Indian Aroma Restaurant Victoria — Restaurant in Victoria

Wish I could give zero stars. Absolutely pathetic customer service. Visited the place 8 months ago during the pandemic when the staff was really hospitable, welcoming and hardworking. Had quite a disastrous experience today. Just left the restaurant and the server/owner was absolutely rude and unwelcoming. We mentioned we were in for dine in. We reached the restaurant at 8:50pm. The restaurant shuts at 11:30pm. The restaurant was full. The server informed us that he would not be able to accommodate us for dine in. We were willing to wait as we knew the restaurant was full. But, instead of giving us an anticipated wait time he said he will not be able to accommodate us unless we wanted a takeout. He said “I don’t know how much time it will take to get a table so I can do a takeout”. We mentioned we were there for dine in and he refused us! We felt shooed away. Eight months ago we had visited the same restaurant when it was practically empty during the pandemic and I remember the owner was so grateful for our patronage. I had written a glowing review of this place back then. The same place seems to have developed an attitude towards its loyal clientele. Message for the owner: client loyalty is key. If you don’t respect you customers it won’t be long before they stop visiting your restaurant. Also, good idea to teach your servers some customer service and manners—including please, sorry and thank you. After being shooed away we visited the nearby Varsha’s restaurant which was way more welcoming with very delicious...

Boring. Another 5-star.

Actually, this started out a bit weird. We were seated and the gentleman took an age to take our order. Then in the middle of doing so he went to get a pen because the order was a bit long... but then decided to watch TV instead, before returning -- I swear -- about three minutes later. I watched him come back and simply grab the pen from the desk in front of him. Clearly we were way down on his list of priorities. Maybe his mother was on TV.

Once our order was taken, the food was rather prompt. And it was so good it was just bizarre. It was utterly bizarre how food could be so perfect. The flavours and spices in my chicken mango and my wife's fish kadhai were beyond what can be said with a rating, the naans were fantastic -- beautifully textured (and big!) -- and even the rice was especially good. I've had a lot of Indian food in my life; this place ranks number 1. The guy could have thrown it at me and I still would have given it five stars.

Even the lassis were lovely.

Looking forward to going back, but must remember to bring my own toilet paper. They didn't bother with it. Thankfully I checked first and there was no...

Restaurant was mostly unoccupied but this doesn't seem unusual for an Indian restaurant. After awkwardly standing around for a few minutes I approached the kitchen to be seated, which was appreciated given the unappealing odour at the entrance. I don't fault the restaurant, this is downtown Victoria and the entrance is likely used as a bathroom at night. I had butter chicken and chicken pakoras with rice and naan. The chicken in both dishes was tough, like it would be had it been sitting under a heat lamp for a while. It was unappealing enough for me to not eat it. The restaurant was not busy but I was not checked in on a single time, no napkins on table, no water offered. Service was poor at best but simply non existent. The rice had no flavour. The butter sauce was decent and the most redeeming factor is that the naan was likely the best I've ever had. There are many good reviews on here so I think I must have just had an unlucky experience, however, even if offered to make it right, I don't think I...