aroma @ ascot — Restaurant in Brisbane City

We ordered two takeaway pizzas and a garlic bread for pickup at 6:15pm on 29th of March. Pretty simple, right? Apparently not. When we arrived, it was immediately clear a large event was underway. A security guard stopped us at the door and asked why we were there. We explained we were just picking up a takeaway order, which triggered a ridiculous chain of back-and-forth that made it painfully clear this place had absolutely no idea what it was doing.

The security guard relayed our presence to the staff. A man then came out to ask (again) why we were there and reassured us the order was “just a few minutes away.” Then he returned, now needing the name the order was under. We gave it. He responded with the same message, that the order was "just a few minutes away".

When he returned (for the third time), he brought one pizza and an iPad, asking us to confirm the order. We told him - again - that it was two pizzas and a garlic bread. He mumbled something and disappeared again, only to return minutes later, with the same wrong order. Déjà vu, but make it incompetent!

He then casually lit a cigarette and wandered off like he was on a smoke break in a back alley, not in the middle of helping a customer. Meanwhile, we watched other customers come and go, breezing in and out with their orders while we stood around, barely sheltered from the rain, and having the other customers wishing us luck with the whole situation.

At this point, it had been over 30 minutes and the staff member came back out, asking to take my phone to show the kitchen staff - uh, no thanks! So I followed him in, and only then were we told the kitchen had never even received our order and it would have to be made from scratch. After all that waiting!

I told them we’d already been waiting 30 + minutes and just wanted a refund. He nodded and told us he’d bring it out. So we waited. Another staff member came out to ask us what we were waiting on and we tried to explain the situation but she did not (or possibly could not, English was not her first language) understand.

Another 10 minutes, no refund, no update, no sign of staff, no clue. I went back inside to track him down and was met with blank stares, every other staff member had no idea who or what I was talking about. Eventually, we spotted him “out back” attending to the function. Why would you be accepting takeaway orders when you have a function on is beyond me!

Another 10 minutes passed, and then, out of nowhere, he returned - with two pizzas and a garlic bread in hand. When questioned, his response? “Yes, we’ll be refunding you, but we wanted to give you the food anyway.” We couldn’t believe it—they made us wait all that extra time just to give us food we no longer wanted. Then, to top it off, the security guard walked over and asked if the food was up for grabs because “you guys said you didn’t want it.” The audacity was almost laughable!

We confirmed (again) that we would be refunded in full. The staff member - who said his name was Sandeep - agreed, but refused to provide any confirmation.

When we finally got home and opened the boxes, we found an extra garlic bread and two cans of soft drink. Cute but it didn’t redeem the situation. The pizzas, though fresh, were undercooked and underwhelming.

This was hands down the most chaotic, incompetent and tone-deaf customer service experience we’ve had in recent memory. If you’re considering Aroma based on its positive reviews, I would suggest thinking twice before relying on them. Disorganised, dismissive and borderline bizarre - this was easily one of the worst experiences we’ve ever had. Yes, we did receive the refund but no, we will not...

I seldom provide reviews online but I think I’m obligated to share my experience from our dinner tonight. I’ll be in contact with the restaurant owner regarding this matter during the week.

Firstly, I would like to compliment our waiters for their service. I cannot fault them.

Secondly, the food is delicious. I had the eye fillet which melted in my mouth and the apple and macadamia crumble was very heartwarming for a chilly night.

Lastly, the ambience is fairly nice except for a female toilet which had a very pungent stench and at some point, the air in the restaurant was filled with cigarette smoke without an obvious source.

I’d have rated my experience fairly highly but it’s not until I witnessed what happened to my colleague.

My colleague and his guests happened to sit in the next table to me and my friends. He’s an elderly 70 year old man who offered to buy us drinks at the end of the night but we declined as we are driving and we are about to leave. The waiters brought the wine bottles around to our table but we declined to have any more drinks before they opened the bottles. Hence we advised my colleague to check his bill and make sure he hasn’t been charged for the drinks we declined.

What I witnessed next is the worst customer service and aggression in a restaurant. The manager attended to my colleague who asked for a refund of the drinks which were never served but yet as charged to his bill. The manager raised his voice at my colleague and said that wasn’t what was agreed. He claimed my colleague has asked for the drinks to be placed on his bill regardless when the manager has previously suggested to check if we would like to have the drinks. He abused my colleague by pointing at his head, raising his voice and telling him never to come to the restaurant again. The manager then took some bills out of a drawer, crumped them in his hands and handed to my colleague. Once again, pointing his finger at my colleague’s head, shouting at him and told him never to return.

All this in view of the two waiters who attended to our bills. The waiters apologized for the manager’s behaviour. When the manager walked passed me and my friends, he said fking ct.

My friends and I will never ever step foot into this restaurant ever again. It is disappointing that the good job the rest of the employees of the restaurant were doing was destroyed by their manager who should be a leader and role model in the business.

If you are this business’ owner, please contact me personally. If not, I’ll be in contact through your phone number in the coming...

Never been so disappointed... My parents made a face to face booking after having lunch. They requested to sit out the back, away from the bar. They had a discussion in which it was suggested, by the staff that they could push some tables together to fit a party of nine in the boothed area. They couldn't have their preferred date as there was a wedding booked for that evening. Which prompted them to tell the staff that the booking was to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and the former restaurant "Baguette", (now One Fifty Ascott Bar and Eatery) was where they had their wedding reception. Upon arrival my parents were directed to a table in the middle of the bar area! It was loud and full of race goers. Which was one of the reasons they particularly asked for a table out the back! Upon questioning why we did not have the tables as discussed, the staff responded with "there's no note.... we have a function"... My mother questioned why they didn't have "notes", she had stood in the exact spot and spoken to the exact staff member she was now talking to(?). Why was it not mentioned during a confirmation phone call? No apology however, a comment of "we'll let you think about it". We left! This was an intimate family dinner to celebrate a very special occasion. We had two engaged couples who were excited to see the venue as a reception option. Do not expect any further business. Word of mouth will be...