Beautiful restaurant, amazing ambiance right on the lake! ! Food was lovely and our server, Lucas was the best! My new, favorite restaurant! Highly recommend! read more

Absolutely amazing experience. The service, the view, and the food were all incredible. Everything was perfect, highly recommend.

Valet parking only. It's on Union Lake. Only bar seating, same high tops at least. Cassie is waiting on us. They do make their own dough for their pasta and pizzas. Ordered fritto misto less shrimp, Tartufo, patate fritte, corn dolce, Caesar less croutons, rustica salad with feta on the side, and chicken Marsala. $160.06 for our meal tonight. The salads and the fritto misto were out first. The Caesar dressing is quite good. Not a big salad though for $20. The rustica salad is just okay. Needs some dressing or something. The wine or olive oil was so slight. It's rather bland. The fritto misto is really good. Tomato garlic dipping sauce is yummy. The sweet corn reminds me of elote, it's good. The patate fritte is yummy. Addictive, a bit bigger than shoe string fries. So good. The chicken Marsala, sweet corn and the fries were out as round two. The chicken Marsala sauce is light and you can definitely taste the wine reduction in it, it's not bad. The chicken is flattened and thin, it's perfectly cooked. The staff is a bit anxious about cleaning off plates before you are done eating. We were full and done with all of our food and still no pizza yet. :( Last out is the mushroom pizza, there was a mix-up in the kitchen, supposedly. It has fresh small mushrooms, was thinking it would have been slices of fresh mushrooms. Dough isn't bad. Hint of truffle oil. Pizza wad so-so. Service was okay. Expected better service from the bar staff. read more

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This may have been my worst dining experience ever. To start off, I had a reservation that wasn't on time. The hostess sits us outside, as I requested and then said "oops it was meant for someone else" and moved us back inside. First low class, petty move. Then she gives 3 adults and one child, two children's menus. Next I'll focus on the few good things. Good drinks, good service and good calamari app. The good aspects end there. The arincini was awful, the bolognese my friend had was reportedly bad, my wife's fettuccini was bad, and my fruti di mare tasted liked seawater mixed with pasta. Lastly, even the cheese pizza and chicken tenders for the kids were truly terrible. How this is called Italian food is beyond me, especially for the outrageous prices for abysmal food. You don't even get bread?! Avoid at all costs unless you want to pay just to look at union lake. To make matters worse, they wouldn't even split the tab for two couples. read more

I had the pleasure of diving here for dinner recently and I was not disappointed! It's such a beautiful restaurant and I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can sit outside. It's a busy restaurant so please make a reservation in advance. They do offer valet as well. My waiter Morgan was phenomenal! I was in a time crunch and ensured my meal came out timely. I decided to order one of the evening specials, Braised Lamb over Pappardelle pasta. Ooooooooommyyyyy it was so good. I also ordered a side a Brussels and you can never go wrong with that! I'll be back Aurora!! And I'll take pics next time. read more

Exceptional. Can't put into words what a wonderful experience we had here. It's the perfect place to celebrate that special occasion. The interior is elegant and the ambiance magical. When you consider the incredible view, this becomes a most impressive Italian restaurant. Matthew's efforts were most appreciated. He did a fantastic job with our group of six. The level of service probably the best we've seen in Southeast Michigan. This is the last place that I'd expect to see a pass around or a community meal. But once I saw two people starting it, I immediately jumped in and shared everything in front of me. The tops were the Fettuccini Alfredo, Fruitti Di Mare and Rigatoni Al Bosco. Do yourself a favour and splurge on the Grilled Octopus in a cici bean purée. It's the best thing on the menu! A big thank you to our hosts, Jimmy and Rachel and all the good people at Atlantic records. True class unveiled! 08/25 read more

