Dined on October 31, 2024
- Overall 1
- Food 5
- Service 1
- Ambience 1
This was unlike any experience I've ever had at a Michelin starred restaurant. From the beginning the evening was flawed. Starting with the fact that our reservation was not greeted and (not knowing the venue) we wandered into the dining area where we were awkwardly turned away.
Before I review the dining experience, I again extend my sincerest complements to the chef and their team. The exceptional aspect of our evening was the plating and taste of the food.
The most significant flaw centered on the wine paring. The curated wine paring, which was available at the time of our reservation, wasn't offered with dinner but a "special" pairing was. We wanted the full degustation and wine experience, but what we didn't expect were the fair pairings (at ~$500pp) and the sales pitch. I'd put the first bite of an amuse bouche in my mouth when the pitch started and lasted over 5 minutes. She just kept talking - seemingly unaware that we'd just been served. Where we started our experience uncomfortably, this set the tone for the remainder of the dinner. Add to this that the server seemed to be having an off night, the pacing was off (next course before current course was finished), the overall ambience was off, and we were reminded on more than one occasion that we could purchase bottles of wine for a special price. There were other details that were incongruent with an exceptional dining experience, including the lack of attention to service detail and the overall frenetic/ disorganized feeling of the room that was a distraction.
Based on our experience, I cannot recommend Auro as a guaranteed idyllic or special experience. Maybe this was an off night? Unfortunately, I don't want to spend another two grand on a dinner do-over to find out.
I am sorry that I was unable to leave a good review and I hope that the quirks of our evening are not the experience of other diners.
