Saffron Moroccan Cuisine

(713) 521-0030

2006 Lexington St.
Houston, TX 77098 29.73171 -95.40985

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Neighborhoods: Neartown/ Montrose, Central

saffronhouston.net

Last updated 6.23.11

Category:

Restaurants

Restaurant Special Features:

Live Music, Happy Hour

Cuisine:

Moroccan, Mediterranean

What People Are Saying About Saffron Moroccan Cuisine

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

The Scene – Once through Saffron's hand-carved wooden doors (imported from Morocco like much of the furnishings), the intimate restaurant envelops diners in its romantic atmosphere. The walls are a warm gold accented by red banquettes, gauzy window treatments and hanging lanterns. Groups in the small bar area gather at low, informal tables. Waiters are informed and efficient. – – The Food – Expect aromatic and flavorful (not spicy) dishes from owner Youssef Nafaa's authentic Moroccan menu. The spinach and phyllo appetizer--savory with herbs, preserved lemon and goat…

Editor's Tips

Where to Sit:
Reserve the Sultan's Table in the private Kasbah Room for your next party and enjoy a six-course traditional meal. Seating for 10 to 12.
When to Go:
Don't miss the belly dancers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. From the moment you step through the front doors, you feel as if you are in another country with the beautiful decor and foreign music.
  2. Very nice decor.
  3. It would be a great date restaurant due to the location and ambience, but it's definately not group or family-friendly at all.
  4. We were in a big group but the pace can be a romantic place.
  5. It's great for a romantic reception.
  6. Even the hostess at the entrance paid attention to every last detail by relighting our candle when it blew out in order to maintain the romantic ambiance.
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. While they brewed our tea, we scanned the menu (everything looked delicious!)
  2. The flavor hookas are the bomb I would recommend apple flavor after a nice meal it goes good with the mint tea.
  3. The menus are a little sloppy i just ask the waiter or the bartender about wine because most of the time they have really good wine that not on there wine list so i let them pick always decent priced and good wine ladies should try pompar you will love
  4. After reading about their fabulous all-you-can-eat Thursday night barbeque and all you can drink beer and mojitos, we (eleven of us) went out to celebrate birthdays on a Thursday.
food quality
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. The food was great, fresh and delicious.
  2. She immediately brought out fresh bread and an assortment of dips for the bread and explained to us what each dip was.
  3. Anyway the food was absolutely delicious- but way too expensive for what we got, which was a tiny salad, lots of meat, BUT no bread, no rice, no couscous, nothing.
  4. The limited amount of meat was of poor quality and surrounded in fat.
  5. definite good time if you are looking for a little adventure or just some good Moroccan food.
  6. The Osso Boco with Prunes was good, but the lamp soup was delicious.
  7. For example, the lamb chops were good but the lamb tagine was inedible.
  8. The combination of lamb with the sweetness of the raisins and caramelized onions was fantastic, and the couscous was cooked perfectly and extremely flavorful, even by itself.
  9. Each skewer of meat was huge.
  10. The flavor hookas are the bomb I would recommend apple flavor after a nice meal it goes good with the mint tea.
  11. delicious and a very generous portion.
  12. While they brewed our tea, we scanned the menu (everything looked delicious!)
  13. Our server (Mark) was very helpful in explaining the most popular dishes and provided very friendly service
  14. The chicken over saffron broth and bread was rich and delicious.
  15. Although the food was a bit pricey, it was quite authentic.
menu variety
100.0% positive
  1. While they brewed our tea, we scanned the menu (everything looked delicious!)
  2. The menus are a little sloppy i just ask the waiter or the bartender about wine because most of the time they have really good wine that not on there wine list so i let them pick always decent priced and good wine ladies should try pompar you will love
overall
100.0% positive
  1. It would be a great date restaurant due to the location and ambience, but it's definately not group or family-friendly at all.
service
80.0% positive
  1. Our waiter, although entertaining, was rude and did not deserve the 18% tip included on the atrocious bill.
  2. The menus are a little sloppy i just ask the waiter or the bartender about wine because most of the time they have really good wine that not on there wine list so i let them pick always decent priced and good wine ladies should try pompar you will love
  3. Our server (Mark) was very helpful in explaining the most popular dishes and provided very friendly service
  4. would suggest at least speaking to the manager to get discounted prices or a recommendation for something little kids could enjoy.
  5. Our waitress was very friendly and extremely attentive, offering suggestions and happy to answer any questions we had.
  6. The service was great, and the
  7. One of the waiters (who thought he was a comedian) started off by insisting that everyone had reservations even though the place was at most 30% full the whole time we were there.
  8. It would be a great date restaurant due to the location and ambience, but it's definately not group or family-friendly at all.
  9. The staff was very friendly and my nieces had a fabulous time!
  10. Even the hostess at the entrance paid attention to every last detail by relighting our candle when it blew out in order to maintain the romantic ambiance.
value
66.66999816894531% positive
  1. delicious and a very generous portion.
  2. Although the food was a bit pricey, it was quite authentic.
  3. Each skewer of meat was huge.
  4. The kids (aged 10 to 13) were all charged full price except the 4 year old and the 6 year old who were charged half price (fifteen dollars!)
  5. would suggest at least speaking to the manager to get discounted prices or a recommendation for something little kids could enjoy.
  6. Anyway the food was absolutely delicious- but way too expensive for what we got, which was a tiny salad, lots of meat, BUT no bread, no rice, no couscous, nothing.
1 Star Rating: Poor

11/10/11

WORST restaurant experience EVER!

by JayKay26y

It was the worst experience I have ever had in a restaurant. If I could give this place a negative score I would!

