Saffron

Oh, sooo sad, they’ve closed. Dulce’s Latin Bistro is their sister restaurant so apparently, that’s as close as it gets now.

Poodles, this place just keeps on getting better and better!
Saffron has blossomed into a truly delightful neighborhood bistro — and bless my britches — why, it’s in my neighborhood!
From the super-​attentive service to the sweet little extras that came with our dinner (infused olive oil for dipping, house made limoncello for all the adults at the table for dessert, and the very best thing, strawberry lemonade made from scratch — you know, with the strawberries and lemons and sugar — for my daughter — YUM!) our most recent Saffron meal was remarkably delicious and deliciously memorable.
Just don’t order the pork slider, poodles. Trust.

We finally tried Saffron last week for happy hour. We figured it was a cost effective way to try a new place, and I’m glad we went this route since we weren’t really impressed.
The space itself is oddly shaped and feels rather cold and serious. There is no inside bar so we had to sit at a regular table just to get some cocktails and appetizers. There is a patio so maybe during the warm weather it would be better.
Service was alright, but there weren’t a ton of people to complicate things. Per their happy hour sign recommendation, we had a margarita and a mojito, both of which were so-​so. We split a number of starters. I enjoyed the chorizo ravioli and my husband liked the beef tidbits. The tostadita tasted like a typical chicken tostada.
All in all, it was an ok experience, but I doubt we’ll be back. At least for us, the food and experience isn’t worth the money.

We went to Saffron for brunch on its opening weekend. It was packed. Saffron replaced and extremely popular breakfast restaurant in the space and it was clear that the breakfast business would be good for just about any restaurant.
I can’t remember what I had, but my husband had the Croque Madame and thought it was to die for. It being their opening weekend and a breakfast, they were understaffed as they clearly didn’t expect the onslaught. Service took forever.
We didn’t eat dinner there right away because their menu was pretty spendy for our neighborhood, with only two entrees (non-​meat) on the menu that were under $ 20.
We finally went for dinner this week as they have had enough time to gauge their market and come up with a more reasonable menu. Again it was packed. I am genuinely glad to see their business a success as it is 2 blocks from my house and I’d love to see that encourage additional restaurants in the neighborhood.
We both ordered pork dishes and they were very good. My husband had the soup — a potato and bacon purée and he said it was excellent. Again, though, they were understaffed. It took us over an hour to get our entrees.
The server told us they had no dishwasher, so it was just the one chef and two waiters. If this is the way they are trying to make back the money on reducing the cost of the meals, it is a huge turn off. We like the convenience of the location, but we might as well have driven to Columbia City where there are now 10+ excellent restaurants less than a mile from our house.

It pleases me to no end that we can WALK to such a high quality restaurant right in our neighborhood.
We came here for dinner on Christmas Eve. I had the Sopa Verde and found it to be a *ridiculously* generous portion of delicious seafood. Don’t tell the chef I said so since I want to order it again next time and I will not have eaten lunch when next I return here for dinner. ;-) M had the beef tenderloin on a skewer. It gets two thumbs up from him. I notice this is not on the current menu online right now. It’s good to see them change up the menu as it suits them. Gives the kitchen more freedom and creativity.
And YES, when you come here, you should most definitely dip the bread into that MAGIC olive oil concoction. It is uniquely delicious! Who cares that bread has carbs? The dip makes it all worthwhile. And anyway, didn’t you walk here too, like we did?
EDITS: I have come back multiple times since my 1^st review. Yes, I have had a half-​order of the Sopa Verde to make up for it delicious volume. I’ve since fallen in love with the corn masa seafood crepes: I just have 3 letters for it. O. M. G.
M and his dad have also fallen in love with the corn masa seafood crepes. Guess what we may have for dinner again tomorrow night? Yep. Uh huh.
The other fave at the moment is the fideos with pork and chorizo.
Have I mentioned the corn masa seafood crepes?

