Saffron

We ate at Saffron last night and both my wife and I really really wanted to love this place. We live in Westlake and haven’t found one «really good» Indian restaurant. We moved herw four years ago from the West Coast and have formerly lived in NYC and sadly ATX doesn’t know good, much less great Indian.
We had to make a reservation as the hype around this dump is super high. The wait was like an hour but only 10 minutes with a reservation. It is in a strip mall, no ambience whatsoever but hey, we were there for the food.
The owner came out (nice guy) and said the kitchen was a little backed up. I guess that was code for y’alls meals are going to suck tonight. The vegetable pakoras did in fact come out first but were luke warm – not good.
The chicken kabob was the best dish but there were literally served with four little nuggets of chicken. barely an appetizer much less an entrée sized portion.
My wife had the Tandori prawns which were also decent but came out so randomly it was like we really weren’t eating dinner together (or at least on the same pace).
The Nann was average at best.
Honestly Kiran’s in Houston is the very best Indian food in Texas. There really isn’t anything close in Austin but we will keep schlepping wherever a new possible «gem» opens. Sadly, Saffron isn’t it.

Best Indian food in Austin! Lamb pasanda and cauliflower app were incredible. The service was also perfect. Wish I had found this place earlier!

Best Nepalese food in the town. Their chicken momo are the best. Wish there was 10 piece instead of 8.

This place was hoppin’ on a Thursday night! First things first: it’s BYOB with no corkage fee, and there’s a beer/​wine shop next door. Win. Mint chutney and spicy sauce are so, so good. If they don’t bring ‘em, ask!
There were a lot of Indian dishes on the menu in addition to the Nepalese fare. We ordered fried dumplings and samosa chaat as appetizers. The chaat was awesome. We split the Saffron mixed grill for dinner. It came with shrimp, tandoori chicken, lamb, etc and all the meats were juicy, tender, and awesome! The waiter suggested a curry sauce since the dish isn’t sauced, then brought us an awesome tikka curry. Garlic naan and rice rounded out the meal, but the mint chutney and spicy sauce were the stars of the show. GET THE SPICY SAUCE. Trust me.
We had a great experience at Saffron. The waiter was friendly and walked us through the whole menu without judgment of our lack of knowledge about Nepalese cuisine. The owner (manager?) came and spoke with us after the meal to ask how we heard about the place and to ensure we enjoyed our meal. A few service snags won’t knock this place down to 4 stars for me, due to the quality of the food and genuine sweetness of the people that run this place. Eat local — go support this awesome business!

Just left their lunch buffet and it was great. Everything from their vegetable soup (very fresh tasting with a good spice level) to their Saag Paneer were very tasty. The buffet was diverse and gave you a real breadth of dishes. I would estimate that there were 4 appetizers, a soup and 7 entrees (3 chicken, 1 shrimp and 3 vegetarian). All the dishes had moderate heat and not too much salt (which I often find in buffets). My two favorite main dishes were the Tandori Chicken which was moist and wonderful and the shrimp and cabbage (I didn’t write down the name) was a great mix of spices, cabbage, peppers, onions and shrimp. We will be back on a regular basis.
Staff was also excellent, removing plates, refilling iced tea and just overall very friendly.

I’d probably not drive out of my way, but if you are in the neighborhood, Saffron is a solid choice for Nepalese and Indian food. The ambience and service is good. From the Nepalese menu, we love the chicken momos and chicken choila. From the Indian menu, the lamb vindaloo is pretty good.
Overall, I think the prices are a bit higher than other Indian restaurants.

As we are fan’s of Indian food, we were on the hunt for a new go-​to spot and came across Saffron. Thank goodness we visited this gem because we may have just found a new favorite spot! We thought it was interesting how Saffron fuses traditional Indian cuisine with Nepalese dishes. Being that we have some friends who are from Nepal, this made us that much more interested in trying out this restaurant.
Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by the manger (owner?) who was very friendly, warm and inviting. Because we were newbies, I’m sure he could sense our hesitation and confusion towards the menu. He made it a priority to ask the right questions and make fantastic recommendations as to what we should try. We started off with the Calamari (we have this thing about always ordering Calamari when we visit a new restaurant). While it was not the best we’ve ever had, it was good. It was fried nicely while still maintaining the calamari’s freshness and texture. It wasn’t rubbery like most places and the side of citrus mayo was a solid compliment to the appetizer. Onto the main course!
Upon an incredible recommendation, I decided to try the «Lamb Pasanda» which was Boneless Lamb Cooked In A Cashew & Pistachios Sauce. It was incredible and I enjoyed every bite! He was spot-​on about how much I would enjoy it because he didn’t want me to be bored with the regular Tandoori Chicken that everyone seems to get because it’s a «safe bet.» We also ordered the «Achari Chicken» which was Cubes Of Boneless Chicken Cooked In Fiery Pickled Spices. It was more spicy than the Lamb Pasanda and quite frankly could not compare. However, it was very good… we just loved the other dish more. With an order of Naan which went perfectly with our meals, we were in heaven.
We had such a wonderful experience at Saffron, that we simply cannot wait to return. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Kuddos to the Staff and chef. We will see you soon!

