Aura Lounge — Restaurant in Clifton

We tried this place on 4/19 for my friends 30th birthday. She had made a reservation for 9:30pm.

First, parking is impossible. The lot is large but on a Saturday night, it was completely full. I Drove around the parking lot 3x before someone finally was leaving and I took their spot. This took me half hour. Street spots were full as well and were impossible to find. It’s not in the best part of Clifton so no way as a woman in heels by myself and I street parking far away and walking at night.

We went inside only to be left waiting ONE HOUR past our reservation time. They mentioned other people were occupying our table and hadn’t left yet. This is not our problem. Reservations are made for a reason. A time limit should be set on all tables if tables are overstaying when you have other reservations. Very unprofessional.

Oddly enough I had a friend come for a table of two a few weeks ago and they were told they had 2 hour time limit.

While we waited at reception, my friend who was celebrating her birthday got hit in the head by one of those fancy brown wall slats attached to the walls which obviously was not secured properly. That had already put the icing on the cake for us on how the night would go.

Finally we sat down. Our waiter (who we later found out was the manager) seemed to be the only waiter on the floor. Taking care of all the tables himself…….on a Saturday night. I’m sure you can imagine how that went. We were not asked if we wanted drinks and only half the tables app order was taken. I asked for a water 3x before I finally got it.

Our food came and it was just “ok”. Nothing to write home about. Our waiter didn’t come back to check on us after the food came out to see how we were doing. He didn’t come by to see if we needed more drinks etc. we had to call him over when we needed him. The courses came out quite slow and we were exhausted by the end of the evening ready to get out of there. For such an establishment on a Saturday night I cannot comprehend having one waiter and what seemed like 100 other people doing god knows what.

We were sent a cheesy pita which we didn’t order and at the end, we were charged for it also. Please check your bill if you do go.

This place seems very gimmicky. Very “look at this shiny cool stuff” . It seems geared towards millennials and Gen z who just go places to post on Instagram and show off. If you want to post cool pics on Instagram and show your friends how cool you are then ok but If you’re going for good food I would skip. Even the “happy birthday” they do where the waiters come out and sing is so extra for no reason. I get it’s a “lounge” also but if the music is so loud you cannot hear your waiter, that’s an issue.

The bathrooms were VERY dimly lit. No toilet paper in the stalls either. Paper towels very low. There should be someone checking this stuff on a Saturday night.

Also they say “dress code is enforced” on their Instagram bio but it’s almost impossible to find any info on what the dress code is. If you see some of the ridiculous outfits that came in those doors, you would know that there is no dress code.

After dinner, it took 40 minutes for us to get the check after we asked 3x. We just wanted to go home we were so tired at that point.

FYI they do not take AMEX and can only split the bill on 2 cards.

All in all, there is nothing “luxury” about this place as they claim unless you claim slapping some backdrops for pics and fancy dry ice to make drinks smoke as “luxury”. And maybe the prices could be considered luxury too cause we spent $60+ each and didn’t enjoy ourselves.

EDIT: As a reply to management regarding some of the points, a rude reply was unwarranted. Remember reviews are based on a customer’s own experience and should be taken as constructive criticism. Please take accountability instead of going on...

UPDATE: Thank you for your response. However, I find it quite inappropriate for you to claim that you are the best restaurant in the area—that is for customers to decide, not for you to declare. There is no need for such arrogance. Secondly, you seem to have misunderstood my point. I did not mention a service charge; I specifically referred to the tip. The receipt given to the customer clearly states "gratuity," not "service charge." Additionally, I pointed out that the steak I received was not the same as the one shown on your menu, yet you failed to provide any explanation for this discrepancy. If a dish does not match its advertised presentation, the customer deserves a clear response. Furthermore, please refrain from making assumptions about my intentions. I came to your restaurant with the hope of having an enjoyable experience, not with ill intent. Accusing a dissatisfied customer of bad faith is highly unprofessional and completely unnecessary. Lastly, I will soon send you a picture of a real Rib-eye steak so you can compare it with what was served to me. I would strongly advise you to reconsider how you respond to customers who leave negative feedback. Taking such a condescending and dismissive approach will not help you improve your service or reputation. A more professional and constructive response would serve you much better. --0----0--- Last evening, a friend and I visited Aura, a Turkish restaurant that we had high expectations for based on its advertisements. However, I would like to share a few observations from our experience.

