SA Weekend restaurant review — Aurora restaurant on Light Square

A restaurant with an altruistic mission shows responsible work practices and brilliant dining can be compatible, writes Simon Wilkinson.

COVID-induced changes in mindset don’t come much bigger than that of Brendan Wessels. Little more than a year ago, he was pushing meringue mix into a 3D printer and serving sherbet to suck through a fake hundred-dollar bill at the attention-seeking d’Arenberg Cube.

Now he is head chef and chief mentor of Aurora, a restaurant based on an altruistic vision of being nothing less than a circuit-breaker for the industry, a place where ego, prestige and unrealistic expectation are set aside and that the work/life balance can be fair and sustainable. He couldn’t be happier and, my goodness, doesn’t it show.

Aurora, however, needs to be considered in the context of a much larger story. It starts with Nick and Sophie Dunstone, who had their own moment of revelation while locked away in quarantine.

Returning home after successful careers in Asia, they wanted to invest in a project that would support and invigorate communities they cared for, particularly the arts and hospitality, and explore how they could be integrated.

Potato, peperonata, goats curd from Aurora restaurnt. Picture: Jack Fenby

Okonomiyaki from Aurora restaurnt. Picture: Jack Fenby

The result is Light, a collection of hi-tech performance spaces, dining, outdoor bar and café that has taken over what was originally a tobacco factory and its surrounds on the western side of Light Square.

Aurora is on the ground floor, where much of the previous structure has been left intact, including the mid-room pillars, overhead ducting and arched nooks from the days when it was Cobbs topless restaurant and bar.

An open kitchen has been structured so the pass faces the entry, meaning Wessels or whoever is in charge for the night can look up to greet new arrivals. Further along is the wood-fired grill that plays a part in much of the cooking.

Wessels is originally from South Africa and one section of his menu is devoted to meats and fish from the “braii” or barbecue. Other plates show a mix of influences – South African, Thai, French and particularly Japanese – all elevated above what is normal by small but significant touches of technical virtuousity. Nothing too flashy – just bloody delicious.

Take the crisp, cracker-ish base made from a baked paste of potato, capsicum and sundried tomato that is piled with peperonata, goat’s curd and half-moons of chorizo.

Dining room at Aurora restaurant. Picture: Jack Fenby

It’s a tapas snack with all the hot-blooded intensity of a flamenco performance and for under $9 a steal. Japan’s okonomiyaki or cabbage pancake is made in the traditional manner but is smaller, puffier and more measured in its dressing. The accompanying octopus tentacle is poached and then grilled with a soy glaze, before being arranged on top with a drizzle of koji ­mayonnaise and bonito flakes.

Staying in this part of the world, a silken puree of eggplant and dashi is the mortar that binds fried pieces of tofu, chargrilled broccoli florets and toasted leaves of nori. Simple, but refined, it’s a yoga session for your insides. A larger veg course brings together parmesan-loaded semolina gnocchi, grilled cauliflower pieces, a cauli puree, slippery black fungus and fronds of fried coral mushroom in a coating of curry spices. For a visual reference, think the Great Barrier Reef.

A pair of garfish, split precisely lengthwise, look spectacular on the plate, with their slender torsos striped by char and heads and tails still attached.

Chocolate chilli dessert from Aurora restaurnt. Picture: Jack Fenby

They are laid over supple leaves of sugarloaf cabbage that are dark and toasty on the edges, the natural sweetness supercharged by a brush of miso paste. In case this meat-free selection gives the wrong impression, we might also have chosen a Thai-style duck curry, lamb with anchovy and macadamia or a pair of steaks, while peri peri poussin (small chicken) returns to the South African connection.

As does the milk tart, a delicate set custard fragrant with grated nutmeg and a fine sable biscuit lid, matched with mandarin syrup and an ice-cream flavoured by rooibos, the nation’s popular red tea.

In keeping with its vision, Aurora has employed a number of inexperienced staff but manages these roles in such a way that, other than water glasses being constantly filled, the most noticeable difference is all those young, eager faces.

Wessels reckons it is training these newcomers, rather than worrying about awards and ratings, that drives him now. The other stuff puts everyone under too much pressure. However, putting aside any charitable sentiment, I reckon this was the best, most consistent dining experience of the year so far. Sorry to put you under the pump, chef, but that’s 16.5 points out of 20.