Aroma Restaurant — Restaurant in Basildon

Be prepared for unattended children picking at food straight from the buffet area . This could be resolved by parents having to get food for children and not letting them near it .

The staff were overworked and pushed hard as the restaurant was fully booked.

The chefs whites upon going to the teppanyaki where all old and pretty dirty , the grill/plancha needed a good steam clean . The plastic ice cream tubs used to hold the food in fridges not fit for service.

Food was put on top of old food and not rotated and cleaned .

The duck was so tough luckily for me I didn't take much , but it was extremely finely chopped as this saves on waste .

Some of the equipment was old and dated and seeing as this restaurant has a hight turn over of public and a family of four would see a bill of +£110 it's not what I'd call well managed finances having worked on similar style restaurants in the past .

Sesame prawn toast was poorly made/prepared very lightly spread .

The duck orange was tough .

The special fried rice tasteless and of different sorts I could see layers of different ones the bottom layer was extremely softs having been stood there for some time top later was fresh.

Calamari was a suprise and well cooked although heavily seasoned.

Fried prawn tails ok.

Banana fritters had a very small amount of banana and heavily battered.

Lemon chicken was dry so dry it was leather like

The desert area was mobbed by kids experimenting and was avoided .

Half cup of ice with the drinks so be prepared for a lot of it.

It is a buffet though so I expected most of...

VISIT DATE: TUE 27/05/2025 VISIT TIME: 12:30 - 14:45

Aroma is a long established Chinese buffet restaurant situated inside the main building at Festival Leisure Park, Basildon (next to the cinema). I’ve been many times over the years and whilst the food isn’t spectacular , there is a good selection, including pizza and plain stuff for those that prefer it, as well as a fresh section where you can have things cooked to order.

They also have a good selection of mini cakes and whipped ice cream, as well as in tubs.

There is slightly less choice at lunch time during the week, but as a result, you only pay £13.50 per person, which makes it amazing value for money, especially compared to some similar places which charge £10 more, even during lunchtimes in the week!

They have a basic selection of drinks available, or you can save money by having tap water.

The restaurant is very popular but it has a large amount of seating, so you don’t have to wait to be seated.

Went for lunch with family and enjoyed it so much I returned again on my birthday on 03/07/2025!

Will continue to return as I always really enjoy the food.

Toilets are upstairs, but there is an accessible one on the ground floor. Step-free access, though the main door is fairly heavy, so you need assistance to open it if in a wheelchair.

Tables and chairs are basic, cafeteria style.

There is loads of parking outside...

Don't even bother especially if it's closer to closing!!!! Food was of terrible quality. I go to Chinese buffets all over the place and can honestly say the quality is not there whatsoever especially for 9.50 on a Saturday! Yuck If you go later don't even bother, I arrived at 2 they shut at 3 and last entry is 2:15 so I gathered I'll need to be quick. Straight away the woman starts waffling on about close and how quick I need to be making me feel all flustered and uncomfortable but I had my baby with me and was hungry so went in, I had an hour to eat. However I was told they stop serving at 2:45 and you have to be out at 3! Most places when they "close" you don't actually get thrown out!!!! They started packing up at 2:40 and even the deserts! The whole time I was there was being watched and stared at with eagle eyes which was really uncomfortable.. rushed my food got it all st 2:30 and finished and started to leave at 2:55. I'm standing there strapping my child into her pram and packing up and they're there washing the table flickinf crumbs all over us.. like could they not wait 30 more seconds. Rushed and ushered to the door whilst there all there running out the door finishing their shift at 2:55

Never felt so rushed and uncomfortable in my life... go iZumi in Brentwood! Completely different and more lenient and understanding and the foods better. Not...