Saffron Indian Cuisine

The food is savory. Everything I had was good and very delicious. They also have a buffet that offers plenty of good food, veggies are also available to those people who are very particular with their food choices. Chicken Tikka Marsala, Kebab Platter, Shrimp Curry and ice cream dessert are some of the good food I have tried here.
Service is friendly, servers are attentive and the prices are reasonable. The atmosphere is awesome too, they have outside patio to relax and enjoy fresh air. A kind of place that I love to recommend.

So, this place has totally shamed my favorite Indian restaurant in California. All the dishes I tried were a much better version of any I have consumed!
I absolutely adored the use of whole fresh spices in their dishes and appreciate that they did not remove them from the final serving. My Chicken Tikka Masala had whole cinnamon sticks and the rice had seeds as well. Below is a list of items ordered:
— Tandoori Chicken Wings
— Chicken Pakoras
— Chicken Tikka Masala
— Naan
— Rice
All dishes were excellent!
The food was delivered free of charge to the hotel I was staying at. The lady who took my order and the gentleman who delivered the food were both very pleasant.

I truly enjoyed my meal and experience. Food was delicious and fresh. The service was quick and done with a smile and kindness. The atmosphere is also pleasant.

I’ve been here twice now and the food doesn’t disappoint. In terms of appetizers — Chicken Chat is the way to go. It’s flavorful and big enough for 4 people to share comfortably, though you may end up ordering another plate of it. The samosas are alright, and the chicken pekoras are basic. The naan, like the chicken chat, is a must. It’s fresh, buttery, and nicely charred in all the right places. As for the main dish, the Chicken Vindaloo was good, but not impressive enough for me to order it again. I’ll likely return here again and explore more items on the menu.
As for the décor — it’s on the darker side, simple, and elegant. The bathroom needs an upgrade. The service is always great and attentive.
Overall, I’d say it’s a reliable spot for good Indian food.

Great food, wonderful ambiance and simple. The service is very kind and watchful; if you need anything they are ready to help. The clay plates take a while, but worth the wait! The Naan is amazing and a must every time I eat here.

Was completely surprised by the intense depth of flavor in the goat curry at Saffron, which looks like your standard crimson cloth napkin joint, but has a real chef behind the curtain. Entire cardamom seeds hid in the sauce. The saag paneer was equally rich, if a bit on the oniony side. I didn’t get that sickly-​sweet taste other reviewers complain about, which I suspect (no shade!) MIGHT be because they or their companions ordered a tomato and cream-​based dish like, say… Chicken Tikka Masala. No. Shade. (Okay. A little shade.) And, it’s a small thing, but the naan was actually fresh (charred, buttery, uneven) instead of pulled from a frozen bag and reheated to serve.
NB: I regretted asking for «between mild and medium» spice, because when a bottle blonde says this in a US Indian restaurant, she should not be at all surprised by the total lack of spice upon delivery. («No, really, SPICY» is my refrain in Indian, Thai, and West Indian places as much as «No, really, BLOODY!» is my refrain in France when negotiating a fine steak. Though I often mix up «sange» and «singe,» producing absolutely epic French waiter reactions…)

My friend and I were super hungry and walked by this restaurant and thought it would be a nice spot for some Indian food. The interior was nicely decorated and the service was pretty good.
My friend and I ordered the butter chicken and the chicken chat as an appetizer.
The butter chicken was not very good, surprisingly. It’s a staple and any Indian restaurant should be able to make a good butter chicken. The problem with this dish was that the gravy was watery and lacked flavor.
The chicken chat appetizer, on the other hand, was pretty good. It was flavorful and tasty.
My friend had some of the sangria and said it was really good. They have a happy hour during the week… im unsure if they have the same deals during the weekend.
Overall, I would not return to eat here but if youre looking for a decent happy hour, this may be a good spot to check out!

My wife and I just love this restaurant! The food is extremely delicious and the staff is extremely kind and nice. We often order food for delivery as well as we eat there. And, by the way, the prices are great.
Highly recommended!
E & N

I had difficulty with my delivery but they handled it well with good communication. The food was good! Tikka massala was tender and tasty, chana saag was good but it could’ve used a bit more chick peas. The green spicy sauce they provided complemented the chana saag well.

