Aroma Royal Thai Cuisine
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
27 reviews for Aroma Royal Thai Cuisine
Review Highlights
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"They have the best Pad See Ew." In 5 reviews -
"Lunch time offers half price rice/noodle dishes." In 3 reviews -
"The next best place for Thai food in Thai Noodle in New..." In 2 reviews
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27 reviews in English
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Review from Dhvani D.
Philadelphia, PA
4/12/2012
My brother and I come here all the time when we are craving thai as it is really close to my parent's house. Always hits the spot.
Our favorite - the eggplant in garlic sauce - I swear try it. This dish is prepared differently here than other thai places. The eggplant is well-done, has a spicy kick to it, and the gravy is delicious. We fight over each and every piece with this one.
Also usually get the spicy basil flat noodles and/or curries. Both are good - not extraordinarily different/amazing made but will hit the spot.
Although we usually get take-out, we have dined in a few times as well and the ambience is very adorable and waiters are nice.
Good place to check out! -
Review from Jarrod S.
Atlanta, GA
12/8/2011
I can't believe this place is so highly rated on here. It is truly a failure of the yelp-bot or something. If you'll notice, most of the good reviews are quite old.
We ordered takeout and got three different apps: chicken pandan, shrimp wonton and beef satay. The pandan and shrimp were just plain nasty. They tasted the opposite of fresh. Like, doubleplus unfresh. Blecht! The beef satay was tolerable but skimpy and tough.
I had the beef curry fried rice, which was okay. The rice was a bit mushy. The flavor wasn't all that great. Mostly just spicy.
My coworkers got a couple of variations on pad thai, and they concur with the "meh" assessment. Kind of bland. Just spicy.
When we called our order in, they said they don't deliver, contrary to their profile on here. Fair warning.
There are definitely better places around.
Blecht! I still can't get the nasty taste of that shrimp wonton out of my mouth. -
Review from Radhika B.
Dayton, NJ
8/22/2011
In one sentence: overpromised and underdelivered.
Many of my friends had raved about this place (and as you can see, so do many of the reviewers here). Servers were not particularly attentive in terms of refilling water and as you know, that's necessary while eating spicy thai food. They were polite but rather clueless. The dishes were clearly overpriced and the portions were nothing to write home about. I gave this place two stars because the decor was really nice and authentic. We ordered a Pad Thai and a Lamb dish.
For $13 I received an overcooked, chewy and stringy lamb dish with a very substandard sauce. There were hardly any vegetables in the dish. My boyfriend had the Pad Thai which was also not very good. Flavors in a pad thai are supposed to be balanced but his dish tasted like someone had poured syrup in it (way too sweet). This was despite asking for spicy food.
Bottomline: Perhaps I had exceedingly high expectations for this place but if I were you, I'd save my money and go to Thai Noodle in New Brunswick or Pad Thai in Highland Park (which btw have REAL lunch specials) -
Review from Tom W.
Franklin Park, NJ
8/14/2011 1 photo
Horrible service. Horrible waiter. Food was ok, didn't have a lot of Thai essentials.
Found hair in my food, which was a huge turn off for me. Not once, but twice.
Waiter gave me attitude and was not professional.
Lady waitress was sweet. The guy was a complete fool.
I ordered a drink, and he kept forgetting 3 times. -
Review from Anita J.
Franklin Park, NJ
1/8/2012
We have eaten here twice now, and both times were extremely bad.
The first time we visited, we thought the bad food might be attributed to a slow weekday - the curry we ordered was too spicy and had a sad flavor.
The second visit was a Friday night. The place was packed, but I have no idea why because the food was just as disappointing. My husband ordered the fried tofu with spinach - the tofu was not properly fried and the server forgot to bring the rice he ordered. I got the mango chicken, which had no flavor.
Overall this place lacks freshness and authenticity. We have enjoyed many great Thai restaurants around the country, and this one fails to impress. -
Review from Swan S.
Manhattan, NY
10/4/2011
HORRIBLE place!!
They must've changed chefs. I used to go there quite often because the curry and pad thai (standard dishes that all Thai restaurants should rock!) was quite tasty.
