Arugula Bistro & Bar — Restaurant in West Hartford

I consider myself a foodie and love trying out new places so when a friend suggested happy hour at Arugula for our book club we were all in. It started off well enough, we sat outside and ordered our apps and drinks, I brought my dog our server was nice enough to bring my dog water in a bowl unprompted. I was enjoying my brussel sprouts and casually looking over the menu when the server returned to get orders from the rest of the party as they arrived. We were 5 people, only 2 tables including us were seated outside with multiple empty tables and so we thought letting our friend sit on our table by dragging an empty chair from an empty table would be fine. Oh. My. Heavens. Was it not. I preface this by saying, I work in a service sector job and I understand dealing with people can be taxing a lot of times, but what happened next was unbelievable. Our friend said that our server had asked her to leave since she wasnt allowed to move chairs. We had not heard her and so were surprised and thought hey maybe we can be moved to the other empty corner. We were chatting when this lady comes out, extremely upset at us and starts yelling and gestoculating, unprompted, 'you were told you had to leave in 90 minutes, you are not allowed to move chairs, NEVER move one of my chairs again. I have reservations for all these chairs later and you cannot have it'. At this point, we had not been there 90 minutes. Our friend who first got there said she didn't hear them say 90 minutes and then this lady really went off and said yes, yes you were, I was there. With her volume rising every second. I've never been humiliated in a restaurant like that before. One of our group said um excuse me and this lady legit walked back and said NO, NO EXCUSE ME. A part of my was afraid that we'd have to duel at the outskirts of town at dawn or something. We asked the other table's server for our check , paid and left. He was extremely nice and apologetic and the other table next to us also were uncomfortably laughing at what had happened to us. Then. I kid you not. This lady who had JUST picked up take out from the restaurant walked up to us and asked if the owner had been rude to us, and we said yes and she said something similar had happened to her 5 years ago and so she stopped coming for the longest time, only to give them another chance today of all days. Our poor fifth friend had already left and got us a table at bartaco. The tone was hostile, threatening, unnecessarily aggressive and almost unreasonable. There were like 6-8 tables around us, only 2 were occupied. The brussel sprouts were great but damn, have some humanity...

The comment box here encourages the customer to "Describe your experience".

I have dined in places from Sydney, Australia and Tokyo, Japan to Brussells, Belgium & Paris, France. I have encountered many different styles and types of foods as varied in quality and intensity as their staff and location. I had never had Mediterranean and I was looking forward to my first experience. The Host permitted myself and my date 3 minutes before opening. A pleasant surprise as most American restaurants seem to dread opening their doors. The owner was just entering the kitchen with a hand full of fresh Cilantro which she playfully offered to us. We playfully declined to which she playfully replied, "Then get out!"

The service was excellent. The food, music, decor and ambiance were perfect. We started with a serving of warm bread with olive oil. Just as we finished them our Falafel appetizer arrived followed by our main course. (All well timed) I had the Sausage and Blue Cheese Flat Bread. My date had the Pumpkin Ravioli with Caramalized Onion. The blends of flavor were balanced superbly. My date and I are of a routinely Organic-Only diet and rarely dine out as most foods in most establishments don't often use the best ingredients. And this inevitably leads to expected indigestion for us.

No such issue at Arugula. My only regret is that I failed to leave adequate room for dessert as the reviews below make me wish I had. This location embodies the essence of what one could expect from international experiences. Treat your staff as you would treat good friends and family and you will be rewarded with the memories you walked in hoping to find.

"Iontaobhas sa Taithí"

Thank you Arugula. We will...

I'd been meaning to try Arugula for years, because I'd always heard good things. A recent write-up on the WHSquared site (for those who are not familiar with it, there's an app called WHSquared - stands for "What's Happenin' West Hartford" - that is FANTASTIC. You download the app to your phone and have tons of information about West Hartford restaurants and events and happy hours readily available - highly recommend it!) featured Arugula and reminded me I needed to try it.

We ate with two friends, and we were seated at a gorgeous table at a front window. Steve, our waiter, was cheerful and very knowledgeable about everything on the menu. My husband ordered the featured special flatbread, with a salad. I ordered a kale and brussel sprout salad with blackened salmon. Our friends​ ordered a salad with calamari and the Atlantic salmon entrée.

The fresh baked bread, like mini baguettes, were still warm when they arrived promptly at the table. Delicious in the EVOO. The salads were ultra fresh and delicious. The salmon was perfectly cooked, blackened and (not too salty) seasoned with medium-rare middle (my friend's was perfectly medium). The flatbread, with arugula and hot cherry peppers, was really incredible. NOT PIZZA. Not trying to be pizza, at all. It was so delicious, bread was wafer thin and not charred.

I can't wait to go back. The selection of mezze plates and flatbreads and entrees made it very hard to choose. So many good options! Did I mention Wednesdays they have 40% off select...