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Aroma Indian Cuisine
Categories: Restaurants Indian Restaurants Buffets Indian, Buffets [Edit]
4052 Campbell AveArlington, VA 22206
(703) 575-8800
- Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 10:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Romantic
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
S S. said: "If you like indian food I would highly recommend this place! I went with two of my coworkers for lunch and we were all really pleased. Instead of a traditional buffet you can choose from either veg or non-veg. I chose non-veg and was…" read more »
110 reviews for Aroma Indian Cuisine
Review Highlights
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"The mango lassi had a nice fresh twist - fresh strawberries..." In 9 reviews -
"Garlic + plain naan were both delicious." In 29 reviews -
"...their tandoori chicken, lamb roganjosh, and any of their..." In 4 reviews
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110 reviews in English
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Review from Mandana Y.
Bethesda, MD
Lunch Buffet Review
Oooh mama likes.
For the life of me I can't figure out how they can afford to put out such an amazing buffet daily, for the price that they do ($10), with the low turnout that they get. But who cares! As long as they're able to keep it going, I will not ask any questions.
Aroma is a very nice spot. The decor is clean, the space is large, and the service is friendly and prompt. The buffet has a lot of vegetarian options, all of which taste better than their chicken dishes. Not to say that their chicken dishes aren't good, they are always on point. Their naan is great too, and the fact that it comes in an unlimited supply is just the cherry on top.
A consistently great option for lunch in Shirlington area. I highly recommend! -
Review from Vikas C.
Waltham, MA
3/22/2012
We went to Aroma a year ago and hated their service, took half hour to get food on table in bits and pieces. In spite of a bad taste we again went yesterday for a pick up.
We finished our order of 2 packets at 7:40PM on phone and were advised to pick up in half hour which is pretty bad for any restaurant. We reached restaurant 10 minutes early hoping out food would have been ready. We were asked to come back in 10 minutes so we went out. We came back at 8:10 PM to be sent to bar area told that food pick up is there. After 5 minutes a server came and gave us bill for our food, which by the way was no where to be seen. We paid the bill and untill 8:25 there was no sign of food. This pissed us off and we requested to see the manager. The server gave a weird smile and asked for 5 more minuts. After 5 minutes waiter gave us our 1st pack of food and asked for another 5 minutes for second packet.
I was utterly frustrated by now but was so hungry that I had to wait because they were not even busy, they were running at 50% of capacity.
I got my both the packets after exactly 1 hour of ordering and left without saying word.
All this could have been forgiven if the food was good. Their Nans are thick rotis which as not properly heated Rotis were also nothing more than half cooked stale dough and Paneer was stale.
I am not going to this ridiculous place anymore and I advise none of you to go their unless you have entire day to kill. -
Review from Natasha S.
Washington, DC
3/16/2012
A table for two on a pretty busy Friday night - quick and painless to get seated.
Atmosphere was okay. Nothing too fancy. One side was a lot more cleaner and cozier. But we were seated in the other side, where it felt more like a cafeteria compared to the other side. Ah vell.
We ordered the paneer makhani, chicken tikka masala and bengen bharta with plain naan and whole wheat roti. I thought the baingan bharta was BANGING! It wasn't just pureed eggplant and onions. It was actually huge fresh chunks of eggplant and slices of delicious sweet onion. Yum! Spicy but not TOO spicy. Amaaaazing! The breads were nice and fresh. Paneer was decent, although I am not really a fan. I prefer meat, or the simple veggies. The sauce it came in was average and a little bland. But only one that I would not order again was the chicken tikka masala. It wasn't as creamy as I like it to be, and was actually more red and tomatoe-y. If I find myself here again, I'd pass on the chicken tikka masala, but definitely get the baingain bharta!
Service was good. A little slow at the end when we needed our checks. -
Review from Dia S.
Washington, DC
4/26/2012
Very slow service, serving small and pricey. Polite service.
Now the main part - the food - very average. The only thing we liked was the veg biryani and the almond soup. Everything else was just average. -
Review from Wendell B.
Alexandria, VA
Updated - 3/25/2012 14 Check-ins Here
I've mostly had great dining experiences at Aroma. Love the stuffed green peppers, lentil soup, tomato soup with added vindaloo and pistachio ice cream. Staff and management make you feel like family. I especially love dining here al fresco. I have lunches (buffet) and dinners at several Shirlington restaurants each month, but Aroma is my favorite.
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Review from Dave S.
Lombard, IL
12/6/2011
Nostalgia warning! Though I haven't been here in three years and live close to many other Indian buffets in Chicagoland, I greatly miss Aroma. My wife and I planned our wedding over weekly visits here and, if teleporting were perfected, we'd return ASAP.