I went there about 2 weeks ago, there was only one other table there, and I went with a party of 3. This cute little Thai woman came to take our order, but unfortunately she barely understands English. She couldn't explain the difference of one dish versus another. Anyway, so after 15 minutes, I ordered 3 dishes: vegetable pad thai, green curry chicken, and a vegetable red curry. About 10 minutes later, our food came, the pad thai noodles were undercooked, the sauce lacked flavor and it was like they just put a cup of hot sauce in it. The green chicken curry was decent, but instead of having bamboo and other veggies in it, it was just chicken. I was hungry so I ate it anyway. Then about 15 minutes go by and still NO red curry...WTH?! I called for the woman and she said, "Oh! I no remember you ordah dat" WOMAN!! I SAW YOU WRITE DOWN MY ORDER!!!
5 minutes later, she comes out with my dish, which I was iffy about cus it'd take longer to heat up a lean cuisine meal than to cook up a curry dish. The veggies in it were completely raw and bitter. The curry was incredibly watery, again, had no curry flavor to it. I told the the woman and she apologized and took it back to the kitchen. 5 minutes later..she came back out. I typically inspect my food before I take bites, and good thing I did! I found a piece of METAL in the curry, the ones from the pot scrubs that you use for stainless steel pots. UGH...by this point, I was just beyond pissed. I usually never get mad at servers cus we're all human and make mistakes, but this is just ridiculous. Instead of covering our dinner, she only offered to take away this item on our bill, so I just asked for our bill and didn't leave a tip.
So I definitely do NOT recommend going back there. The food quality has definitely gone downhill and the service is far from great. -
Review from Dick n.
New Brunswick, NJ
8/14/2009
Food is rockin. The inside is stunning also, all oldschool Thai relics and antiques...Definitely worth trying, I think you'll enjoy it.
Also, they have some pretty good half price nites(ladies Nite, College Nite, Senior etc etc). but the only catch is you have to eat in.
Oh, and by the way, the Pad See Ew is out of this world. Oh, and try dipping the Pad Thai in the Panang Curry....And then you can feel free to message me and say "thank you" haha -
Review from Dee G.
New York, NY
5/14/2009 1 photo
With current thai and fusion craze uprise, I take much pride in saying that I discovered, what I thought to be at first a mirage, a jewel in the desert in restaurant disenchantment.
Aroma's atmosphere can be a bit over-the-top at first, since all the decor has an extreme traditional Thai influence. But as soon as you are greeted by the friendly and hard-working staff, you quickly become preoccupied with the detailed and also hand-made intricate menus. The ambiance almost gives off the vibe of sitting in this Thai family's livingroom where you're this guest of honor marrying into the family. Your eye then catches the tableware that's silver/goldish with seemingly ancient engravings.
Now down, to business: they're dishes. You can play it safe with Chicken and Beef Satay or Spring Rolls. for appetizers Or kick it up a notch and go for the Emerald Pandan Leaves and Aroma Crab Cakes. As for everything else, quite honestly, couldn't possibly produce any disappointment. Know you're spice levels (as in spicy = hot), meaning if you dislike hot then go for mild, and if you love hot then go for medium... because true HOT is reserved for the pros.
My all time favorite dish however has to be the Aroma Fried Rice with Homemade BBQ Roast Pork, Egg, & Mixed Vegetables. Simplistic yet perfected to their own style, hence making it special.
Great place to dine with friends, on a date, with the family, or just get some high-quality take-out! Small, intimate, and definitely an easily over-looked nook of paradise. Enjoy. -
Review from Ian W.
Harrisburg, PA
12/2/2010
Aroma Thai is really good. I have gotten take away here a few times a month for the past few years. After trying practically every Thai restaurant in the area over the last 10 years, Aroma Thai is among my top 2 (Thai Kitchen III in Hillsborough is the other). Manchurian Chicken is great, the chicken things wrapped in banana leaves is outstanding, as well as just about everything else we've tried here. My one and only complaint is you have to pay extra for rice, and the amount of rice you get in one order is not enough...get 2 orders of rice per person. No other Thai restaurant in the area charges for rice when you order an entree..it should be included, it's just rice! Other than that, this place it great.
