HAPPENINGS
For the first time, we will be opening for Christmas lunch with a distinctively ARU twist.
From an Asian Fruits de Mer platter to start to a crisp pork belly & wood roasted pork scotch as a main (glazed with five spice & hoisin), this Christmas menu – with debut dishes – is something we cannot wait to share with you.
This year, we invite you to celebrate Christmas with a difference.
Thursday 25 December
1st seating – From 11.30am
2nd seating – From 1.45pm
$295
All seatings are two hours each, dietary requirements welcome with advance notice.
Our final wine event of the year is a celebration of Riesling to start off the summer season, paired with a crisp menu to complement the varietal.
One of the world’s most expressive and versatile grape varieties, Riesling is also perhaps one of the most misunderstood. It is mistakenly associated solely with sweetness, yet is one of our favourites for its remarkable range: from bone-dry and mineral to textured and layered, delicately off-dry to lusciously sweet.
Over this lunch, and in the hands of our sommeliers, we’ll celebrate the many facets of Riesling, exploring how the noble grape expresses itself across regions, winemaking styles and time. Six matches have been paired with a menu spanning 9 dishes and four courses, over Saturday lunch.
Saturday 22 November, 12:30pm | $195
Please note that this event is seated across shared tables
Private Dining
Ensconced away in Aru is our private dining room, Banda, which fully closes up to the rest of the restaurant. The rich, timber-encased space seats 12, with doors that offer seclusion.
Banda opens up onto The Terrace – an impressive landing with a view of our cellar. Here, you’ll find a grand long table set-up, a favourite amongst wedding parties, birthdays and celebrations of all sorts. The Terrace is separated from the dining room by a mesh curtain and seats 30. Both spaces can be booked separately or together.
We are delighted to offer additions for event bookings, including our babi guling – a Balinese-inspired suckling pig – and a Fire & Grain whisky pairing experience, where a special menu is paired with premium whiskies from The Balvenie. Both of these additions require advance notice.
In The Press
The Age Good Food Guide 2026 – Two Hats
The Age Good Food Guide 2025 – Two Hats
Australia’s Wine List of the Year 2025 – Three Glasses
The Age Good Food Guide 2023 – Two Hats
The Age Good Food Guide 2023 – Victoria’s Restaurant of the Year
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants – 50 Best Discovery
Gourmet Traveller – Review
The Age Good Food – Review
About
Named after the group of islands which ancient seafarers frequented as part of the Sino-Indonesian-Australian route, Aru draws on the cuisine of the three regions. Asian dishes deftly flecked with native Australian ingredients, grilled or finished over the wood-fired hearth.
In this beautiful, moody space of marble, mesh, wood and brick lies some of the city’s most renowned dishes and an impressive cellar list – a destination for a coming together of cuisines and cultures.
Gift Cards
Gift a dining experience at Aru with our digital gift cards, sent immediately to you or a recipient of your choice.
Gift cards are valid for 3 years from the date of purchase.