First of all, the ambiance is beautiful. The seating arrangement and atmosphere are well-designed, creating a pleasant setting. However, I believe having hookah in such a place is a disadvantage. You end up eating your food surrounded by the strong smell of shisha. If this doesn’t bother you, then you might still enjoy the place.

Regarding the prices, I was quite surprised to see that a bottle of water costs $8.99 and a Turkish coffee is $5.99. While the restaurant does provide comfortable seating, that comfort is not free—you are already paying for it through the inflated food prices.

Another thing that caught my attention was the staff. It felt like there were more employees than customers, yet the service was far from smooth. While we were eating, the constant movement of staff running back and forth created a chaotic environment. It was hard to tell why they were in such a rush, and honestly, it was quite distracting.

Now, about the food… The Rib-eye steak was so thin that calling it a "steak" would be an exaggeration. We ordered it medium rare, but with that level of thickness, it was impossible for the steak to be cooked that way. Moreover, despite what was shown on the menu, it was not served on a wooden board but on a porcelain plate. On top of that, the meat was not the same as depicted in the menu—it was quite fatty on one side.

Finally, the issue with the payment… When I went to pay at the counter, I was given a receipt to sign. Since the tip section was left blank, I naturally added a tip before handing it back. However, when I checked the final receipt given to me, I realized that an 18% gratuity was already included—without any prior notice.

In conclusion, we came here expecting a delicious meal in a pleasant setting, but unfortunately, our expectations were not met. I do not plan on returning. If you care more about the quality of your food rather than the spectacle of its presentation, I suggest thinking twice before choosing such restaurants. Otherwise, you might end up paying for the show rather than the...

I wanted to update my review after receiving your response. Let me clarify: I have no reason to be biased or to leave a negative review just for the sake of it. My only intention is to enjoy my experience when I go out. The purpose of my review is to provide honest feedback — and hopefully see improvements — especially because your location is nice and well-situated in New Jersey.

I'm a customer, not a business owner. I gain nothing from writing a bad review unless I genuinely had a disappointing experience. Regarding the food, specifically the risotto and tagliatelle — I can say with confidence that I have expertise in Italian cuisine. If other customers had a different opinion or taste, that's completely valid, but so is mine.

In my previous visit, I didn’t have a good experience and shared that in my review. I wanted to update it, but apparently, Google requires the original version to remain unless I delete and rewrite it. As a business, I believe it’s important to accept constructive feedback. If I’m taking the time to leave a review, it’s because I care enough to share what could be improved — either for your benefit or to help future customers decide whether this place suits them.

This location is not family-friendly. I’m sorry, but the hookah smoke makes it extremely hard to breathe. I can’t even imagine how small children could be comfortable in that environment.

Please be objective — my feedback is based purely on my personal experience. Whether you choose to take it into consideration is up to you, but dismissing it as biased isn’t fair. This is a restaurant, and I’m simply sharing what I saw and felt as a paying customer.

I've been to many places and restaurants, and I honestly can't remember having such a disappointing experience anywhere else. It's clear that they've invested money into the place, which is fine. However, there used to be free parking, and now suddenly those spots have turned into valet parking, costing $15. It feels like they're trying to recoup their investment directly from customers — which I could overlook if the food and service were great, but unfortunately, they aren't.

I ordered the risotto and tagliatelle, and both dishes were far below average in taste — really disappointing. I also tried a baklava-style dessert, which was equally underwhelming.

Honestly, this place shouldn't even be considered a proper restaurant. The overall vibe is more like a bar or hookah lounge — definitely not a family-friendly or food-focused environment. While I did notice a slight improvement in service, it still doesn't make up for the poor food quality and the overall experience. This just isn't a place I would recommend for people who are looking for family friendly environment, or looking for nice good...