Aria Restaurant

I loved coming to Aria! I was invited by the restaurant to come along and experience Aria’s new winter menu and take a look around the restaurant. I’ll be honest, I would never have thought to go to a hotel restaurant for a dinner out, but I’ll definitely keep them on my radar from now on!
Aria is located in the Crowne Plaza lobby. Tucked away to the side you wouldn’t know it was there but it’s actually very inviting and perfect for a date night.
We were in a big group of people trying out the winter menu which has 12 items on the menu.
To start, we all tried: —
Hot Smoked Akaroa Salmon with cauliflower and roasted beetroot — This was delicious, light and would be the perfect starter for a salmon lover. The salmon was perfect and cauliflower was a big highlight.
Pan Seared Scallops with braised lentils and cherry tomatoes — I’m not a fan of much seafood, but these scallops were cooked to perfection and the lentils full of flavour. This would be my pick when coming back to Aria.
Shiitake, Button and Portobello Mushroom Salad — I personally didn’t try this dish as I don’t eat mushrooms.
Sweet Potato Tortellini with spinach, burnt butter and shaved parmesan — This was the entrée I was looking forward to the most, the burnt butter sauce had great flavour and the tortellini filling was sweet and light, the pasta itself was perhaps a little too Al Dente for my liking but regardless, this would be my second pick to have again.
Pork and Beetroot Risotto with French goats cheese — This dish looked SO good when it was placed on the table. The beetroot risotto was that perfect fuchsia colour. The pork medallions were a vey interesting texture and the flavour was overpowering for me. This was my least liked dish of the entrees.
We then moved on to four main dishes: —
Confit Duck with roasted pineapple, red curry and basmati rice — This was my favourite main. Incredible flavour in the thick curry, the roasted pineapple was a great addition to the curry, the duck was juicy, crispy and plentiful. This would be my pick to have again.
Lamb Shanks with cannellini bean purée and silver beet — The lamb meat fell of the bone the instant you touched it with the knife, it was soft, really moist and the cannelloni be a purée with the gravy from the lamb worked so well. This would be my second pick to have again.
Pork Cutlets with mushrooms and potato gnocchi — I was very surprised by this dish as the pork had a stuffed skin of mushroom and other flavour. I did ry this dish, and enjoyed it as the mushroom flavour wasn’t overpowering. The gnocchi were big and soft but there was only a handful of them.
Pumpkin and Buckwheat Salad with onions, Brazil nuts and cherry tomatoes — This dish looked the part! It is huge. I didn’t try every element of the salad but what I did taste was great. It would be the perfect main to share.
On to dessert! We tried three desserts and all were amazing: —
Chocolate Melting Pot — This was I think the favourite of the table. Made with Belgian chocolate, out comes a small bowl with a pudding in it, once you open the pudding there is an amazing thick chocolate sauce to devour. This dessert is very rich and sweet.
Black Doris Plum Tart — This dessert was delicious! Everything about it worked together perfectly. The plums melted in your mouth and the crème anglaise with the pistachios were so delicious. The casing or basket that the plums are baked in is a brioche which made the dessert for me. This would be my pick to have again — a hundred times over! …and I’m not a sweet tooth person!
Hazelnut Dacquoise — I was really intrigued by this dish as it just looks fun to eat. It is, it’s delicious. All elements are very sweet so I didn’t have too much of it but I did enjoy it.
Each set of meals were wine paired and we also enjoyed a port with dessert.
As you can probably tell the food was amazing, it was all presented wonderfully too. The Service was great — consistent, attentive and friendly — a great combination, they always had us smiling and topped up our drinks without us event noticing.
I loved this experience and would love to come back to Aria for dinner with just my husband as it really is the perfect setting for date night. As I said before, I would never think to come to a hotel restaurant and Aria has definitely changed that for me, I went in expecting a lovely meal and night, and was blown away.
My favourite meal of the night was the Confit Duck, followed by the Scallops and that Plum Tart — definitely try them!