Saffron is one of those restaurants that just come out of nowhere and then implant itself into your life. Since I don’t live in the Far West area, I never drive through that area and would never have known about this place if it wasn’t for Unilocal.Perfectly camouflaged in a strip center, you just can’t expect to find a such a great Indian restaurant here. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is how clean the dang place is. The color scheme, furniture, and just the overall setup are both modern yet simple.
We opted for the lunch buffet. Service was on top of things and everything was pretty tasty. The chicken and lamb were tender, and the vegetables were soft and flavorful. Their naan and saag was good as well. In short, the number of dishes available was decent, but the quality was better than most. A very solid Indian buffet! 4.5 stars if I could.

The food are service are fantastic. The wait staff is engaging and knowledgeable. The restaurant is clean, well organized and BYOB with a liquor store three doors down.
I would highly recommend to anyone.

We ordered dinner to-​go for our first experience, and I was a little underwhelmed. My bf ordered everything because he surprised me with take-​out when I got home from work, he asked them what they recommended for a shrimp dish because I love seafood and they said their Jinga Karahi was the best. Not only was it the most expensive dish on the menu ($ 16.00), but it really wasn’t that good. My jaw dropped when he told me how much my plate was since it was only a lightly sauced combo of shrimp, bell peppers, some tomato and onions.
The brussel sprouts we got for an appetizer were very good, but the chicken curry my bf ordered was also pretty tame.
I guess overall for how expensive our meal was and how very unexciting it tasted I think we’ll probably try some other local Indian restaurants before maybe giving this one another shot.

I had the Brussels sprouts and chicken chow mein (hadn’t heard of that with Indian spices before) and both were excellent. The garlic naan was also very good.
The place felt very clean and service was friendly and attentive throughout the meal without being intrusive. They had a big table that looked great for an office or family Christmas gathering.

Pros:
–very attentive and friendly staff; quick service
–chicken tikka masala and chicken curry were spot on. I loved the level of spiciness in each.
–rice is perfectly cooked, and all you can eat
–BYOB!
–seating available for large groups.
–I definitely want to come here for their lunch specials!
–the windows from the outside are heavily tinted, making it seem closed, but they are open.

If you’re looking for some great Indian food for takeout, or in a casual environment, I definitely recommend Saffron. The husband and I picked up a couple of samosas, saag paneer, and the malai kebab for dinner this evening. Everything was very tasty, especially the malai kebab. Next time I may request a little extra spice for the saag paneer. My only complaint was that the portion is a little small for a couple of people who don’t really do the rice and naan thing. Now I know!
One thing’s for sure, it’s good to have other great Indian food option in town. I look forward to going back to Saffron soon to try more of their dishes.

This suburban restaurant serves both Indian and Nepalese food. The Nepalese part of the menu offers an interesting mix of South Asian and East Asian flavors.
Lychee lassi — Pretty good. This is quite a sweet drink that tastes like canned lychee juice (which isn’t a bad thing). Lychee and yogurt don’t complement each other as well as mango and yogurt, though; I would order a mango lassi next time.
Gobi manchurian — Good. This was the best dish I tried. Breaded cauliflower was covered in a generous amount of sweet, sour, and spicy sauce. Although a vegetarian dish, the cauliflower tasted surprisingly meaty.
Chilly chicken — Ok. This was very similar to Gobi manchurian, but with chicken instead of cauliflower. It reminded me of Americanized Chinese sweet and sour chicken with a bit of a kick.
Chicken momo — Ok. The curry dipping sauce was interesting, but the filling lacked complexity of flavor. The dumplings came out very juicy and hot, though.
Service was very attentive and friendly.

Really surprised with this awesome place on Far West. Went for lunch on the weekend, and instead of the buffet, got the food a la carte.
As usual the interior is pretty bare bones, but clean. I will take clean and bare bones, over dirty any day. The service was very good, which is something a lot of other Indian restaurants take for granted, but here they do not. So another win in my books.
Now for the food, the indo-​chinese is fantastic. The vegetable chow mein and the vegetable momos are simply delicious. Pro-​tip — Get the momos to go, and crisp them up with some oil in a pan. You can thank me later.
We also got the naan and the mutter paneer which was also really really good.
Again go here, and you won’t regret it. And take it from an expert, at an Indian restaurant don’t go for the buffet first. Always try the a la carte menu first, and then based on that go for the buffet.

