Aroma Curry House

I’m torn about this restaurant. The food is authentic South Indian food, and they have amazing dosa! My husband and I were disappointed with the customer service though. We went in at 2:15, knowing they close at 2:30 everyday until dinner time. I got the Thali lunch special, and my husband got the dosa.
When the server brought me my food, he told me that it was 2:30, so they were closed and I should eat fast. His words. Please eat fast. I’ve been to a lot of Indian restaurants, including ones in India and Singapore, and I’ve never had a server tell me to hurry up and leave.
The food was good, The chicken curry was deliciously spiced, although there were a few bits of cartilage in the chicken. The staff ignored us after we got our food.
They have good food; a little customer service would go a long way. And if they really want everyone out by 2:30, then they need to stop seating people at 2:00.

Expensive, But a pretty good South Indian Restaurant :)

Had the curry and tikka masala. Both were watery with little flavor.

Excellent Chennai tasty food!

Easily my favorite for Indian food. That egg biryani is out of this world. The service is top tier and for the love of all that is holy… get the chicken 65!!!

Waited one hour and forty minutes for the food to be served. It was shrimp biriyani worth $ 15.99. It was the worst biriyani i have ever had. Stalty and does not taste good at all.
Not only this, been there couple more times on friend’s request; they always take at least an hour to serve the food. Food is not worth the time (not in this place ! no !)

Restaurant review
I finally had a chance to come here for a weekday lunch to try the «Chennai Saappadu» which is the 8 course lunch meal. For 7.99 this is a deal if you like variety. This includes a cup of basmathi rice, a chapathi (wheat flour tortilla the equivalence of naan), sambar (pigeon pea stew), mulligatawny, dhahi (yogurt to cool of the burn from the spice), vegetable koottu, and a choice of veggie curry or non-​veggie curry (the butter chicken was quite delicious), and appalam (tortilla chip like thing). It did not come with any pickles. For 2 dollar more you can get a mini appetizer and rose milk or gulab jamun. The mulligatawny or the sambar was very spicy. Otherwise the other dishes were quite a nice variety. One major issue is that the dishes themselves don’t contain a lot of curry so I found myself just putting in the vegetable koottu into my rice and using the chapathi to dip the curry. The yogurt was a nice way to knock down the heat. So in summary, nice variety and spices, but lack of protein is a huge downer with the meal
Pros: quick service, lunch special with a large variety, south indian cusine
Cons: lack of curry and protein with the lunch special
Hidden deals:
7.99 for the Chennai Saappadu
2 dollars more for dessert and appetizer with the meal

First of all, let me say I have been spoiled by going to many Indian restaurants in Chicago. So that being said, this place wasn’t quite as great as some of the other ones I’ve tried, but it’ll do just fine for this area.
My boyfriend and I stopped in once and were the only people there for the most part. We ordered and I thought the butter chicken was good, but the bread had to have been my favorite part. Everything was quite spicy, which I really enjoyed, but I could see how others might not. All in all, I’d definitely come back for a second meal, I just hope this place is still around by the time that happens.

We enjoyed a late lunch here. The food was delicious and filling but be aware that this restaurant focuses on south Indian cuisine, so there is no naan on the menu (we had chapati instead). Although we were there late in the lunch hour we still received prompt and friendly service.

I used to go this restaurant with family/​friends from bloomington. Nice place to dine. I like the big dosa and the music played when it is being served. Try this if you go with family. One important dish to try is «kothu parotta». I have recommended this to my friends and everyone liked it.

Okay, so I’m giving this place a 5 not because everything about it is *absolutely amazing* but because overall I love this place. The food is always tasty, hot (spicy and temp), and fresh. I have only had vegetarian/​vegan things on their menu, but I can highly recommend the paneer tikka masala and the vegetable korma. If you haven’t had their spiced tea, it’s definitely worth a try (but make sure you order it first thing, since it’s handmade and steamed right then, it takes a while to cool down). And trust me, you will never leave hungry.
The service is, as everyone has said, always slow. Even when you are one of a few people in there, it will still be slow. Strangely enough, it’s just as slow then as when it’s jam-​packed. But the people are wonderful and friendly and truly want your experience to be as good as it can be. They will work with you on items that aren’t strictly on the menu if what you see isn’t what you like, or you want some variety. Just don’t go when you’re already hungry, and make sure to go with someone you can stand talking to for a few hours, and you’re good to go! And paying with cash gets you a nice discount, so I highly recommend you have some on hand.

