Aura
1022 W Burnside St
Portland, OR 97209 (503) 597-2872
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Music: DJ
- Best Nights: Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: No
- Coat Check: Yes
20 Reviews for Aura
i just went for the happy hour and the food was great!!!! creamy fondue, plate of fries, sushi (yummmy!), and something else...methinks pizza. i was hungry that day. more than usual. $2 droptop also. love the tunes as well!! would love to check it out some fri or sat night. our server said they're trying to start a thursday night reggae thing. sounded cool.
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Nice, smoke free dance club. Food here is pretty good. They have 3 bars to order drinks and areas that you can reserve for a fee. I would like to try the happy hour here sometime when it isn't in "Club mode" Free entry before 9:30 PM. 3.5 Stars
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2 stars for hanging in there.
The bouncers and promoters suck. Why? See the review of the other people here. They are true. There's no need to be redundant about the rants here.
The design of the bar/club is bare industrial. Almost nothing by couches, chairs. Nothing new, nothing pretty, nothing edgy.
The drinks needs tweaking. They are not consistent, some nights maybe watered down, some can be awesomely stiff.
They hold parties but not like as before (themed parties).
There is a smoking section somewhere nearby the restrooms.
The music is so pop it'll make you nauseus if you're over 25.
Why 2 stars? The other clubs just suck donkeyballs. People tend to be fickle minded on what clubs are hot and not. This club stayed and it is a good thing.
This club is better than most of the new pretentious bars around. say SoLo?!
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If you read some of my other reviews you would think I would hate this place, but I have always had fun. The DJ always sucks and is always going to be playing top40 mtv BS...but the space is cool and I have been lucky enough to get strong drinks each time.
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Innovative.
Scary.
Fascinating design.
Sortof a sucky venue for music,
except that it's convenient to transit, many eateries and Pubs.
However,
Plastique Drinks.
Go on a free or favorite Band nite to decide for yourself.
I personally vote No...unless you want a site
to Host the Showiest and Shallowest Party - Ever.
The place made me feel like people in the room
who I already knew well
were hmm, attractive - yet somehow unknowable.
And maybe if they choose to stay here,
maybe I don't really want to know them.
Lighting and space is just so wrong for dancing.
Ok, new theory.
Maybe this is where some So Cal people - who just want to be briefly seen - and not really contribute to anything - will feel at home?
There's a target market for everything.
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C is for communication-learn to communicate AURA!
the 10 dollar cover super sucked, and, even after i paid for my friend's cover and said, yes this is my guest-she also somehow ended up paying. that kinda sucked-well, when i realized this is what happened at 2am.
the dj was awful, the music selection scattered and the crowd was a really bad mix of the drunken and the leering men watching for their next victim-i mean...dance partner.
there were parts that gave me a feel of old bada lounge back up here in seattle, but for dancing the night away, i think i will try and find another place to hit up.
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I am officially an old hag after going to Aura for the evening. Yep, that was me, the gal in the corner holding the purses for the girls so they could hit the dance floor with scads of sweaty strangers grinding to techno music that should only be allowed at an underage nightclub. And perhaps it's just me, but I think there comes a time when you outgrow any evening that includes reaching under the stall to borrow toilet paper from your bathroom neighbor.
They really should have one of those signs you see at the carnival that tells you how tall you should be to go on the ride. Aura's sign should read, "If you are over the age of 29 be prepared to feel old...REALLY, REALLY, OLD."
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You know those nights when you're just in the mood to spend an extra hour getting ready and put on way too few clothes only to wait outside on the sidewalks of W. Burnside for half a hour while traffic whizzes by???
Neither do I really, but if you ever are in that exact mood, then Aura is the place for you.
Creating the dance-club scene for Portland, Aura does a decent job of pulling out the fancy curtains and creating that meat-market feel that all should expect from a place touting alcohol and lots of bodies rubbing up against each other.
I give Aura four stars because I had VIP when I went and paid no cover, had a table to escape to and was even served free champagne, but had these things not been a factor Aura would not have fared so well. The inside is done very well, nice decor and lighting. There's a couple bars, but the lines were still pretty long. And the bathrooms... only two stalls for women, come on now people (but the sinks are super cool).
Bottom line: If you like to dance and don't mind drunken people looking for a booty call or standing outside, hit up Aura. You won't be disappointed.
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we came here on saturday. good place for big groups/parties. unlike other clubs i've been to in portland, they have a nice lounge area upstairs & downstairs that's separate from the dance floor so you can actually sit down and converse with people. this was my second time here & i like it the best compared to others.
if you're coming here for a party, make reservations. we didn't, but were very lucky that night. the staff was friendly and accommodated our party of 22+.
the whole party was granted access, except for the cake. that was the only downer. they have pretty strict rules about cake and i guess you have to inform them in advance. they charge a cake cutting fee and certain types/brands of cupcakes aren't allowed - don't ask me why. it was actually funny how they made such a big fuss and interrogated the cake. the poor cake went through more security checks than we did. it's just a cake!
*music was good-mostly hip hop/dance w/ some fun eighties music mixed in.
*drinks were strong.
*interior was clean and cute.
*crowd was good.
*no cover before 9:30.
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My first night in Portland, we went out clubbing :-)!
Just got back from a night of dancing at Aura! No line at the door so we walked right in for only $7/person. The bar/lounge is very spacious. There's two bars downstairs with a lounge and a decent-sized dance floor and an upstairs VIP room. The bathroom is great, there's a one-way mirror and I was able to see people dancing while I took care of business. It's too bad we only discovered the shadow screen towards the end of the night and I didn't get to try it out because I was all done dancing.
