Aroma in Basildon

Took 1 for the team & opted for this school canteen dining experience as all 4 of us choose different dishes for a Chinese takeaway & it can work out quite costly. Positive - can't fault the service, staff were quick to clear plates. Negative - poor food quality - was really looking forward to the Crispy Aromatic Duck which was pale, soggy & minced not crispy & shredded. Unfortunately, will not be returning.

Most of the food was only just warm,the chicken was tough,the sweet&sour chicken was neither sweet or sour

First time here but won’t be back , I’m a vegetarian so £22 to have the very basic veggie options is a waste of money, the veg pizza was rock hard, no main veggie option like curry or soup.

13 family members at £24 pp and given only 1 hour and 30 mins sitting time , for a start is ridiculous at those prices , the food was ok , not hot just warm with a lot of different dishes , several of the food trays were empty for long periods ie chicken wings , rice and noodles , sweet and sour chicken , we all thought the food didn’t have much taste and tasted the same , the curry sauce is soo watery , drinks quiet expensive too , I do feel this buffet restaurant has gone down hill yet got expensive . The seating area just doesn’t give a warm welcome , we been coming here for nearly 10 years now and feel our last visit will be our last .

Lots of funny smells and people touch the food

Love this place. I so wish there was a restaurant in sussex.

It's ok. Exactly what you expect from an eat as much as you like Chinese located in a horrid retail park. Quality of some dishes was suspect but plenty of tasty stuff. Salmon ginger dish was v nice. Lots of unhealthy stuff but lots of options so one probably could put together a non calorie heavy meal, if desired. Staff were rushed but polite.

Awful place, had to wait an hour and a quarter to be seated, then had to wait 20 minutes to order drinks. Now the food, if it could be bought at a shop it was ok I.e.prawn toast, spring rolls, etc but anything cooked on site like rice, curry, chowmein it was awful, no taste no seasoning nothing. I was taught to cook Chinese food by an excellent chef, these need a few lessons. Shocking full of msg. Designed to bloat you out. Deserts looked ok, my daughter loved it all. But overall, won't ever be back and at over 100 pound for four, won't be missed.

Sadly not a great visit, despite them having only opened at 12 when I visited around 1215 some dishes were already cool to cold

Sunday lunch was as always a good self service buffet .

Had good food,the service was great.Didnt have to book to get in.Paid after the meal.Had raw food chefs would make it one wanted.They came immediately for us at the door.Would definitely visit again...oh it's a buffet place

Great selection of food and desserts. The staff are all friendly and happy to help with any queries.

Very friendly and food is fresh. Just works when you just want to eat and go. Easy for children too. Very busy but that’s good so food is cooked quickly

From SA and moved to UK Clacton on Sea ..today was my second time there and it marks 6months being in UK today...again enjoyd the variety of food ... definitely going there again.

Went in there second time and again wasn’t disappointed with it. The food is good and service was good. The only thing is that the food could have been warmer and the waiters could have been more friendlier for sure. But regardless enjoyed it.

Good food, never disappointed. Went around 6pm not a lot of dessert options

Our favourite Chinese buffet restaurant. This was our first evening visit & we wasn't disappointed. A short queue but that was to be expected. We took some friends, who were equally impressed by the range & quality of food available. The Tepanaki counter was very popular all the time we were there. Service was excellent, the management & staff were all friendly, helpful and extremely busy.

Meh. Honestly, I’m not a massive fan of Asian cuisine so my review might be biased. My group of friends are big fans and we went to the aroma as it’s not far from where we like to go. It’s not that clean, and the tables are very basic. The staff are very attentive, polite and helpful. The food is good and bad, some items were tasty and others were bland. The desserts are a big plus, there is a ‘whippy’ style ice cream machine and many cakes. Overall, not bad, but not amazing.

It's been a few years, but I’ve always meant to share this experience. Although I didn’t dine at Aroma Restaurant in Basildon, I feel compelled to give them 5 stars for their exceptional staff. During my mother-in-law’s final days at Basildon Hospital, she had a craving for egg drop corn soup. We searched and found Aroma Restaurant, but since it was a buffet, they didn’t offer takeout and had no containers for it. However, one of the staff members went above and beyond—emptying their own lunch container, washing it, and filling it with soup for us. To our surprise, they didn’t charge us a penny, as they didn’t have a price for a single serving of soup to go. They could have easily dismissed us from the start, but their kindness and generosity made all the difference during a difficult time.