I have mixed review about this place. One day I love it the other time it was horrible but then I went again last week and once again it was amazing!!!
The place overall is amazing– love the décor it’s very romantic and low key. The staff is very nice and love that they actually give you and input on what you order. I’m a huge fan of recommendation from the people that work every day there.
Anything you order you will enjoy but like I said before it’s a toss up on if it’s amazing or if it’s so so. I don’t know if they have a different chief or what is going on. It’s worth a try or two!

The atmosphere is great and the décor is nice as well. Service was average and staff was nice. We had the crab appetizer that was good. For our mains we ordered the chicken saag which was a bit more sauce based than I usually get but still good and the hara Maas which was pretty good. The breads were delicious. Overall, I wouldn’t say it’s one of the best I’ve had in the New York area but definitely flavorful and tasty food.

Visited Saffron because of a Groupon that was good for one appetizer, two entrees (excluding Clay Often specialties) and two glasses of house wine (red or white). As an appetizer we got the Fried Calamari. The batter reminded me of an onion ring but nonetheless it was delicious with the accompanying sauce. For entrees we ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala (Chicken in a tomato-​based sauce) and Saag Paneer (spinach and cheese). The flavor was definitely there; do not let the size of the dish fool you; you will be feeling heavy after a few bites combined with either rice or Naan (we opted for the Garlic and Onion Naan since rice is basic). Neither rice or naan is included in your entrée so be sure to order that in addition to your entrees. Overall it was a good experience. Service was friendly, parking was easy, and the food was decent.

Vindaloo, often regarded as a fiery spicy dish, and in my case the spicier, the better.
Well, in Saffron’s case, the sweeter, the better. In addition, the ‘meal’ I received, and I use that term lightly, had 4 pieces of chicken in it and mostly all potatoes. It had no heat whatsoever and I woke up this morning with horrible pain in my abdomen. Stay away. There are other options in Astoria that are far better.

I was waffling between 3 and 4. The food is solid, the prices are good, and the service is top notch. So 4 it is. Great little Indian spot on Skillman. Some of the food can get legitimately spicy (in a good way), and the portions are well sized. We come back every so often. There’s better Indian food over in Jackson Heights, but convenience wins here.

Came here for my birthday dinner with my boyfriend and his best friend! Atmosphere is very romantic and pretty. It was quiet, but not in an awkward way; there were only 3 filled tables here on a Wednesday night. Waitress could’ve been a little friendlier. Restaurant could’ve been a little warmer. With their Groupon deal, we got to have 4 glasses of wine, 2 appetizers, and 4 entrees. Please find below everything we ordered, along with my descriptions and reviews:
Apps:
Lahsooni Gobi — ²⁄₅ — balls of cauliflower with chili flakes and garlic tomato chutney. Not my favorite, but interesting to try.
Vegetable Samosas — ⁵⁄₅ — we all know what these are. Pretty hard to mess up samosas.
Side:
Garlic Naan — ⁵⁄₅ — I’d never had garlic naan before. I was pleasantly surprised.
Entrees:
Chicken Tikka Masala — ⁵⁄₅ — a staple that you must order. It’s super tasty here. I loved it with the naan.
Shahi Mutter Paneer — ⁴⁄₅ — green peas with cubes of cheese cooked in a rich mild sauce. Pretty good dish. Basic, simple, tasty.
Shrimp Biryani — ³⁄₅ — too much rice for me in one dish. Not my fave, but the shrimp was still good.
Saffron Lamb Pasanda — ⁵⁄₅ — Omg. Loved. The spices in this were out of this world.
Desserts:
Kulfi — ⁵⁄₅ — Indian ice cream with saffron. Boyfriend ordered this one for me because I’m Persian and we like our saffron. He did well, ladies and gentlemen.
Gulab Jamun — ⁴⁄₅ — two balls of cheese and milk simmered in syrup and flavored with rosewater. This was different. Again, I’m a fan of rosewater so I enjoyed exploring this dessert.
To conclude, I’m glad that a good Indian restaurant exists in Astoria. Their food is flavorful and delicious and it’s totally worth the visit. Trust me — I’ve been to India.