No sure what Mark is talking about below, I'm guessing his experience was just a fluke. He just signed up for Yelp today and only posted this one bad review, An attack rather than a fair review me thinks. -
Review from Jason C.
7/29/2009
Amazing, simply amazing Thai food!
Service: the staff is very friendly. Unfortunately, they don't have the best grasp of English. However, I have never had an order misunderstood and received something incorrect/too spicy/etc.
Atmosphere: calm, relaxed. Everything is clean. Thai decorations and paintings abound, right down to the hand made menus. No tacky pop music playing. At dinner they bring hot towels around to refresh your hands!
Food: I've never had a bad meal here. Emerald Pandan Leaves are a unique but simply delicious appetizer. Stuffed chicken wings are interesting too, and tasty, but I don't know if they are better than the leaves or the traditional Satay skewers. Very good Pad Thai - not too sweet; Pad See Ew - incredible, I've never had better; Chilli fried rice - exceptional, flavorful; Yaki Soba - a thai take on a japanese classic, with every kind of protein, and a strong curry influenced flavor. Green curry - really good! Served over a candle too keep it wrong. Not too much curry, just the right amount of spice.
Their heat levels are accurate - hot is VERY hot. Medium is for those who like spice more than most. Regular will leave your mouth a little tingly but not kill you. If you do NOT like heat, just ask for ZERO spice. They wont be offended.
Thai ice tea - Thai tea with condensed milk, the perfect compliment for spicy foods!
Even their desserts are tasty! Fried banana ice cream (exactly what it sounds like) is great. Fried Ice cream is a surprise hit - a ball of ice cream coated in coconut, flash fried and served with sauces. Crispy and hot on the outside, soft and cold on the inside.
PROTIP! Lunch time offers half price rice/noodle dishes. Every person must order an entree though. Two people can eat for under 15$! -
Review from rohit s.
Brooklyn, NY
8/18/2010
My first restaurant review ever!
My family went to Aroma last night for my mom's birthday. The decor is really nice and cozy. The shredded papaya salad was great - the basic thai salad with peanut dressing not so much.
We ordered a bunch of things to share for the table and some were better than the others. The cauliflower and cashew dish was very good. We didnt care too much for the mushroom and broccoli dish. Also, medium was a bit too spicy for us (we are Indian so not afraid of spices). I was told that the meat dishes (something manchurian and some other chicken dish) were great. Overall, it was a great experience and i am glad I looked at the reviews for all Thai places in Princeton before choosing one. I would say the food was not the best in the world (I live in Brooklyn and there are more thai restaurants in my neighborhood than in all of Columbus Ohio) but very good. Be careful with the spices.
Oh yeah, forgot about the dessert. The mango mousse with lychees was loved by the kids!!! The fried ice cream wasnt bad either. I would recommend both...
There seemed to be a lot of regulars there. The staff seemed to know a lot of guests. That's usually a good sign. -
Review from Sanje P.
Union, NJ
4/12/2011
Wicked food! Red Curry Chicken, Chicken Pad Thai and especially black pepper chicken! Wish Rice didn't cost extra. The next best place for Thai food in Thai Noodle in New Brunswick. Well priced, lots off food, less coconut milk very spicy :)
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Review from Josh S.
Mercer, NJ
2/24/2011
Best Thai in the area. Will make actually spicy food.
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Review from Foodie H.
Wyncote, PA
7/6/2011
best thai place ever!!! indo - thai fusion rocks
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Review from Noah P.
Franklin Park, NJ
5/23/2009
As Dee G. mentioned, the decor and atmosphere is very traditional and it helps deliver the perception that you are in for some good thai food. My favorite thai dish, in general, is Pad See Ew and they did not disappoint. I typically don't like spicy Pad See Ew but their mild was just spicy enough to change my mind about that.
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Review from Haemin L.
Princeton, NJ
6/7/2010
Great Thai food. As close to authentic as I have ever had it in NJ. The service was great too, and the place wasn't too busy (but also not so empty that you wonder if you should be eating there).
When I went in early May, they were really pushing their specials and promotions. Wednesday is Ladies' Night when all entrees are 50% off! Pretty sweet deal and my friends and I will probably participate soon.
