Aroma Fine Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Toronto

I had high expectations coming in to try this place out because it was recommended by a couple of friends. However that was not to be the case, and I came out disappointed. The level of service and dining experience we received was lamentable.

Upon going into the dining area at the 2nd level of the building, there was no receptionist or personnel to welcome me and my companion to our seats. Sitting down at our table there was also no one to come to us / greet us / ask how many we are dining for today's meal / mention to us about the day's buffet offerings or whatever the day's special was, or ask us if we would want to order drinks --- standard operating procedure that are to be expected in a food establishment.

During meal time we already had finished our 1st plate, but we were still not served the customary glass of water. We had to go out of our way to ask the waiter for some. Water refilling was also not routine. Requests had to come from us for the refill. It was only for our last glass of water that they seemed to voluntarily serve us some.

I must also mention it is the same thing with asking for napkins. Eating Indian food one is using one's hand, so hands need to be clean prior and hands will be dirtied during and after. There were no napkins initially available at the table. After my first round eating I had to wipe my hands clean. I asked for napkins, but it took time so I just used the small folded white plate cloth for the meantime to clean my hands. Then some time later I had to follow-up a couple more times about the napkins before it finally came. In this place the washrooms are also upstairs so I had to go all the way up one level to wash my hands clean. Such an inconvenience for just trying to tidy up.

Talking about food, I appreciated how the Chicken Tikka was presented. Other than that, taste was nothing special for me. There were not as many food options available compared to other Indian buffets I have tried. The naan section was also not regularly replenished. I got to experience moments when I was up to get food, but the naan tray was empty. There were also a couple of naans me and my companion got to get which were not warm enough or firm enough.

The last gripe I have is the taste of the food. It is not actually spicy at all (In other cases, that may be fine with me biologically/physiologically because I do have a low tolerance for hot & spicy food). I do understand that this may be intentionally toned down to accommodate a more diverse clientele, however this move does break away from the immersion of being able to sample authentic Indian dishes.

It is perfectly understandable that food places do have their off days where they don't tick everything in the box, but to have these many different blunders happen all together during a lunch meal is really disappointing. The fact that I did enjoy going back and back again for the butter chicken, and the good time I was having with my companion saved the whole dining...

I want to start by calling out the negative reviews about this place. After my visit, I have questions about the credibility of these negative reviews.

Went with my family for their buffet, had called in to make the reservation (It was the owner who had received the call before opening hours and answered all of my questions, didn't know this until we visited). As soon as we got there, they offered us a couple of tables to choose from, once we got seated, the waiters (One of them was Bipin, and didn't get the name of others) made sure we were comfortable and were checking on us in intervals and changing the plates and refilling the water.

The owner (Ghanshyam Joshi Ji) made a visit to our table, a very humble human, I enjoyed the conversation.

Coming to the food, THE BEST buffet in Downtown Toronto. You get plenty of options to choose from, and everything is unlimited. There were decent salad options, veg and non-veg appetizers (I enjoyed the Amritsari Fish and my family loved the Tandoori Chicken), decent main course options, Butter Naan, and you get Kheer, Gulab Jamun, and 4 different Ice Creams for dessert.

Everything was FRESHLY MADE and refilled as soon as it was out.

Overall, it was a great experience, you get more than your money's worth, and I highly recommend this place.

The hate and negative reviews are sad and unfortunate. This place doesn't deserve any of the negative comments here. I question the motivation of the people who have...

Aroma Fine Indian ABSOLUTELY deserves a full 5 stars for its excellent lunch buffet. Given that I consider myself a (fairly) good cook when it comes to Indian food, and also because I have been to a deluge of Indian buffets in my life, here are a few reasons:

1. They have a fantastic selection of dishes that span a complete Indian meal, without being overwhelming in terms of choice, or rushed in terms of the number of dishes in the service area;

2. Each dish is prepared as if it was made for an a-la-carte order and presented with pride as such.

3. The butter chicken test-case: too many times have pieces of dry chicken been made to overheat and shrivel under an Indian buffet's heat lamp. Not here. Each piece of chicken at least seemed to be cooked in gravy, was the proper preparation of chicken that has TANDOORI SPICE FIRST and THEN cooked in butter chicken sauce, and was tender and juicy.

4. GOAT CURRY: When I went, they had a goat curry available. Not only is this my (and many others') favourite indulgent curry treat, but to have it available and made to a high standard for a typical lunch buffet is to be celebrated.

Finally, the service from the kind and attentive waiters rounds out the experience.

Aroma is an institution in the entertainment district, and I encourage you to go. The experience will cost you less than a generic plastic tray lunch spot, and leave you fuller.

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