Aroma Tropical Bakery & Cafe

Guava is Good! They also made me a Cuban coffee drink, which I cannot pronounce, with sweetened milk, was absolutely fabulous. Only complaint is the hours are kind of strange.
My wife went there a few weeks ago, said the place is now Out of Business…

Came here during lunch time with co-​workers wanting to try some new cuban food. Figured I’ll be spending the money so I got the Unilocal $ 7 for $ 10 deal which was definitely a great decision.
Got the steak sandwich combo which was nom nom good. Good bun with yummy slices brisket-​like beef inside that was juicy and well marinated. The combo comes with a drink so I picked jupina — pineapple soda and boy was that refreshing! It also came with plantain chips so I munched on this crunchy little things as well. Used up the rest of the deal value on Guava Cheese pastry and meat pies coz how can you not go to a cuban pastry place and not want to compare it with the famous Porto’s?
Truth be told I really enjoyed the Guava Cheese from Aroma probably because it was warm while I ate it compared to the room temp ones from Porto’s I usually get. There is less cheese but also less sweet for Aroma’s but flavors are still well balanced. If I’m really craving it with too long a drive and traffic for Porto’s, Aroma would become my go-​to.
Definitely coming here again for lunch hours :)
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1 star — «will be telling everyone to stay away» bad
2 stars — it’s okay, i won’t return
3 stars — it’s okay, i’ll come back
4 stars — it’s pretty good, i’ll come by again!
5 stars — it’s really good, my go-​to places!

I think this place closed down! BOOOOOOOO!!! I really liked their stuff!!!

I was in the area and wanted to buy some cupcakes for my son’s birthday. This place is a wannabe Porto’s. God Bless them!
I ordered two of each of the cupcakes, (red velvet cupcakes) and (chocolate with nutella inside) as well as an assortment of their pastries all were good. not spectacular just good. i would not go outta my way for this place in the future but if I was in the area I might stop again.

No doubt, this is a nice Cuban bakery & lunch specials place. Also nice, clean spot to hang out. I got the red velvet cream cheese cake, very flesh, big cake, only $ 35 ! I tried their coffee and pastry too, awesome ! Plus, simple, nice owner !

The steak sandwich was good but the stuffed potato balls are where it’s at.

This place is alright. The sandwiches are really not that great, but there are these little cuban potato balls with meat inside that are delicious but wouldn’t be a great meal substitute. There are these square rectangular pastries filled with cheese, those are amazing the pastry is nice and crispy. Also there are these little round saucer flakey pastry bits with meat in them, those are also good. Just don’t get the sandwiches, the bread was off and the insides were nothing special.
My mom always comes here and picks it up for home. Plenty of parking.

Their vegetarian sandwich on their regular bread was awesome — you could tell their bread was homemade. And their cuban sandwich looked really good, too. I also tried their cream cheese brownie, which was somewhat of a disappoint. Next time, I’ll try a different dessert.

Nice little coffee shop and café. I just went in for a cup of coffee and a pastry.
If you’re just going in for coffee, I’d suggest somewhere else. It wasn’t great.
The pastry, however, was pretty good. I had the guava pastry and the filling was delicious. The other pastries in the counter display looked amazing as well. It’ll definitely be somewhere worth going back to if I get a craving for dessert.

Great food, the Cuban sandwich, the guava and cheese (refugiados) are the best. Oh, and coffee is so good.

We were walking by & decided to try it… what a great find! Really fresh & yummy pastries, great coffee, cozy atmosphere, warm & friendly staff. I’ll be coming again soon.
PS — «check in» on your phone & get a discount

Tucked away in a strip mall with an eclectic mix of shops, this is a real gem.
Recommended:
— Potato Balls
— Guava & Cheese Pastries
— Empanadas
It’s a nice, small place, with pleasant, friendly service. Perfect for a coffee break far from the madding crowd.

I did not enjoy Aroma Tropical Bakery at all and do not recommend it. Just make the effort and drive out to Portos.
I tried the Steak Sandwich and the bread was HARD. I hate bread that makes noise. The sandwich had lettuce, tomato, onion — none of it real outstanding.
I also had a Potato Ball that was stuffed with ground beef. It was bland and the meat came in a tomato based sauce that was not that good.
The guava pastry was ok but the filling reminded me of a jelly filled Winchells donut.
I would give the place 1 star but the employees were really nice and that’s important — so… dós estrellas.

I really wanted to love this place and support a new local business in the valley, but this Cuban bakery did not impress me.
We shared the Cuban steak sandwich, guava cheese pastry, and fruit tart. Unfortunately nothing left a memorable mark on my palate.
Service was great though.

Located at the end of a tiny strip mall. The owner here was super nice.
What I swallowed:
CUBAN SANDWICH WITH FRIED PLANTAINS: Bread was fresh and perfectly toasted and crispy. The meat was moist and juicy. I don’t like pickles but the marriage of the swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard was so harmonious I couldn’t stop eating. The owner gave me a side of green garlic sauce for dipping either the sandwich or plantains in and it made it more difficult to prevent it from shoving it all in my mouth.
IRON BEER: A soda that’s a cross between coke and cherry with a side of rootbeer.
TRES LECHES: WOAH! Heavy on the rum!!! I could only eat half cuz I had to drive in traffic. Lol
CHEESE AND GUAVA PASTRY: I ate this a couple hours later and I was upset I only bought one. The pastry had the perfect flakiness and the guava jelly were both not too sweet at all, which most jam filled croissants tend to lean toward. The guava jelly was spot on and the cheese was the perfect savory/​sweet equalness that just made it so addicting.
Check-​in with Unilocal and you get a free pastry or croquette. Also available is a $ 10 Unilocal voucher for $ 7. I bought all the above with my Unilocal voucher for $ 0.67.
Winner, winner, Cuban dinner!

