Aroma - Ventnor City

This is hands down one of the best Italian places in the US. We left completely satisfied AND it's BYOB! Easily a 5/5

The outdoor seating in the summer is quite pleasant—it's not overcrowded and is situated in a nice area of Atlantic City. While I wasn’t particularly impressed with the entrees, I decided to order an appetizer and a side, both of which came in larger portions than I expected. The short ribs were flavorful and tender, but it took 20 minutes to get extra sauce due to the overwhelmed staff. On the plus side, it’s a BYOB restaurant, although I was the designated driver that evening. However, there were a few downsides. The noise level was extraordinarily high; I couldn't believe how loud it was in the dining room. My table of six could only converse with the person sitting directly next to us. Additionally, the wait was excessively long—we were seated just before 7 PM and didn’t leave until after 9 PM. It seemed like the kitchen was designed for a single dining room, but with the pandemic leading to additional outdoor seating, it felt like there were two dining rooms, effectively doubling the strain on the kitchen and the staff. Overall, I don’t think I’ll be returning.

The seafood was quite expensive and, unfortunately, just average in quality. However, the service was excellent; I couldn't have asked for more, especially given how busy it was that weekend.

The food was absolutely fantastic! However, the service left much to be desired. We waited quite a while before anyone came to take our order, and it was difficult to get our waitress's attention whenever we needed something. Meanwhile, the bussers kept trying to clear our plates while we were still eating. It felt like the restaurant was packed to capacity—likely exceeding the fire code limit!

I've had dinner here before and loved the food. The food this time was very disappointing. The food looked good but was Flavorless . I had the Bronzino , very bland. We also had a special veal Parmesan with a bone. It look gorgeous but was very heavily breaded you couldn't taste the veal.