The long hallway upstairs was perfect for people watching. I drank my not-so-good mojito as I scoped out the place and enjoyed listening to the beats from upstairs. After forcefully downing my drink, I headed downstairs and started dancing. The music was great... top 40, hip-hop/r&b with some old school songs in between. DJs, Scorpio and Hipnotic, were awesome and the mix of Justin Timberlake's "My Love" and "Sexy Back" was off the hook!
I truly had a wonderful time, dancing can be so much fun with the right people and good music. Also, I couldn't say 'no' to free drinks... thanks to the guy that was hanging out at the bar all night long.
Dance your ass off until 2:30am on Friday and Saturday nights :-)!
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I came here for the Happy Hour. Most of the reviews for this place are about the club aspect and I can't really comment on that except it looks pretty nice inside. The decor of the place is really worth mentioning and it's kind of a downer that so many people have had bad experiences.
As for happy hour, the place is completely chill. I had a great time here and had some very unique and awesome food compared to most happy hours where it's burgers and artichoke dip. Everything tasted good except the fondue. My girlfriend never tried fondue so we ordered it and the cheese was not cooperating with us. The drinks are stiff just the way I like it and the staff was very friendly to us anyways.
I've experienced a lot of trouble too like the other reviewers for this place. But hey, any nightclub on a Friday or Saturday is going to suck. You're gonna have to wait in line, people at the door are going to be assholes, cover charge is most definite, and there will be ugly people in there too. It's all a part of clubbing life and you should have gotten used to it by now. When I lived in LA, I went through the same shit but then I decided to make Thursday's my new Friday. Clubbing on Thursday is a completely different experience, the music is not as loud so you can actually talk to people. There is no cover charge and the line is almost nonexistent and the drinks are cheaper. You can actually afford to get drunk at the club. I've had way more fun clubbing on Thursdays than any Fridays in the history of clubbing. The people are better looking too, only ugly people go clubbing on the weekend haha!
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Fun, hip hop dance music...you can dance without a partner and someone will start dancing with you! A good size club, not rowdy or that feeling that you may be dancing with someone that wears an ankle bracelet. Clean, modern lounge feel and no waiting by the bar.
The only thing I missed was the platform that used to be there which was fun to dance on! Took my cousins here from Cali and they had a great time shadow dancing with me. Watch out for boys who will want to make shadows with you...My boyfriend who NEVER dances also got on the floor and danced! You can go all out in club wear clothes or just jeans and a tshirt!
Nice mix of employed people, probably mid 20's to mid 30's... okay, I'm 39...life is short...it was fun!!
One of my pics is me dancing against the shadow wall...some people took it way too seriously trying to be sexy James Bond girls, I had more fun making dog shadows, pretending I was swimming and doing jumping jacks...what a dork...but others joined in! :)
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Great, lively vibe with conveniently located bars (two on the lower level and one upstairs); cool walkway on the 2nd floor, perfect for people watching.
You could be anywhere in the club and feel comfortable just lounging and chatting. The dance floor was adequate with a huge screen where you could shadow-dance! My cousin and I had great fun making shadow animals and egyptian dancing across the length of the entire screen - it was hilarious on the opposite side, but those behind us probably thought we were crazy.
The club is conveniently located right across the legendary Powell's Books, so it's easy to find right off of bustling Burnside Avenue. Cover on a Saturday night was only $7 and "Souled Out Productions" put on a great show with some sinful auditory pleasures!
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Trendy decor, rich eats, and hip hop beats. This restaurant is a great location for first dates and a suave atmosphere for small group dining. I have taken several friends here for dinner, and it has always been a great experience. The staff are great, and the food is tasty.
A fantastic kaleidoscope-like screen separates the dance floor from the dining/lounge area. And their unique bathroom design is strangely a great conversation piece. Shake your groove thang on a packed weekend dance floor, or go late on a quiet weeknight and enjoy one of their house signature drinks, or a tasty "tier" full of great appetizers to share. When you're done dining enjoy a sugary cone of cotton candy; a light and playful treat.
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line to get in, $10 cover, bad crowd, bad music, bad drinks...
groups of obnoxiously drunken ugly boys and girls everywhere.
maybe it's just me, being old and sane. anyway...
dig not.
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Watching a creepy bouncer, old and white of course (portland), with leather/biker look, snake back and forth through the dance floor saddling up next to girls dancing, is fun in that voyeristic way. Watching a tall kid who looked Just like Napoleon Dynamite, long necked with adams apple protruding, wearing unfit outdated suit, dance like Napoleon Dynamite post dance school, is also fun in that stunning kinda way. Overall, too fraty/sorority, drinks were too fakey candy. A sorta cheesy, overly mainstream vibe, but is kinda pretty decor inside. And do love the bathrooms with mirrored windows in the stalls that look out on the dance floor.
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I just don't like lines. Or cover. Not in Portland at least. I have been to aura on a non-weekend night and enjoyed it. The cocktails are great and if I remember right they are named after seven deadly sins.
They do have a decent amount of seating and a dance floor, but on a weekend night it just gets too crowded and kinda feels like a singles scene.
I dug the layout. Quieter area up front, then dance floor, catwalk and VIP area upstairs. Reminded me of Trinity in Seattle, although smaller. However, a nightclub either makes it or breaks it for me based on the DJ and staff, all of which were not all that great. The security staff especially really needed something to do with their spare time. And one tip for you ladies - the men's bathroom has one-way windows looking out on to the dance floor. So, I'd recommend heading to the ladie's room to powder your nose and whatnot, otherwise expect a snicker from whoever happens to be standing at the urinal.
I loved Aura when I was in Portland. It was like a baby grow up... one summer most nights there were only a couple of folks any given night..and suddenly that fall, the mad rush began. I guess Portlanders need some place to see themselves trendy.
Decent bar. Worst barbacks in the city :)
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