I suppose it's possible that Aroma has changed in those three years: I don't recognize the place I knew in the posted pictures, so they've done a lot of improvements on the overall structure. But Aroma was the place where we first fell for Indian food. Before Aroma, saag paneer seemed like a gag dish. Now it's one of the great things on earth. I can still smell their butter chicken and remember hoping for gulab jamun or rasmalai as the dessert option but be content with rice pudding.
Like many places, Aroma offers preferential treatment to its frequent customers. This is not to say that they're rude to newbies, but if saag wasn't on the buffet one day, it would magically show up on our table anyway and not be charged for it. (No guarantees.)
My wife misses interacting with Jagu and hearing how the first "r" would be dropped from her name, while I miss Daya telling me about three-day cricket matches and suggesting that I finish with as much fennel as I can handle. Doesn't everyone want a place where they're known on a first-name basis? Aroma was that place for us.
I suppose they no longer serve fresh nan to each table during lunch hours, or offer champagne mimosas during their weekend buffet, but you'll forgive that if it's your "clean well-lighted place," to quote Hemingway. So I suppose my five stars are for the 2003-08 version of Aroma, and I like to think that nothing has changed, and I'll try to blot those posted pictures out of my memory. -
Review from Laura W.
1/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
4 of us (including one vegetarian) went here to use a friend's Groupon last night. It wasn't horrible, nor was it great. We ordered a ton of food right off the bat -- two apps, four soups, 4 entrees, two breads, two drinks -- then waited and waited and waited. My friend got her iced tea, we had to remind the waiter about the beer her husband ordered, then waited forever for that to arrive. We plowed through the first basket of papan and even more of that took a long time to show up. I've no idea what the wait was for as the place was only about half-full, and I was starting to worry that we were going to get all the food at once (as has happened to us at other places).
We finally got our appetizers (one veggie platter, one meat samosa), soups (3 badami, one lentel) and bread (one garlic, one paneer Kulcha). Both meat and veg samosas were dry and pretty flavourless. The aloo tikki were good, though I would have liked them a little spicier a they were listed as "medium spiced" on the menu. I really liked the pakoras, though, especially the cauliflower. Well cooked, well flavoured, very crisp. Would order those again in a minute. The soups were okay. I'd never before had the badami so have no basis for comparison - it seemed a touch bland to me, but I didn't really expect a lot of zing from an almond based soup, so that was okay. The lentil had a decent flavour but was cooked down so much it was almost like a broth; not a solid lentil to be seen. I'm more of a naan fan, so can't speak too much of the quality of the kulcha, but it tasted all right to me.
Entrees: The lamb vindaloo was very tasty and quite spicy. My friend and her husband have been here several times before and he always orders it -- he said it was quite a bit spicier than usual which made it too hot for his wife, but I really enjoyed it. The murgh makhani, her favourite, was so-so for me. She kept calling it "butter chicken" so I was expecting a much more buttery flavour; perhaps that's why I was a little disappointed. Again, it being a new dish to me, I can't really judge it fairly. I adore chicken tikki masala and couldn't resist it when I saw it on the menu. Thankfully, I was not at all disappointed. I really enjoyed it - good balance of flavours, just a hint of sweet, creamy, acidy. YUM! I like my chicken bits a little smaller as the giant chunks wind up pretty unflavoured in the middle, but that's really just me being nit-picky. My vegetarian boyfriend went back and forth with the menu for a while, trying to decide. He finally settled on the malai kofta (which I was excited to try) but in retrospect should have gotten something else. It was okay, not great. It tasted like the chef broke the sauce and the whole thing was pretty low on taste. Edible, but not great.
Dessert, on the other hand, was fab. We got the kheer for the ladies to split and I would have liked that bowl clean if I'd been at home. Perfect texture, great flavour. This, I would come back for. And the tikki masala. Hopefully next time the service will be better. -
Review from Joseph W.
10/29/2011
I hate to harp on ingredients for dishes that aren't particularly expensive, but the vegetables in my curry dish seemed canned. The dishes that I had were vegetarian and less than $10, so perhaps that isn't too much for canned cuisine, but this restaurant is certainly not aiming for a low rent crowd. As such, canned or frozen food will never leave customers crowing about your establishment. The curry mix was fine, but as I write this late at night, I notice that I still taste the salt on my mouth. The naan was very garlicky (sp?), which I like, but perhaps my girlfriend didn't like as much.