The food wasn’t terrible but not great either but the bad rating is coming from the fact that I found a clay shard in my food. If it was a tiny little piece I would let it go but there was two large chunks of it that I spit out, which is completely unacceptable and unsafe for your customers. Definitely not ordering from here again.

I LOVE SAFFRON! I’m so happy to have found this place, they are my go to! I always get the pre fixe for dinner with Vegetable Samosas and Channa Masala. The pre fixe gets you an appetizer, an entrée, and a good helping of naan with dipping sauces all for around $ 15. The channa masala is warm, well cooked, and not overly sweet. The samosas are huge and delicious. This is definitely my go-​to place to order from when I know I’m hungry and just want to eat some that’ll fill me up. It hits the spot every time!

One of the few Indian restaurants that have an outdoor patio! Yes, they have beautiful seating outside in their backyard. The place is spacious, nicely done and reasonable priced. We ordered Malai Kofta, Chana Saag with Garlic Naan and Lachcha Parantha. The curries comes with a huge portion of Rice. The food was tasty especially the Lachcha parantha. Plus the outdoor seating really made the dining experience amazing!

This place made me a fan of Indian food. Before coming here, I couldn’t (still can’t) remember the last time I’d had Indian food, partly because my past experience had been so mediocre it didn’t leave a dent in my memory. Friend took me here on a Groupon for lunch and I gotta admit, it took me a while to warm up — fixing half-​curious, half-​suspicious stares at everything on the table — simply because it had been THAT long since my last Indian dish.
Friend (who’s an Indian food fanatic) got the crab curry and ordered the saag gosht for me because I was overwhelmed by the number of choices. I was sooo glad for his decision because I ended up loving it. More like falling in love with it the way you would with something that utterly opens your eyes and casts a net over your heart. It’s rich, creamy, and savory with exotic flavors that massage your palate. Since I’d never actually tried the saag before, I obviously can’t say something like «this is saag done right» but if there’s anything I can vouch for, it’s that the saag I tried here was sublime. I also got it mild rather than spicy, and I was happy with that decision albeit my penchant for spicy food.
Tried a taste of friend’s crab curry (spicy) and was slightly repulsed by it. He ended up leaving it half uneaten and stealing some of my saag — kinda a tsk-​move, but I couldn’t really blame him, could I? The saag is irresistible.
Now that I’m done gushing about the saag –
Besides our respective entrees, we had papadi with red and green sauces, and chicken chaat which were pretty decent. For beverage, we asked to swap out the wine (part of the Groupon) with mango lassi and the server had no problem honoring that.
Daytime ambience is casual and laid-​back, noise level on the quiet side. Modern-​chic décor with some interesting wall art. Capacity and crowd are maybe low to medium — plenty of tables, and there was only one other party of two besides us on a weekend. The server was courteous and attentive, came to check on us a few times, but seemed a bit aloof and doled out these not-​entirely-​clean-​looking takeout containers for us to bag our own leftovers, which is my reason for taking off one star. But other than that, I’d totally come back for the saag.

Saffron is a well-​decorated establishment where you can feel comfortable (and are able to) hang out for two hours with friends or a date. It also has a backdoor area that’s ideal to lounge around in during the warmer months. The service is good, and because the restaurant is never too crowded, you never feel rushed; you can just sit back and enjoy the restaurant experience. Naturally, the never-​too-​busy feel of the restaurant has advantages (you can spend a lot of time here!) and disadvantages (wait, why is it never busy?).
I’ve had mixed experiences with the food. Recently I’ve had three different dishes there in order of preference I liked the chana saag (which on different occasions for some reason has come in different colors) most, followed by the lamb curry and chicken korma. I would recommend you check out a lunch box special — it lets you choose from basically the entire menu, so it’s a great way for you to experiment with dishes if you’re unfamiliar with Indian food.
And FYI if spicy food kicks your butt like it does mine, no need to worry. I’ve always ordered every entrée as mild and have never been disappointed. But as a warning, the papadum (I think that’s what it’s called) they give you after you sit down has some kick to it.)
When comparing Seva to Saffron, I consistently prefer Seva for the food, but Saffron wins in the ambiance category as the better place to have a laid-​back, relaxing time. I debated a lot of whether to give this place three or four stars, but I have to slightly lean towards three. Hopefully I’ll have some better dishes here in the future and then bump up the rating to four!