My daughter, her partner, and I came to Saffron on a cold and blustery night following a Huskies game. I had been told that it was «upscale Mexican», hence anticipated a place with Aztec warriors and fainting maidens on the wall, dishes featuring lots of refried beans and rice surrounding something hot and meaty, wrapped in a tortilla — all, possibly, served on a linen tablecloth, with wine glasses. Please don’t get me wrong — I am a passionate fan of Tex-​Mex, as my slowly expanding waistline will testify. However, Saffron was an altogether different experience.
Saffron offers food that could best be described as a riff on the basic theme of Mexican food. I imagine it is what well-​to-​do Mexicans eat when they go to one of their better restaurants. Yes, there are enchiladas on the menu, as well as carne asada, and there are plenty of tortillas in evidence. From that point, however, the resemblance to Tex-​Mex breaks down. For instance, my carne asada came with a genuine steak, medium rare, with black beans and corn tortillas. It was excellent. My daughter tried a dish featuring seafood, wrapped in a tortilla and swimming in a special sauce. She loved it. Her partner ordered enchiladas and ate every scrap on his plate. There was a soup featuring lemon, saffron and heaven (and the chef) only knows what else. It was worth the trip all by itself. The salad was excellent. In place of the usual chips and salsa there was delicious bread, to dip in an olive-​oil concoction featuring mysterious little green things, some of which were shallots. Again, great. All in all, my Saffron experience placed near the top of my eating-​out list — see my review of La Fermata for its only rival. I will return when ever I can.
That is, if I am allowed to. You see, it was a Saturday night, 7:00 p.m., and we were nearly the only people there. In one way this was good, in that we got to talk to the owner and his wife, the chef (his sister), and the wait staff (one very efficient guy). All hail from Mexico. But it certainly was bad from the standpoint of their bottom line. I was reminded of the movie The Big Night, in which a superior Italian restaurant is driven out of business by mediocre rivals (and unsophisticdated tastes). It would be a real tragedy of Saffron went under. Don’t let it happen.
Oh, yeah. Saffron is located in a nice, quiet residential neighborhood with plenty of on-​street parking, and no street-​gangs in evidence. And the wine list is good.

Wow. There really aren’t words for the flavor we experienced at Saffron. Having just moved to Seattle from NYC we are still adjusting to early dinners so we were there at around 8:30pm on a Friday night. There was no wait for a table and Julie, one of the owners was our server. She was a delight. The service was perfect.
And the food was better than perfect! Starting with the olive oil for the bread. The oil was infused with jalapenos, shallots, and saffron. YUM. We had the prawns for an appetizer. They were perfectly cooked and the flavor was light and delicious.
From there I had the Carne Asada which was bursting with flavor. The black beans were perfectly cooked and the meat was done just right. Julie ensured that I got the right color of pink!
My husband ordered the Sopa Verde. It was chock full of seafood and again the flavors were incredible.
We finished our meal with a yummy chocolate marquee. Great great great.
We will definitely be back … and soon!

We just bought a house — we’re broke — we don’t eat out much. That being said, we came here for brunch for my husband’s birthday and we were blown away! Great service, lovely ambiance, delicious food… excellent neighborhood place. We can walk here from our house, but I would recommend this place to anyone who can get here by car, bus, bike, or donkey — it’s super delicious.

I gladly welcome this new, Mexican-​French-​Italian-​Spanish fusion restaurant to the neighborhood. Susan’s was a disappointment time and time again, and this is definitely not the case for Saffron. Since we live nearby, it’s so nice to have another place with great food to rely on for weekend brunch or dinner.
Huevos Rancheros, Smoked Salmon Scamble, and Chorizo breakfast dishes are delicious. If you’re a muffin fan, it’s an option instead of toast with your meal; the 2 I’ve had have been satisfying and a perfect match as well as end to a great meal. House coffee is great, too.
I think the prices are reasonable for the quality of food. Service is warm, attentive, and responsive. Décor is nice and doesn’t try too hard. We’ve checked out the dinner menu and will try it out tonight for V-​tines Day. Look forward to updating this review after we’ve had a chance to sample what looks to be a fun spread.