Have been going here since i was a child and it consistently has excellent service and food, its always a little loud due to its popularity, but i feel the very reasonable price aswell and the great selection of food make it well worth it, will continue to go here for a long time

Lovely and great selection of food. Staff are very friendly and polite. Great value for the food! Will definitely return.

Update, im coming today at 1.50 and the lady says she is closing the kitchen at 2.15 and at 2.45 no more food when the opening times syad 12 to 15 i not coming back never ever not happy at all

Lovely, great food good selection, chef cooks your food to order, as well as good buffet, as much as you like free parking, good deserts too,

Tasty food, excellent service, fair prices

Was good value don't expect to be blown away by the quality. The tapenyaki is the best part you pick your meat and they cook it in front of you unfortunately the chef got confused and asked the person before me in the q how they wanted it and then tried to serve what i had chosen to them then realised it was wrong I wanted it to be cooked with the garlic and chilli and the person after me asked for none of that so mine had to be taken off of a plate and put back on to the hot plate then the garlic and chilli added which spoild the taste and experience because you have to wait quite a while for that and the rest of the food can just take and eat straight away. If not for this I would have given more stars all round I got unlucky but can only rate my own experience. Tapenyaki is the best part unfortunately mine got messed up . Ice cream was really good and loads of choice.

Nice place to eat out , ull definitely be full

Lovely food Has a tepinyaki section

Not alot of popular dishes there. Very dissapointed

I recently dined at Aroma with some Buisness clients and was thoroughly disappointed with the experience. The first thing that struck me was the temperature of the buffet. Every dish, from the supposed "hot" entrees to the side dishes, was lukewarm at best. The duck, a dish that should be served piping hot, was barely above room temperature. The supposed hot soups were tepid, making them utterly unappetizing. Not only was the food cold, but it also lacked variety. For the exorbitant price they charge, I expected a vast selection of dishes to choose from. Instead, I was met with a meager assortment of uninspired options. The salad bar was particularly disappointing, with a few wilted greens and unremarkable dressings. The main courses were limited to a few poorly prepared dishes that left much to be desired in terms of both taste and presentation. Moreover, the presence of MSG in many of the dishes was overwhelming. Shortly after eating, I began to feel unwell. I experienced a headache and an uncomfortable sense of bloating, which I can only attribute to the excessive use of MSG. In today's culinary world, where many establishments are moving towards healthier, MSG-free options, this reliance on artificial flavor enhancers is both outdated and concerning. Given the high prices, I expected a gourmet experience but was instead treated to subpar food that left me feeling ill. I would advise anyone considering dining at aroma to think twice. There are far better dining options available that offer both quality and value for money. Save your time and your stomach, and choose a different restaurant.

The food was absolutely amazing and a good selection of desserts.Service was excellent.

Came here Sunday, staff friendly. Seated quickly & served drinks, up to the buffet with 5 minutes of entering. Food constantly topped up & there was plenty of choice to suit everyone's needs. Fresh clean plates & bowls. Everything clean enough my only issue was the cloth that staff repeatedly used to wipe things down after refills of food (I could smell the dirty cloth on surfaces & it was slightly off putting! Would have been nice for staff to wear gloves & use clean sponge) Tapanyaki was delicious:) its nice to watch the chef cook your food with a choice of sauces (would like to see sweetchilli added) Buffets was fine for the price I was surprised to see so many large prawns for the low price that it cost to eat here. Deserts yummy! Left feeling full & that we had our mkneys worth. Upstairs toilet a bit awkward would rather it be downstairs. Paid & tipped staff 8/10 Would recommend & return.