We brought our mom here for her birthday, but unfortunately, the experience was incredibly disappointing. We had a 4 PM reservation for 4 and requested outdoor seating. Despite planning to order a large amount of food and drinks, the manager refused to seat us at a slightly larger table--even one just set for 5. He was rigid and dismissive, offering no flexibility or hospitality, which set the tone for the evening. Soon after being seated, we were served water that had thick floating particles in it. Unfortunately, we had already taken several sips before noticing. When we asked what we had consumed, we received three different explanations: one server said it was leftover napkin from drying cups, another said pollen, and the manager insisted it was lemon residue from unclean pitchers. Not only was it unclear what we actually drank, but staff--including the manager--continued to make jokes about it throughout the evening, despite our obvious discomfort and concern. It felt unprofessional and tone-deaf. Later, a server accidentally dropped a tray of wine glasses next to our table, and my sister's toe was cut by the broken glass. The manager brought Band-Aids but made an inappropriate joke about suing the restaurant showing no concern to the situation. Cleanup was slow, and guests kept stepping through the shards--we had to ask multiple times before it was cleaned up. The food was actually quite good, and the drinks were what we expected. But the lack of leadership, professionalism, and basic guest care--especially from management--completely overshadowed the meal. We won't be back. read more

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A fantastic first visit to the newly renamed Aurora on the Lake! * Atmosphere: "Amalfi Coast" vibes with beautiful lakeside views. The outdoor seating is a must on a nice day. * Food & Drinks: The Aperol Spritz was perfectly balanced and the salad was good (though I'd love it chopped). For the price, I thought the salmon would be a little larger. We also enjoyed a very flavorful fried appetizer. For dessert, the fried Oreos were to die for--so delicious and decadent, I will definitely get them again! * Service: The staff was wonderful and the service was great all around. * Bonus: I love the addition of the front market for prepared foods and to-go items. A great, convenient feature. Didn't pick anything up this time, but I might the next time I'm in the area. Overall: A great experience. I will definitely be returning! read more

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What they did to the outdoor patio feels criminal. It was the nicest outdoor patio in the Metro Detroit area (that I've seen) right on the water with a beautiful view. It's now 85% enclosed and so close to the stone railing of the patio that you have to come in from outside, walk through the enclosed section and back outside to get to the other outdoor section. There isnt even enough room to squeeze through to the other side. The teal jackets they make the servers wear wouldnt be bad if the color wasn't everywhere. On the walls, the seats. It feels a step too far with the napkins. They painted over the beautiful wet looking stone with a cement basement gray that looks awful. Especially where their outdoor iron furniture is distributing rust spots. Huge let down from when this building was home to the former restaurant "It's a Matter of Taste". My wife had the spaghetti and meatballs. The sauce was super watery. Ragu would have been better. The meatballs were incredibly bland and almost inedible with a poor texture. I had the New York Strip and it was lacking seasoning and a bit over cooked at medium instead of mid-rare as ordered. Our server was very friendly and the food did come out reasonably fast. For the let down in ambiance, view and food quality we got much higher prices. I don't think we will be back sad to say. read more

We thoroughly enjoyed our first dining experience here. Our food , Pizza, rainbow salad with Salmon and Calamari was well prepared and tasty. For our Drinks we had the Black Berry Old Fashioned made with the house black Berry syrup which was quite tasty albeit a tad sweeter than I like in my Old Fashions but a nice change up from the classical drink recipe. If your cocktail tastes trend to a sweeter drink than this one should be right up your alley and probably not to be missed. Aside from the food, I love the tasteful decor of this new restaurant with its indoor and outside terrace dining options along Union Lake front that adds quite a bit to the overall dining experience. Service was top notch where our waitress was very friendly and outgoing with great follow up throughout the meal. The restaurant manager also checked in upon us while dining which speaks highly of this newer business. Definately a strength of this business! Overall a very nice addition to the greater West Bloomfield dining scene where we will definately be returning in the very near future. read more

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The food was excellent. Short ribs were fall apart with excellent Demi glaze. The risotto was extremely good. The steak tip pasta was excellent, plenty of steak and mushrooms with an excellent sauce. The tiramisu was excellent as well, decadent and luscious. Service was very good with a smile. Very attentive. The atmosphere was very good, if a bit eclectic. Nice place to go to for a special occasion. read more