The ambience is quite nice, and its in a charming neck of the woods. The Shirlington area is really nice, and great for a dinner and movie. Nice location, nice ambience, par to subpar food, but perhaps not bad for the price. -
Review from Toni V.
Alexandria, VA
1/17/2012
I've experienced better... we went yesterday and it was understaffed - nobody came up to us while we were waiting to be seated, so we found an "empty table" but not all the silverware was there. I've definitely had better indian buffets before, like Aditi in Kingstowne!
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Review from Michael R.
Lancaster, PA
12/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Service was horrible. Waiter said two words to me.
Chicken tikka tasted like spaghetti sauce. -
Review from Doug G.
Alexandria, VA
3/5/2012
Aroma is my place!! I've been coming her an average of once a week for the last 3 months and for a good reason. The Chicken Tika Masala is really good although there has been one or two times that its been a little bit tomatoee but 99% of the time its right on point. So are all of their delicious breads (the Methi Paratha is my fav) the ambiance is a little dated but I don't really come here for ambiance so it doesn't bother me at all. The service too is a little shabby due to not enough servers being on the floor but I understand how tough it must be to run a restaurant in this economy so not a big deal either. For me, the food is the main attraction of a restaurant and here is where Aroma excels, I have tried about 9 items on the menu and have not been disappointed yet.
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Review from Rosie M.
Arlington, VA
8/29/2011
My family and I checked out this place for an impromptu dinner since I had a http://restaurant.com gift certificate.
We were seated right away since there were hardly any patrons in the restaurant on a Sunday evening at 8p.
The waitress was very helpful and polite and the food was very good! Everything was tasty and not too spicy. The buffet was over at 2p, so I was bummed to have missed that.
We had a $50 gift certificate but we needed to order at least $100 worth of food - so that was overwhelming, being as the prices on the menu were reasonable. It was a lot of pressure to order a lot of food just to be able to use the coupon. The bill came and they tacked on a 20% tip, which after using our coupon, our bill came out to $75 - still pricier than what I had expected to spend using the coupon, but I had an overall great experience.
We will definitely be going back, I want to try the buffet. -
Review from Nolan S.
Arlington, VA
2/18/2012
After two independent favorable recommendations to the restaurant, we finally decided to try it out for ourselves. I wish we could concur but instead were disappointed. In summary, Pros- water glasses were always kept filled. Decor was nice. Cloth table cloths and napkins.Cons- Slow service, food too salty for my taste.
The place was not busy, so we got seated immediately. I do appreciate the fact that the water glasses were getting refilled. Especially since we were waiting a lot. It took a while for a waiter to take our order. Then it took a while for the food to come. Then it took a while for the check to come.
We ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala, Murgh Korma Mugulai, Vegetable Biryani and Nan. We thought the Tikka Masala and Murge Korma was too salty. We needed to combine them with rice or nan in order to tone down the flavor. We kind of liked the Biryani. Oh and the spiced "tortilla" type chips given for snacking was salty.
Will need to compare notes with the friends that recommended Aroma. -
Review from Anna S.
8/12/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This is nowhere near the best Indian place in town, but it's walkable from my house, I can eat outside with my dog, and I am just plain obsessed with Indian food. So hey, if you can't be with the one you love...I go here all the time.
Sure, the dishes appear to be drowning in ghee. The chicken vindaloo seems spiced on the assumption that I am in preschool. There's GRENADINE in the mango lassi (a cruel hoax?) and no sweet or salty lassis at all. You can't get plain yogurt to tamp spicy dishes Indian-style; for some reason, raita is the only thing they offer.
But Aroma is...there! It's spaciously, graciously there - never overcrowded, convenient, and I for one have found the waiters pretty attentive. Mix a curry or baigan bharta up with a little basmati, stuff it all inside a garlic kulcha naan, eat that ish like a sandwich, and it's a satisfying meal. -
Review from mehmet i.
Arlington, VA
5/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
One of the worst meals i have ever had, not one of the worst indian meal, one of the worst meal of all times for me and my wife. Chicken very very very dry, no flavor whatsoever, no spices on it, i had to salt and pepper it in order to have one bite. Similar story with the shrimp dish.
horrible service, a very very long wait on the food, ( like 1 hour while the restaurant was empty ) . I certainly will never ever step into this place , also deter friends and family away from it. unbelievably horrible overall.
Two times the server interacted with us: " are you ready to order? " and " are you done with that ?( pointing to the plate with his head) " very sad... horrible attitude.
DO NOT EVER GIVE THEM A TRY, YOU WILL LEAVE VERY DISAPPOINTED. -
Review from Michelle O.
