Aura Restaurant & Lounge
(503) 597-2872
1022 W Burnside St
Portland,
OR
97205
45.5203
-122.6915
Neighborhoods: Neighbors West - Northwest, Goose Hollow
What People Are Saying About Aura Restaurant & Lounge
The Editor
Contributor
Citysearch
In Short
U-shaped calfskin booths with fuzzy, rain-cloud gray seatbacks and wraparound curtains deck out the modern space. A sophisticated crowd stops in for dinner, but around 10pm, tattooed and pierced masses arrive for dancing. The dinner menu is full of meat and seafood dishes, including blackened chicken, Greek swordfish skewers and hazelnut-crusted halibut. Vegetarians will enjoy the wild mushroom ravioli and the Creole mac and cheese.
User Reviews
humblecritic
June 21, 2009
You will be waiting in line for a while. The bouncers will move their friends from the back of the line to the front of the line, regardless of how long you and everyone else has been waiting. Pretty blondes who show enough skin will be given tickets that allow them to bypass the line entirely and go straight into the club. How's that for fair? The DJ was the worst ever. Dancing to the music was impossible. Imagine taking a decent playlist and setting your player to track forward 30 seconds into every song. Try that at your next party and see how it goes over. The DJ absolutely loved the sound of his own voice and spent more time yelling into the mic than actually mixing his music into anything danceable. While the bartenders were nice and the beers were what one would expect, the rest of the experience was frustrating and low class. I will not be going back.
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Tinkermo
March 24, 2009
I visited Aura on Saturday Night 3/21 with about 10 friends some from town, and others were visiting for the Final Four tournament. We were just stopping in for drinks at around 11PM. I was surprised to find the bar not very busy, and we were able to belly up with about half of our group, the other half stood behind the barstools. The bartender was incredibly rude, and non-attentive. When asked what was on tap, he threw a menu at the gentleman who asked (he was standing behind the ladies sitting at the bar). The Menu struck one of the women in the face. Now I understand if you have 10 or so beers on tap, you don't want to have to repeat yourself multiple times, however they had 3 on tap, yes beer a, beer b, and beer c. After throwing the menu, the bartender did not apologize, nor did he acknowledge what had just happened when I asked him to be a bit more polite, he just walked away. We did not get his attention again for at least 10 minutes, and did I mention the bar was not busy. There were several other things that happened in the half hour we were there that were on a similar vain. I don't think we will be returning. I have never written a bad review about a restaraunt on any website until now. I usually believe a place deserves a second, and sometimes a third chance. However in this case, the experience was so poor, I felt compelled to share.
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pdxguy99
February 03, 2009
I was going to write a review about Aura, but instead... Honestly? I have been to a lot of bars and clubs downtown and I have had my fare share of problems, usually my own fault cause I've been drinking lol. On the other hand, some places have horrible management and customer service. I wasn't there pdxgrl, but are you seriously trying to place blame for you loosing your own stuff? You are an adult, at a bar, and drinking! Are you sure you weren't given your number, or what ever you get at the coat check? Or did you just drop it on the dance floor or leave it at your table? Seriously, what did you want management to do for you? Give me a break. Grow up and take responsibility for your own actions. Did you expect the manager to hold your hand and walk you home while they were busy babysitting hundreds of other drunks?
read full reviewThe Details on Aura Restaurant & Lounge
What to Drink:
House drinks are color-coded from red to brown. Purple is a complex mix of raspberry vodka, grape juice, lavender and essence of lime.
When to Go:
Saturdays (the only night there's a cover to dance) arrive for dinner by 9pm and skip the $8 cover.
Know Before You Go:
Dinner is offered from 5pm to 10pm with a late dinner from 10pm to close.
Happy Hour:
Tue-Thu 10pm-1am there are $3 food and drink specials, and daily from 4:30pm-6:30pm there are $3 food specials.
Category:
Bars & Clubs, Restaurants, Singles Bars, Bars & Pubs
Payment Methods:
American Express, Visa, MasterCard
Bar & Pub Special Features:
Bar & Club Type of Music:
DJ - Techno, DJ - Rock, Techno & Industrial, DJ - Electronica, Hip-Hop & Rap, Rock & Pop, Electronica, DJ - Rap, DJ - House
Smoking Permitted:
No
