Aromas Grill

Pros: Excellent food and portions; decent prices; decent wine list; good beer list; close to our home (Prunedale); plentiful on-​street and on-​site parking; friendly, mostly attentive staff
Cons: very occasional minor order mix-​up and occasional longish wait times. Could use another big TV on wall opposite bar — we’d like to come for sports events but prefer to sit at a table instead of the bar.
We like Aromas Grill a lot and probably eat there more than any local place other than Patria in Salinas where we go to splurge a little. Food compares to places charging one-​third more, except for their burger plates which are higher priced (but are really the size of two meals). Tip: some of their appetizers are almost half the price of a meal and contain more food, e.g., their seafood quesadilla. I can’t finish one!

This is the GO-​to place for weekend brunch. They have bottomless mimosas from 7−11am (I believe)! Their food is incredible and the waitresses are friendly.

I have kept an open mind and tried this restaurant a few times. However every time I have left very unhappy. The food is horrible!!! And every server besides Jasmine is a complete nightmare. I asked for extra lemon with my water and one girl brought me one slice at a time. Any questions I asked about the menu she got a really blank look and said she didn’t know. She didn’t even attempt to ask someone or find out. I am local and have went to Sal with concerns about his staff but the only responses I get from him are lewd and creepy vaguely sexual comments.

We wanted to go to this place for a while after hearing such great reviews about it. It is in our own community and the two brothers who own it are great guys. However, we were really disappointed. We arrived there today around 11:45. The place was half full but all the empty tables had not been bused so we sat at the bar. There was only one woman working the whole place that we could tell. Although she was working really hard, it was very difficult for her to do everything. We waited for at least 20 minutes to place our order or to at least get a drink but finally left without being helped. From what we could tell, there were a couple other people waiting as we were to at least order. It was very disappointing to us and since there are so many wonderful places we could choose for lunch, we will not try it t again.

We just moved to town and, after many recommendations, went in for lunch one sunny Sunday afternoon. We sat on the patio, had a couple beers, the fried artichokes, an Aromas burger and the fish tacos — ALL GREAT! The waitress was lovely and friendly and the other patrons were laid back and enjoying the day as well. A really nice vibe.
I can see how this place could get packed, the beer list could be better if it had more craft brews and there’s not a lot of parking on the street, but this place is a gem.

I went on a Friday, with my friend who lives here in Aromas… early evening, while still on ‘early bird specials’. All appetizers were $ 6.
Ordered the appetizer sampler with crispy fried mushrooms, artichoke hearts, jalapeño poppers, and calamari…3 different dipping sauces accompanied the appetizers. Very, very tasty!!! Crispy fried without drying out the vegetable and not dripping with oil. Easily enough for us two.
The only problem was that I ordered a cheeseburger, medium, with sweet potato fries for my entrée. The bun and cheeseburger were both grilled…5 stars for grilling the bun and cooking the burger medium… the sweet potato fries were delicious, again, crispy without that oily taste.
I was able to eat ½ my burger, (but all of my fries… :) The appetizer was very filling.
Will I be back? Absolutely!
Thank you for the good food and good service.

Great bar and great drinks and beer choices… fun crowd too. Dinner is very good and good service. Love it when they have music in the front room. It is really a happy surprise in Aromas. We’ve eaten here probably 10 times and will keep going back. You gotta support the cool little places like this!

The wait was long at lunch but that’s to be expected being the only restaurant in the neighborhood. Food was excellent. Service was good and the price was on point.

Never disappointed. Everyone at the Aromas grill is really friendly. ALL the food here is really tasty!

Great service, loved the French toast and the $ 7.00 breakfast special. Outside seating is very nice on a hot day.

Hard to find, average ambience, but delicious well-​prepared meals and excellent service! Worth returning for reasonably priced good cuisine and friendly service.

Horrible service waited an hour before we received our food meanwhile others were being attended before us.

It was a great little place! I might have just had one of the best salmon burgers ever, but that’s purely subjective. I had to add an extra $ 1 for sweet potato fries, but that’s okay since they were good too.

