What a lovely surprise to find Aurora Restaurant nearby after living in the area for so many years. The service is excellent and attentive and the atmosphere is warm and inviting. Our party of seven were well taken care of and our selections of specials and regular menu items were all excellent. Appetizers were very good - the calamari was light and crispy and the baked clams were well seasoned and delicious but could benefit from a little crisp under the broiler. The tuna was cooked to perfection and paired beautifully with the wasabi soy ribbon beautifully surrounding the plate. The halibut was perfectly cooked but lacked the spice kick that the picante promised; however the sauce was delicious. This was a wonderful dining experience and we look forward to our return. read more

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I came here with a group and was impressed by the ambiance and service. There is plenty of parking, the interior is pretty upscale with white linen and plant decor. The express lunch was a very reasonable price for 3 courses. Even before that, the complementary cheesy bread was an A+. In addition to that, the French onion soup was perfectly broiled cheese on the savory onion taste beneath. The lamb shank was a pretty special dish with a tasty blend of tender meet and orzo with just the right amount of feta cheese sprinkled on. It was enough for two meals and barely fit into their boxes. Because I was so full, I got the tiramisu to go, but maybe because it's not going to have the same presentation as in person, but it looked pretty smushed up when it came in the to go box when I got it (so not due to transportation). Only mediocre note of the night, but it still tasted good. The menu had a lot of options so there were many dishes that appealed to everyone. I never had an empty glass of water. Everything tasted high quality. Definitely a great lunch experience for everyone. read more

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Taking my 2 ladies for valentines brunch. Wonderful mediterranean classy dinning room. We order prefix lunch, lobster meat soup, French onion with mozzarella soup, beefteki ground beef & lamb. Follow with Chicken Parmesan, lamb shank & wild salmon Ending with Tiramisu, gelato company Cabernet Sauvignon & hot Coco. Intimate time with laugher conversation partner delicious food is beautiful read more

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Service was excellent. The food was very good with decent portions. We went there for lunch and had a nice experience in a very nice restaurant with tasteful decor both inside and out. We almost hated to leave. read more

An outstanding meal. I took my wife and daughter to Aurora last night. We had 7:00 reservations and were seated immediately. We ordered the Mozzarella wedge appetizer, plus I got the shrimp scampi, my wife got the Tuna Tartar appetizer as an entree, and my daughter got the 8 oz filet. Everything was excellent; The shrimp were succulent, the steak was tender and my wife's Tuna was the best Tartar she said she'd ever eaten. I would testify to that, but she didn't save me any. Aurora is on my short list! read more

I've dined in a few times now and ordered for the first time yesterday. The food is so good and presented beautifully. The salmon is my favorite dish, the beets and spinach with garlic on the dish complement the fish well. The octopus is amazing also. The ambience is very pretty inside. We ordered takeout and it was delivered so nicely in a box with all of the containers up right. No leakage, no spilling. I'm super impressed as someone who works in hospitality for years as well at the level of detail and care. Love this place :) read more

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Ate hear last night. Nice lively atmosphere with just the right amount of background noise/music. Nicely compact, well-lit bar area. Expansive menu. Everyone can find something to eat, had the lobster ravioli which was a special. Excellent dish. Service was a little choppy. Our waiter was polite and attentive, but a misplaced order and food coming out at inconsistent times was a little disappointing. read more

Love this place for the bar and discount menu! The bartender is amazing!! The octopus is by far my favorite dish! I love the vibe the bar has I wish they had more seating for their menu discount bc I'd totally bring my group of friends but I get not doing it to lol read more

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The service was absolutely atrocious. It took twenty minutes for the waiter to first stop at our table, then another hour for the food to come. Food was decent, hence the 2 stars. Service, negative stars. Waiter blamed the kitchen and having too many tables. We asked where the food was, then waited another 15 minutes before we flagged him down again to see if he had an update. Also...no manager? The entire experience was just...weird. read more

we had a great mother's day weekend dinner. I do miss Charlie brown's but Aurora is a great addition. The service was exceptional. The braised short rib I order was really good. the meat was very tender and flavorful. definitely a good spot for special occasions. or a regular spot if you're a housewives of Old Tappan. read more

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The food is great and portions generous. Service impeccable! However, contrary to what it says online, this restaurant is not really a BYOB. You can bring your own bottle - yes- but be prepared to pay a $35 corking fee! read more

We went here for a cocktail and appetizers. Everything was excellent. The service, the cocktails and the food. We were very happy that we found this spot. We had time to kill in between a wedding ceremony and the reception. This was the perfect place. read more

The appetizers we had today, mozzarella stack, calamari and hummus trio were very good but the chicken francese entree was not very flavorful. Service was good, they kept waters full the whole meal and the inside was very pretty. read more

We planned a party at aurora and it was fabulous. From the helpful staff to the delicious food everyone had a wonderful evening! Thank you for making our evening so special!! read more

Nice ambient atmosphere, friendly service fresh delicious food and very generous portions.

