Aroma Espresso Bar

Delicious full bodied caffeinated liquid. mmm
What a treat from the holy land! If only I could drip their delicious brown liquid into my veins on a daily basis. Mmmm
Edit. Never mind. they wouldn’t put sweetner in my latte for me???

I always like their salads, coffees and sandwiches. Specially salmon sandwich is very good but I just have been at the Eaton centre and I had the quinoa salad. When I got just a bit I had a strong taste of onions because those were spoiled I told them they said that they can be change with another salad but they were already little bit sad for helping me cause it was about to closing time but they were still open so it was a bad experience…

Aroma sets itself apart from the other fast food restaurants in the Eaton Centre food court… literally.
I’m a big fan of Aroma but i’m on the fence about this location.
The good:
Separated seating from the other Eaton Centre food vendors makes it feel more secluded. The food is a healthy option when eating out.
The not so good:
This location is a little slower in terms of service. Food court is somewhat loud (not Aroma’s fault).
I’m a bigger fan of the Aroma at Bay and Dundas (2 – 5 minutes walk away) as it’s quieter and I find the quality of food and service slightly better.

I’m not a big coffee drinker so generally I avoid places like this, however, today I was on the search for breakfast and aroma seemed to have the best option in the food court.
I ordered the breakfast sandwich. I had noted on the menu it said «personal size» or something like that… But didn’t really think about it too much. Aren’t all sandwiches personal?
I placed my order and the cashier asked me if I wanted personal size or… Then her voice trailed off. I asked her to repeat what she said, and was very rude in her tone. I was confused as to what personal meant because any freaking normal person would consider a sandwich on normal slices of bread to be personal. Turns out it’s just Aroma’s pretentious way of saying half sandwich.
I also bought a bottles juice and a brownie. I wasn’t given the brownie at the cash which I thought was odd, but figured maybe they put it in the bag with the sandwich.
As I sit waiting for my sandwich I watch the girl behind the counter sort of bitchily snap at another customer because he asked for his coffee while waiting for his breakfast to be complete. He didn’t realize she still had to steam the milk and pour it in. She was really rude about it.
So I get my whole sandwich in the bag and I look and no brownie. I asked the lady about it and she looked at the receipt and said I wasn’t charged for it and just shrugged her shoulders.
That lead to my realization that since I got a whole sandwich the price from the menu was actually doubled. I obviously knew it would be more than the «personal» sandwich… But honestly, $ 9 for a sandwich with egg, cheese, pickle and tomato? That probably has a total cost of no more than $ 2! That’s a HUGE markup!!!
Anyways, I noted that another reviewer commented on how the owner of this establishment «hates starbucks».
Well let me tell you, if this had been a Starbucks, I would have been greeted with a smile, the other gentleman wouldn’t have been rudely spoken to by the barista, and when they realized I had ordered a brownie and didn’t get it and wasn’t charged for it, they would have given me one for free.
This place fails at customer service BIG TIME! It wasn’t even busy to be able to use stress as an excuse. I won’t ever come here again, because it’s not deserving of my cash.

I’ve always preferred going to a stand-​alone restaurant over a food court. It is the same when it comes to Aroma Espresso Bar. I have avoided going to the one in the Urban Eatery at the Eaton Centre because I’d rather go to one of the cafes. However, with no Metropass and the lack of time to walk to other Aromas, I buckled down and went to the one at Urban Eatery.
Prior to this trip, I always got a personal sandwich and a drink from Aroma. I decided that I wanted more food and remembered the barista telling me that if I get the DoubleUp Combo, it would be $ 10 including tax. I thought that was a pretty good deal so I decided to go for the combo this time around. The DoubleUp Combo ($ 8.85) includes two choices of: soup or any personal sandwich or mixed greens/​caesar salad/​chopped salad/​quinoa salad. I got the Philly Chicken sandwich and the Butternut Squash soup. They forgot my bread and butter for the soup when I received my meal. Since it was busy, I simply waited and told them they forgot my bread and it was resolved immediately.
Can I say, hands down, Aroma’s Butternut Squash soup is my favourite soup ever. I’ve never had a favourite soup up until now. It was thick and creamy with the right amount of sweetness. The sandwich was tasty but soup totally overshadowed it in this meal.
Aroma Espresso Bar is popular with the working crowd during lunch time (as always). Being located in the Eaton Centre, it is accessible to those who work in the mall and anyone who has access to the Path. It has its own fenced off section in the food court, exclusive to those who order from Aroma. Overall, it is a good alternative if you are unable to run to the Bay and Dundas location (go to that one if you can!).

