Arugula

Good food in a very competitive market, but overpriced and underserved. Staff was well intentioned but didn’t have requisite experience, and I’m always worried when an owner isn’t present. If they can up the service score we will consider a return visit

The food is terrible! My chicken murphy tasted like a bottle of BBQ sauce was dumped on top of it. It was a kind gesture to offer us a free dessert but it tasted like the reason it was free was because they had to empty out the fridge of old desserts (miscellaneous cakes and cookies on the bottom topped with ice cream, cereal, oh and a piece of plastic).

Looks are certainly deceiving in this quaint Jersey Shore Restaurant. Appetizers Burrata and Tuna Tartare were delicious!!! Chicken Parm, Mamma Maria, Healthy Chicken and Jumbalaya were outstanding!!! Amanda and Leanna were exceptionally attentive! Hidden gem!

Small place, horrible service, food was over cooked and very unusually prepared. One chef is the only guy to cook things correctly, George is a good guy and a decent cook but he needs to hire someone else who can cook as well.

Fabulous! First walking in, I got a cozy intimate feeling and my girlfriends and I were greeted with a smile. It was a birthday dinner and we couldn’t have been treated finer. Amanda, our waitress didn’t hesitate to get a feel for us and make the perfect recommendations. We decided to go family style and share everything. The food was a «Party in My Mouth»! Arugula, BRAVO!!! We will definitely be back!

Amazing! My Husband and I live around the corner and put off trying this place due to bad reviews. The reviews could not be so wrong! This is hands down the best restaurant in the area. We ordered the wings appetizer which was unreal… very different! The waitress suggested getting the wing sauce on the side and boy was that a good idea. The sauce was tangy with carrots in it… best sauce ever! Then the salad had an amazing chocolate balsamic vinaigrette dressing which was so different and delicious. I had a stir fry chicken teriyaki and my husband had the pork chop. Both were fantastic!!! Dessert was heaven… the homemade amareto ice cream was to die for and the coffee was unlike any other coffee I have ever tried! Only criticism is that whatever the. Restaurant was out of was covered with paper and scotch tape on the menu which was tacky but besides that everything was beyond delicious!

Service was wonderful and lunch delicious! Coconut Chicken Salad with mixed greens, walnuts, raisins, Apple, tomato with a lemon honey dressing.

I cannot believe a horrible experience we just had at Arugala on Bridge Avenue! Literally eight different lunch menu items that they were unable to cook for us because they didn’t have the ingredients. Follow that up with putting peanuts on my salad that was supposed to have walnuts and totally skipping the prosciutto on my cousin salad. My son is highly allergic to peanuts! Considering they didn’t have ground meat to make him a burger, I was about to share the chicken and apples on my salad with him. Thank God I saw it before I shared! I will never go into that restaurant again. The poor waitress was so flustered having to tell us they had nothing for us to eat. We were in the restaurant for over an hour and finally walked out hungry. What a shame! We will never go there again. Absolutely terrible!

If you’re looking for a great dinner in a casual environment it’s here. The food is excellent and the service is good. We’re here nearly every Friday to see the great entertainer Angelo and there’s plenty of tables. Come out, it’s worth it.

Let it be known this a review of the new location inside the White Sands hotel. It’s a small and intimate setting which is nice but they did not have the air conditioning on it seemed and it was a very humid night. They also had the balcony door slightly open and I was greeted twice by the same bug first in my hair then on my lap because of this. We had a very awkward waiter who appeared as if he had started working there yesterday. «We have a bar and you can get drinks» was how he approached asking us what we wanted to drink. We each ordered a glass of wine but had to ask for water later on. Then when explaining the special for the night he said «we have pork and it has like peppercorns on it» I’m not sure what was up with him but on to the food. We had the eggplant tower for an app. It was 3 thick pieces of breaded eggplant stacked on top of each other served parmigiana style. Very tasty. You get a house salad with every meal and one croûton-​like piece of bread on the side, no bread basket or even a roll. Kind of disappointing when you’re starving and the food takes quite a while to come out. For our dinners, I had the pasta with peas, tomatoes and onions. It was decent, had good flavor but the pasta was over cooked. My fiancé had the chicken parm and it was a very big portion of two pieces of chicken served over some spaghetti, which again, was over cooked. Overall it was a decent meal but nothing I would rave over or ever probably go back for.

The food was decent and simple. The chef is a complete jerk and rude. He made our party will very uncomfortable. His whole bio is on the front of the menu (tracky!!!). The slow cooked pork was only thing really good but I would never step back into this restaurant. Also bring your own salt if you like to season your own food, the chef claims his food does not need salt because he knows how to cook food correctly, talk about cocky!!!