Everyone seems to compare Cuban bakeries to Portos but I am pleased to say that this little café has made a name for itself in this locality (I would rather come here than drive 20 mins to Portos).
The pastries and the steak sandwiches are very tasty and inexpensive. I wish the guava-​cheese strudels were slightly bigger but I love them.
Also, the people that work are very friendly and attentive so I will definitely be coming back.

Went here a couple of years ago…
Food was GREAT. portions were also perfect
It can get rather loud though… which is a bother.
Parking is a pain :(

Went here for the first time today. It’s great. I had the cappuccino cup dessert and potato balls. The potato balls were good but definitely not the same as portos (not in a bad way though). The cappuccino cup was diabetes in a cup but it tasted really good. It was so good! This place is clean and the staff is so friendly. They kept asking me if everything was good. Will definitely come back to try all their other goodies!

Came in after seeing rave reviews on Unilocal.This is the first time I have been compelled to write a review and it’s only because this place has been likened to Portos — I’ve been going to Portos since I was old enough to walk and have been taking my son there since he was in the womb –literally, I was on way to get a Portos sandwich the day he was born! I decided to try this place to see if it was truly the next Portos.
First impression:
Hard to find– i was looking for a sign that said ‘Aroma Tropical Café’ finally found the place nestled in the back of the shopping center, with Cuban Bakery and Café as the sign, small sign next to it with Aroma. Inside, the place was small, quiet, bright and empty. surprising for a Saturday at lunchtime. The ambiance was certainly a turn-​off.
Ordering:
The menu posted was for drinks only. To see what food they have you need to look at the pamphlet by the register. Pastries displayed looked nice, but prices for food items were nowhere to be found (I mean NOWHERE — not posted on the wall, not on the pamphlet, not in the food itself, you have to ask about each item).
I ordered what we normally get at Portos– potato balls, medianoche (pork cuban sandwich), fruit tart, refugiado (guava cheese pastry), mariquitas (plantain chips), and coffee. Prices comparable to Portos or slightly cheaper– except potato balls, those more expensive.
First thing im told is there’s no half and half for my coffee– they weren’t out, they just don’t carry half and half. Ok, strike the coffee and ask for the order to-​go (we’ll just eat at our favorite Starbucks– this is fine with me since the ambiance sucked). It takes a while to get checked out since we had a Unilocal certificate which caused a little confusion.
The food:
Sandwich was dry. It is pork and ham panini style and the pork was extremely dry. The potato balls are definitely NOT even close to Portos’. Their filling seasoning was lacking, the potato portion was dense and slightly lumpy, not fluffy. The mariquitas that came with the sandwich had no salt and were hard, the ones we ordered separately were oversalted but light and crisp.
The fruit tart was limp like it had been sitting a while and had too much custard and caused the shell to crumble. the fruit tasted old.
Guava cheese pastry was good– not the same look, texture or taste as Portos’, but good nonetheless.
Overall:
This is a mom & pop place that tries to be Portos, but fails in the details. Portos didn’t happen overnight, they perfected their place, menu and service over the years (more than 40 years!). This place needs to scale down their offerings and focus more on quality and the details like putting out a full menu with prices, have a well-​stocked café (if you’re calling yourself a café have some cream for heaven’s sakes!), don’t have old pastries, be consistent with your mariquitas, moister pork, have some music in the background and some tastful décor, work on your potato ball recipe. I won’t go back unless I really really really don’t want to drive to Burbank or Glendale– which isn’t likely– until maybe the next Carmageddon: D

Cuban food in the VALLEY! HELLS YES!
My wife and I were in the process of walking the dogs, either at the beach, or local, but either way the hunger was there and it had to be satisfied. So, we decided to come back to this place. There are great choices, but we decided on the Medianoche. This thing is the bomb! It comes with roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, butter pickles, on sweet bread, served with plantains. Lets just say, it melts in you mouth. My wife washed here down with a tropical drink, and I enjoyed a strawberry smoothie. What a meal. The drinks were just right and the food was delicious.
Of course, we HAD to get a dessert. I ordered the chocolate cup, yes, its a cup that is made entirely of chocolate that has coffee and a variety of chocolate filling. My wife ordered the mint chocolate cupcake. Talk about a finisher! Then to wash it down with their Hazelnut mocha… forget about it. You leave full and wobbling to your car. The dogs were full from the plantains we were feeding them.
The service is awesome. Raquel was great. She did a great job and was helpful with our food choices. She had a great smile and a great attitude. The owner Adrian was great as well. This guy made sure we were taken care of and pointed me to the dessert which was spot on.
This is a wonderful place to grab some grub, and get a great essence of Cuban food. When your in the valley, you have to give this place a shot, its well worth it.
Parking is great on the weekends, but could be adventurous during the week because the employees of the businesses park in the same complex, but you have to come by, and enjoy this great cuisine.