A perfect restaurant, the food is great like a buffet and hot food, you serve yourself, you choose what you want and how much you want, cakes, ice cream on tap, I am very delighted to visit the restaurant and the large selection of various foods from cooked to baked

Lovely. Monday lunch not too busy. Great food. Wish they had crab sweetcorn soup instead of chicken. But plenty of options for me being pescatarian. Love the mushrooms. And prawns seaweed. And banana cake

I don’t even know where to start with this place. It doesn’t even deserve 1 star. The food has no flavour and is really bland. The sauces are watered down with no flavour. The meat doesn’t even taste fresh. The chicken taste hard like I’m chewing gum. The dessert cakes are hard and stale. The best thing was the fizzy cola bottles that they had for dessert. Not worth the £22. I wouldn’t even come back here even if it was offered for free. PLEASE SAVE YOUR TIME AND MONEY!!!!!

Lovely food and plenty of choice too. Staff quick to take away plates but are very friendly

Haven't been for a while but disappointed plates stacked up on table alll the time we was there and got charged adult for my son , staff on counter at tills not very helpful wouldn't go back food was not even warm

Busy, ended up way down the back. Sad that again no lychees but otherwise no other issues this time. Good turn round of empty dishes.

This is still one of my favourite places for lunch or dinner . Food is always hot and delicious with many many dishes to suit all. They keep the dishes topped up throughout the opening times and service for drinks is always very quick with a good selection.

We had an evening meal at aroma and got two meals and three soft drinks it cost around £57. The food is exceptional. A ridiculous amount of choice, all well cooked and presented beautifully. Puddings galore on top of that- honestly, we enjoyed every mouthful. The staff were friendly and attentive and the place was spotlessly clean. I would absolutely recommend a visit.

My new favourite place to eat!!! The service was fantastic the food felt like it was freshly cooked all the time and the atmosphere was very nice. Not rushed at all. Definitely worth the drive from Romford

Had lunch there today food was tasteless and not very warm not sure what's happened here as I used to be a good place to eat very disappointed

We found the food didn't have much taste to it and was that warm disappointed to be honest was OK mm any years ago so not sure what's happened to the quality

WE WENT FOR A LATE LUNCH FOUR ADULTS ONE CHILD A FIXED PRICE FOR WEEKENDS and a child older than 2yrs and under 5yrs £5 WAS BUSY WAS MET WITH A SMILE AND SEATED QUICKLY IT IS BUFFET SO YOU WILL BE TO AND FRO GETTING YOUR FOOD GOOD SELECTION, CHINESE, CHIPS,COOKED AND RAW SEAFOOD,CAKES,FRUIT,ICECREAM,CHOC FOUNTAIN ALSO CAN PICK FRESH FOOD AND HAVE IT COOKED IN FRONT OF YOU WE ENJOYED THE FOOD ALTHOUGH SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE WAS VERY WATERY, HAS A DISABLED TOILET DOWNSTAIRS BUT MAIN TOILET UP STAIRS I DIDNT SEE A LIFT PLENTY OF PARKING BASICALLY YOU EAT WHAT AND HOW MUCH YOU WANT......... WAITRESS BRINGS YR DRINKS AND CLEARS PLATES AWAY , PAPER NAPKINS, GET YOUR OWN PLATE FROM COUNTER AND KNIFE AND FORKS GOOD MEAL IF YOU LIKE BUSY BUFFET

Really enjoyed the food. Service was great especially from Yvonne. Would deffenatly recommend and will be back soon

Good place to have buffet meal at Basildon. Good number of selection of foods. Delicious and fresh. You can get cooked foods as well as prepare your desired food at action station. Clean tables and good atmosphere. There is enough parking at Festival leisure park. For a dinner out and cinema I will suggest this place should be ideal.

Great place for a relaxing meal.

First time here in a few years and extremely disappointed. The variety of food is very limited and almost flavourless. Not convinced the food holding temperature is high enough. Had to substitute my selection as the staff couldn't keep up with refilling. Partner opted for the grill for second round of food due to the concerns around the food temperature. No refill soft drinks which is rare in restaurants today. Staff are polite and friendly and overall atmosphere is ok but it's just not what it used to be.

Great value. Really nice food and it was very clean. I would for sure recommend

Very busy as usual. But seated relatively quickly. Good choice of dishes. Reasonably priced. Thank you.

Good choice of dishes which included meat, fish, and vegetables. Caters for small and large groups. Staff polite. Premises clean.