Alexandria, VA
1/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
The two stars are only for the design of the restaurant and the dessert. The food felt spicy in the mouth, yet bland in terms of taste and flavor. The service is very bad: for start - nobody came to our table, we had to wave our hands for a waiter to come over and take our order. Second - it took a long time for the appetizer to arrive and even longer (seemed like forever) for the entrees to arrive. When we asked what's going on with the entrees the waiter went to check what we've ordered & said that it take about 20 minutes to prepare one of the dishes and that's what taking so long, even though we ordered the entrees at the same time with the appetizer - it came out about 35-40 minutes after the appetizer was served.
Will definitely not be coming back there ever and hopefully I'll be able to get over the experience and be willing to give Indian food one more chance (but surely not at this specific restaurant!). -
Review from Sahar R.
3/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
I am writing this review with much regret. I spent a year living a few blocks away and never bothered to come in. I could have been eating here for a year!
Last night, a friend and I wanted some dinner before seeing a movie. I was in such a mood for Indian, maybe because we were supposed to go to the U.S. Department Of Bhangra at the Black Cat but weren't feeling well. I basically voted down every idea and suggestion till I got my way.
We walked in and the first thing I noticed was that this place was not full at all for a friday night, but I have to say I was impressed by the size and charm of the place. Chandeliers and intricate wood panelled folding doors everywhere. Ohhh opulence. We were seated and unfortunately, here's the one bad part, we sat there unnoticed for awhile.
Finally a waitress came over to ask for our orders. Usually they ask for drinks first, but she was friendly enough. Even more friendly when my American friend broke out the Hindi. First revelation of the night, I understood it, apparently food related terms and greetings are the same in Farsi. Bust out the passport, time to travel!!
From then on we were like guests in her home. When they brought out the food, chicken tika masala and a vegetarian sampler plate, true to the name of the restaurant, I could smell the food before I could see it. I actually leaned in closer to smell my dish, which smelled amazing and the waitress asked if everything was ok. I was just making an olfactory memory there. The sauce was creamy, lightly spiced, and a brilliant red color from the tomatoes and tumeric(and probably food coloring). It was topped with crunchy almond slivers and the cuts of chicken were tender. It was the perfect sauce.
My friend had ordered the vegetarian platter with a few substitutions, since they were out of one dish. The substitution, gobi masala, stole the show. It's described as cauliflower and potatoes stemed with spices, but I also tasted fresh flakes of ginger. We made note to just order that alone next time.
While we ate my friend talked about South Indian cuisine, of which I am not familiar. Yes, we talk about food when eating food. That brought over the manager who was listening in and we all started chatting.
Knowing that we had a movie to catch the waitress rushed our check over and insisted we take everything home. You don't have to insist at all!
The entrees were reasonable (about $13-16 and entree). Now I have to go eat the leftovers for breakfast.... -
Review from Julie M.
Washington, DC
8/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Aroma really lives up to its name. I first discovered it while walking to another Shirlington restaurant, and the aromas wafting from the outdoor tables were irresistible. My boyfriend and I decided to return and give Aroma a try ourselves.
This restaurant was a feast not only for the nose but for the eyes. Impressively sized, beautifully decorated, bustling but not horrifically crowded, and the waiters were both handsome and courteous.
The smells were tempting enough outside the restaurant, but once you stepped inside, it was just heavenly. Every time a server walked by with hot, fresh food for another table, I would go, "Wow, that smells amazing."
My only caveat was that the chicken and lamb we ordered was a little more dry than I would've liked, but the perfect blend of spices in the sauce definitely made up for it. Their mango lassi was sweet, light and refreshing, and I regret not ordering a second serving of naan -- it was divine!
I'm more than eager to return for more glasses of mango lassi, and more saucy dishes to enjoy with my naan. -
Review from Sydney S.
Arlington, VA
1/11/2012
3.5 out of 5.
So my GF and I went last Friday to use our Groupon. Funny thing is, I've always noticed this place as being empty, but about half the restaurant was full on a Friday at 8pm (this is kinda late for Shirlington, the area is DEAD past 9). So I read all the reviews prior to showing up and gave my gf the warning that the service is bad and the food just blah.
One of the reviewers below mentioned someone dressed in their tuxedo, true story, one of the employees (who I believe to be the owner) was dressed to kill. Overall the food was ok. I had the chicken saag as my entree, chicken and spinach soup and the veggie platter as our appetizers. Definitely not the best Indian ever, nor was it the worst. If you're in the 'hood and want some Indian fare, this was definitely good enough. Additionally the portions was more than adequate as I took my leftovers to work on Monday.