We were so looking forward to trying this place and picked out a special night for it. Just two of us. Service was great and friendly. Food was BAD. We ordered the very expensive seafood tower which was smelly and did not feel fresh. The lobster was chewy, the shrimp was a bit slimy and fishy. Worst of all we ordered oysters beforehand ( we love to get protein) and they were OFF. The staff was lovely and took them back and even confirmed there was something wrong with them. They brought us "new" oysters which were off as well. They tried. A manager came out and apologized and blamed the distributor. It happens but it was disappointing. No free drink, no free dessert just an apology and of course we weren't charged for the oysters. I wouldn't come here again- definitely not a special place for me. And the bathrooms smelled gross. read more

Surprisingly good mediterranean-americas restaurant in Old Tappan! I went there as part of a company holiday celebration dinner and I was pleasantly surprised by the food & interior. We had a party room to the side which had a giant table that sat 12 of us and the lighting and vibe was all very good. Right onto the food - Beets salad (APP, $13, 5/5) - Extremely good... and I don't usually say that about salads... but the ratio of goat cheese to golden beets & the dressing was just perfectly matched and I was literally licking the plate when it was gone too soon. Grilled octopus (APP, $24, 4.5/5) - Grilled seafoody goodness. It was presented rather well with right amount of counterpunch in the form of salty kalamatas, capers, and tart salsa dressing w/ micro greens on top. Octopus was soft enough yet chewy with lots of flavor that was highlighted by all the condiments mentioned. I wished the quantity could be slightly more, but fairly priced overall. Seafood Paella for Two (Special, $69, 3/5) - Everything was good about this - the quality and quantity of the seafood, broth and all... except that they used orzo instead of yellow rice. What...!!! Thing is orzo just doesn't do paella justice as it lacks the soak-up power of the yellow rice. My wife and mom shared this with enough left over for two meals, so very good for food economy but that orzo... please change it to rice! Pan Seared Halibut (Special, $38, 2.5/5) - a big butt. Fish ended up a bit too dry and with not much flavor. The mushroom risotto with crab meat was decent, but didn't mesh with the fish very well... maybe it was too dry and needed more sauce? A bit of a miss of the night A note about service - our waitress started the evening cheerfully, but then promptly forgot about us. It was raining cats and dogs outside so restaurant wasn't even that busy... but I had to wait and wait for her to get basic things for me like cracked pepper and tabasco sauce. I asked for these on separate times and she took like 20 min for the first one and never brought the second one. I mean, you're attending to a small party group... shouldn't you be very attentive to their needs to get big tips and such? Aside from this minor issue, the experience overall was pleasant and I can recommend this place for a fine dining w/ family, colleagues, and even dates because food is good and the vibe is nice, with a good bar too. I'll definitely be back! read more

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Great dining experience. Delicious meal. Seafood pasta was outstanding. Shrimp, clams, and calamari were plentiful with a delicious sauce over pasta. The lamb shank was delicious, also! Great service with knowledgeable waitstaff. Only reason it did not get 5 stars is that it is not a byob. read more

We are regulars here because The service is friendly. We feel like family. The menu covers our mood. Mediterranean, seafood, pizzas, pasta , tapas and good drinks. Management wants you to be happy AND...they will make great trays if you're hosting a party. They really work to make you feel glad you came. read more

We used to drop in on this location when it was posing as the ghost of Charlie Brown's. Now with broiled octopus and Rigatoni Bolognese replacing the salad bar bacon bits and potato skins on their radically upscaled bill of fare, Old Tappan's Aurora is hitching a ride on the explosive growth of Mediterranean cuisine. Think chick peas in a tuxedo with enough mainstream meats to keep the carnivores interested -- all slung in a spartan atmosphere still vaguely reminiscent of their blue collar predecessor. Dinner was nicely presented and prepared but with dinner solidly in the mid three digits, the atmosphere was a little pedestrian. I'll certainly return for the food but I was vaguely expecting some potato skins to show up just for the hell of it. Four solid stars. read more

