Reviews for Cafe Aura in Manchester, CT

From the front door greeting to the "please drive safely" at the end of the dinner everything was top notch. The Minestrone... soup was fantastic. You were left to add salt and pepper to your taste. The Arancini was fantastic, I would have liked alittle bit more crisp on the outside. The lobster gnocchi was great, at first my wife wasn't sure she had been served enough;however, the thick rolled gnocchi were more than satisfying. I opted for the Risotto of the day, today it was a Saffron Risottowith a Veal ossobuco. Flavorful and we'll enough veal to make even the largest of appetites not go home hungry. Read more

I wish I could give this outstanding restaurant 100 stars. Have you ever eaten somewhere so phenomenal and delicious that you... actually felt more and more sad as the meal went on because you live hundreds of miles of away and can’t eat there all thetime? We were in route to Boston and running late to our reservation, unsure on what time we would make it. We called to makesure it would be alright to arrive a little late. The kind lady who answered was so sweet and assured us not to rush, just besure and drive safely, she would keep our table open no matter what. She was just as delightful when we arrived and was happy wehad found our way and made it safely. Then our lovely server appeared. Kelly was so full of spunk, warm and friendly as well.She helped make some suggestions as the menu was full of variety that we were having trouble deciding. I started with the bestcreated cocktail I’ve had in a while (Fig Martini). I tried to glean the recipe from her, as it was so remarkable. My husbandalways chooses meatballs for a starter. I’m usually not a big meatball fan, but these were the best I’ve had. I wanted myfair share of them and that phenomenal sauce. Meanwhile, he normally won’t touch the bread that is brought to the table, buthe also wanted his share of that. Then we shared a watermelon salad that was so refreshing with an amazing flavor profile. Ourmain courses were also out of this world delicious, not to mention beautifully presented. My husband said it was maybe the bestpiece of fish he’s ever had. Along the way the manager came and spoke with us and was so very friendly and engaging. We wereasking about the history of the restaurant and he informed my sports obsessed husband of who the celebrity owner was, that was areal fun fact for him! I wasn’t aware of that name, but as soon as we got in the car he made sure and find me some clips tolisten to. Ha. After the manager checked in on us, the chef came over as well to see if we enjoyed everything. Read more

Great environment and customer service! Next time will not order any side dishes due to double piggy-back (veggie) serving from... the main course meal. Overall the Cafe Aura experience was wonderful! Read more

(Last visited 9/23/2021.) A friend of ours highly recommended this place to us so we had to check it out! It's owned by Geno... Auriemma who is the basketball coach of the Women's U-Conn basketball teams. How cool is that?! So of course it adds a coolnessfactor to this place. Let's see how it went! Atmosphere/Appearance: Set outside of "downtown" Manchester on East Center Streetis this gem. There is some private parking right behind the building, but of course there's some street parking scatteredaround. Once inside the restaurant you're just... relaxed. The vibe is SO CHILL, low-key, slow-pace and subtle. It makes youjust wanna breathe easy and breathe deep. I loved the atmosphere. The restaurant felt very open as well and we hung out by thebar to take advantage of happy hour. Service: Kimberly took great care of us. We had no complaints. Food: We came for happyhour so we stuck tightly to that menu. I had an order of their happy hour shrimp tacos and they were pretty decent! They comewith sauteed shrimp, tomatoes, cilantro, leafy greens, onions and a zesty sauce to pour on top. I also had an order of theirhappy hour kettle chips which were thinly sliced potato chips covered in a deliciously cheesy light sauce. These were EXCELLENT.I loved how the chips worked so well and had a nice crunch to them. Value: My 2 happy hour tacos were $8.00. Not a bad value,but that's about the price of shrimp tacos at a Mexican spot that's not on happy hour. Lol. My kettle chips were $6.00. Thosewere pricy, but I'm sure it's the cheese sauce that upped the price of this appetizer. In conclusion, this place was cool, butI don't see myself returning. I don't have a real reason to not return, it just doesn't draw me back. You know? It felt a little"too mature" for me. Lol. Does that make sense? No worries, this place is good, just come prepared to spend and you'll honestlyget what you've paid for. Solid food. If you made it this far in the review, I appreciate you readi Read more

We had dinner here. Nice atmosphere. The entire staff was friendly and attentive. Our food was delicious. Plenty of choices for... food and a full bar menu. A good amount of seating and you can always eat at the bar. We didn’t feel rushed and had a reallygood experience. There’s both street parking and parking lot next to the restaurant. A+ Read more

I'm not one for negative reviews but here I am. I honestly had high hopes for this restaurant and had the worse experience I've... ever had in such a long time. I went for valentines day and the waiter didn't know the menu!??? " I didn't look it over" when weasked what certain things were. The table next to us we overheard asked the same question and he took the time to go an ask andanswer them with a swift response. When we would ask for something he kept telling us "take your time" .....which I felt was sorude. The food came out and with the amount of money I've spent it just wasn't good at all! The chicken parm looked like onehuge flat no flavor pancake. The Burrata cheese was okay probably the best thing paired with the bread. But honestly I'd neverrecommend this place nor would I ever come back. I'd rather go to Max's play less get way better food and service. Therestaurant itself is beautiful but is ruined by everything else. Hope this helps Read more

Nice place for a night out! The food was very good, I had the surf and turf -lamb with crab cake, and my husband had the rack of... lamb. Highly recommend the tuna tartar. The service was good, and the ambiance was very refreshing. There was a private eventgoing on downstairs and we took a peek to see the arrangements, it seemed like a great place for an event. Read more

We went out for a very early dinner before the crowds got there (covid concerns in mind) and had a delicious dining experience.... The octopus and 3 beet salad appetizers were delicious. We both opted for the off menu specials. I had the pink snapper withshelfish, and she had the pork chop special that she couldn't finish. Both were amazing dishes ????. Read more