My wife and I had our first date here 10 years ago. We returned there today and we're absolutely thrilled by the menu, renovations. The food was outstanding. We had the pink oysters, NY Strip, and the scallops. They were all amazing! Sincerely blown away. The thing that made the night was the service. Matt was our server and was on top of everything. Great suggestions, wine, apps, entrees, and the fried oreo desert! Amazing job. We also got to meet Cherie the general manager who was more than willing to make our night extra special. Shout out to the chefs, valet crew, and all the hostesses..Thank you all. read more

Our waitress Cassie was amazing! She was very attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. It was our first visit and we will definitely be coming back. I would highly recommend the salmon, sea bass and rigatoni. read more

We had a fabulous experience at Aurora on the Lake! We celebrated our anniversary in the bar, where we had a beautiful view of the lake. It was also happy hour. We ordered drinks that were on special: an Aperol spritz and a gin drink (Basilico). Both were perfectly balanced and delicious! We tried the bruschetta happy hour appetizer, and it was great. The perfect tomato:toast ratio. For dinner, we had the fettuccine Alfredo with blackened shrimp and the pollo paillard. The pasta was some of the best Alfredo I've ever had! It had a rich cheese flavor; would absolutely order again. The blackened shrimp was slightly overcooked, might try a different protein next time. The pollo paillard was also excellent. The fresh arugula and thin sliced onions were great atop the chicken. The portion was huge, too! The restaurant treated us to a cannoli dessert for our anniversary, and it was wonderful. We don't typically like cannolis but this one was outstanding! The shell and cream were light, not as dense and thick as a standard cannoli. It was a treat!! A great place to celebrate a special occasion. read more

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

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Aurora on the Lake offers a beautiful dining experience, especially if you're lucky enough to sit on the patio overlooking the water. The view alone makes it a great spot for a relaxing evening. The staff was attentive and made sure we were well taken care of throughout the meal. The food itself was good, thoughtfully prepared and flavorful, though the portions were on the smaller side for the price point. Speaking of price, it definitely leans toward the expensive side, so it feels more like a special-occasion place than an everyday dinner spot. One downside was the mandatory valet parking, which felt a bit unnecessary and inconvenient. Overall, Aurora on the Lake delivers on ambiance and service, with solid food--but be prepared for smaller portions and a higher bill. read more

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I was looking forward to taking my mom here for her birthday. Initially, we were seated against a wall, so I asked if we could be moved somewhere with a view. The staff kindly accommodated us and seated us on the enclosed patio overlooking the water, which made for a much nicer birthday experience. Our server was very kind, but it was apparent she was fairly new. I have no issue with a new server, but I do wish a manager or more seasoned team member had checked in periodically to ensure everything was running smoothly. There were several instances where we were left waiting for items we had ordered, including coffee, focaccia bread for our appetizer, and additional sauce for my entrée. As for the food, I ordered the king salmon, which was cooked perfectly and served with green beans. While delicious, it felt like it could have benefited from an additional side, particularly given the price point. My mother ordered the branzino, which was a generous portion size but lacked flavor. Fortunately, she had also ordered the gnocchi and was able to use some of that sauce to enhance the dish. For dessert, the restaurant provided a complimentary birthday cannoli for my mom, which was a very nice touch and something we both enjoyed. One thing that caught me off guard was feeling somewhat rushed by another staff member who appeared responsible for boxing leftovers. Additionally, when it came time to pay, I noticed we had been overcharged. It took approximately 10-15 minutes to correct the error, and unfortunately, no apology was offered for either the mistake or the wait. Small touchpoints matter. While I understand our server was new, I would have expected a bit more oversight and support as she learns the ropes. That said, I would likely give the restaurant another try. I enjoy cooking at home, so when I choose a higher-end dining experience, I'm not only looking for great food but also exceptional service. This visit had some highlights, but it fell short of the "wow" factor. read more

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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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We've been to the Aurora on Orchard Lake Road multiple times and really enjoyed it, so when we found out they opened another location right on the lake, we wanted to check it out. It was the perfect place for a beautiful spring outdoor birthday celebration. The patio has a fabulous view of Union Lake. I was happy to see that they had an extensive mocktail menu and I tried one of those and liked it. We started our meal with the Arancini appetizer followed by the Caesar salad that was repaired tableside. It's really fun to watch them make it, and it tasted great. I had the Veal Limone for my entrée. It looked different than I expected, but it was quite good, and the portion was very generous. It came with some potatoes on the side, although I might've preferred a small portion of pasta. My wife had the Tagliatelle, Bolognese and really liked it. read more

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Another great milestone experience dining at Aurora on the Lake. Dining on the covered patio is such a great way to spend dinner without worry of raindrops or wind. We loved the Burrata Al Pesto, our first time to try. We added an order of Focaccia, covered in Rosemary. Plus entrees of Clam Linguine and Chicken Lemone couldn't have been better. A cannoli birthday surprise topped off our meal. We'll be back! read more

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Aurora is located right on the water with beautiful views. It's a great place to go for a special occasion. We have been to the west Bloomfield location but decided to try the commence location for our anniversary. The location and food was good but this location has an opportunity to improve with their service. We had a reservation but still waited about 20 mins for a table on a Wednesday night at 7pm but we did get a great table outside so I think it was worth the wait. Our server was very nice but we couldn't help but notice 4 other tables complained while we were there about the slow service, food issues and one table walked out. We were not in a hurry and we enjoyed our meal but there was room for improvement with the people bringing food out because they seem to have no idea what table they were supposed to bring the food? Each course people brought food to the patio looking confused, asking tables if they ordered that item and after a few nos they would eventually get the right table. It seemed odd like they should know what table they were taking food to. I think this is a great place and if the service improved has really great potential! Overall we enjoyed our meal and appreciated the complimentary dessert. read more

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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

Gianni is the best he's supperrrr nice and had the best service and he was nice and funny read more

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

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

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

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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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

The service from David was outstanding.Brussel sprouts were very good as was the meat and cheese tray.my chicken was very tasty as was side. My lovely wife's bolognese was just ok. As we have had better.the tiramisu was very good. Ambiance was very nice as we had a table over looking the lake. read more

Food was excellent, the service was so bad it seemed purposely bad. Had reservations and waited 40mins to be sat and ended up sitting in the bar as the table wasn't available...even though others were sat that arrived after us. The bar service was non-existent, while they serviced tables around us. I had to walk up to the bar and order a bottle of wine since we couldn't get waited on. This place is expensive and for the service...never again. I'm done with this place 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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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

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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Gianni was the absolute best. So personal and funny. One of the best servers and helped me put up decorations for our celebration.

Had to wait about 10 minutes despite a reservation. Our server was excellent and the restaurant is very inviting , lively and pretty. There were three of us and we shared the mussels and clams appetizer with bread. Excellent. The entrees were scallops, sea bass and clam linguine along with broccolini which we shared. Enjoyed everything and would definitely return. read more

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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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

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

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

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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Ambiance is great, however the quality and amount of food is not reflected by the price. Our server was not able to correctly make our table side Caesar salad. We had to flag him down more than once. This place is more "see and be seen", but doesn't seem to have a grip on quality/quantity of food and service. read more

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

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 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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Fantastic Italian food and awesome service with a great view HIGHLY recommend this place. 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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Not authentic Italian. Taste more middle eastern. Many aspects of Italian food/portions/extras missing. Pasta dishes over priced. Also not allowed to have separate checks at the table BS.. read more

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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We came here for a birthday dinner and the staff was so kind, especially Cassie. The food was fresh and delicious!

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