Wide range of food on the buffet, but getting pricey nowadays for Chinese.

My favourite buffet restaurant. Staff are always lovely and food diverse, tasty and of good quality. They have wide choice of different starters, (including soups), mains, sides and desserts, among them very tasty soft ice cream and chocolate fountain. If u want your food cooked in front of you, there is a teppenyaki area as well. If you plan to visit for dinner on the weekend, make sure to get there before 5:30pm to avoid standing in the line. Lastly, if you are one of those who hate how small the plates are at buffet places, Aroma actually allows you to take your own plate with u. Makes the experience so much better and the food looks way more appealing when on a nice plate. 😋

Havnt been there for years it's gone abit down hill since my last visit lots of the food was cold and overheated and the food containers was empty so may leave that one until I read more positive reviews

Not friendly in the reception people in the cash counter Talk nicely please

The food is ok, with healthy choices such as vegetables and fruits, but for as much as I eat, it's not worth going there again. I understand those who like a bigger meal with desserts and all. The staff doesn't know very good english.

Lovely freshly cooked food. Clean surroundings. Lovely lunch really enjoyed it

Always plenty options and nice food.

Hello, I have been in this restaurant for the first time. The restaurant is not great looking. However, it is clean. the foods are really good. You have a choice to eat already cooked foods or ask the chefs to cook them in front of your eyes. However, not all kinds of foods. This is a Chinese restaurant and it is eat as much as you wish restaurant. If you love fresh and good foods that cook them from your eyes,I am 100% recommended.

Value for money. From appetizers to main course to desserts, the buffet was tantalising.

It was quite busy afternoon. Buffet almost full and we had to wait for 5 minutes to get the table for three. Not that much variety of food in lunch but price was ok. Service was bit slower. Verity of drinks choice form drink bar. Starter and main was good. Teppanyaki was bonus. Desserts are the down side, they could be lot more better, to me it’s bellow average but Ice cream was good. Toilet was clean but in upper level.

Food lovely, staff really friendly

The venue was busy and lots of full tables. No variety in dishes but they are keeping the price down fortunately. Upset there were no lychees

Very good choices of food and very tasty.

Does not have a strong taste or flavour in food.Most of the fruits session is tinned fruits which does not taste good.They do not have lot of variety of food.

Walked in and stood waiting to be seated, was ignored by one lady who just walked away didn't even acknowledge us, then another man walked over to the counter, again ignored us, sorted some paperwork out then he walked off, we walked out and went to Kervan Kitchen, they know how to treat people well! WONT BE COMING HERE AGAIN!!!! RUDE !!!!!!

Decent food at a reasonable price no complaints

This isn't a review regarding the food, I'm querying the price. I'm happy to pay the adult price but to pay £22 for a 9 year old is ridiculous. The height limit for a child is 140cm. My grandson son is 142cm, he has a small appetite he would never eat an adult portion but I am being charged adult price of £22.

Great service as always. But tonight the choice of food seems to have changed unfortunately for the worse did not enjoy at all , been here many times in the past wad always fantastic food but not tonight. Shame .

The food was OK, although a lot of it was overcooked. What really annoyed me though was that I was charged for tap water! Definitely not worth the £20 charged per person, I wouldn't bother going again.

The AROMA restaurant has its advantages and disadvantages. The food is both good and bad. The good ones include cooked dishes served on a hot buffet. These do not include ribs or chicken wings which are uncooked. The chicken is pink with some blood, and the ribs are hard and hard to bite. When it comes to Teppanyaki, I don't recommend it. Whatever the chef throws on the grill is raw. If you ask for a longer grilling time, there is one answer: The plate is hot and that is enough. No, it's not enough. The food is hard, raw and not good. As for the atmosphere of the restaurant, it is pleasant, but the tables are gross. You feel like you're in a canteen at an ugly, small table and I don't recommend it for dinner. Rather just for a quick lunch, eat and run away. If you want to go for dinner or lunch for two, a 50x50cm table must be enough. You won't get a bigger one. It's really not pleasant. But the warm food on the buffet is good, so I recommend it for a quick lunch!