Four of us had a mushroom pizza and the eggplant chips as appetizers and they were both great. It was an excellent start to the meal. We were looking forward to the main course. My friend had ordered the broiled veal chop. He explained carefully to the waiter that he wanted it done medium rare to medium. When it came out I was really surprised, since not only was it was about one half the size of a normal veal chop (believe me, I've had plenty of them in my time), but it was done almost medium-well. I would have sent it back, but my friend just ate it. My dish was the colossal shrimp scampi, and it consisted of 4 tasty jumbo shrimp and rice, but it wasn't enough. To the chef at Aurora- if you want to see what a colossal shrimp looks like, I suggest you check out the colossal shrimp appetizer at Andiamo's. Yours is mislabeled. The service was somewhat hit-or-miss, but the thing that put a damper on the whole meal was the impatience of the staff. We had arrived on time for an 8:00 reservation, and at 9:45 the staff started breaking down tables and chairs all around us, even causing my friend's wife to duck as they walked by carrying a table. It's not like we were there an unreasonable amount of time, but we got the hint and hurried through our dessert and got out of there, never to return. read more

The food here was actually very good so it disappoints me to leave this bad rating but sneaky practices here. Apparently they don't think people actually check their credit card bills because they added additional tip to the bill different from what I wrote on the check. 1) They threw on a 3.95% fee for using a credit card with no notice or warning. I see more and more restaurants doing this. Not a fan. Just bake it into your menu prices and offer discount to those paying in cash. 2) I have this habit of rounding out my bill after tip so it makes checking transactions easier on my cc bills so this bill of $XX.90 looked strange to me. I check my receipt and I definitely wrote in a different tip. My math was not bad that day. Look, it wasn't like they added $100 to the tip. It was a few dollars. The amount didn't bother me. It's the principle. And I also didn't leave a bad tip by any means, despite the terrible and inattentive service. Honestly, I would have loved to have gone back here because their pastas were really good but clearly I'm not going back after this. read more

Wow! So much food to choose from. 3 different menus made it quite overwhelming! Think diner menu on steroids. We decided to just get a few small plates - 2 hot and 2 cold. 2 cold were great. Beet salad, which was dressed perfectly and the tuna tartar. 2 hot were not so great. Meatballs were the size of eyeballs and were packed so tight, I had trouble piercing them with my fork. They were just as difficult to chew And had very little flavor. Lamb gyros were also a big miss. Pita (which I assume were made there) were way too light and fluffy to hold the big heap of shredded lamb inside. There was so much meat, it was a chore just trying to finish 1.... especially since it was entirely flavorless....didn't even taste like lamb. The tzatziki was the highlight of the dish. Can't say I'd go back. read more

Aurora is a delicious, new, Mediterranean restaurant located in old Tappan. The environment is cozy, modern, and romantic. The food is fresh and nicely plated. I recommend the tuna tartare, buratta, baked shrimp, and then the lobster ravioli entree. Elona is an extremely friendly waitress who is very attentive and kind. read more

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WOW! We went on a Monday night to sit at a high top at the bar. Clearly this is a local hangout where everyone knows your name. We started with the calamari with tomato sauce. Well cooked, no legs and huge portion for 2 people (it was too much and we did not finish it). I ordered the margarita pizza (with no intention of finishing it) and my wife ordered the chicken Francaise. The pizza was cooked in their brick oven and it was pretty good (probably a 6-6.5 on the Barstool scale) but chicken was IN-SANE! It's chicken francaise...how much different can it be? You can tell this chicken was well prepared and beaten flat in the kitchen for a while. The chicken was so tender the use of a knife was only for decoration because it separated so easily. The taste was incredible! For my wife to have NOTHING to complain about is saying something! We are definitely going back! read more

Like their sister restaurants, Aurora has panache with a positive vibe, good food with a fun menu. Seafood paella was good but would have preferred the waitstaff agreed to take lobster out of shell. My pork Milanese was delicious. Dined outdoors on their patio with just ok service. read more

Great food and great service. The pizza maybe one of the best. Also they have a great happy hour .