This is a place we keep going because the tasty food outweighs the well-​meaning but consistently slow service. It’s southern Indian, so different than most of the places I’ve been in the midwest – much spicier, on the whole. It makes a nice change. My favorite item on their menu is the Malabar Fish Curry: strong spices balanced by the sweetness of coconut.
Waitstaff and manager have always been friendly to us, even if the service is poor. Honestly, I prefer to get my food as takeout from here; it is ready quickly enough when I call ahead, so that does not seem to be the holdup when we’re dining in. They once kindly obliged by making an item for me that was not on their regular menu, when I asked about it, which was nice. Generous portions; we always have enough for seconds the next day.

I have yet to find good Indian food in Central Illinois. Someone recommended the Aroma Curry House so we decided to give it a try.
We were one of the only tables in the restaurant but the service was painfully slow. My husband ordered a beer and it took so long we were tempted to just walk over to the case and grab it ourselves. I don’t normally complain about service, but it was just out of hand.
As far as the food itself goes, it was alright. My in-​laws loved it but they hate spicy food. I found my chicken tikka masala to be pretty bland. If I’m looking for bland, I don’t normally go for Indian. Someone else got a dosa and it hardly had any filling at all. I’ve had dosas many times and I’ve never had a dosa with so little filling. Maybe it was an off night, but I don’t plan on returning.

the food is good. The manager is a little funny. We (a group of 4) went to an empty restaurant on a sunday afternoon, and the manager seats us on a slightly cramped 4 seater. we request him to move to any bigger in the entirely empty restaurant, and he refuses. On protesting, he becomes aggressive himself. Later, the manager seemed to be in a hurry to have us leave. brought the check even before we done eating.
I am not going there again in a hurry.

Thumbs up just for being a South Indian restaurant. I am South Indian so there is no way I am going to compare to home cooked food. We drive quite some way just to have a night of satisfied full tummies. We have at times driven quite out of the way just to get take out and stock up our fridges for a few days!
The dosa and uttappam could be made more fresh and crispy otherwise the food is crave-​able. Prices are completely reasonable and even cheap by Indian food standards. Got the standards North Indian dishes for those who aren’t as adventurous as well. As a recommendation to spice-​a-​phobes, be sure to ask, and a lil secret from me… drink some yogurt if it does get to you! :)
Don’t worry, it’s all in good fun!
Champaign is lucky to have this place at it’s disposal.
I will speak for colleagues who said the service is poor. However, in my personal opinion I have never been treated with anything but good service even during busy hours and late nights. I also called ahead when I knew we would be late and almost at closing and was greeted with a very easy «We are here for you».
How could I not be pleased?
Docked one star because I feel like small changes in food quality could still be made and it would upgrade the place by a lot.

I had lunch here yesterday — first time in the restaurant. My son and I were greeted and seated immediately upon entering. We took some time to decide what to order. After looking at the regular dinner menu, we were then given the lunch menu. I ordered the Spring Dosa (served with sambar and chutney) and my son ordered Kozhi Milagu Kuhambu (Pepper Chicken) and mango juice.
Although I am not a huge fan of Indian food, I will say that my dosa was very good — flavorful and a just a bit spicy. My son seemed to enjoy his chicken dish.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was nice, although it was a bit dark inside. The food took longer than anticipated. We were initially given the wrong check. These were all minor annoyances.
Despite not ordering extras, I thought this meal was more than I would normally expect lunch to cost.

5 stars for food. By FAR the best Indian food in C-​U!!! I’ve been a loyal patron of Bombay Grille for years and just tried Aroma — the food is SO delicious, creative and affordable.
Be prepared for slow service, but it’s WORTH it. Also our food didn’t arrive at the same time — so perhaps be prepared to share your curries while you wait!

