First located in Worli, then in Fort and now in Mazgaon, Aroma Garden appears to add a new twist to the tale of the expansion plans of restaurateurs. Instead of opening branches or franchises all over the place, the eatery’s owners seem to enjoy shifting locations instead.
Finding the restaurant is not easy. The entrance is tiny and the unlit signboard makes it even tougher to find the place. Once you do get there though, you have a choice of two
sections — a small air-conditioned room, and a huge open air area that looks like a garden, complete with a swing. Temporarily covered because of the impending monsoon, the garden is very hot — there are no coolers and not even a fan.
The menu is varied, comprising Continental, Indian and Chinese delicacies. There’s no alcohol and the food is reasonably priced. Our first order, a berry blast and iced tea (Rs 80 each) arrived 20 minutes apart. The starters, chicken chakori kebab (Rs 160, chicken breast stuffed with minced meat) and crackling chicken (Rs 160, minced meat and spinach) arrived even later and were completely oil free.
Even the jerk chicken sandwich (Rs 140) that we ordered was dry, giving us the impression that Aroma Garden believes in healthy eating. But our next order, a rawas kadai (Rs 295) completely shattered that image. Because you could have called it an oil kadai instead.
Even the jerk chicken sandwich (Rs 140) that we ordered was dry, giving us the impression that Aroma Garden believes in healthy eating. But our next order, a rawas kadai (Rs 295) completely shattered that image. Because you could have called it an oil kadai instead.
Even though the restaurant was empty at 8.30 pm, which seemed strange — it took about 30 minutes for our dinner to be served. The choc mousse (Rs 45) we ordered was actually a butterscotch mousse bereft of chocolate. But the blueberry cheesecake (Rs 85) was a welcome relief.
Aroma Garden needs some serious work in the taste department if it wants to pull in customers. If not, we may end up reviewing the same Aroma Garden in another place some time soon.
What:
Aroma Garden
Where:
Khadi Gram Udyog, Dockyard Station, Dockyard Road, Mazgaon, Mumbai 400 010
Call: 2377 5752
Drinking:
No
Smoking:
No
What we like:
Some of the oil free food
What we don’t like:
The slow service
Rating:
**1/2