(Last updated: September 12, 2026)
Aria by Chef D is the type of restaurant you’d never know existed, unless you live in Macau. I only happened to find it by scrolling 57 pages of TripAdvisor (back when that website was still a thing) and seeing it pop up with a five-star rating, composed of just 3 reviews. A smash find post-Covid, I’ve probably visited it 10 times in the last three years, digging as deep into the menu as a mere Maven possibly can.
South African chef and owner Denver Govender is there every day, overseeing everything. His cooking is deeply rooted in the traditions of his native country, with the common thread being flavour, and plenty of it. If you like soup that tastes like water and meat that disappears beneath decorative foam, head elsewhere. Chef D’s food throws punches.
He also keeps his menu lean, not wanting to overload it with dishes he isn’t happy with, or deal with a ton of ingredients he can’t store properly. If it’s on there, he stands behind it 100%.
During our interview, he described many of his dishes as “labours of love”. The seared tuna salad took six months to perfect, and every component is weighed to keep it consistent. The sauce accompanying the clams begins with vegetable offcuts and chicken bones cooked into stock, followed by confit butter and a spicy sauce. He also runs an in-house dry-aging program lasting 30 to 40 days, virtually unheard of for a restaurant of this size. Time, he says, is one of cooking’s most important ingredients, whether he is aging meat or marinating sea bass in lemon.
Perhaps most impressively, he makes everything he can in-house, including bread, butter, pickles and sauces.
Most of the starters at Aria by Chef D are excellent, and I’ve had a better experience with them than the mains.
The Mushroom Soup ($58) tastes unmistakably of mushrooms, enriched with cream and what I thought was a touch of butter. Simple, concentrated and very well made. 4.5 stars
The Seared Tuna Salad ($138) is Aria’s bestseller, and one of my 10 Can’t Miss Macau Dishes. Barely cooked tuna melts into a creamy dressing with what tastes like a hint of marmalade, while the beans and vegetables provide some much-needed crunch and texture. Perfection. 5 stars
I order the Chicken Livers ($108) almost every time. Fresh, rich and absolutely murderous on a basket of bread. Make sure they bring extra. 5 stars
The Spicy Chicken Wings ($88) are large, meaty and loaded with garlic, with enough heat arriving at the end to keep things interesting. Miles ahead of standard fast-food wings. 4.5 stars
The French Oysters No 0 ($108/piece) aren’t available all the time. It’s a shame because they are outstanding. 5 stars
The Potato Shrimp ($62) is crisp and perfectly enjoyable, but it has the misfortune of sharing a menu with much better starters. 3.5 stars
The mains are more uneven.
The Sautéed Clams ($158) are magnificent, although I’d classify them as another starter. The sauce may be even better than the clams themselves. Spoon up whatever remains, take it home and pour it over rice the following day. Throwing it away should be illegal. 5 stars
The Boerwors ($358), a South African sausage served with mashed potatoes and onions, is a dish you can only find at Aria by Chef D. My notes described it as “a sweet, savoury symphony slinging spice and soft mash,” which may be the finest sentence ever written about a sausage.
Make sure to mix the potatoes, onions, mustard and home made harissa sauce all together. I might have to start ordering this one every time. 5 stars
My friend couldn’t believe how good the Beef Stroganoff ($98) is, saying that 5 stars weren’t enough. That may be true, but the serving size is meagre. When I cook spaghetti at home, I’m eating five times as much.
The Cowboy Steak was $558 when I first ordered it and now costs approximately $1,000. It had a strong char, plenty of fat and everything you want from a well-cooked steak. I loved it at $558. At $1,000, we need to have a different conversation. 4.5 stars
The Pork Ribs ($358) are soft and melting with just enough bite. While Naughty Nuri’s still does them better, these are very strong. 4.5 stars
Then come the dishes I wouldn’t order again.
The Beef Wellington ($888) must be ordered in advance. I had never tried one before and went in expecting something closer to a normal steak. Instead, my meat arrived imprisoned inside a loaf of pastry.
My friend enjoyed it. I could have done without all the bread and whistles.
The Roasted Lamb Rack ($388) was better than the Lamb Shank ($388), but I wouldn’t order either of them again. Just looking at the lamb shank, something’s off to me.
The shank came aggressively seasoned, covered in herbs and crumbs and sitting in an extremely thick sauce. That may sound magnificent to some people, and it certainly follows Chef D’s general philosophy, but the whole thing overwhelmed me.
The Lamb Rack was cooked properly, but the meat felt tight rather than juicy and the crust didn’t add much. Not terrible, just unremarkable on a menu containing this many memorable dishes.
For every dish I disliked, Chef D could probably produce a hundred customers who loved it. That’s the point. This is his restaurant, his menu and unmistakably his food.