Great every time we go. The grill is great and the buffet itself has a big choice of foods that I love. Tastes better than other buffets I tried in Essex that I won't name.

Sweet and sour chicken and the lemon chicken was over cooked , everything else was spot on . It's still one of the best places to eat out and for value for money .

Waited 30 minutes in the queue for teppanyaki to have other peoples food mixed in with mine on the grill, whilst my partner was waiting at the table for me as we wanted to eat together. Furniture is tired dirty.

Female manager very rude, takes it for granted that you know what to do. cheap food poorly done found it to be quite dirty and noisy

Love Chinese buffet, good cheaper price at lunchtime, always enjoyable.

Good buffett lots to choose from

Food Was Hot. Most Of It Was Nice And Didn't Taste Like It's Been Made In Bulk. No Crispy Chilli Beef Which Let's It Down For Me And The Dessert Station Has A Lit Less Options Than It Used To Have.

Love this place just seems to be getting expensive.

Price has gone up quite a bit due to costs I suppose . Nice variety tasty food,chicken Is a bit ropey though but overall not bad.

Lovely meal again. Great food lovely staff and friendly environment.

Shame but looks like this place is coming to a end it's getting less busy and food it just the same all the time and there is less dessert, also prices are way to high! Used to love it here

We decided to come for lunch as my daughter had just turned 11 and loves a buffet. The lunch was half the price of dinner and still had the fresh cooked option. There was a lot of variety and food was tasty. The atmosphere wasn't that great, it felt cold and clinical. The drinks were roughly £3 each, and surprisingly were not refills - most of the buffets we have visited had unlimited soft drinks, so 2 drinks each really increased the bill! The toilet was really bad and smelly. I don't think we would go back again. I think to make this a more enjoyable experience, consider some nice music, and bigger glasses for the drinks or even slightly cheaper drinks as they are not bottomless. And also consider making the toilets a bit better.

Plenty of choice, attentive staff & £21 is value for freshly cooked buffet (love the seaweed)& deserts (my favourite is the lemon cheese cake) nice tapanyaki. My only issue was the state of the toilets at 3 in the afternoon you have only been open a couple of hours they should be spotless but there was toilet roll all over the floors & every toilet was unclean. Restaurant spotless, food food value, would recommend & return.

Lots of variety very nice. Pretty average all round. Don't like the drink system

Food was great, staff were brilliant. Atmosphere very welcoming

Great Asian food, my children love eating there.

Decent food. Good for an evening with mates ! Not fine dining though!

Ive not been for a few months,the food is very nice,with lots of choice,lunchtime is great value for the money,will be back hopefully soon

Great selection of authentic dishes and a comfortable atmosphere. It is a regular dining destination for me and my wife

was lovely food good service and clean

Disrespectful to younger female staff. The older male staff are very disrespectful to the younger female staff. I witnessed what I believe was the owner, walk across the restaurant and shuv a young girl out the way because he didn't want to walk around her. Another older asian male from the kitchen was shouting at a young girl because she didn't know the names of all the dishes (she was new). This is disgusting and probably illegal behaviour that needs addressing.

Great food, perfect place for a Chinese Buffet 👍👌👏♥️

Great food, fair price, worth going if you like a big dinner

Food was excellent. Great big choice of food. Recommend highly

Worse Chinese food we've ever had. Everything was the same colour and barely hot. For £21 per head and £10 for a 3 year-old not value for money. The only thing worth having was the fruit and the ice cream. Won't be recomending this restaurant.

Massive choice of delicious dishes prepared & a fabulous tepenyaki counter where you can create your own perfect stir-fry! Even had a very fine selection of desserts & fruits - very satisfying!!

I'm not happy more with Aroma! New stuff,food hasn't great taste as before.

1st time at this restaurant was a lovely meal and soo impressed at the price. Not been to a buffet since before lockdown, so to find this restaurant was an absolute bonus. My 5year old doesn't eat much but when she saw the fruit and icecream that was her completely satisfied, if she happy I'm definitely happy. Highly recommend 👌

AVOID! Overpriced and tasteless food, took one bite of the chicken but didn’t eat anymore as didn’t want to be stuck on the toilet all week, very strange texture and undercooked.

Really nice food will be going again