Aura — Restaurant in Toronto

I read an article on Narcity and was moved by the story of these two brothers and their dream of a restaurant and how the pandemic affected their plans and delayed the start. So, although far away from us, we decided to give it a try for my husband's birthday. I sent them an email a week before to book a table for 4 and they warned me it could not be at the patio as there would be live music so it had to be inside, I thought nice that they communicate that. We went there and were seated. No vax proof required to anyone entering the place, which is small. No masking required when you leave the table either. After a long time of wait and me looking constantly at the bar, someone came to take the order - four cocktails and appetizers. The star I am giving is for their creativity with the drinks. Once the order was taken it took another 40 mins to come back and tell us that there was no lentil soup if our daughter could have the chickpea stew to which she agreed. Then after another long while, came back saying no calamari for our appetizer but eggplant instead, which was considered an upgrade (seriously?). Drinks came, being the waiter's first day, there was a bit of confusion on which cocktail was what, but we got that sorted out and said that it was fun and no problem at all.We agreed. After another long while the stew came. Spoon missing, no cutlery. Spoon came after a while; stew was absolutely cold. We called back. After yet another long while, stew came back, this time hot. Spoon missing. Another wait, spoon came. Then our appetizers came, fries were good. We got in 8.20 and were able to leave the place by 11.20. After a long while, they came to see if we wanted more drinks, we ordered a few more and we wanted to place the order for the food. By the way, as they warned us about the seating they should have warned us about the only 3 mains they had available; their website states differently with a variety of choices. Their excuse was the Halloween party for the next day! Finally someone took the order for mains....Another hour nothing, after which was husband asked, and they told us the kitchen was closed. At this point it was 11.15 pm, but they could prepare something for us. We pondered and decided to cancel, or it would be past midnight if we ever got the food. Clearly they took the order and forgot all about it.How can this happen? We asked for the bill which came fast...for the full amount. I was so upset -it was supposed to be a special night- that I never looked at it or wanted to take it with me to check. We still tipped, because we felt sorry for the waiter as he stated it was his first day. We were charged full amount, no consideration for all the time we stayed there waiting and waiting and being ignored about our order. Things happen, but this was the Murphy 's law applied to each single thing! Guys, if you want a bar then don't call it Aura Restaurant and post a full menu on your website. A place to forget if you are planning on having good service and good food. As stated cocktails are very creative, the rest, to be forgotten. We are not picky people, on the contrary, one of the reasons for going, was to support a small, starting business by two young people. Fiasco. Not worth the drive there, the hassle with traffic -we got stuck and I kept calling them updating them and asking to still hold our table- and not worth the...

Disclaimer - THIS PLACE IS NOT A RESTAURANT! It's a bar. Spirits, cocktails are the focus. Do not enter this place if you're hungry.

Drinks 5 out of 5 Food 2 out of 5 Service 3 out of 5 Atmosphere 3.5 out of 5

The drinks is insanely good, the bartender really knows his stuff. Very impressed. But I made the mistake of making dinner reservations here. The food is a total joke. If you want to spend $17 on four tiny crostinis that taste like melba toast with walnuts, cream cheese and honey (labelled Tapas)....you've found the spot. It's either so so bar food or incredibly bad apps that you could make at home for a few dollars...and they're just not Tapas..there is no Tapas menu. We ordered 4 dishes. The share plate was the only thing substantial, though pretty generic.

The service...they clearly forgot about my reservation prep wise, table was dirty, patio heaters were off, nothing was prepared...why even make a reservation? The server was like, 'why don't you guys sit inside?' I just rolled my eyes since I had been back and forth with the owner beforehand about their heated patio, about the fact we had to sit outside. Awkward (pandemic related) moment. The server didn't really know how to carry a tray, spilt drinks, didn't know the menu that well....if your menu selling prices are this high, then everything else has gotta fit the bill...kinda, right?

So my recommendation is...just eat before coming. The drinks are outstanding. Go for drinks, maybe get the share plate, and expect to pay high-ish prices for great cocktails and average service. Sit at the bar. Watch the mixology at play...Or you can eat, can spend $200 and leave...

Update: Arda from the restaurant reached out to me regarding my review. for which I was very thankful. I will hopefully be able to give this restaurant another try and hopefully have a better experience.

I don't think I have had a worse experience at a restaurant in Toronto (or really in the world). We had booked a table for 5 and 3 of us arrived first. The waiter kept coming over asking us if we were ready to order. The first time we ordered coffee/orange juice and said we were waiting for our friends. Then he kept coming over asking us if we were ready to order. Still waiting for our friends. Friends arrived and we ordered. The descriptions of the food was odd. I guess I was expecting more of a Mediterranean type dish but instead we got a slab of feta and some sliced turkey. It was like it was from a package at the grocery store. The bagel was unbelievably dry. My friends ordered orange juice and it came in coffee stained coffee mugs. And that was the end of the OJ as when I asked for a mimosa they were out out OJ. Then I asked for a caesar (the drink) he said they don't make caesars. It is a cocktail bar. Serving brunch. Wow. We also asked that they separate out the meet as there were a few vegans/vegetarians in the group. They did not and we had to ask them to re-serve that to us. Terrible service and even worse food. It saddens me when I try a new restaurant and the service/food is so terrible. I hope the owners see this and spend some time on their menu and training...