He is usually somewhere nearby, checking tables, talking about ingredients and asking what you thought. When something changes, he knows. When something goes wrong, he wants to know why.
Aria has grown largely through word of mouth, with some customers following Denver since before he opened the restaurant. Even “Chef D” came from local diners who struggled to pronounce his full name and called him “A Di.” He talks about the restaurant less as an individual achievement than something built with his wife’s family, close friends and staff. As he told me, “When the bank account gets bigger, instead of building the fence higher, I make the table longer.”
Words to live by, sir!
***UPDATE***
A return visit in April 2026 had some hits and misses.
The Roasted Chicken ($258) looked considerably better than it tasted. The promised Cajun seasoning barely registered, leaving the sauces on the side to rescue it. They couldn’t. Little char, little flavour and no reason to order it again. 2.5 stars
The Whole Seabass with Citrus Crust ($278) went in the opposite direction. Orange, lemon and lime came through immediately without burying the fish. Fresh, lively and much more interesting than it initially appeared. 4.5 stars
Desserts were strong across the board. The Lava Cheesecake ($98), served with tiramisu ice cream and caramel sauce, was rich without becoming exhausting. Everything on the plate made sense together.
The Brownie, which came free, was even better. Proper chocolate hit, soft, warm, and the kind of thing you finish without thinking.
***UPDATE***
A trio of dishes from August 2026, each of which was excellent.
The Tapas Platter ($198) was another winner. Composed equally of cured meats and cheeses, it looked fantastic on the table and tasted even better. The cold cuts were exceptionally fresh, with beautifully rich fat that slowly melted away as you ate.
Most of the cheeses leaned towards goat cheese, but they were surprisingly mild rather than overpowering. Even people who normally avoid goat cheese would probably have no trouble with these.
I don’t usually spend much time talking about sauces, but Chef D’s homemade ones deserve it. The black truffle sauce was outstanding. Before he told me what it was, I honestly thought it was some sort of olive tapenade because of its earthy depth. The second, a homemade harissa from Morocco and Tunisia, reminded me a little of fresh Mexican salsa. Completely different flavours, but each was made from scratch in-house and excellent.
Once again, Aria delivers a starter that absolutely hits. 5 stars
The 10-ounce Filet Mignon ($488) was another excellent piece of beef, although quite different from the steaks I usually gravitate towards. It isn’t really what I’d call a typical North American steakhouse steak. Instead, the emphasis was firmly on the beef itself. Because it’s seasoned with salt and pepper before cooking, the first thing you notice isn’t char but a savoury, well-seasoned beef flavour. There was plenty of juice throughout and exceptional tenderness.
As always at Aria, the homemade sauces elevated everything. The black truffle sauce was every bit as good as it had been on the tapas platter, while the house mustard was so good I found myself eating it on its own. Newman would’ve approved.
Vile weed! But very good steak. 4.5 stars
The pre-ordered French Blue Lobster ($1,488) was unlike any lobster I’ve ever eaten. Weighing around 1.2 kilograms and arriving alive at the restaurant, every part seemed to have its own texture and flavour. The claw was different from the tail, the body different again, and yes, even the brain was straight up delicious.
What surprised me most was the texture. Instead of the soft lobster we’re all used to, parts of it almost reminded me of steak. It had real chew, but never became tough, while staying incredibly moist with a gentle sweetness running through the meat.
Chef D explained that before cooking, he puts a pin through the lobster’s nervous system so it dies instantly. Not the easiest thing to hear over dinner, but it certainly showed the level of care going into the preparation.
Before the meal he smiled and told me, “After this, you won’t be able to eat lobster anywhere else anymore.”
Turns out he was right. 5 stars
***UPDATE***
A September 2026 visit brought three more dishes.
I’m running out of things to try, but was glad to finally get to the Honey Chicken Wings ($78). Large, meaty and topped with crispy garlic, they have a terrific texture and just enough sweetness from the honey. Like everything at Aria, they were fresh as all get out, bringing forth just the right amount of juice. 4.5 stars
The Clams with Linguine ($98) arrive beneath a mountain of clams. At first glance, I couldn’t even see the pasta. Before getting anywhere near the noodles, you have to remove the clams from their shells and mix everything together yourself. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I would have preferred a lot more pasta and far fewer shells.
Pre-order time!
The 20-Hour Slow-Roasted M4–M5 Beef Short Ribs ($2,088) are enormous—easily enough for four people. They arrive as one magnificent slab balanced across three massive bones, alongside roasted cauliflower, tomatoes, jus and mustard. Chef D pulled out the bones with his bare hands, each one slipping cleanly from the meat without any resistance, proving he’d done his job well.
The beef has a terrific texture, a deeply peppered crust and juice for days. The price looks frightening at first, but split between four or more people, it’s actually quite reasonable for food of this quality. No letdown at all, and an easy 4.5 stars