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Happy hour is fun! Vistited twice and the seating arrangement in the bar area is much improved from the opening. The service upon opening was ah-mazing with many people checking in on us and chatting. This past visit (within the last couple weeks) the service at the bar was pretty unfriendly and quite the opposite. I had to ask for service, a menu, a refill, etc. I was patient yet the staff was not smiling and appeared quite miserable. I hope this was an isolated case. read more

We can't wait to go back to Aurora on the lake. It quickly became our new favorite restaurant after only 1 meal. All 4 of us had mouth watering meals. We all tasted everything. We had: - The truffle pizza - REALLY GOOD! - the strip steak with the creamy zip sauce - the CHICKEN PARMESAN WITH PALOMINO SAUCE - INSANELY GOOD!!!! FANTASTIC!!!! The whole table fought over that one - the Caesar salad - the calamari (with shrimp and zucchini) - the spicy pepperoni pizza - the spumoni ice cream pie - BEST DESSERT IVE HAD OUT IN YEARS -the cannoli dessert - EXTREMELY GOOD!!!! I can honestly tell you that there wasn't one thing we didn't love. We also loved our waitress, Sadie. She was excellent. Robert the manager could not have been kinder and more professional. My family can't wait to come back and are booking it for my birthday next month! :) I didn't have a chance to take any pictures because we ate everything so quickly and were having so much fun! read more

Beautiful restaurant, service was very attentive. The best part of this location has always been the view of Union Lake. Food was good but, not great and not cheap. My main issue was when the workers start clearing dishes before everyone is finished eating and without asking if we wanted them to take dishes. I not a fan of going out for a meal to be rushed. We were celebrating a 90th Birthday and wanted enjoy the company. Overall, good experience. read more

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First time dining here. Was very excited for it. Made a reservation a week in advance, requesting outdoor seating and letting them know this was a birthday celebration. When we pull up to the restaurant, we are barely able to get into the parking lot because there is a line of cars wrapped around the lot. The extended parking entrance was blocked off with cones from the road so you are forced to funnel in through the small lot and valet line. We have to sit in line for 10 minutes before we even get up to the front door where the valet is. The valet tells us to just leave the keys in the car. We didn't want to valet because we didn't bring cash, he tells us we can pay any type of way. So we leave the car. We walk in and tell the host that we're a little early for our reservation and we're happy to sit and wait at the bar until the table is ready. She tells us no actually she can seat us right now and grabs two menus. She then talks with another hostess, and they both get flustered and start printing a bunch of tickets and talking to several other groups waiting in the lobby area. She just ignores us so we move to the side and wait. After about five minutes, she comes up to us and says she's ready. We follow her into the dining room and she says she can't give us an outside table. She just gave them all away, but she has a table in the corner of the restaurant and we can sit side-by-side and have somewhat of a view out the window. I say, in that case no, we'll just take a regular table in the middle of the dining room. The food was good. The $16 cocktail I ordered came with a flower that was dying. See photo. For two pasta dishes, and two drinks and a dessert, the bill came out to about $150. The birthday was not acknowledged. Also the women's restroom had no toilet paper and hand towels left on the floor, this was around at 5/5:30pm timeframe, not end of dinner service. We left to grab the car from the valet and saw that the valet keeps all the car keys, just sitting on a rack open and on the ground, not in a lock box. See photo. We used Venmo to pay the valet. Overall was super disappointed. It's a basic Italian restaurant pretending to be upscale. read more

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This location provides magnificent views of Union Lake and a beautifully contemporary, somewhat eclectic but elegant decor suitable for special occasions. The staff is friendly, professional, and highly attentive. The food quality is excellent and portioned appropriately. Some complimentary bread to accompany soups would have been a nice touch, just as a suggestion. Overall, it was an experience on par with the Orchard Lake location and certainly exceeded expectations. read more

This place is gorgeous! It is such a pretty and tasteful vibe with great views of the lake. At my most recent visit we also received exceptional service. My friend accidentally made our reservation at the other aurora location, so when we arrived the staff immediately worked to get us a nice table in the bar area without making us feel like we were a problem. They were so kind and jumped right in to still make our evening exceptional. read more

