It’s Valentine’s day once again, the day where F&B establishments serve only their festive set menu (at a not so normal price) and still gets fully booked.

My dinner date was at Aura, National Gallery of Singapore. This restaurant is known for it’s lovely ambiance and above average food. I’ve always loved il Lido (now shifted to Sofitel Sentosa [ex The Sentosa Resorts & Spa]) so I had confidence that the food here won’t disappoint me.

Neither did I select the restaurant nor had a clue what’s on the menu (in this case it’s the company > food that’s priority so I didn’t think about it) but it all turned out great, because the prix fixe 4 course (+ coffee & tea) menu happened to have all the ingredients I personally love! at $118++/pax, it wasn’t as overpriced as I thought it might me. Some restaurants can charge over $300/pax for this day so $118++ is really reasonable. It’s even more reasonable considering that premium ingredients were used for the dishes! The usual day 4 course set dinner would be $68++ but I doubt you’ll get similar ingredients.

For a day like this, it’s best to serve dishes which are crowd pleasers instead of being experimental because you can only have one menu and not everybody is going to like it. At least please the majority. I suppose the majority of people would be like us, clueless about the menu and the prices because somehow nothing was published online. I’m glad that it turned out to be a pleasant surprise, not a rude shock.

The restaurant is really big and covers 2 levels – with main restaurant below and a more casual looking bar above. I had my meal at the lower level (it doesn’t have windows facing out) and headed up for drinks after dinner. Best of both worlds. I have to mention though, the tables at the restaurant level are placed pretty close to each other. The meal becomes less private with the lack of personal space and this is not 100% ideal for a date. It would be better if the tables were spaced out more generously. This cost them -0.5 points from the ambiance score!

Roasted Foie Gras

My favourite! It was a very pleasant surprise to see foie gras served on the menu today and it was a big piece. The cooking was just right with the center soft.

Trofie Pasta with Lobster and Porcini Mushrooms

Lobster and porcini mushrooms are both my loves. I can’t decide which I love more. I’ve never seen such pasta before. It looks like random shapes of dough. The chunks of lobster here was generous and the sauce had rich crustacean taste. I left nothing on my plate.

Cod

The other option for main course was beef tenderloin and I had a hard time deciding. Both are things I love. Anyway this cod was just right. Nothing fancy but as good as roasted cod can be.

White Chocolate Fondant with Wild Strawberry Gelato

I like my desserts to be rich and heavy so this worked for me. The pink fruity companions of strawberry gelato, meringue and raspberry helped balanced out the texture and gives the overall presentation a sweet colour.

Such desserts are no fail and pretty so it will definitely please the crowd. Good selection, Aura!

Headed up to the bar and it was beautiful. Go only when the weather is nice and choose to sit outdoors. You’ll be greeted with an unblocked view of the bay and if you’re lucky like me, you’ll catch fireworks shooting off at the floating platform!

If you want the view, just come up for drinks. You can also choose to have your meal on the sky lounge level (they have indoor seats), so do specify during reservations. They sky lounge serves a different menu for weekday lunch (salad buffet at sky lounge, 3 course menu at restaurant) and weekend brunch (a la carte at sky lounge, 3 course menu at restaurant) though, and the opening hours are different.

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Ambiance: 9.5/10
Food: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Overall: The food is good but it’s the view that’s exceptional. 

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AURA Italian Restaurant & Sky Lounge
1 Saint Andrew’s Road
#05-03 National Gallery
Singapore 178957