RAY OF LIGHT
A standout diner in a new complex shines bright on Adelaide’s dining scene,
Start with the smallest details. Puffed salmon skin, salty and crisp, with a pop of caviar, smoothed with sour cream and elevated with the silk of gincured salmon. Then zoom out. Aurora is surprising.
Everyone wants to do something new, but Aurora actually does, because it’s part of something bigger. The Light project – with Aurora on the ground floor – is a sprawling space that brings together hospitality, art, music, and the community.
What “they” have done with this space is revolutionary. “They” are a team of people who’ve taken over a space in Adelaide’s CBD and made it a centre. There’s a cool bar with festoon lights outside, open for late drinks. There’s a space for live music, and this extraordinary restaurant where chef Brendan Wessels – fresh from winemaker Chester Osborn’s d’Arenberg Cube in McClaren Vale – is working with a custom-made braai and a ridiculously talented kitchen staff.
Have a snack or a shared menu. Pick and choose, or have it chosen for you. Play it safe with peri peri poussin and a cheese plate, or risk a first-date Jerusalem artichoke dish with venison and an onion pepper sauce. If you’re brave enough for commitment, though, go the whole hog – there’s not much actual hog, but a dazzling display of local produce transformed into intricate tasting experiences, followed by perfectly formed desserts. An orange cake with fig, saffron and yoghurt is an exercise in balance, while the milk tart with mandarin and rooibos gives another nod to Wessels’ South African roots.
The waitstaff – and one of the standouts of Aurora is that they’re committed to training and paying them well – are universally enthusiastic, and if they don’t know the answer to a question, they’re dedicated to finding it out.
Aurora is more than just a well designed and multifunctional space with an excellent chef who puts produce together in new and exciting ways. It may sound pretentious, but Aurora has an authentic and pervasive ethos that is more than palatable.