Aurora Restaurant at Poets Cove Resort

We came here in December to check the place out as we are getting married at Poet's Cove in July.

The food was fantastic. We ate here 3 nights and one breakfast and for tbe most part, everything was tasty and exactly what we wanted.

Some points to improve:

- The music sometimes stopped in the dining room and there was ads (probably using Spotify free version)

- It sometimes took more than normal times for staff to notice people waiting at the entrance to be seated.

All in all, food was great and the staff were all very friendly, would recommend.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

I rarely leave negative reviews, but my recent experience at Aurora Restaurant was so disappointing that I feel compelled in this case. My girlfriends and I stayed at the beautiful Poet’s Cove Resort to celebrate a special occasion and Aurora is the high-end restaurant on the premises. We were all expecting a high level of quality and service. Unfortunately, our experience fell far short of those expectations.

We ordered a variety of dishes: four crispy-skin duck entrées, one halibut entrée, and several appetizers. Although the appetizers were enjoyable, the wait for the main dishes was an hour, which was unexpected as the restaurant was not very busy. When the main courses finally arrived, they were a letdown. The duck entrées had none of the promised crispy skin and were accompanied by gnocchi that were hard, cold, and inedible. The halibut was also disappointing—cold, bland, and served with undercooked rice.

I ordered a white wine to complement the fish, but by the time the dishes arrived, the wine had gone warm. When I asked our server, Amy, if I could have a replacement of the barely touched wine, she unhelpfully advised that it was not their responsibility that I had not drunk it while waiting. I would need to pay for a new glass if I wanted a cold one. Her dismissive attitude was shocking and unprofessional. Amy has a misunderstanding of the customer service relationship, whereby when a guest brings a concern to the establishment, the matter should be addressed rather than summarily shut down

Amy seemed deaf to any negative feedback and avoided coming to our table after our entrees arrived. She would not communicate any of our concerns back to the kitchen. Due to her dismissive attitude, we decided to speak directly with the chef about the gnocchi and the soggy duck in an effort to reasonably salvage the meal and the evening. While the chef was more receptive, he suggested that the gnocchi's texture was due to it being a gluten-free product. This reasoning didn’t hold up, as gnocchi is mainly made from potatoes and should still be soft and bouncy. Amy reprimanded us for disturbing the chef in this manner and told us our action was inappropriate. We would not have gone ourselves if she had conveyed the feedback for us.

The service was a complete letdown and unaccommodating as soon as we raised any concerns about our meal. Despite voicing our disappointment, no replacement, compensation or apology was offered. We were made to feel that it was our perceptions of the dishes that were erroneous and NOT that they were texturally compromised and inedible. This attitude is destructive to the guest experience. The only gesture from the chef was a substitution of fingerling potatoes for the gnocchi, which came too late to salvage the meal. We paid the exorbitant bill with no further discussion but left no tip to convey our extreme displeasure.

Aurora Restaurant failed to deliver on the luxury experience of high-end dining. The food was subpar, the service was unhelpful, and the overall experience was not reflective of what one would expect from a resort establishment. If I could rate this restaurant lower than one star, I would. It was a significant disappointment, and I would not recommend it

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 1

We had an amazing dinner on the patio overlooking the harbour. This is a magical spot to watch the sunset while enjoying a great dinner. The grilled romaine was a highlight along with the live music. Food was a little slow but just relax, you’re on island time.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Do not stay at Poets Cove Resort, Spa & Marina, Managers rude and completely unhelpful and honestly seem to just not care at all. After sending countless emails to management, which none were replied to and trying to follow up with a head manager via phone (who ended up having absolutely no interest in trying to make things right) We spent the last three days in a filthy hotel room, there was mildew in the shower, food under the couch and under the cushions on the outdoor patio furniture, fan and furniture was covered in dust. There is a French fry that has been outside our room since we checked in. This was a free stay to compensate my last stays mishap (I got food poisoning from eating at the restaurant, so I would avoid their restaurant too Syrens Bistro) the cleaning staff also pushed into our room when I was in the shower insisting to clean, which was super uncomfortable. Would definitely not recommend. This stay has been less than ideal and the hotel is a complete joke. Because it’s a free stay that’s compensation enough.

We got the mussels and frites for an appetizer and it was quite delightful. For the main, we had the special: prime rib with mashed potato’s and Yorkshire pudding- also very tasteful with lots of flavour.The next day we went and got the seafood spaghettini- it was also pretty good, weak garlic bread thoAll in all, I recommend going here!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 3

I ate here both nights of my stay at Poet's Cove. The same server/bartender both nights was super friendly and made me feel welcome even though I showed up within 30 minutes of closing. One suggestion is to change the sign to "seat yourself" when it's only one person working -- I don't mind waiting, but he had a lot of people to attend to before he could seat me, and it felt a bit awkward just standing there in front of the whole restaurant. Once I was seated, it was all good.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Staying at Poets Cove for 5 nights and had dinner here every night. All the meals were exceptional and the service was outstanding. Thank you!!

Vegetarian options: We saw several vegetarian options on the menu

-Terrible hours.-No music or atmosphere in the silent dining room.-Mediocre food that is way over priced.I would give it one star but our server Max was awesome! It was clear that Max tried his best to improve our dining experience.Google says Temporarily closed but it's open 3 hours per day 5 days per week. Has the manager not bothered to change this?!

Real classy joint!

Four of us stayed 4 nights at Poets Cove for a girlfriend trip, and we spent our first dinner at this restaurant on site. Extremely bad experience - we ordered one calamari to share and each ordered one main dish, and we shared a bottle of white wine. The wine came first, but our food didn’t come until an hour and half later. Don’t get me wrong, there were tables who sat down after us that left before we even had any food on the table. And when food came, one of the main dishes came first…. My friend was so hungry that she had to start before the rest of us had anything, and by the time she finished her dish the rest of the food still nowhere to be seen (including the calamari which was supposed to be the appetizer)! So after waiting for two hours, the rest of the food finally came, and the waiter asked whether we need more wine and we said no, and then he just took the entire wine basket away - with the wine bottle not even empty!!! And lastly, the food didn’t taste good either. Avoid this restaurant please.

Just had a steak here. Very friendly server , she gave us lots of recommendations of things to do while we are visiting. All the view ! Wow !

My sister and I had a lovely meal on the balcony at Aurora. Appetizer portions were very generous. Dinner was delicious, the halibut was cooked perfectly. Dessert was small and tasteless. A disappointing way to finish an otherwise exceptional meal.

The food was well thought out and delicious. An expensive night out but good food and a beautiful view. The highlight was probably the 'palate cleanser' ginger pineapple gelato before the main course. Class.

Aurora is the higher end restaurant at Poet's Cove. We were able to sit on the deck and enjoy the sunset. The food and service was excellent and the wine list features Sea Star wines, from the only winery on Pender.

My husband and I decided to go to Pender Island to celebrate our 48th anniversary, and by luck the restaurant opened for the season just in time. First of all the view from the dining room overlooking the marina is awesome. We had the choice of sitting in the dining room or on the large deck outside, either view was spectacular! Our server Dan was so friendly and made us feel really special--thank you. We both had the West Coast Halibut for our dinner and it was cooked to perfection (compliments to the chef). Our entire meal was so outstanding that the next day we talked about it, and decided we had to have it one more time before we left! Thank you again Dan for your wonderful service. Again, it made us talk about that dinner...all the way home! Presentation was very impressive and timing between each course was perfect. Planning a return trip!