Review Aura Waterfront Restaurant + Patio - Victoria

Skipped dinner, but wanted to share thoughts on happy hour. Opted for a change this New Year's and stayed at the Inn at Laurel instead of our usual Empress or Grand Pacific in Victoria. Explored the hotel bar—a chic, compact space with a gorgeous view of water and surroundings. The bartender's friendly service and skillful drink choices enhanced the experience. Overall, a charming spot to enjoy drinks and soak in the scenic views. Update 1/1/2024 We opted for breakfast before check-out and were delighted with the service, crafted our mimosas, and enjoyed delicious food. This place made our New Year complete!

Waterfront view, modern cuisine, knowledgeable waitstaff, pricey but worth the whole experience. It all started with the friendly, helpful hostess, then our waiter who took his time to explain everything. A very memorable evening! The beef shin was a bit spicy for our Midwest palates.

This place should definitely be rated higher. It was a 10/10 experience. All of the dishes were exquisite, each bite was an experience, and you could tell the chef designed and crafted the menu with incredible detail. One of the best fine dining meals I’ve had in a while. This dinner was better than my experience at the Fairmont Empress.

Impeccable! The food was superb, portions were fair and didn't take too long to prepare. We ordered the Fingerling Potatoes, the Farmhouse Chicken Breast and the Pot de Crème for dessert, besides the drink that we can't remember the name and is not pictured but it was also delicious. Staff was friendly and professional, making sure we had everything we needed without checking on us in any intrusive way. The view completed our 5-star experience. They also offered to turn on the heater and to bring us blankets in case we were cold as it was a cloudy Summer day. Music wasn't loud, and we just loved the calm vibe, far enough from Downtown that we wouldn't hear the street noise, but not too far that we wouldn't appreciate the harbour view. Definitely recommend!

The service here was excellent and they had a good happy hour menu. The atmosphere here was great and the location was beautiful. The food was a bit expensive and fancy for my taste but worth a visit at happy hour.

My parents and I enjoyed a lovely evening dinner here. Unique menus items. I had the oysters (amazing! Especially on buck-a-shuck!) and the salmon. The portions were just right, the salmon was smoky and the succotash it was served with was refreshing. My dad had the chicken and raved about it … my dad doesn’t typically rave about chicken. My mom had the burrata and the scallops. So tasty! The pot de crème was a lovely sweet bite to finish.

We had a beautiful dinner. Rob had the Ling Cod with clams and I had the Top Sirloin with bone marrow au jus with potato purée. Colleen, our server, made great suggestions for dinner. We stayed at Laurel Point Inn in The Arden Suite, it was fabulous. Great city and marina views and watching seaplanes land through out today.

Spent a lovely night with good friends/fellow chefs thanks to the aura for supplying a amazing dining experience. The food was some best I've ever had in my life. Especially the tuna and the pork belly. Muah 👌. The plates are were all small and shared between two people yet by the end I was stuffed despite a big appetite. To conclude, for the price of only 65$ per person and eating such delectable food till a full belly I'd definitely recommend either this menu or single plates off it.

It was such a peaceful experience eating with a sea view. We had brunch, which was chicken with waffles and eggs. The flavour in all the dishes was unreal, especially the soft texture of the waffles. We didn’t have a reservation but the staff was super nice and still gave us a view table. Couldn’t be any better. Big shoutout to Kaitlyn I believe, she was so friendly from saying hi to bye. She told us about the dishes and about places we could visit in Victoria while we were there. Overall, great staff and amazing food. On a side note, patio was closed when we visited so if you’re going to have a patio experience, just call the restaurant and confirm.

We chose Aura for this year’s “Victoria Dine Around Dinner”. Wow, simply the best food and experience. Of course the views and vibes at the restaurant are what you expect… sitting there makes you appreciate why Victoria is loved. Service was friendly and welcoming. Food was on another level, and the wine pairings were thoughtful and enjoyed. There is so much care, technique and experience put into the food. With that in mind, I think the prices are on the low side. Everywhere has increased their prices because of current issues surrounding operating restaurants in 2022 - so I feel you get quite a lot of value for their current pricing. It’s appreciated but understand if prices need to be adjusted.

Great Western omelette and Aura Benedict! We enjoyed our stay in the hotel as well as our breakfast at Aura waterfront restaurant. We were also with 3 toddlers and they were kept busy with the provided drawing supplies which was nice.