My only complaint is that about 3 or 4 different waiters came by our table to push these promotions. I definitely want to give them business, but it was annoying to have our conversation interrupted every 5 minutes to listen to the deals over and over again in broken english. They were trying to so hard and being so nice that we felt bad brushing them off, so we just sat and listened to it -__-
Oh, but another plus: BYOB! -
Review from Cool D.
Kingston, NJ
2/7/2011
Nice staff, great food. Seemed like decent vegetarian options. Full on a wed night - diverse crowd - dating college kids, coworkers, families.
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Review from maynard g.
Flagstaff, AZ
10/8/2010
Six stars! This is the best Thai restaurant I've ever been to. Also note that all rice and noodle dishes - including a great pineapple fried rice - are half price for lunch,
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Review from Kimberly C.
New Brunswick, NJ
6/3/2009
They have the best Pad See Ew. I will be back to try their other dishes. Yum yum!
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Review from Jen H.
Princeton, NJ
9/5/2010
Husband and I went for dinner. We both enjoyed the papaya salad. Unfortunately, the main dishes that followed did not impress too much. We ordered the Imperial Fish with Chile and Garlic. It sounded so promising... like a whole fried fish topped with minced garlic and chiles. What came out though was a somewhat bland fliet of tilapia. (Tilapia? Still scratching my head over that). The second dish we ordered, spicy basil noodle dish, was not exactly stellar either. I wanted both dishes to have more flavor. I guess the plusses are its BYOB, and the place has nice decor and good service.
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Review from Nina S.
Denville, NJ
2/1/2011
Okay, let me just say I've dined here a few times and I went back after a year. It was HORRIBLE! It was not busy when we arrived and then became busier later on. I ordered the vegetable dumplings and they were cold. Looks like they took them out of the freezer and MICROWAVED THEM. Same thing with the rice. I was so disappointed. Service was okay, don't think they really cared. I don't pay to have frozen food microwaved. I could do that myself. So disappointing and will definitely not be returning. Looks like they don't uphold their standards at all.
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Review from Rick L.
East Brunswick, NJ
1/11/2010
Hands down one of the best Thai restaurants around.
(As stated before) It's sometimes a little bit difficult communicating with some of their staff, but I think that just adds character.
Their Pad Thai is great, not to sweet and not too spicy.
They actually have some of the best Thai Iced Tea too.
Pad See Ew is GREAT
The Chicken Satay appetizer is one of my favorites. -
Review from Sonali P.
Hudson, NJ
1/4/2010
Everytime I go to Aroma I always walk away saying...finally GOOD THAI IN NJ!! There are some many thai restaurants in the area that serve bad food, but I love Aroma. I like the traditional thai decor but the food makes it even better. Definitely worth trying, and don't be discouraged by the restaurant from the outside...its so yummy inside!
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Review from Vivek T.
Philadelphia, PA
3/11/2010
The people who wrote favorable reviews about this place must never have tried decent thai food. I ordered the Tom Kha Ghai Chicken soup (was like drinking boiled water), the chicken salad (like eating boiled meat), and the basil chicken (boiled chicken in water). I usually ask for a high level of spice. The food had absolutely no flavor and absolutely no taste. I am surprised they are still open.
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Review from stephen s.
Dayton, NJ
7/19/2010
I haven't been that impressed with the local Thai selections, but this place is pretty good. Positives: The selections are tasty, decor is beautiful, and while there's often a lively, family-friendly crowd, there's almost never a wait for seats. Negatives: The place sometimes smells like cleaning products--which I suppose is better than smelling dirty, and the Tom Kha was slightly disappointing. Still, my favorite in the area!
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Review from Premal P.
Franklin Park, NJ
2/5/2010
Usually order take out as it always seems busy on weekends. The food is great! Very traditional and can be spicy unless you tell them otherwise. The restaurant itself isn't large but well decorated.
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Review from Rand M.
Princeton, NJ
4/16/2010
Highly excellent food. Traditional Thai flavors given full force. Very friendly staff. It can get busy so you may want to call for a reservation. Big variety of foods, great for a big group with a lot of different wants but with lots of food to share.