I really like Nepali cuisine as it brings together the best of Indian and Chinese. We decided to try this place after a few friends recommended on a Saturday night.
Firstly, place was deserted. We were also a little disenchanted by the shop lights and bland décor. Seemed more like a quick lunch combo place for the office crowd in this area.
Anyways, the main goal was to try some delicious momos (steamed dumplings) — which we did. Liked the momos, but yes, I’ve had better. Good dipping sauce, but I found the portion size to be small. Overall, I’d definitely order it again.
We also ordered their chowmein but they were simply egg noodles with some veggies in soy sauce. Really small portion and there was no umami! Later I ordered he Narghisi malai kofta; the kofta texture was good, but a little heavy/​tangy on a tomato curry sauce. I grew up eating this dish so I am really fastidious about this one. Usually malai kofta should have a cashew cream based sauce but this was more like a tikka masala sauce.
We met the owner/​manager — service was super fast and friendly. But I felt they are still discovering themselves. Trying to be a neighborhood restaurant and not specifically a Nepali cuisine speciality. I’d drive down there for the latter and not the former.
I little dash of color and flattering light to the décor, some more authentic Nepali dishes will add some character to this place. Until then I’ll take a break. Good luck.

I took a friend to Saffron for lunch recently to experience their lunch. I’d been for dinner previously and loved it. If I’m going again, it’s for dinner. I prefer to kind of wander all over the menu. But I was told that lunch was a buffet so I thought it would be a great opportunity to try several items.
Except… it’s not really a lunch buffet. It’s more a cafeteria style. You’ll pick a plate or a wrap, both reasonably priced with naan. I don’t think the intention here is to deceive you into thinking it’s a buffet but it does need to be re-​labeled. Both items we got were on par in quality to what I experienced for dinner and the service was just as attentive.

Last time I used Unilocal to find the newest Indian hotness, we scored big time even though said establishment was in an East Austin convenience store. For Saffron, I sense a bit of an identity crisis. Walking in for lunch after reviewing the menu online we gazed upon a buffet. Most of the food looked quite tired even at our noonish arrival time.
One dude spoke up and said we could also order off the menu as well. In traditional Rooster clan fashion, we ordered half the dang menu. Here’s what we sampled:
Calamari — Crispy exterior with brilliant citrus mayo
Rosemary and Cheese Naan — OMG
Nepalese Veggie Momo — Steamed dumplings of goodness
Chili Potatoes — House cut taters with dark red sauce and peppers
Chicken Lazeez — Similar to Saag Paneer with chicken.
Bombay Brussels — Looked horrible on the buffet; a delight when ordered
The downside of our visit was we had to beg for refills on drinks. Service consisted of two employees who were responsible for ALL of the front of house operations. That meant serving patrons who walked in for the tired buffet, taking orders off the menu and delivering plates from the kitchen, busing tables, refilling drinks, and taking payments. It didn’t work for us.
Excellent food; just a bit of chaos which led to a three star experience.

This place is a real gem. The menu has best-​in-​class version of dishes from southern India, northern India, and Nepal (the middle and the latter being billed as «Himalayan»). Meat eaters and vegetarians can share a meal here, and everyone will leave happy. I’ll even take this a step further in opining that many meat eaters will *LOVE* the vegetarian dishes (even though they may not tell you this).
Given the vast supply of pretty decent Indian in Austin, we opted to focus on the Nepalese portion of the menu, but will be back again and again to try everything on the menu. The standout for us was the Gobi Manchurian (fried cauliflower in a sauce imported from The Heavens). In fact, we almost couldn’t stop ourselves from ordering two more of these. The saffron goat curry, lamb sekuwa, and the aloo chili (the latter from the Nepalese section) were all perfect. Obvious that the freshest ingredients were used and that great time was taken in the preparation.
Right now – while they wait for their TABC license – it’s BOYB (and there’s a liquor store right next door).
The interior is cute and comfy. The service is top notch, attentive, friendly and helpful.

Saffron was an unexpected surprise — the four of us blew off the lunchtime buffet combos and went straight off the menu with three apps, five entrées, classic Basmati & Naan sides, and two desserts. It was a lot of food. And the Chilly (sic) Chicken and veggie Chow Mein were so good I stood proudly and recited scenes from «Slumdog Millionaire.» I’m pretty sure the house thought that was cool.
Interestingly enough, those two items were from the Nepalese section of the menu, which I thought was simply great Chinese. That may be politically incorrect. On the other hand, the Lamb Sekuwa was seasoned somewhat inscrutably, and way too dry for me. You may see it differently.
As far as Indian goes, the chicken lollypops & Tikka Masala seemed pretty standard, but the Tandoori chicken was superb. A plate of steamy goodness. Now I’m curious about their other Tandoori fare. Incidentally, flavored iced tea is not my favorite beverage, but it was good here. Cardamom & cinnamon?
Yes, Saffron is a strip mall restaurant, the décor is best described as «minimalist,» but when they bring your food, you won’t care. As least we didn’t. Our server Courtney was cheerful & efficient, the staff was pleased we were pleased, and this is exactly the kind of local new restaurant you want to tell people about. Consider yourself told.