Bistro Aurora at The Podium: A culinary tale
Weeks after that long and lingering lunch at Bistro Aurora, its flavors still haunt the palate. Clearly, Bistro Aurora is no fleeting novelty—it’s a dining experience that thrives on memory.
As the elevator opens on the sixth floor of The Podium Social—a stylish new food hall and after-work haven showcasing global flavors and artisanal cocktails—Bistro Aurora greets you with quiet elegance. Born of legacy yet alive with the spirit of discovery, it is the offspring of the acclaimed Aurora Restaurant in Makati, now extending its signature warmth and sophistication to a wider circle of diners in Ortigas.
Step inside and you are first struck by the brightness of its interiors—inviting yet refined, with an atmosphere that makes you feel immediately that a good time awaits. The attentiveness of the staff reinforces the impression: Service here is seamless, thoughtful, and quietly anticipatory, setting the stage for what truly makes Bistro Aurora shine: the food.
Dining here is a reminder that food is never ordinary. From appetizers to desserts, each plate is too carefully imagined and too beautifully executed to be consumed without thought. Every dish reveals the hand of a culinary team that combines deep technical mastery with innate creativity, transforming simple ingredients into art. At the helm is executive chef Mark Sanchez who leads with quiet confidence, understanding of flavors, precision of technique, and flair for innovation.
The tuna ceviche is a bright beginning, paired with rice crisps that shatter audibly with each bite. It is fresh, playful, and layered with textures that keep you reaching for more. The smoked salmon donburi, a bestseller carried over from Aurora’s Makati flagship, is pure theater. Lift the lid and a wisp of smoke escapes, carrying with it the rich perfume of cured salmon, umami unfolding in waves.
Equally memorable are the New Zealand mussels, like jewels blanketed in a fragrant laksa broth. The pulpo with shiso gremolata follows, its tenderness and herbaceous brightness signaling yet again that this is far from ordinary dining.
And then, the showstopper: a bone-in Australian Tomahawk steak, perfectly seared and served medium, its juicy, buttery richness served with all the drama of a final act. Wines and cocktails pair naturally with the spread, while desserts—playful yet elevated—remind you that sweetness, too, can be an art.
What lingers long after is not only the taste but the feeling: a craving that resurfaces days later.. Perhaps that is precisely the vision of Atty. Nilo Divina—dean of the UST Faculty of Civil Law and founder of Divina Law—who has also quietly built a growing portfolio of dining concepts. Divina has discovered a second calling, emerging as a conjurer of culinary experiences. Aurora in Makati is his tribute to his late mother, whose homecooked meals nurtured comfort, togetherness, and the kind of memory that beckons one back to the table.
Bistro Aurora is, in many ways, an allure: to dine slowly, to savor generously, and to remember fondly. It is a restaurant that leaves you not just with the satisfaction of a good meal, but also with the desire to relive the flavors, to recapture the moment, and to once more find yourself at home in its light-filled space above the city.