Firstly they wouldn't seat us because we did not have a reservation so we had to come back another day.

Then when we came back another day with a reservation and they said they forgot to put it in the system. They reluctantly obliged after a heated discussion with me.

It took them 1.5 hours for the food to arrive, i ordered the lamb plate and it was a sticky sweet gooey cold mess, absolutely terrible. My wife ordered a chicken dish which was equally gross and the waitress never came by to check on us to see how the food was or if we needed anything at all.

We had ordered a pot of tea as well and when the bill came they had NOT taken the entire amount of the groupon deal off the bill and there were extra charges on it. I asked them why they had done so. She said she did not know why the register was doing that, it does that for all groupon checks and that the tea was not covered by the groupon. I specifically showed her that all food and non alcoholic beverages were included in the groupon and she disagreed. She said the simple tea we had was a special item and hence not included in the non alcoholic beverage category. I asked her to show me where in the menu that the tea was described as a special item and she went to the back to get me the drink menu: after 20 mins she comes back saying her boss had locked up the back room door where the menus are kept and she does not have access to it so she cannot show it to me. She was arrogant and adamant that we pay the extra charges and the tea separately before we left.

Right after i paid the bill she says, "we dont need customers like you to come here" The AUDACITY of that stupid arrogant waitress. This was by far the worst restaurant experience i have ever had.

I will never go back there and will make sure ALL my friends know what a terrible place this is.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

09/20/11

BEST MOROCCAN FOOD AND BELLY DANCER

by Nawale

WENT TO CELEBRATE MY BOYFRIEND'S BIRTHDAY PARTY, AND WE HAD THE BEST SERVICE EVER, OUR WAITRESS WAS VERY NICE AND FRIENDLY, SHE KNOWS THE MENU AND EXPLAINED THE DISHES TO US VERY WELL, WE CAN IMAGINE EACH DISH. THE BELLY DANCER CAME TO OUR ROOM AND DANCED TO MY BOYFRIEND THE HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONG, IT WAS REALLY FUN. WE HAD A GREAT TIME. I WILL COME BACK FOR SURE.

1 Star Rating: Poor

09/13/11

Very disappointing

by ShannonHuehlefeld

We decided to try Saffron for our girls night out dinner after taking a tour of it one evening after having eaten at Mia Bella next door (attached actually, They are amazing! by the way) The atmosphere seemed like it would be nice.

I called to reserve the small private room for 7 but there was no answer at 5:15pm so I left a message, no return call. Anyway I got the room and thought it would be nice. It really wasn't! It looks comfy but isn't, probably not the cleanest place and the food....

They have a very limited menu anyway and upon arrival I ordered an appetizer and was told they were out of that and that and ... I had one of the couple choices left. Spinach pie, not bad. Though I must say the waitress was not very helpful with our inability to pronounce the dishes either. Kind of snotty attitude. Even pointing she seemed to be "put out" to even bother leaning in to look.

Then time to order dinner and again they were out of this and that and and and... again very limited options. I ordered the advocado tomato salad. Oddly it came without any tomato at all and was about 1/4 of an advocado that had been soaked in lemon juice for no telling how long. I did not eat it!

Over all it was very disapponting and I don't think any of us would recommend it to anyone. It was not good and after reading their few reviews now, I have to wonder who they paid to write the good ones ..lol

2 Star Rating: Below Average

07/11/11

NOT MOROCCO

by mwh1

Had a chance to visit Saffron on Saturday evening with my wife and son. Saffron has the feel of Morocco, but the food is not the same as being in Morocco. In Morocco if you order a Tangine you will get a Tangine. In Saffron if you order a Lamb Tangine you get it served on a regular plate NOT in a Tangine.

The mint tea was a little strong and not sweet as the tea in Morocco.

For a Saturday evening dinner there was only my family and three other parties in the resturant.

1 Star Rating: Poor

05/05/11

crappy, fake gimmiky place

by Kristy101

First off the restaurant sounded like a great place to hang out with my friends and have some Moroccan food which is one of my favs as i went on a vacation to Morocco three times and tasted some of the best dishes in my life there. But the food in this place was not even close to the original one back in Morocco and the service as one of the people on here was pretty weird and we were uncomfortable the whole time because of how strange and pushy the waiter was and the uncomfortable place we were seated at and above all as previously mentioned the food that sounds great on the menue but very disappointing once it's on your table. It made my evening with my friends a crappy one. Wouldn't recomment it to any one

The Details on Saffron Moroccan Cuisine

Place Categories:

  • absolutely delicious moroccan food
  • nice place
  • extremely attentive waitress
  • big group
  • beautiful decor
  • delicious chicken
  • great service
  • fabulous allyoucaneat thursday night barbeque
  • very friendly staff
  • delicious generous portion
  • really good wine
  • great belly dancer
  • beautiful foreign music
  • always decent wine ladies
  • good osso boco
  • really good dancers
  • good lamb chops
  • nice meal
  • rude waiter
  • worst dining
  • delicious lamp soup
  • very helpful server
  • huge skewer
  • good look
  • romantic ambiance
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