Founded by Geno Auriemma, Cafe Aura pairs Italian cuisine, premium steaks, seafood, and an award-recognized wine program in an elegant yet approachable seeing. As a fine dining restaurant in Manchester, it offers a place where guests come together over thoughtfully prepared dishes, a entive service, and unhurried conversation.

Welcome to Geno Auriemma’s Cafe Aura, where upscale dining, an extensive wine program, prime steaks, and classic Italian dishes come together with a contemporary touch.

Cafe Aura has earned recognition from diners and readers across Connecticut for both its cuisine and dining experience. The restaurant was voted Best New Restaurant in the 2020 Best of Hartford Magazine Readers’ Poll and has continued to earn accolades each year since. In 2023, it placed in the top three for Romantic Restaurant, Wine List in a Restaurant, Special Occasion Restaurant, and Italian.

In 2024 and again in 2025, the restaurant was a finalist for Best Wine List in the Best of Hartford Readers’ Poll. It was also featured in Connecticut Magazine’s Best Restaurants 2025, named the Hartford County winner and a statewide finalist for Best Wine Selection.
From its extensive wine selection to its refined dining experience, Cafe Aura continues to welcome guests from Manchester and throughout Connecticut year after year.

We offer a Prix Fixe dinner menu every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, along with half-price bottled wines every Wednesday. Reservations are highly recommended. Planning a celebration or business gathering? Ask about our private dining and event options. No matter how you choose to dine with us, we look forward to serving you.

Geno Auriemma was named coach of the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball program on May 17, 1985, and in 35 years has led the UConn Huskies to twenty Final Fours, eleven NCAA championships, six perfect seasons and 49 conference championships. A 2006 inductee to both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, Auriemma became just the fourth women’s basketball coach to reach 1,000 career wins on Dec. 19, 2017.

He was the fastest coach to reach the mark and owns the best win percentage in the sport (.884). Auriemma has been named Naismith National Coach of the Year eight times, AP National Coach of the Year nine times, WBCA National Coach of the Year seven times and conference coach of the year 15 times. Off the court, the Huskies boast a perfect 100 percent graduation rate among four-year student athletes while regularly participating in community service and outreach activities. Coach Auriemma has served as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National team for eight years, leading Team USA to the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medals.

He also led the United States to gold in the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Championships. Auriemma, the son of Italian immigrants, was born in Italy and moved to Norristown, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia, with his parents, brother and sister, when he was young. He is a graduate of Bishop Kenrick High School and West Chester (Pa.) University.

His coaching career began as the assistant women’s basketball coach at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia during the 1978-79 season. He later coached boys high school basketball at Bishop Kenrick before becoming an assistant to coach Debbie Ryan at the University of Virginia in 1981, where he worked until UConn hired him.

Coach Auriemma currently resides in Manchester, CT with his wife Kathy. Geno has three children and three grandchildren.
To learn more about Coach Auriemma, please visit www.GenoAuriemma.com.