Aroma India Greytown is a traditional Indian restaurant on Main Street, opened in 2015 by a husband-and-wife team with a long background in hospitality. It was the first of what has grown into a small group, with sister restaurants later opening in Silverstream (2018) and Martinborough (2021).
The kitchen mixes its own spice blends in-house rather than using ready-mixed packets, and makes its own paneer on site, both aimed at keeping the food fresh rather than reliant on shortcuts - meals are cooked to order, so there can be a short wait. The restaurant offers dine-in, pick-up, delivery and table bookings, and caters for private functions and larger celebration groups, with reasonable decoration of the space on request.
Customers regularly mention the warm, attentive service and the wide, varied menu, along with the chefs' willingness to show visitors around the kitchen. Families with young children are also welcomed, with staff happy to help get kids settled quickly so parents can enjoy their meal.
On Main Street in Greytown, Aroma India has been serving traditional Indian food since 2015. It was opened by a husband-and-wife team with years of hospitality experience between them, who set out to build a restaurant with a friendly, welcoming atmosphere rather than a purely transactional dining stop. The concept clearly resonated locally - the original Greytown restaurant has since grown into a small group, with Aroma India Silverstream opening in January 2018 and Aroma India Martinborough following in July 2021.
What sets the kitchen apart, by the owners' own account, is a commitment to doing things the slow way. Rather than using pre-mixed spice packets, the team blends its own spices in-house for each dish. The restaurant also makes its own paneer on site - a detail regulars notice, right down to the distinctive squeak of fresh paneer as you eat it. Because meals are cooked to order rather than pre-prepared, there can be a short wait for food, which the restaurant treats as part of delivering freshness rather than an inconvenience.
Across customer reviews, a handful of dishes come up again and again. The Hariyala Murgh is mentioned repeatedly as a favourite, alongside the Malabari Fish, Garlic Chicken Tikka, Lamb Masala and Chicken Korma. Vegetarian diners point to the paneer and mushroom dishes and the dal makhani, while the biryanis are called out for generous portion sizes. Garlic naan is a common side order alongside the curries.
Service comes up just as often as the food itself. Regulars describe staff as friendly and attentive without being hurried, and mention that the chefs are happy to show visitors around the kitchen. Several reviewers who dine there regularly say the staff remember their preferences on return visits - down to small details like how they take their drinks.
Aroma India caters to celebrations and larger group bookings, and is open to reasonably decorating the restaurant for private functions. Families with young children are also welcomed - if a child needs food quickly, staff will do their best to help get them settled so the rest of the table can relax and enjoy the meal.
Beyond dining in, the restaurant offers pick-up, home delivery and online table bookings, so there are several ways to get a meal from Aroma India even on a busy night. Reviewers particularly note home delivery as a welcome option on cold winter evenings.
Aroma India sits at 74-76 Main Street in Greytown, in the Wairarapa, and describes itself as open across the week for both lunch and dinner sittings. Diners travelling from around the wider Wellington region have called it out as one of the better Indian restaurants they've found locally, with several saying they return on a near-weekly basis.