Orléans Food Spot Review - Aroma Pizzeria

There is a particular kind of civic pride that comes with a great neighbourhood pizza joint. The kind of place where locals argue good-naturedly over toppings, where the phone number is committed to memory, and where Friday night almost always ends the same way. In Orléans, Aroma Pizzeria has been that place for years. And now, with new ownership, a freshly redesigned interior, and a significantly expanded menu, it is making a very compelling case for being even better than before.

Ranked third in our reader poll of the top pizza destinations in Orléans, Aroma Pizzeria is not merely coasting on reputation. This is a pizzeria in active transformation, and if our recent visit is anything to go by, that transformation is well underway.

Tucked into a strip plaza on Voyageur Drive, Aroma Pizzeria is, at its heart, a takeout and delivery operation. There is no waiter to flag down, no wine list to peruse, no ambient jazz softening the background din. What greets you instead is something increasingly rare in the world of quick-service pizza: genuine warmth and considered design.

The new ownership has invested thoughtfully in the space. Walk through the front door and the first thing you notice is the mural, a hand-lettered work of art, signed by the artist and reading, with cheerful conviction, "There's always time to eat pizza." It sets the tone perfectly.

The walls are adorned with a gallery of wooden pizza paddles and cutting boards in varying shapes and sizes — round, rectangular, handled, handleless, mounted in an arrangement that feels deliberate yet organic, like something discovered rather than designed. Below a crisp white chair rail, the lower walls are finished in a sophisticated vertical slat panelling in muted warm grey, behind which sits a sleek counter bearing the Aroma Pizzeria logo cut from black metal.

It is, in a word, lovely. Warm without being kitschy. Italian-inflected without leaning into cliché. For a takeout-only spot, it is remarkably inviting, the kind of place you linger in while waiting for your order, not because you have to, but because you want to. Oh, and the chairs are also comfortable to sit in while you wait for your order.

The new ownership has clearly brought an appetite for ambition to the menu. What was once a solid if straightforward pizza-and-wings repertoire has expanded into something wide-ranging. The full menu now spans several pages and covers a surprising amount of culinary ground.

The pizza selection alone is extensive. Classic Pizzas run from plain cheese and single-topping pies all the way up to the loaded High Five Meatlovers (pepperoni, salami, diced ham, bacon, and spicy Italian sausage) and the showstopping Chef's Favourite with mushrooms, onions, pepperoni, tomatoes, and green peppers. Available in small, medium, large, and extra-large, on classic, thick, thin, or extra-thin crust, the customization options are considerable.

Beyond pizza, the menu reaches impressively into Italian foods (classic lasagna, aroma special lasagna, spaghetti, ravioli, chicken Parmesan, chicken Alfredo), Lebanese foods (chicken and beef shawarma sandwiches and platters, beef donair), fresh salads, calzones, subs, and an array of finger foods including zucchini sticks, jalapeño poppers, fried pickles, and fish and chips. The Poutine section alone offers nine varieties, from the classic to the indulgent Meat Explosion (ground beef, bacon, sausage, chicken, cheese curd, gravy).

Halal options are available, and gluten-free and cauliflower crusts can be added for a supplement. Value-focused deals, including a large pizza, large poutine, and two cans for $35.95, and a walk-in Sunday–Wednesday special of a large three-topping pizza for $24.95, make this an easy choice for feeding a crowd without breaking the bank.

Let's get to the thing that matters most: how is the pizza? The answer is: very good. Aroma turns out pies with a generous application of cheese, properly generous, the kind that stretches in long, satisfying pulls and bubbles into golden-brown peaks across the surface. The crust is yielding at the centre and structured at the edge, with just enough char to suggest it has spent real time in a hot oven.

We sampled a combination pizza that arrived beautifully golden across its full surface, mushrooms tucked beneath the cheese canopy, with pepperoni rounds crisped at their edges and glistening with rendered fat. Every bite delivered that deeply savoury, slightly sweet tomato-cheese-topping unity that is the whole point of pizza in the first place.

A mushroom and pepperoni pizza — deceptively simple, ruthlessly revealing of quality, held up admirably. The cheese was applied with conviction and melted into a patchwork of golden and ivory, beautifully caramelized at the high points. This is the kind of pizza that reminds you a two-topping pizza is sometimes more than enough.

The wings are sold by the pound at $16.99, with a genuinely impressive roster of sauces and dry rubs available. The deals bundling pizza, wings, cans, and dips represent some of the better value propositions in the neighbourhood.

🍕 Two-Topping Pizza - 4.4 out of 5

⭐️ 4.6 stars out of 5

New ownership brings risk and possibility in equal measure. At Aroma Pizzeria, the balance is decisively in favour of the latter. The new team has taken a well-regarded neighbourhood institution and invested in it: in the decor, in the menu, in the details. The mural on the wall says there's always time for pizza. Based on what Aroma is putting out, we'd agree, and we'd point to 6004 Voyageur Drive as a very fine place to spend that time.

Orléans has no shortage of solid pizza options, and Aroma earned its place on our reader poll podium honestly. Ranking third in a community that takes its pizza seriously is no small feat. With the changes underway, we wouldn't be surprised to see it climbing in future polls.