First thing first, I was really surprised to find the average rating of this place so low. I've been to many places be it fine dining restaurants, be it small roadside stalls, it seemed really odd that a place like this is rated so low, more so after we had a great time here. something was amiss, something was really not right. Hence started going through the reviews, all 130 of them. Only then could I get it. Its not always about the food, nor about the service. The place is frequented by three categories of people. One, the ones who try out restaurants irrespective of ratings. Two, people who come with groupon/nearbuy meal vouchers. Three, office goers from nearby corporations who attended team lunch here. Most of the negative reviews came from people who were utterly disappointed as the management did not honour their agreements. The outrage is justified, if you cant deliver, don't make promises. The other people who gave average reviews who had team lunch here from the buffet spread, which again is justifiable as they may have not got what they expected. Surprisingly the people who had ordered a la carte have talked quite highly of it. I belong to this category.

So you can take this as my disclaimer: the following review is based upon my personal experience when I visited upon being invited for their new menu launch.

Aura is the All-Day-Dining Restaurant of The Sonnet, a Four Star Business Hotel situated near City Center 1, Salt Lake, Kolkata. The All day dining concept has its uniqueness in the fact that it is open Twenty Four hours a day all throughout the week. Be it breakfast, be it brunch/lunch/dinner or a midnight craving for some delicious food, Aura is there for you all the time. Add to the fact its a multi cuisine restaurant serving Bengali, Hyderabadi dishes along with Italian, Pan-Asian & other popular flavors.

Recently Team PanchPhoron was invited over for a food audit of their new menu launch. Finding the outlet was easy. & we were quite awed by the dining area. Overlooking the road, yet guarded by a front lawn, this restaurant by the main lobby of the hotel was warmly lit, spacious & welcoming to the guests. At one end of the dining area was the buffet spread, adjacent to it the live counter where made to order dishes are prepared by the chef. Conveniently located opposite to the restaurant is  'Unwine' the bar.

Coming to the food, we had a spread of select items from the revamped menu. Brief description & review of each item is given below.

STARTERS:

Stuffed Fish Goujons:

A variation of fish finger, where the fish fingers stuffed with mint chutney were coated with roasted papad in place of standard breadcrumbs & served with homemade tartar sauce. Amazing in taste to say the least. The crunchiness of the papad just took it to another level.

Gai Sai Takrai:

A Thai delicacy , Gai Sai Takrai roughly translates into Lemongrass Chicken. Lemongrass preparations are some of my favorite dishes, & the Thai herbs made the crisply fried coated chicken pieces all the more delicious.

Paneer Aamras ki Kebab:

From Thai Chicken to Indian Cottage cheese, the choice of dish did surprise me momentarily, but that was until I had tasted it. The sweetness of the coated mango pulp had properly seeped into the soft paneer, making it all the more tasty to vegetarian & non vegetarian foodies alike. Recommended.

Badshahi Kumb:

Tandoor cooked mushrooms stuffed with cheese & nuts. Aptly named,loved by all, surely a royal treat for the taste buds.

Chilly Cheese Cigar:

Mozarella, Garlic & Jalapeno sticks coated with crumbs & deep fried looked like fish fingers at first. But that was before we had tried it. After the first bite, I for one did ask for a second serving. The BBQ sauce added to the taste all the more.

MAINS:

Spinach Cheese Timbale with Tangy BBQSauce:

Minced spinach blended with Ricotta cheese, made into a patty & grilled to perfection. I think that sums up the next piece of veg delicacy we tried. Nothing generally goes wrong with cheese, & this one was no exception.

Basa with sizzled Garlic, Ginger & Tomatoes:

All the above ingredients & my favorite among veggies, Broccoli. Looked colorful, tasted all the more better. The fish was soft & fresh, just the right taste.

Stir Fried Noodles with Coriander Pesto:

Most probably my favorite from the day's menu. Noodles tossed in green coriander paste, maybe my love for this had to do something with the broccoli chunks. In any case the lightly fried noodles tasted great complemented by the green colour & flavour.

Kalo Bhuna Mangsho:

Next up was the traditional lamb preparation from Bangladesh cooked with brown onions & celery seeds. Undoubtedly prepared really well. I am sure every time I have Luchi-mangsho in the future I am gonna remember this perfectly cooked lamb.

Makhmali Moti Mahal:

Balls of cottage cheese, or malai kofta as its known through out India, cooked in a rich Cashew nut gravy, although great in taste didn't impress me much. & that's because although I like sweetmeats somehow I don't like malai kofta that much. For those who love it, go for it, you'll love it for sure.

Bhatti nu Dal:

Bringing Punjab to the table was the famous kaali daal. Really well prepared & great in taste.

Chelow Kebab:

Chelow doesn't need any introduction, atleast to a Kolkatan who has heard the name of Peter cat. However be advised that's not the only way to prepare it. infact the chelow from Peter Cat has seemed overhyped to me everytime I try it & expect to like it. Anyway Aura's Chelow is done a bit different. served on a shining rock plate was this lightly yellowed butter rice surrounded by kebabs, grilled tomato & condiments. The icing on the cake had to be the egg poached inside an onion ring. Looked cute, tasted great. However found the kebabs a bit on the drier side. Still a great dish nonetheless.

DESSERT:

Cream Caramel with Waffle Jalebi:

Caramel pudding topped with whipped cream & crunchy pieces of jalebi. Love pudding, love cream, love jalebi. There was no room to not like this sweet dish.

Melting Chocolate Mud Pie:

Chocolate pie stuffed with hot molten chocolate & served with vanilla ice cream. Again nothing can go wrong with hot chocolate, mud pie & vanilla ice cream. Really.

Kiwi Marquise:

Layers of  vanilla & kiwi cheesecake topped with kiwi slice & kiwi compote. Attractive in looks, but needed a bit more sweetness as per my taste.

To say this one was a gastronomic delight would be an understatement & gross misjudgement on my part. To taste so many varied dishes in one meal, was nothing short of impossible both for us & the chef. Each & every dish had its unique flavour & most of them did impress us. Two or three items did not quite suit me, but that's strictly a personal opinion. & if you have made it to this line, I would definitely suggest this restaurant & ask you to overlook the overall rating. Surely Aura won't disappoint.

They are also going to introduce a Bengali thali shortly, which I'm eager to taste.

Surely visit again,

Until then

Happy eating

Cheers!