A few nights ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to dine at Aria Restaurant, where we tried 12 different dishes off their new winter menu. I was super excited, not only because I always enjoy a foodie night out, but because I have walked past Crowne Plaza many times, but have never ventured in, so it was a real surprise!
Upon arrival, I first noticed how large the restaurant was. It was fairly quiet for a Wednesday evening, but in a way, it was nice having the restaurant to ourselves! The ambience was warm and inviting and the seating very comfortable.
The new winter menu offers an amazing choice of dishes, from seafood to meat to vegetarian meals. For starters, we were served the following:
— Hot Smoked Akaroa Salmon with cauliflower and roasted beetroot (a perfect start to the evening);
— Pan Seared Scallops with braised lentils and cherry tomatoes (the scallops cooked perfectly);
— Shiitake, Button and Portobello Mushroom Salad (not a huge fan, but my other dining companions loved it);
— Sweet Potato Tortellini with spinach, burnt butter and shaved parmesan (very flavoursome, especially with the burnt butter); and the
— Pork and Beetroot Risotto with French goats cheese (my favourite).
All the starters were beautifully presented; hence all the cameras came out at the table (I instantly felt right at home!). I particularly enjoyed the smoked salmon and the pan seared scallops, which were perfectly cooked. However, the pork (wrapped in prosciutto — heaven) was the dish that stood out the most. Sitting on a bed of dark red risotto, it was truly divine. The goats cheese also gave it that extra wow factor — creamy and delicious.
We were then served four mains, which again were all well-​presented and included:
— Confit Duck with roasted pineapple, red curry and basmati rice (the pineapple made it sweet and the curry rich and creamy);
— Lamb Shanks with cannellini bean purée and silver beet (the lamb was perfectly cooked);
— Pork Cutlets with mushrooms and potato gnocchi (very tasty and I loved the addition of the gnocchi); and the
— Pumpkin and Buckwheat Salad with onions, Brazil nuts and cherry tomatoes (I didn’t try this dish because I loathe pumpkin, but my other dining companions said it was excellent).
What I liked most about the mains were the excellent portion sizes. For example, it was nice to see two lamb shanks on the plate! Also the meals were quite filling, so well worth the money. My favourite main dish was definitely the lamb shanks — the meat was falling off the bone and it was incredibly tender! I also loved the addition of silver beet, which is not something I see often on a menu.
And last but not least, dessert.
Having heard great things about their Hazelnut Dacquoise (served with salted caramel, chocolate cream, smoked praline and berry sorbet), I was all set on ordering that. However, we ended up trying three desserts. Thank goodness because the Chocolate Melting Pot (made with dark Belgian chocolate) and the Black Doris Plum Tart were melt in your mouth! I couldn’t decide on my favourite dessert, but I loved the berry sorbet (as part of the Hazelnut Dacquoise), as well as the Chocolate Melting Pot — oozing with chocolate goodness! I would love to re-​create this at home!
Also highly recommend the Black Doris Tart. I wouldn’t normally order something like this off a menu, because, well, it isn’t chocolate! However, it had wonderful textures — the plums were juicy, the pistachios gave it nice crunch and the crème anglaise was rich and delicious!
As well as the amazing food, I thought the service was consistently great throughout the whole evening. Our water and wine glasses were always topped up — for the wine, we were always asked politely if we wanted more or not. The waiters were also friendly and I couldn’t have asked for better service.
Overall, it was a great dining experience for a hotel restaurant and definitely exceeded my expectations, with perfect company, wine and beautiful dishes. I will definitely be bringing my family and friends here — it was faultless.

As a student, it is not common for me to dine at fancy hotel restaurants unless it is a very special occasion so I was delighted when I was invited by Aria to try their winter menu. Tucked away on Albert Street in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Aria has a very central location making it perfect for dining before or after an event in town. The dining space is large and is good for groups but has managed to also stay warm and intimate.
We decide to share the entrées but as everything sounded delicious we asked the chef to choose. He suggested the oysters, the smoked salmon, the mushroom salad and the scallops. I love seafood so I was very happy with the choices! The smoked salmon and tempura battered oysters were the standouts dishes for me but all were very tasty. The oysters were served with wakame seaweed, lemon wedges and miso aioli and the flavours all went together fabulously. The tempura was light and crispy and didn’t overpower the flavour of the oyster. The smoked salmon was beautifully presented and was served on top of cauliflower panna cotta (like a thick purée), roasted beetroot and had shards of roasted cauliflower purée (almost like toffee). I am a big fan of pairing beetroot and salmon together and the dish really shows why. I didn’t have much of the mushroom salad as I was the last to try it. The salad consisted of roasted shiitake, button and Portobello mushrooms with pinenuts and pancetta in a cider vinaigrette. It was tasty but was probably my least favourite of the entrées. The scallops were served on top of braised lentils which I thought was an interesting choice. The coral had been removed (the orange part of the scallop) which I think is the best part of the scallop. If you are tossing up between the scallops and the oysters and I would get the oysters as they were 6 oysters but only 3 scallops.
We each ordered our own mains but had a taste of each. For the main I decided to order from the grill where you choose your meat, sauce and two sides. I ordered the Angus beef eye fillet (200g) with green peppercorn sauce, mashed potatoes and garlic butter mushrooms and my dining companions had the Canterbury Lamb rump, lamb shanks and Confit of duck. Out of the four dishes the Confit of duck was my favourite. Deliciously tender with lychee and pineapple in a red curry. My eye fillet was cooked exactly to my specifications (rare) and the sides were delicious. Creamy mashed potatoes and buttery mushrooms are always a good choice with steak. The lamb shank was melt in your mouth tender and fell off the bone as soon as I reached my fork over for a taste.
For dessert I order the Hazelnut Dacquoise which was described as a hazelnut cremeux with salted caramel, chocolate cream, smoked praline and raspberry and pomegranate sorbet. I wasn’t too sure what I was going to get but I love salted caramel (as does everyone I think) and so I had to order it. I did a bit of googling and a dacquoise is a dessert cake with layers of almond and hazelnut meringue and cremeux means creamy. I would describe it as an almost creamy but firm mousse-​like cake with a salted caramel centre. The sorbet was intense but delicious and worked well to cut the richness of the dacquoise. I was extremely full by this stage but I had to finish it all. This was a life changing dessert. This Hazelnut Dacquoise is hands down the best thing I have eaten in a very long time. I will 100% be going back to order this. AND it changed the way I think about dining in hotel restaurants. While I can’t really afford to go out and have a three course meal at a fancy restaurant every month I can afford to get dessert and coffee after a play or movie or before a gig.
I had a really fantastic time dining at Aria. The staff were all lovely and extremely helpful and attentive all night. Everything I had from the menu (and I had a lot) was wonderful. I really wasn’t disappointed by any of the dishes and they were cooked well and presented beuatifully. Aria would be an excellent place to go for a special occasion or somewhere to take the Granparents (I’m always looking for Grandparent friendly restaurants). As I said I am coming back for you Hazelnut Dacquoise! And I would really like to try more of the dessert menu too.

Friendly, but slow service that all give off that «I’m new» vibe.
Nice menu selection, although a weird entreé/​main option for each and a little too much cafeteria style build-​your-​own-​sides option that could use a lesson in presentation. Overall good preparation and flavor, but a little overpriced for the end result.
Falls a little under expectation, but does have the in-​hotel advantage. That said, you’re a quick walk to so much more and better.