I had been resistant to Saffron.
Partly because of that first awful review.
Partly because the prices on the menu (which I perused online) are on the high side.
But today, as I was walking my dogs in the snow I noticed their Open sign was lit and thought, «Today is the perfect day to try it!»
I brought my dog home, and headed back out into the 4″+ of snow.
I walked in and was immediately warmly greeted by the waiter. I peeled off my layers and took a seat by the window. It’s a sweet little dining room. Dark wood, sparkling glass and silverware, rich paint colors, and lots of windows.
I ordered a cup of coffee before sitting down (which was excellent… one of the best cups of house coffee I’ve had at a restaurant in a while).
It was nice to see that the lunch menu offered breakfast AND lunch fare.
I chose the ½ a Roasted Pork sandwich and the soup of the day, which was Chipotle Tomato. The portions were really big for a ½ sand and soup.
The chef was sitting and talking with another table as I sat and waited for my food. More people came in who seemed to know the others casually. It was nice… it felt like a neighborhood restaurant.
The pork sandwich was very good. Not drowning in sauce (even though you pretty much have to eat it with fork & knife) but very flavorful on a nice baguette. The soup was pretty good.
I had the coconut gelato for dessert… which was amazing. It tasted so fresh. Also, eating ice cream when it’s snowing is just fun.
I sat for quite a while enjoying my lunch slowly and doing some reading/​writing and never felt rushed. The service was excellent: attentive and friendly.

My partner and I went to dinner there tonight. I acknowledge that I have been waiting for another eatery to come into that space, and that I really wanted to like it – I live 3 blocks away, so I have a vested interest.
We love what the new owners have done with the place — even though it is a small, it feels a lot more open and a lot less harried than the previous occupant. The service WAS extraordinary — the best I’ve had in recent memory — gracious, attentive, helpful — just lovely.
I had the beef tenderloin medallions — and while not the very best heavenly steak I have ever had — it was really good. And the cobbler is super yummy.
My only negative comment is that for a neighborhood place, it is just a little pricey — it probably won’t become the place I go every couple of weeks. Saffron will have to be my not-​too-​casual, not-​too-​fancy restaurant of choice.

My partner and I went and it was sensational. The wait staff was extra ordinary. The food awesome… some people just cant fess up to giving someone a rave review but I can!!! I recommend it!!!

To sum it up: well worth the time and money. Would definitely come back.
First off, the service is tops. I can only compare it to El Gaucho in terms of being there when they need to be and knowing when to just let us enjoy the meal.
The wine list is great (not in the usual terms). We went in to order a bottle of red and I was thinking up to $ 30 for it. We love Spanish Red and they had a bottle for $ 18 or so. A lot of bottles were in that range – very good for young wine drinkers.
The menu is different – they’d be helped to put it online, as it’s tough to describe. I had a paella varient that was great (it was the special) and my wife had the beef. We both enjoyed the meals and a decent value for about $ 22 a plate. Both plates were heavy on the meat or seafood.
We did two entrees, a bottle of wine, desert, tax and tip (well worth 20%)…and left at $ 90.
My only worry is that it’s a little out of the way to be on the slightly higher end for the area.