Would definitely give the overall High Tea experience at Aura a high score. The service was on point, the presentation beautiful, and the views are some of the best in the city. I also really loved the Japanese twist on most of the bites - starting with salmon aburi on an onikamiyaki pancake & a chicken katsu sandwich, ending with sesame tarts, matcha opera cake and more. But I did find myself wishing that all flavours were kicked up about two notches. Standouts we’re the glazed scone and katsu sandwich. Could live withouts include the pork bun, tamago sandwich and beets on a bun.

Excellent, top quality meals. This is the type of food and drink other restaurants should look to clear. The exec. chef is proud of his work, experimenting with food, and his best meals shine radiantly. David, our server, was polite, thoughtful, and took care of us well. The atmosphere of sharing the meals means everyone gets a taste and we loved every bite. Excellent view of the waterfront as well.

Awesome Awesome view, the hotel is beautiful and very clean. The staff very professional, friendly and helpful. The restaurant menu very sparse and limited. Had meals off property. Overall I had a beautiful relaxing stay. Will definitely come back.

The Aura benny taste really good! Didn’t expect the kimchi blend so well with hollandaise. With the view of inner harbor, peaceful dinning environment, and attentive service, really nice place for breakfast.

Food was really good and the views were spectacular! The staff were very friendly and attentive. My favorite bite was definitely the risotto, it was amazing! All the food was great to be honest and it's such a beautiful location. I would definitely recommend going

Food was absolutely delicious, view was top notch. For "tapas" small plates, the portion and pricing were very reasonable for the view and what we expect of a restaurant or this quality. The restaurant manager was very pleasant, sat us by the window with beautiful view and checked on us a few times. The proteins were all done perfectly, smoked tuna was fresh and the daikon complements it. Duck breast temperature was perfect and sauces paired elegantly with it. We particularly enjoyed the patata bravas, this is something so many places do but so little places stand out - this was fluffy with crisp skin and the mayo their paired with that was unique & flavorful. The food selection was rather limited for a tapas style restaurant, but everything was done very well. It was our honeymoon, so we got desserts on the house. It was a great gesture from the hotel and both tasted delightful. I would hope both would be properly plated, since the presentation didn't feel classy. A note on the service, I'm not sure if we actually look well below our age, we got the feeling that we were treated like teens eating at a restaurant too fancy for us. We dressed for the occasion, and didn't conduct ourselves inappropriately; but the server seems to prefer to speak as though we didn't know what "fancy words" mean when we asked for recommendations. It was our honeymoon, so it was natural we wanted to take pictures. The server never offered so we just took a selfie at our table. We figured the server didn't offer to help due to COVID, but she seemed a bit annoyed when she came to deliver us the food mid-picture. When I ate at similar restaurants in Toronto, usually we don't get an almost snobby vibe, so I feel the staff definitely needs better training to match the quality of the food and view. Other than the service, I would say this restaurant is definitely 5 stars and think this place is a steal for the price.

Highly recommend seating on the patio, where you can enjoy delicious food and a beautiful view simultaneously

Beyond expectations presentation uniqueness flavors and caring service a full 10 out of 10 spent the afternoon on the patio for my mom's 82nd birthday thankyou to Patrick for the wine guidance to a well priced beautiful pinot blanc and to Kate for your delicate perfect service. I have owed restaurants and done table side service at one the finest in Victoria which is sadly no longer with us Pablos we will be returning many times . Oh before I forget thankyou and hats off to the chef keep doing what your doing.

One of the best meals I've had in a while. Great view of the inner harbour. Some interesting food here. Just beware of the hoisin dumpling. Went well with the duck but exploded on me. Tragic as that was the manager quickly did what he could to make it better. I would definitely come back.

Booked for my parents 59th wedding anniversary and enjoyed everything. Wonderful view, friendly staff and the food was outstanding with incredible flavours, loved it.

The food was so sumptious. My compliments to the chef. Try their dishes and enjoy the flavors. I will definitely go back and try their new dishes on the menu.

Exceptional in every way. Made my birthday perfect! I would like give a special thank you to our amazing server Kate. She knew everythung about eveything on our plates. Outstanding service!

The service was excellent, plating was gorgeous, food was not so good. Had the duck and it was very chewy.

Wonderful food and service. They looked after our kids while still providing amazing, fine dining service. Perfect balance. Thanks Aura.