The reason I gave the extra half star was actually for the service, believe it or not....We were greeted immediately upon entering and seated even faster. The entire staff was super friendly and on more than 1 occasion refilled my soda without me even asking. Additionally there was no drama when in came to paying w/my Groupon voucher, it was all good. Next time a Groupon for this place pops again (which I'm sure it will at some point), I'll be buying it again. -
Review from Gene S.
Falls Church, VA
1/20/2012
Went last night. Agree with most on here. esp Toni V. Better food to be found elsewhere. And the service is bad.
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Review from Christine C.
California, MD
Updated - 7/28/2011
I think from now on, I'll only be ordering takeout from Aroma.
I took a few old high school friends here a few nights ago, raving about the place. The food! The ambiance! It was all hyped up. Then we actually arrive.
It takes us roughly 5 or 6 minutes to be noticed by a server to be seated. The server pointed out a booth in the back, not leading us there, but simply pointing. After we sat down, we proceeded to sit without any service for 15 minutes...no menus, no cracker bread to munch on...finally, we flagged down a waiter and asked who our waiter was. The waiter we flagged looked slightly irritated and said that he would take our orders...but we didn't have any menus! They ran the menus to us and we made our selections. Then we waited another 15 minutes for the waiter to return, after he had taken the orders of those who came in after us. He wouldn't provide any information about additional drinks (we knew from Yelp that they served lassi and beer), and we ordered.
First, the waiter took our orders wrong. My friends' mango lassi was forgotten, and the murgh makani my friend ordered suddenly became plain tikka masala. After the orders were corrected, though the lassi was mysteriously forgotten all through dinner, we had to continue to flag down waitstaff to get water refills. All in all, it took us almost an hour to be seated, order, and get our food...completely embarassing. The food was good, which was the only reedeeming quality of the night.
It seemed crowded, especially for a Tuesday night, but I would've appreciated it had the waiter told us there was a wait instead of ruining our dining experience. It also didn't help that they seemed sarcastic and irritated that we expected service.
Sorry Aroma, I'm no longer a fan.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/29/2011
As many other recent reviewers, I came here on a Groupon with my cousin a few weeks ago. I haven't… Read more »
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Review from Erin R.
Arlington, VA
1/12/2012
Absolutely loved the food. Naan was excellent and we had the kebab appetizer, which was tasty. I had the chicken tikka masala and my husband had one of the lamb dishes. The sauces were nicely balanced and a bit on the sweeter side than you'd expect. Reasonable prices and good sized portions.
The service was a bit slow, but by no means inattentive. Our waitor would circle around every few minutes and politely glance over from across the way, but did not interrupt our conversation or let us see him hovering. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is because there was no hostess (so we waited a bit coming in) and the waitor took a while to come over for the drink order. All servers were impeccably polite and our dinner was served at a leisurely pace so we didn't feel rushed.
Definitely will be coming back here! -
Review from Jenn H.
3/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ok, the food is really a 3. The service dropped it, though.
We got a Groupon here, so finally got to try this place out. We got...chaana masala, and chicken saag. Neither of them were exceptional in any way--it was a very ordinary meal. The chicken in our chicken saag was a little overcooked--it was definitely tough and stringy. DO NOT GET THE MANGO LASSI--it is positively disgusting. no mango, it tastes like syrup with some cheap cherry stuff (seriously? cherry?!?!)
Anyways, my main problem with this place was the *wait*. we ordered soon after being seated, and we waited over half an hour for our food, which i think is ridiculous! (especially if only 1/3 of the tables are taken) When we asked for the bill, they took their sweet time getting it to us, too. It was infuriating.
The groupon-part of the fiasco. I had shown my groupon to the waiter when we ordered. He said no problem, and that he'd need the number when they were calculating the check. So after our meal, when we ask for the check, we remind them that we have Groupon. After a long wait, when the check finally gets to our table, the $ hadn't been taken off. So we give the CC to the waiter (same one that we had told at the beginning of the meal), and explain that we have a groupon...
waiter: grabs the check and CC out of my boyfriend's hands "sure sure, i swipe"
us: "no, we have a groupon. take the $ off first, then swipe".
waiter: "don't worry, i take it right now".
us: "groupon. GROOOOOUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPOOOOOOONNNN." (ok more politely than that, but with some annoyance.)
him: "oooh sorry groupon, why didn't you say so?"
we did. like 50 times. ugh!
so he brings a new check back over to our table, with the $ taken off (phew), and asks me to write the groupon number on the check. I ask him which one (there's two), and he TAKES MY PHONE FROM ME AND SWIPES THROUGH IT. confession: i'm a bit germaphone + control freak. you do NOT touch my phone, let alone take it out of my hands to play with it. seriously, who do you think you are?!?!
anyways, after fussing with my phone a bit (as i'm giving him the evil eye) he asks me to write both numbers on there, and he'd try both (...seriously? i see a groupon at EVERY table here.)
ugh. won't be going back -
Review from Todd P.
