Once upon a time when I lived in Toronto I always used to hang out at Aroma Espresso in The Annex. I remember Aroma as clean, great food, awesome drinks and perfect service - so naturally when I walked by this one on a recent trip to Toronto, I dragged my mom in for a cup of coffee.
Now... the food and coffee was absolutely fantastic. We ordered some tea and some cupcakes, and the cupcakes tasted moist and recently baked - delightful! I even saw one of the staff members in the kitchen putting some fresh pastry into the oven - I really appreciate a place that freshly bakes new treats over the course of the day. The tiny little chocolates that come with the drinks are always a welcome bonus.
The staff weren't as cheerful and friendly as I remember - they kind of stared at me blankly as I ordered, not really acknowledging what I was saying, which kind of made me wonder if I was doing something wrong. The place itself? Oh dear. The bathroom was out of toilet paper and so messy that the person before me in line warned me before I went in... and apparently it had been like that all day.
The little station with milk and sugar was in absolute shambles, and the water container was empty without any cups in sight. Keep in mind that this wasn't at the end of the day when they were packing up - this was midday!
Aroma is still a great place to grab coffee, but I think it's lost a little bit of edge. It used to feel like a cozy little place where you could easily become a regular, but on this particular day it felt more like a crappy chain with above average coffee.