Osteria L'aura: Not so expensive, but also main needs oomph

Area:  Lucent Tower (450m from Nagoya station, connected underground) ルーセントタワ　2F
Restaurant:  Osteria L'aura  オステリア　ラウラ
Website and Map:  http://osterialaura.petit.cc/grape3/

Hours:  Lunch 11:30am-3pm (LO 2pm), Dinner 5pm-11pm (LO 10pm)



Lucent tower always seemed like its restaurants would be in the fine dining range (or a little more on the expensive side, similar to Midland Square), but I came by to see what was available.

The lunch menu consisted of only a few choices.  It's a pasta lunch (\980) of which there are two types to choose from, and you can add an appetizer or dessert, each for an extra ¥300. 

I chose to add an appetizer and I'm glad I did.  It was a chilled chicken, ham and bamboo terrine.  The flavour of chicken seems to be enhanced when it's cold, and along with the chicken stock flavored jelly it was a good combination with the bits of parsley and black pepper speckled throughout.  The bamboo's flavour was overpowered, but it added a nice crunch.  The basil olive oil was great on the side as a dip and added yet another level.  

The salad seemed very plain, with very little dressing, but underneath all the greens was a tuna and mayo salad along with a carrot and raisin salad.  The slightly vinegary, yet sweet dressing and the sweetness from the plump raisins dressed the salad greens mildly.  The tuna salad added a more pungent flavor as it was canned tuna.

There were two types of house-made bread. One was golden brown in colour, but I'm not sure what made it this way.  It was not grainy, neither did it have the flavour of whole wheat, so I'm guessing it was some sort of dark sugar that imparted its colour.  It came warm and had a very nice density to it.  The other was focaccia.  The olive oil and subtle rosemary was balanced well.  

The pasta was a seafood, garlic olive oil dish.  There were bits of na no hana (rape blossom), pieces of squid, mini shrimp (two types, one with the head and flavorful edible shell still attached),  scallop, and clams.  The first bite had the very subtle taste of the na no hana, but every bite after that were the garlic and seafood flavours.  A bit salty, but the noodles were a good al dente.  I wish they would serve the bread with the pasta, a good sodium balancer.  A perfect addition to the pasta was the sun dried tomato.  Not only did it add a a vibrant colour, it added an extra flavour.  One may get bored with the pasta since its seafood toppings were few, and the saltiness high, but the tomato added a refreshing slightly acidic component.  

The brewed coffee was a bit sour and could have been sitting around for a while.  

Overall, it has a fine dining and modern atmosphere, good for a slow lunch, but food wise, the pasta could be improved.