2/1/2011
I'll admit that I never actually ate at Aroma, but they turned me off before I even went. Since I live relatively close, I've been wanting to try this restaurant for some time. So when they offered a Groupon, I quickly bought one and was eagerly looking forward to going.
Then I started to see reviews saying that the restaurant was automatically adding a 20% tip to people paying with Groupons. So I contacted Groupon, which replied "You're correct in thinking that "20% tip will be added to the check" was not listed on your Groupon. I will bring this matter up with the sales rep and have him discuss this with the restaurant."
The next business day, Groupon wrote me again saying "I just received word back from the rep. Apparently, they spoke with the owner on Friday and he went to the restaurant where this was happening (apparently it was only happening at one location) and spoke with the manager who was enforcing the mandatory tipping. The owner said he would take care of it." Well, the owner lied to Groupon, because over that weekend more Yelp reviews appeared claiming automatic tipping. Another mentioned that a server wouldn't take their Groupon off of their mobile device, even though that's perfectly legitimate.
So I brought the second and third negative review to Groupon's attention and they replied "The sales rep just spoke with the owner. The owner said that some people are not tipping. That he had a few instances where people were tipping a dollar or two dollars, and the wait staff was getting upset, so they started adding it to the bill." Keep in mind that this is three days after the owner told Groupon that they had talked to their manager and told them to stop this practice. This means that Aroma knew the policy and disregarded it. As a result, I asked for a refund as I had no intention of going through this sort of hassle.
I can understand a restaurant wanting to protect its staff and make sure they get properly tipped, but they shouldn't get involved in promotions they don't understand, disregard the rules of those promotions, and/or treat all customers like deadbeats. That's how Aroma turned me off from being a potential customer to never wanting to go there. -
Review from Brianne C.
Arlington, VA
2/9/2011
4.5 stars.
The birthday boy had a simple request for his party: serve Indian food and Indian pale ale. Having secured a Dogfish 60 Minute IPA keg, I turned to Indian restaurants in the area, comparing prices, menu options, and ease of coordination until my head spun. Deep in my belly, I knew we would be using Aroma as soon as I spoke with them, and at the end of the evening (morning, really), as the flames slowly tapered out and the pans were emptied by remaining guests, I beamed with satisfaction.
Aroma skillfully handled my custom order for 25 people, adding extra dishes to "Miss Brianne's" order on the day of the event when I discovered that several others would be attending. Aroma delivered the food about 15 minutes before the specified time, anticipating the extra minutes that would be required to set up the pans and to organize the table. The delivery person was pleasant and professional, providing tips on serving the food at optimum temperatures as he brought in additional dishes and condiments free of charge. As he left, I crossed my fingers that the quality of the catered food would match the service.
Luckily, the dishes did not disappoint. The lamb vindaloo's spiciness thrilled the tongue but the sauce also provided a light sweetness and taste of fresh vegetables. The chicken tikka masala did not glow neon flesh orange (something I hate), and its tender meat was nicely cloaked in the rich sauce. The saag paneer was redolent of curry and spices, and the cheese cubes had a pleasant chewiness, and proved to be delicious when scooped up with the chewy, perfectly browned naan. The meat samosas and aloo tikki flew from the trays before I could taste them, but the samosas flaunted a nicely browned and flaky appearance, and blissful smiles told the rest of the story.
I would not hesitate to have Aroma cater my future parties. -
Review from Jasmine B.
Fairfax, VA
1/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
The food was amazing but the service not so much. We waited well over an hour for our food to come to the table but once it did it was well worth it. I wish the seating were a little different (by the front of the restaurant near the window) because we were next to two other couples and could hear the whole conversation. Other than that not many more complaints. I will definitely recommend this place to friends.
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Review from Janet C.
Alexandria, VA
10/16/2011
it's been a few months since we've gone here, but each time we've gone, the food has been decent. BUT, the wait has been.... wait-y. i dont know why, because i recall the restaurant not being too crowded when we went. anyhoo, the last time we went, we got the tandoori feast for two! mostly because it sounded over the top. it included some chicken, some lamb, and other more mushy veggie stuff. got it all with some garlic naan. theres something so satisfying about garlic naan. got through about half of everything, brought the rest home. being close to our place makes it that much more likely we'll go there when indian food calls.