I really like this Aroma because it’s close to work and it’s a great change from the other food court options in the Eaton Centre. It also has its own little seating area so you can be away from the crazy lunch rush crowd. At first glance it looks like a pricey place but a sandwhich combo only puts you back about $ 10 – 12 which is roughly about the same price as the other fast food places.
I always ordered the steak sandwhich without onions and I heard first hand the soups are pretty good too.

I like Aroma a lot but the staff here were really snotty and rude.
When I asked the cashier which he preferred; the marshmallow white hot chocolate or the white hot chocolate he replied «neither, I’m a vegan».
Can you have it with soy milk or almond milk? Is chocolate not vegan? I really don’t know.
So I asked the guy which one was more popular. He looked at me and said «Uhh I don’t know» and acted like I was wasting his time although there were no customers behind me. So rude.
I rephrased my question and asked which sold more to which he replied «the white hot chocolate». So that’s what I chose.
They called my name and I grabbed my drink and sat down at the bar.
I had a few sips and asked the barista if she forgot to put the white chocolate in it, to which she replied very sarcastically «did you stir it?».
Lady, did you tell me to?! I’ve never had it before, you don’t have to stir the ones at Starbucks and at least their baristas are kind enough to tell you if there are any special instructions (ie: be careful it’s really hot, I’ve double cupped it, watch when you put the straw in, it’s quite full).
So I stirred it and it still tasted like steamed milk with a hint of chocolate.
I told her I liked them really sweet and she dumped 3 more chocolates in it (not white chocolate but I didn’t care).
And it tasted much better.
Everyone working there looked like they hated their lives.
I heard one of them asking to go home.
I really like the drinks and it’s in the mall so I will be here again but their customer service was atrocious. Maybe it was a bad day. Who knows.
I want to try the steak sandwich next time.

Their Chai Latte is the best I’ve ever had. Legit.

I really loved their Iced Mint Tea Lemonade. After a thirsty shopping spree, I needed a cool and refreshing drink. The eatery at Eaton’s Center is the least zen-​like place ever. I shudder coming here, as I get dizzy just looking at all the people. I have neither the energy nor aggressive attitude to bee-​line towards a coveted table, and eak it out against 10 other people.
That being said, Aroma has their own little nook area and as my parents and I found a table, I saw a few other tables spare up. I like the concept — line up here to place your order and then move a bit to the side to pick your order up.
I saw many people ordering their salads which comes in a sizeable bowl. Because I was going to be eating dinner soon, I opted for a cool Mint Lemonade which, at first, is sour, but then turns into icey sweetness.
This place is a nice break from shopping.

The website is pretty interesting as it describes their coffee drinks in scientific details i.e. temperature its served and frothing on the milk.
I mainly came here for my caffeine fix as I fall back to the popular chains when I can’t find decent drinks.
The setup is nice and clean though a bit busy as it is part of the food court. Nevertheless they have a separate cordoned off area just for their patrons. They have a wide variety of drinks and food items. I was here mainly to try out their cappuccino so just placed an order for midsize version in a ceramic mug.
The sales person took down my name and said my drink will be ready for pickup at the next counter. Clean and efficient so far. I grabbed a seat and waited for my cappuccino. A few minutes later my drink was ready. The serving was in a nice warm mug (I would have preferred a cup). The milk was frothed nicely but not much in terms of latte art. The aroma was decent and I went ahead and took a first sip. I thought it would be a stronger brew but it was on the milder side (with a decent hit of espresso) The drink is somewhat between a traditional cappuccino and the modern version served by baristas that is catching on.
A decent cappuccino and I would rate it above the major chain that has popularized the coffee culture here in North America.
3.5 Star overall. Given a choice if I want a cappuccino I would come to this place in this area.

I love the Aroma Special salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, hard boiled egg, olives plus choice of albacore tuna or feta cheese). Today I asked for argula instead of mixed greens and ½ tuna and ½ feta. This salad is healthy and so good. It’s very filling and decent deal at $ 8.25. The lattes at Aroma are my favourite.
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