's atmosphere and food that we will probably be back again to give it another shot. Sometimes you catch a waitress on a bad day or at a bad time....we won't let that tarnish our view of what appears to be a really good restaurant. There should be more restaurants like Arugula in the area.
Also... I don't know why, but it seemed like every customer that had to go to the restroom couldn't figure out if it was to the right through the kitchen or the left through the waiter station behind the curtain...it's to the left! -
Review from David S.
West Hartford, CT
Updated - 2/9/2011
as always, wonderful! if they have the banana-chocolate phyllo pastry for dessert then GET IT!
Listed in: Top Restaurants
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/17/2008
My wife and I love this restaurant. We need to eat there more often. If you love hamburgers, try… Read more »
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Review from Jennifer C.
Quincy, MA
11/4/2010
Divine, inspired food and excellent staff. I read other reviews before going here and was worried about the staffing issues. However, I've been there twice and had zero problems. I can't wait to go back. I recommend the Eggplant Napoleon appetizer and the Hangar steak with fries and truffle aoili. I'm salivating just thinking about it!
