Aurora's Westside — Restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie

Coming home for a visit during Christmas to the Sault, I had a craving for pizza!! It’s only fitting my first restaurant review in Sault Ste. Marie goes to the place that inspired pizza in this Northern Ontario town.

My family has a history with the Aurora’s restaurant going back to the location on McNabb Street. What I remember of the Sault Aurora’s Restaurant, it originated with Aurora Butkovich, (nee Gasse) who was known around town in the 80’s and 90’s as the “Pizza Queen”. 🍕👑

Her recipe gave rise to many other pizzerias in the area, but the original has remained a steadfast staple in the community for decades. Our pizza tonight did not disappoint. From placing the order with Kayla to the friendly delivery person who delivered our crave-satisfying ‘Za’ … Aurora’s delivered the best pizza I have had in years!

We ordered a large Hawaiian, Pepperoni and a personal size chicken Alfredo pizza .. all three were next level. The cheese and pepperoni were bountiful and flavourful … the crust was tasty and held the pie perfectly!! 🍕🫶

My sister met her husband while working at Aurora’s almost 30 years ago … that’s Amore!! 🌔🍕 She also had the pleasure of working with Karen and Victor, who are the current owners of both the Hillside and Westside locations (along with their 3 sons … it’s a family affair ✨🎉). HUGE CONGRATULATIONS on maintaining the quality and flavour we have come to expect from Aurora’s Pizza! Bravissimo!!

My sister’s carousel horse pin (pictured) was the inspiration for the mould of the pin given to retirees. I also remember the beautiful Christmas decorations that use to adorn the McNabb location. The carousel horses were magical and I remember the train that was just out of reach but was definitely part of every child’s Christmas imagination.

There is no place like home - this has never been more true when you add pizza to the equation!! Thank you for satisfying my craving with authentic tasting pizza - it has remained the best for years - simply a must try when you come to the Sault!! Ciao...

First impression not great. I give 2 stars for ambience. We got there at around 9:25 and one blonde waitress in training didn't smile and looked unimpressed that we were there. I could tell she was training or very new because she was told by another waitress what to do. She took our drink order but seemed annoyed the whole time. I don't know why she seemed annoyed but I suspect she didn't like the time we came in. The place closes at 10:00 and if you don't want to serve customers past a certain time then just say so. Giving customers attitude for spending money in your restaurant and giving you tips is very ignorant. Luckily we had another waitress come over after who took our food order and she was much nicer and knows how to smile, a basic gesture that goes a long way with customers. The bratty attitude was annoying to begin with and then the pizza came and it was not great. The crust on the outside was very hard and dry, the toppings were undercooked and so was the dough on the inside. The Coke I ordered was flat. We also ordered the blueberry amaretto cheesecake which the desserts are supposed to be baked fresh daily by Karen and it was over $7.00 a slice which is a lot but we thought it may be good. It tasted stale and nothing like amaretto, more like salty cream cheese with some old blueberry topping. I wasn't impressed at all by the attitude of the young entitled waitress in training and the food so I won't be back. Too bad because the restaurant itself looks cozy and has potential but the food needs to be upgraded a lot and the servers should all be welcoming to...

You can ask any Sault Ste. Marie local where the best pizza in town comes from and they WILL tell you it's Aurora's. Whether you are eating in or taking out this italian style cuisine will have your mouth watering. If you ordered pizza, the second you open the box you will be satisfied. The toppings are always quite generous sometimes they are a little skimpy on the cheese or sauce but only on busy nights. One time I even got free extra toppings because it was the end of the night and I guess they would rather give me the extra instead of throwing it out or putting more away.

When you eat in the waitresses are awesome. There was only one time we had to wait longer than we should have, but they were under renovations at the time and because of that we were eating in a different part of the building than usual.

I have been eating their food my whole life and have nothing but good things to say. If you read my other reviews you'll know that it's not very often I give a...