First trip since they opened! Our waiter was amazing and we came early enough so he could hang with us what felt like more than normal. Delicious made at the table Caesar salad, for 3 of us, 2 min for them to create in front of us. Everyone enjoyed their meals. Homemade pasta won me over before I arrived! Delighted that the vodka sauce had some heat! Drinks were wonderful too!! read more

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Loved visiting Aurora on the Lake! Having already dined at Aurora, I was familiar with the menu and was looking forward to a slightly different ambience. The stunning lakefront views, even on a cloudy day made for such a nice dinner. We started with a spicy shrimp appetizer that did not disappoint. I had the Caesar salad and I must admit my favorite part of this salad are the delicious croutons!! My main entrée was a pasta with delicious sausage. It was a huge serving and I had plenty leftover. Service was great and our waitress also shared the dessert menu which we were too full to try. The inside is very cute and there's also an upstairs area that you can rent out for private parties. read more

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Cassie was an amazing waitress! Really enjoyed our time, restaurant ambiance and service!

Fantastic Italian food and awesome service with a great view HIGHLY recommend this place. read more

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Service was very good and food was tasty. There was some wait time between appetizers and our main dishes but it was nice to enjoy a more relaxed dinner. read more

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The food was amazing. The ambience was great, and our waiter - David - was very attentive and nice.

This place is amazing with beauty, atmosphere and customer service. They are very attentive to your every need. The food was flavorful, hot and delicious. The only complaint I have it took almost 45 minutes to an hour to get our entrees. Besides that I was very pleased. read more

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Had a great birthday dinner at Aurora on the lake on a Sunday. Service was excellent, Josh really took care of us. It is beautifully set on the lake, and the food was excellent. A very nice evening and definitely somewhere I would recommend. read more

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We had dinner with friends at Aurora for the first time tonight and while the food and service was good, I did have other issues. When we were seated we were told that we would only be able to keep our table for two hours. I have never been told that there would be a time limit our for dining any restaurants. In addition to this insult, we were celebrating our friend's birthday and we had brought a cake to enjoy. Upon receipt of the bill I was charged $25.00 for a dessert fee. Another insult. I won't be dining here again. read more

We had Easter dinner today and it was great. Jordan, our waiter, did a awesome job and everything we had was excellent. This was our first visit and it won't be our last! read more

Our server Josh was on point and the lamb chops were unbelievable. So juicy and perfectly cooked, I couldn't believe how good they were. I refused desert because I wanted to maintain the flavor in my palette. read more

My husband and I have been here for special occasions and it was always great. We came to celebrate my birthday Friday and we were not happy at all. You no longer offer the complimentary bread or a complimentary dessert for a birthday. The medallions you offered for a special were not even tender. The shrimp cocktail was the highlight of the evening. We will no longer go to your restaurant. It felt very non celebratory. read more

Our 42nd anniversary dinner celebration couldn't have been more perfect. Dining on the glassed-in patio kept us sheltered during the brief rainstorm that passed, while it allowed us to soak in the ambience of being right on Union Lake. Our servers were so attentive. The food was delicious and there were many choices for our limited diets. Starting with the heirloom beet salad with feta, a perfect sharing size for 2. He had the lemon chicken with artichokes and loved the sauce. I enjoyed the salmon piccata with sautéed veggies. Our anniversary treat, Nonna's lemon cake, finished off the meal perfectly. We can't wait to come back! read more

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This is in the old It's a matter of Taste building. Aurora has transformed this restaurant into a busy place to be seen, Completely packed Friday night with live music and lots of patrons. The pasta Carbone with a meatball is heavenly. Perfect spice level and freshness. Very happy with my blackberry old fashioned and tarimissu dessert. Great service and beautiful location. If only they would split the check, they would get five stars. read more