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Review from Carol W.
1/5/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was here for lunch, so my review is based on the lunch buffet.
Another one of my favorite foods is Indian, so when some co-workers suggested going for Indian food at lunch time, I was all for it.
On the buffet line, I sampled the following:
Lamb Roganjosh
Paneer Makhan
Saag Corn
Butter Chicken
Naan
Raita
and some vegetable fritter in a red sauce
Of the dishes, well you know how I like lamb....the lamb was spicy and tender - yummy. The butter chicken was also good. Nice flavor with the hint of the butter and all the other spices you like to taste. The naan was good, though it was starting to dry out a bit. I've never seen Saag corn before so I ended up mixing it with the Paneer Makhan (I love saag paneer); and they were both very tasty.
The raita was good, though a little chunkier than I like it. If I were int he neighborhood, I could see myself going here for lunch again. -
Review from Maggie W.
Arlington, VA
1/30/2011
Well, I hate to give a low review, but our experience at Aroma was pretty negative. I got the Groupon to Aroma as a gift and we decided to go for lunch. Our server was nice, I let him know upon being seated that we had a Groupon, and the food was actually really good. However, the portions were tiny--which would be acceptable if it was a bit more affordable. But our meal was over $30, we just ordered one dish each (I had Chana Masala, and he had lamb kabobs) and we both left hungry.
When he brought the check (which took about 15 minutes), I showed him the Groupon on my iPhone and he said it had to be printed out. I kindly explained that Groupon explicitly states that it's ok to show the coupon on your mobile phone, but he continued to say that it wouldn't work. He went back to talk to a manager and finally (another 10 minutes later) took down the Groupon number and honored the Groupon.
But then, he added his own tip to the bill! The receipt actually had an itemized "tip" section of 15%. I was incredibly offended, because even with less than great service I always tip a minimum of 15-20%. I'm wondering if he adds it for all customers, or if it was because we're a young couple and he assumed we wouldn't tip well?
Anyway, I would not recommend this place. The food was good, but Delhi Dhaba in Clarendon is better, cheaper, and cuter.
EDIT: I went back here about a month ago and got much better service. Maybe they fired the ridiculously terrible waiter. -
Review from T B.
Arlington, VA
10/18/2011
Business tip for this place -- when you have seats, don't turn customers away!
Came here with a livingsocial instant deal after a bad service experience a couple years ago. But, after all, who wants to turn down a great deal at an indian restaurant. How bad can it be if it's close by, after all. Showed up with 1 other person around 8 pm on a Friday night and was a little concerned by two things when I walked in. First, the place was about half empty while every other place on the strip was packed (inside and outside). Second, the maitre'd was wearing a tux. Okay, strange but I'll take it.
The maitre'd informs me that it'll be about a 45 minute wait despite the place being half empty. Apparently, they lacked the kitchen staff to deal with a moderately full restaurant on a Friday evening. Again, okay maybe this is just a bad night and I'm willing to give them another chance until the maitre'd argues with me about whether not I'll actually return in 45 minutes like I've just told him I would.
Never again, don't need to be hassled by a guy in a cheap tux for dinner. Would much rather go to the Lebanese place next door (cheaper and better). -
Review from John P.
Ballston - Virginia Square, VA
1/9/2011
I keep meaning to order off of their menu, but the lunch buffet is usually too tempting. They keep the buffet well-stocked and there is a good variety of dishes. There is also a good variety of vegetarian options, but they certainly don't skimp on the carnivore selection either; when I've been there, they have a couple of chicken dishes (usually butter chicken and tandoori chicken) and a lamb dish. The naan is excellent and is very dangerous at a buffet. I always manage to feel way-too-full after a three trip to the buffet lunch at Aroma.
On a few occasions, it's been hard to track someone down to fetch the bill, which can be a problem if you need to get back to the office. -
Review from Mike F.
Arlington, VA
2/6/2011
Indian food is not my favorite. I like it. I don't love it. I don't necessary want some more of it (ha). When a group of friends suggested we come to Aroma for dinner, I wasn't that excited.
A group of six of us came here to celebrate a myriad of occasions. Though the restaurant was crowded and we failed to make reservations, we were sat right away. The service was awkward. A waiter or waitress would ask us a question and right in the middle of one of us answering it, he or she would just walk away, mid-sentence, and them come back. No "Excuse Me One Moment," No, "Hold That Thought." It happened like, three times throughout the course of the evening. WTF, yo?