The south indian food is ok. Not anything your indian friends will rave about, but decent. They have dosas and other south indian specialties. Seems they have idlis on the menu, but no longer serve them in any form. Of the indian restaurants in champaign, this is probably the best, but the competition is poor.

I’m surprised to read the negative reviews about this place. My friend and I came here for dinner last night, and we fortunately did not experience any of the issues listed below.
In any case, let me preface this by saying that, until recently, I would rather starve than even smell Indian food (and I eat just about anything). But then my friend’s grandmother (force) fed me her homemade Indian food, which led to the following revelations: a) there is such a thing as delicious Indian food, b) my friend’s grandmother is from South India, c) most Indian restaurants actually serve North Indian cuisine, so therefore d) perhaps Christine can actually *gasp* enjoy (South) Indian food?
So when I heard there was finally a South Indian restaurant in town, I was cautiously optimistic (read: jumping giddily up and down. And I did it in front of my boss. Oy.). And this place did not disappoint. The food (chicken tikka uthappam for me, and chettinad vegetable kurma for her) was delicious: the uthappam was flavorful without being overly spicy, and the sambar and chutney that came with it were particularly delicious. My friend’s curry was also very good, and was filled with a hearty mixture of vegetables including cauliflower and (I think) peas and carrots. The portions were generous, and though we were both able to finish our entrees we felt quite full afterwards. Furthermore, the waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and patiently answered our many questions, and our food was served promptly. The servers were also very attentive, and despite the restaurant being busy they refilled our water glasses no less than three times throughout the evening.
Overall, a very nice dining experience. The ambiance is soothing and pleasant without being overly formal, and even though my friend and I chatted for about two hours, we never felt rushed or hurried. I would definitely recommend the entrees we ordered, and I have heard good things about the biriyani as well… which means I’ll just have to go back and try it myself!

We’re big fans of all foods Indian. We were regulars at Basmati and Sairam Om, and now at Bombay Grill. We’re going to be regulars at Aroma Curry House, too, but with even greater enthusiasm. Aroma Curry House, at the former location of Sairam Om at the Village at the Crossing (Champaign), has new owners and new décor, but employs many of the same people, from waiters to cooks. The food is even better (and Sairam Om was good), and the service problems seem to have been ironed out. The décor is lighter and more modern; it’s a pleasant space.
The food continues to be Southern India, with an emphasis on the Chettinad region:
. Vegetarian dishes are available with good variety, as well as protein dishes including egg, fish, chicken, and goat. Entrees range from tender, braised proteins in full-​bodied yogurt based sauces to dry-​spiced roasts of extremely flavorful protein and veg. The spice profile is earthy, with plenty of onion, garlic, chili paste, and ginger. One of the best features is the fresh curry leaves found in many of the dishes.
The soup starter is Rassam, which has the medicinal purpose of preparing the digestion for the meal to come — it’s an intense broth redolent with peppers and spice. For appetizers, we had the Masala Dosa and Gobi 65. Gobi 65 is an earthy, spice-​coated fried cauliflower served with lemons and red onions, with dipping sauces (tamarind, mint, and tomato) on the side. It was the best Gobi 65 we’ve tasted. The Masala Dosa is a large crispy crêpe stuffed with mildly spiced potato. For those who love spice, this dosa may seem on the tame side, but it benefits from the three toppings, including a peppery, broth dip; a rich coconut paste; and an equally rich and flavorful peanut paste. Dosas have a wonderful texture, too, with their soft fillings and crispy wraps (to eat, roll up and cut into pieces).
We loved our entrees, both chicken-​based. I had a dry rub that was intense with masala, onions, and curry leaves and my husband had a yogurt curry with a tomato-​infused sauce. We enjoyed flatbread and chai tea with the meal, and the tea was especially good. For those who used to get chai at Basmati, this tea tastes just the same, like an old friend we’d missed.
Prices are reasonable, too. The restaurant is in the medium range for dinner in CU, with entries averaging from $ 11-​$ 13. Portions were generous — a good value. If you are taking kids, order them the butter chicken. Ours is a fan, and he’s a picky eater.
We’re delighted a new Indian restaurant has come to CU, especially one that is so very good!