Aromas: A Coffee Shop in Downtown Williamsburg, VA that Has Much More Than Coffee

Aromas is a pleasant little coffee shop in downtown Williamsburg, Virginia. In addition to a good selection of coffee, Aromas offers some breakfast items, such as omelets, French toast, and grits, as well as some decent sandwiches, wraps, and salads for lunch and dinner. Aromas also offers a soup of the day, and an ever-changing variety of fresh-baked desserts, such as cheesecake, pies, and pastries. The dessert items are very good.

Pricing at Aromas is higher than at a typical coffee shop, but still reasonable. Most of their specialty coffee drinks run around $4, but some run up to $5. These are quite good, but people may think some of them are slightly over-priced. A cup of basic coffee, which is available in a variety of different roasts and flavors, costs between $1 and $2. There are also several types of non-coffee drinks available at Aromas. These drinks cost about $4 and include fruit smoothies, the "Creamsicle Delight" (Vanilla and Orange Juice with cream and ice), and root beer floats. Aromas departs even more from traditional coffee shop fair by offering "spiked smoothies" (must be 21), wine by the bottle or glass, and beer.

As a bakery, Aromas specializes in desserts. Fresh-made cakes and pies are always available by the slice to eat in the restaurant. These vary in price significantly, but are usually between $4 and $6 per slice. They also always have wonderful fresh baked cookies, which cost only $2 and are huge. If you're not in the mood for a baked dessert, ice cream is available in a few flavors for $3 or $4. And, as a truly unique dessert, you can buy s'mores at Aromas. If you do so, a waiter will provide you with lit camping fuel (a metal can full of a burning jelly, which is safe and very easy to put out), skewers, marshmallows, chocolate bars and graham crackers. This dessert costs $5.25 for two, or $9.50 for four, and is worth every penny. Buying real s'mores for dessert is a fun and inexpensive way to impress on a first date.

Aromas serves breakfast till 10:30 AM. The breakfast is good, generally costs about $6, and includes standard items such as omelets, French toast, and biscuits & gravy, as well as more unusual breakfasts such as crepes or a ham, crab and egg melt. If you're visiting Williamsburg in the summer, these breakfasts are a cheap and substantial upgrade from those you'll probably find at your hotel.

Lunch and dinner items are served from 10:30 AM till closing. Sandwiches, wraps, salads, and a soup of the day are offered. The sandwiches cost between $5 and $7, and are very good, but they are not enough to eat by themselves. You will probably want to order a side or a salad with your sandwich if you're eating dinner at Aromas. The same can be said of their wraps. The salad are decent, but perhaps a little bit over-priced. I have always had good luck with the Soup du Jour at Aromas. It can be ordered for $4 by itself, or with the daily lunch special for $8 or a garden salad for $6. Taking the $8 option is the cheapest way of getting a filling meal at Aromas.

The interior decor at Aromas changes often. Rather than purchase paintings to decorate the walls, the owner of Aromas allows various local artists to showcase paintings which are for sale around his coffee shop, allowing the clientele to dine in an ever-changing art gallery. The paintings on the walls are always wonderful, but never cheap. I've never seen one marked less than $400.

Overall, I would say that Aromas is a wonderful if slightly over-priced coffee shop and bakery. The atmosphere and the quality of the products offered there make it a great place to occasionally get a cup of coffee or a small meal on a quiet afternoon, but the slow service and the pricing make it less than ideal for a commuter's daily coffee stop. Parking near Aromas is somewhat problematic, but not impossible. For my article on where to park in the vicinity of Aromas, click here.

For a map to Aromas, click here. For the Aromas website, click here.