We came to Arugula after reading positive reviews. It was a party of four for dinner in a Saturday night in April. While we were excited to try a new place and liked the byob aspect, unfortunately all of us were very disappointed in the terrible food and service, finding it to be dismal at best.
(My sister who can’t cook could have made a better meal! No joke!)
This was an epic fail on many levels and with all the food (apps, salads and entrees) EXCEPT the desserts –which were delicious and provided by a vendor.
The waitress did advise on multiple times that «all the good ingredients went to the sister restaurant on the beach»…so this place was left with lesser quality, imitation or completely absent ingredients altogether. I understand the other reviewer’s complaint about the food looking and tasting like dog food, we had the same experience. My mother’s veal dish was a dead ringer for pork, and it was presented in a gross olive green sauce of sorts. My sister had the jambalaya and it was gross… I suspect the guy cooking the food the night we went isn’t the guy who should be cooking the food. He clearly was in over his head — and we were practically the only table in the restaurant!
Hopefully a real chef will get in the kitchen and make proper food. Right now the only reason I’d go back is for the Limoncello cake or the Belgian chocolate pie — they were solid.
The wait staff is young, pleasant, immature and unaware of proper service, there was clearly no management present and it made for a very strange dinner at times. Suffice it to say that Arugula has a lot of work to do if it ever wants a repeat customer in the future.

Apparently they moved to the white sands hotel. very poor service, the only thing worse was the food.
I ordered the scallops appetizer the sauce was inspired but they served it with a bunch of stale burnt bread that was inedible.
I ordered the slow cooked pork, i was told it had won multiple awards so i has to try it.
the consistency was like dog food and it was cold in the middle, I sent it back to be heated and they microwaved it until it was hard as a rock. Needless to say I could not eat it. The waitress apologized but I still had to pay for it.
They also had live entertainment that was too loud for the small space to the point it was unbarable.
I hope they were just having a bad night but I doubt it.

Excellent food! Real nice menu selection. Fish was prepared well and not over cooked. Apps were bigger than we expected but great. Every course was delicious! Byob cod was made Portuguese style but not swimming in olive oil as many places do. Gem of a place.

Food is amazing and George the chef is a sweetheart with a big personality! Sometimes he even sits down at my table and talks with us as we eat. He is a true artist and is very passionate about his cooking! I give five stars

Terrible service, but food was good. It took 45 minutes to get our appetizers. Then our meals were served before we finished them and the waitress told us we were supposed to get salads but she would give them to us to go because our meals were ready first, never got the to go salads. Only about 7 tables, way too small, space way too tight, very unorganized. A shame because the food was good but probably won’t go back. :(

Love this place. It’s BYOB so thats a nice thing, but you could drive by it and not know it, but locals sure do. Tables are packed on the weekends so make a reservation.
George is a 1 man shop, so yes meals may take longer if its busy, but enjoy some drinks and your company and be prepared for a great meal. The beretta cheese appetizer is amazing! Never would have thought to use dark chocolate, onions, tomatoes and the cheese, but it works!
Cherry Pork and Mama Maria are my favorite two appetizers, but he always has great specials too.
Save room for dessert and the bread pudding! Just had the white chocolate bread pudding and its the best one yet. Amazing, love this place.

Doesn’t look like much from the outside but the food at this place is delicious! Definitely try the brazllian chicken wings as an appetizer and make sure there’s leftover bread so you can dip it in the sauce from the wings. To die for! For my dinner I had the peas in a pod. Simple dish however the flavors all blended together perfectly. The chef came out and made sure everyone was enjoying their meals and the waitresses were friendly and on top of everything. Will definitely be back for more!

Great addition to Point Pleasant Boro. Everyone in my party really liked it here. Go for the «Brazilian Wings» app (and be sure to dip some bread in the delicious sauce). Entrées were all great and service was friendly and attentive. Chef George is passionate about both his food and customers. The restaurant is small but also has a nice little outdoor seating area. Reservations are probably a good idea especially on weekends. I will definitely be back. BYOB.

Wow this guy is a joke, no salt for his customers, after asking him why he replied my food doesn’t need salt, then after insulting my mother telling her she smells like cigarettes from across the other side of the restaurant, I had to leave. Well worth the visit for the entertainment, take your boxing gloves. Hurry up he won’t be around for too much longer. Oh and as for the food, don’t bother bringing the salt, won’t make a bit of a difference! Terrible!!!