We recently had my wife's surprise 40th here. The ambiance, food, and service was wonderful and everything went so smoothly. Enis personally took care of everything with us to get the party and surprise set up, and took care of every detail with such care. If you are going to spend money please continue to give it to great people like the people at aurora. read more

finally got to check this place out after having it bookmarked forever. this place is self described as a mediterranean grill, but the menu doesn't completely follow that classification. they have a lot of good greek style apps but much of the main course could be considered italian or american fair. husband had the octopus and the sea bass. i had the greek chips and the scallops. everything was actually very tasty. octopus and litte dry but the chips were perfect - not too greasy. our main courses were delicious!! cooked very well with good flavors. ambience was great and service was good. we will definitely come back for another visit. read more

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Lovely environment Lobster ravioli fantastic... well done and tasty Service professional but not great read more

Cool bar to have drinks and apps I love the Aurora salad with grilled shrimp ! Cool ambiance read more

I had my daughter's baby shower at Aurora's this past Saturday. I cannot say enough nice things about the restaurant... the food, the room, the staff... bartender and servers were all accommodating in every way possible. Ron, the restaurant manager met with me a few days prior and helped me plan table set up. when I arrived 3 hours earlier, the place was totally set up exactly as planned. He was so professional with the way he organized everything... took so much pressure off! PERFECT place for an event of any kind ! Mary Z read more

Aurora Restaurant & Bar - Balloon arch fit perfectly. - Mediterranean Near Me - Old Tappan, New Jersey

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Thank you so much to Aurora for a fantastic evening, we hosted a reception last night in the beautiful private room! The buffet food was outstanding and their service staff were terrific. A big thank you to Ron and the lovely owner of Aurora for making the evening so wonderful. read more

AMAZING EXPERIENCE FROM START TO FINISH! My family had our mom's birthday party yesterday in their private room for about 25 ppl. It was PERFECT. The food was amazing; the staff was fantastic and attentive and the room was beautiful. When setting up any event it can be very stressful but the manager Ron was superb and made it seamless and easy. The waitresses Mimosa and Bellini were excellent as well. We have been there before for dinners and it has always been good. I would highly recommend Aurora for your next event ! They have a number of private rooms available for different size events. Lastly, a number of our guests had severe food allergies and they were very careful and attentive to our allergy needs read more

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Delicious food Super awesome staff Great drinks And beautiful outdoor seating What more can you ask for ? read more

Extremely hospitable establishment that serves fresh Mediterranean cuisine. Loved the seared ahi tuna with several side sauces. Halloumi cheese appetizer was the perfect amount of salt and you can never go wrong with zucchini crisps! Would definitely return for a high quality Mediterranean meal. read more

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There are not enough words to describe how wonderful Aurora was to us for our private party of 90. Between the staff, the incredible food, the ambiance of the room & patio extension...it was a wonderful evening for all. Thank you Aurora! Amazing! read more

We came here for my grandmother's memorial/repass--about 150 people-- and wow. Above and beyond. They set up a private room with rows of chairs and opened the bar for the memorial and then we all moved over to the main dining area where hot family-style antipasta was already waiting for us as we waited to order our (delicious) plated entrees. I cannot say enough about the entire staff and service--they were accomodating, attentive, and professional. Anis and Sonny helped us pull off an incredible tribute down to every last personalized detail. read more

I don't usually write reviews, let alone bad ones. However, I felt compelled to after my unacceptable experience on Saturday, 10/5. I run a small floral company. My driver called the store from Aurora while attempting to deliver flowers for a memorial service our customer was hosting at the restaurant. I was immediately shocked at the yelling I heard through his phone. To see what the problem was, I called and the restaurant myself and asked to speak with Emis, the contact my customer had given me. I was abruptly told Emis was an assistant manager and I was speaking to THE manager. what I could understand through his yelling and ranting was that he didn't know what party the flowers were for ( the last name was on the delivery tag I wrote myself. I tried to convey this to him through his screaming about how he wasn't even supposed to even be there, (i also was at work on my day off, being supportive of my team) to no avail. He continued his rant being completely unhelpful. As I tried to get a word in to help him understand I was abruptly hung up on. I write this review to warn other venders who might do business with Aurora Restaurant, that the management is uncooperative, unreasonable and down right rude. read more

The staff was warm and attentive, without being pretentious or overbearing. Our server, Ilona, was excited to offer her recommendations when we asked about the appetizers, and guided the support staff to ensure the best dining experience for us. Every dish was prepared perfectly, and presented beautifully. We asked for someone to take our picture outside, and ended up engaged in a lovely conversation with one of the hosts. Another in a group of great restaurants. We've also enjoyed Sear House and Dimora. read more

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