Aurora On The Lake - Italian Near Me - Commerce Township, Michigan

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Stopped in for happy hour and it was a beautiful day. We wanted to sit out and enjoy a cocktail and the weather. We were seated and no one came out to take our order. Went in and got a menu. Minutes later we were told they were not serving outside. Not enough staff So there weren't many seats at the bar left and all the tables in the bar were "reserved " also due to lack of staff. My drinks were just ok. The pizza, not great. The mushroom bruschetta, well for me, looked very unappetizing. Some of the mushrooms and yes I know there are several varieties, but they looked like penises and the texture was like the ones in a can. I ate one piece but I just couldn't eat anymore and I love cooked mushrooms. Friendly staff! They are pricy but happy hour is very doable. I'm not sure if I would go back. read more

Most overpriced food I've had in a long time. $20 for a small side Caesar salad, which took over an hour to get. It was tasty tho. $40 Pasta was bland & overpriced. Limoncello spritz was good. Service was ok. I can think of dozens of places with better food & 1/2 the price. Don't think I'll be back anytime soon. read more

The food was good, the waitstaff was top notch. A Matter of Taste had been going downhill for years prior to the pandemic. Aurora is a fresh take and we enjoyed it. read more

first time here after new owner take over from it's a matter of taste. pleasantly impressed and decorations are immaculate! our server was simply the best and i would go back there just to be waited on him! food is a bit pricey for what you get - but it is a high end restaurant on the lake. so that is to be expected. the place is gorgeous and be sure to check out their store in the front! so cute! and so much to see and buy. i love their choice of dinnerware and the ambiance is dreamy! makes me want to go to italy and stat! save this place for a special occasion and prepare to spend a pretty penny if you want to encompass the whole experience. kudos again to our server! read more

Food and service was great. highly recommend the the table side salad by Ryan! Beautiful restaurant on the inside also.

I really had high hopes for this place. We had always loved the location; beautiful by the lake. Unfortunately, for the price point ($100-125/ person without drinks); underwhelming. I'd give it a "C" at best. The decor is sophisticated and upscale, but one of the loudest restaurants I been too since a college beer hall. Everywhere are hard surfaces and the noise just assaults you. Not at all the refined dining experience they are going for (or charging). We had real difficulties having a conversation between us. Investments in sound baffling would go a long way. Service was attentive without being overly intrusive. Our server was knowledgeable and very personable. But, did I mention how loud the dining room was. We seriously had a challenge hearing the nightly specials, she literally had to yell to be heard. (And we are not in our 80's, no hearing aides) The food was just ok. We split the Caesar which was nice (my wife thought a bit heavy on the dressing), but kind of the style for that salad. We had the Salmon and Osso Bucco entrees , but a bit under seasoned and the risotto on the shank dish was underdone, not creamy, a bit dry. Again, for what they are charging didn't feel the food lived up to expectations. I have no problem spending premium dollars for a great meal, but if you are going to charge a premium, better bring the "A" game and Aurora needs to go back to school. If you're looking for a beautiful place with average food and a headache you found it here. We won't be back. read more

Really unique interior and atmosphere! Amazing location, right on Union Lake, which you can see from the terrace. Great service and food! We started with the calamari and shrimp. I ordered the chicken parm. Wish it had sauce on it, but it was fine, nice and thin chicken. Loved the pink sauce on the fresh pasta. Ordered the crème brûlée for dessert, loved it! We took our baby and we were sat on the terrace. It was ideal, as it's more formal inside. Love how they also have a full cafe/market attached! read more

Aurora On The Lake - Entrance decor - Italian Near Me - Commerce Township, Michigan

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Let me start by saying it was beautiful inside, and the service was great. For a pasta dish to be $32.00 and not include either a salad or bread to me is not a great value, and I will not be returning. I have a favorite in the Plymouth area, which I will not name, but for the same price, I get an excellent salad and fresh bread on the table. My husband and I both agreed that for the money we spent, it was not a great value. Other than the atmosphere, it was not enough of a draw to bring us back here. We inquired about a side salad, and the server told us the option was a $20.00 ceasar salad, which is ridiculous. I wish them luck, I would think you should adjust your menu to bring people back over and over, not a one time and done. read more

We had tried Aurora just after they took over and had a mediocre experience. We decided to try it again and I'm so glad we did. Our server, Avery, was outstanding and the food was wonderful. The redo is spectacular and we had such a great evening. We will definitely be going back! read more