Wow! I am surprised at the one-​star reviews — my boyfriend and I have been here twice now and have been impressed both times!
We were on a walk one night, and ended up walking by Saffron. We had been curious regarding what they were going to do with the place now that Susan’s had moved. We decided spur of the moment to pop in for dinner, and were very glad we did — the food was delicious and the service was excellent. I definitely agree that the décor is maybe a bit fancy for the location, but I can’t blame them for trying. They’re making the best of what they have.
We went again this morning for breakfast — again, delicious! Again, great service! I had the huevos rancheros which were absolutely delicious and filling. My boyfriend loved his dish as well. The waiter was friendly and attentive, and my water glass was never empty.
As we were preparing to leave, a couple came in and sat down. The woman asked the waiter how business had been, then began to illuminate him on the importance of feng shui (which he’d never heard of). Apparently, according to this over-​middle-​aged white hippie-​looking woman, the feng shui of the restaurant is all wrong. The door is in the wrong place — «and maybe you could get away with that in Madison Park, but not here.» Bear in mind they were the only other people there, so it’s not like the restaurant is raking in money hand over fist and can afford to close so they can remodel and get their «feng shui» right, per this woman’s specifications. Emily Post (Miss Manners) has said that you should tell someone something’s wrong with their outfit if it’s something they can fix (e.g., pants tucked into sock) and keep your mouth shut if it’s something they can’t (e.g., stain). I think the same principle operates in this situation, and I pretty much wanted to slap the woman. I made sure to make a big show of complimenting the waiter on the food as I left, as did my boyfriend. But I digress.
Food: Great. Service: Great. It’s a neighborhood place. Don’t go in expecting Campagne and you won’t be disappointed.

I’ve been looking forward to a new eating establishment in this location, a place to grab a late breakfast or early lunch, coffee, and read the paper. Though the previous occupant of this space had troubles with service, the convenience factor of an eating establishment within blocks of my house was huge.
Saffron has remodeled and reinvented the space. Though there still is not a lot of room – an issue of the space and the building itself, and no fault of the owners – the old coffee bar and counter that Luna and later Susan’s made use of is gone, opening up more space for tables and making the room feel… well… roomier. The paint and décor give Saffron a very classy feel; white linen table cloths and wine glasses, the wait staff dressed very nicely, the hand knit rug on the wall and dark wood furniture, and the kitchen now sealed off by a full rather than half wall.
The waitress on staff today was very helpful, very friendly, and curious about my previous experiences here, as well as interested in the feel of the neighborhood. Saffron was quite empty, during my lunch only one other patron entered. However, they’re BRAND NEW, open maybe a month or less at time of this writing, a fact of which I’m assuming the other reviewer had no clue of. And considering the service woes neighbors complained of over Susan’s, the previous occupant of this space, they may have difficulty attracting people until it’s clear that this is not an establishment run by the former owner. (For a bit there were rumors that Susan’s was going to convert into a new restaurant under the same ownership. This is not the case!)
The lunch menu was simple and diverse; I was really pleased to see that a ‘counter’ type breakfast (standard eggs and toast) is available. I’m a late riser, and a late breakfast eater, and I often head to one of the local places for breakfast: Geraldine’s or Both Ways. I’m glad to see there’s a new option that is only three blocks from home, rather than six to eight.
I opted for the Chilequiles (I’m sure I spelled that wrong); a south-​of-​the-​border inspired dish with layers of tortillas baked with a tangy tomato paste, small rounded potatoes, eggs, salsa and sour cream. Growing up in Los Angeles, there was a favorite breakfast joint in my old neighborhood that had a similar dish that I loved. This was very similar, I’m happy to say, and I’ll be back to try it again. I ordered my eggs over-​medium which was a mistake, it made my dish a little too wet. Next time I’ll get them scrambled, I have a feeling that will be perfect (with a little Tabasco, of course).
I ordered an Americano, read my paper, chatted with the waitress, and filled my belly. The bill was a little pricey, in the moderate range, but it was good and it was worth it, in my opinion. I could have used a teeny bit more sour cream, and I’ll request it next time.
While I was there, the other patron mentioned to the waitress she wasn’t totally happy with her meal. They offered to comp the meal, and though she turned the offer down, they did bring out tastes of other dishes from the lunch menu that she requested. I thought the complaint was handled well and professionally. The service woes previous occupants of this location has suffered from are obviously at an end.
I’m looking forward to trying Saffron out for dinner. Anyone?