Called in my order the other day since at lunch time some days it is very busy. I got the Philly with NO MAYO. Well the cook messed that up. And only wanted to give me new bread. As i had all the Philly scooped out on a napkin trying to soak up and clean off the mayo. I finally told the waitress to send it all back. Was ridicules that the cook couldnt read and only wanted to give me new bread! What part of No Mayo said it was ok to put Light Mayo? Or just send me new bread?
After my co-​worker was half way through with his meal my food came out. I think it might have been the same Philly meat just grilled again. It didnt take that long and still tasted funny…
Our waitress (Adrian?) was very apologetic, and really attentive. I never had to ask for my water to be refilled she was on top of that every time she walked by and when i was in need. So the service on that end was nice. But really disappointed in the quality of the food and it not being made correctly.
Also why is the Quarry Burger $ 12 at lunch then at dinner time its $ 13 bucks for the same burger?
I could have gotten 20 tacos from Marshalls for the over priced i paid for a bad lunch! Next time ill eat the beaver that would probably taste better

This place has the BEST crab cakes I’ve ever had. EVER! … the service was alittle slow. And seemed like she wasn’t quite sure about the menu its choises or just what was available. But the food more then made up for it.
I will go back again but only when I feel like treating myself to something it is alittle pricey. Everyone should at least try it once. GREAT FOOD.

I love breakfast here. It’s a limited menu, but super delicious. Russ’ favorite plate is one Egg Benedict, french toast, hash browns, and sausage. My favorite is two Eggs Benedict, and house potatoes. The coffee is EXCELLENT!!! This is a great neighborhood hang-​out where you end up table talking and/​or helping out the wait staff and pouring coffee for all the tables. It’s intimate, fun, family oriented, and yet romantic.
Two items of warning! The stuffed beaver is seriously disturbing and is dressed for the season! The last Sunday of the month at breakfast time, the Grill is closed because the Aromas Grange has their all-​you-​can-​eat pancake breakfast fundraiser.
Love this place!

I live in the area, but travel all over so I know good food, and this place is, well, good. Its got solid waitstaff, good cooks, and obviously a manager who knows more than your average small town restaurant does. Restaurants in little towns like this usually are terrible, but being the only gig around they survive. The Aromas Grill has not fallen prey to this curse, they work the place like they had competition all around. They deserve major kudos for that. My only complaint would be the small things I have with most any restaurant but the very finest.

1. If you order the steak «Rare» serve it rare, not medium well.
2. Price, sell it a little cheaper and you will get us in more often. The price was good, but at $ 50 bucks for two of us being moderate on our intake it felt a bit pricey, for the neighborhood.
That’s all the complaints I have, and I am pretty well traveled.
Oh, for the record, the Fried Artichoke hearts are a must have, they are just about perfect, the portion was almost enough for me, but I am a glutton. If you are anywhere near Watsonville, Prunedale, San Juan Bautista, this place is worth the trip. Heck even if you are way down in Salinas this place beats most joints down there.

Friends invited us here
Had a good time hanging outside on a beautiful sunday night
Good beer selection !!

Went for lunch on a cold, windy Friday afternoon. Didn’t have any issues with rude waitstaff –actually had a friendly waitress who treated us well– or the place being too loud (saw the stuffed beaver too but it was outside, not on the inside counter) and by the time we left, the small diningroom was beginning to fill up. Looked like mostly locals too. That’s a good sign imho.
Very small inside, maybe a dozen tables (?) but clean and simply decorated. Bathroom was very clean too. My husband commented that the interior looked like it may have been a Mexican restaurant at one time. Basic lunchtime menu with burgers, sandwiches, pizza, etc. There is a very nice bar and a few big screen TVs, definitely a a place to consider to watch a 49ers game with friends and the locals.
I tried the turkey club with a fresh side salad instead of french fries with blue cheese dressing on the side. First, the turkey looked like real sliced breast meat, fresh lettuce, tomato and just the right amount of avocado (misspelled on the menu BTW) but the bacon was cold and a tad undercooked for my taste; still a little jiggly fat, not crispy and also not very flavorful considering it was bacon. Second, the white bread was very dry and it wasn’t because of it being toasted. Third, the salad dressing had a garlicky taste to it, not much bleu cheese flavor at all. Husband had the red snapper sandwich, also with a side salad instead of french fries. He thought it was excellent. Portion sizes are good.
They have an extremely small wine list but husband found a Pinot to his liking. Some excellent beers on tap behind the bar too. An oatmeal stout sounded good but I was the designated driver so that will have to wait until next time. Maybe dinner. Will definitely return to try some of the dinner specials (or the lunch burgers) and mingle with the locals.

Decent wine list for a small town restaurant. An absolute must try is the
Fried Artichoke appetizer $ 7.00
Nice family owned restaurant. The Veggie Heaven Pizza was delicious, topped with grilled vegetables. Loved the quesadilla with chicken.
The cleanest restrooms I have ever seen! This place really takes pride in the job they do. Bravo!
Reasonable prices, friendly staff. Check ‘em out.