Anyway, the food was good and all of us had a lot of things to say about our respective dishes and we all sort of picked off each others, except for me, because I was sick. I had the Crispy Okra and it was amazing. I highly recommend it.
Anyway, the check came and it was wrong. It must have taken like 15 minutes to resolve it. I don't know. I think they were under-staffed, but my friends and I laughed it off. We had a good time, the food was great, and the wine was flowing. I'll come back, for sure. -
Review from Phil P.
Arlington, VA
7/30/2011
I found out about this place through Living Social Instant Deals. Oddly enough, I was not able to redeem my promotion during my lunch on the weekend since I was told by the restaurant staff that it does not apply to the lunch buffet (the fine print on the coupon doesn't mention that). The Living Social instant deal is from 11:30 - 3pm .....and during that time period only lunch buffet is served (no a la carte items)....so there's really now way to use this "instant deal" .....very misleading and shady IMO.
As for the food, it was okay but nothing special. The tandoori chicken at the buffet was dry and lacked flavor, as did the curry chicken.
I gave an extra star for the mango laasi and the ambience of the restaurant.
I don't think I'll be coming back as there are many other indian restaurants that taste better. -
Review from Mariam R.
Falls Church, VA
Updated - 10/12/2011
Umm, Butter Chicken on the Saturday lunch buffet? You can't get that at Raaga. Bonus points in my book.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/19/2011
For the Groupon users - I just want to say that we weren't charged an automatic gratuity. Maybe… Read more »
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Review from Hong K.
Fairfax, VA
1/7/2012
Wife felt like doing Indian while we were in Shirlington. We got to the restaurant at 7:25pm and was promptly seated. Ordered the Tandoori Feast for Two at 7:30pm. After the original waiter asked if we needed more of the chip at 7:45, we didn't even get a glimpse from the wait staff. Left the restaurant still hungry at 8:10pm without our food. They should tell you that it will take 45 minutes for you to receive your food, instead of letting us wait for 45 minutes with no word. We told them we were leaving because it was taking too long but we actually had to waid 5 minutes just to tell them that because there was no wait staff.
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Review from Andrea H.
Alexandria, VA
2/1/2011
I think this is the 3rd or 4th Indian restaurant I've been to EVER.
Would I come back? Probably. Would it be the first Indian restaurant I'd want to go to? Probably not.
The service was okay. The food was good but not great. It was clean in the restrooms, and we had a medium size group there on a Sunday night and they didn't seem to rush us out, we stayed there about about 3 hours talking and laughing and it was a comfortable environment to do so. Besides that, I wasn't knocked out of the park but it was decent Indian food.
Maybe I have to come back for the buffet? -
Review from Andria B.
Arlington, VA
8/17/2011
Food is okay here. I had the chicken tandori, which was a little dry. The spices on it were good, though. The naan was good. Mango lassi is very good. Nice atmosphere. Service is slow. Prices are good.
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Review from Nina M.
Alexandria, VA
2/2/2012
I'm confused by the poor reviews of this establishment. I've been here a few times for dinner and the service and the food is consistently good. Considering the location, the food is surprisingly authentic. This is my second favorite Indian restaurant in NOVA (after Minerva).
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Review from Karthik E.
Alexandria, VA
8/17/2011
I went there because I had a http://restaurant.com certificate.
The first thing to say is slow, sluggish and poor service. The waiter took about 15 minutes just to take our order. Food was mediocre, the biryani was dry, chicken overcooked and rubbery. The chicken tikka masala was decent. It took another 15-20 minutes for the food to arrive after our order. Every time we needed something, we literally have to wave to the waiter in the far end corner because no one shows up after order or food brought to the table.
The food was pricey, biryani was 15.25, the highest I have seen in this area. The taste was bland, despite our request to make it spicy.
To add icing to the cake, the manager/waiter gave just 1 box for 3 different entree left overs, I asked for more and the mean guy gave just one more. Cheap attitude, bad food, atrocious service. Never again.
The ambiance was good, the restaurant was spacious, if you have lot of time, money, patience in your hand and have no expectations on food taste, may be you can visit this restaurant. -
Review from Kristina B.
Somerville, MA
12/25/2008
~*Food*~
Vegetable samosas = 3.5 stars
Vegetarian bhojan (saag paneer, channa masala, baigan harta, raita, roti, and rice) = 3.5 stars (would have been 4 if there'd been more stuff)
Gulab jamun = 3.5 stars
~*Service*~
Speed = slowish = 2 stars
Attentiveness = 3 stars for water refilling, 2 stars for checking in
Overall = 2.5-3 stars
