06/20/09

Very Unique

by pmaried

I attended a social on Thursday and had a wonderful time. The food was great, fresh and delicious. The Mojito's were bottomless and tasted great. I'm not sure if I have ever had Morroccan cuisine but it was very flavorful. They also had a great belly dancer for our entertainment. Oh...and my friend is in the process of booking her wedding there. It's great for a romantic reception.

• Pros: Bottomless Mojito's

05/26/09

Best experiance ever

by ghouston

I dine at saffron about once a month with all of my friends every one love the place the food and the drinks. I usually get the bartender to server us cause he has been there since we start coming to saffron and know the food very well he can get the food done how ever we like it.

The dancers are really good even if some of them are tribal "different from belly dancer" as Arabic decent i know how belly dance suppose to be.

The flavor hookas are the bomb I would recommend apple flavor after a nice meal it goes good with the mint tea.

I see that a lot of people complain about the pricing and food, there should try order family style they give you enough food that you can't finish it all for $30 with mint tea the first time i went there i thought the same then i asked the waiter he told me the trick how to order

If i pick a soup thats $5 an appetizer $7-9 a salad $8 an entry from $18-$25 then desert about $6 and mint tea for one $5 end up to be around $50 well i think for $30 its a great deal and if you ask the staff nicely they can let you chose the entry "i get to chose all what i wana eat every time"

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 it make sure you a designated driver when you go to this restaurant ;)

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• Pros: Extreamy good drinks and food and service
• Cons: Should open late 11pm is to early

11/07/08

overpriced and under served

by fl4ha

If you want to be ignored by your waiter, and eat dried out and old looking Moroccan food, and then pay a hefty price, then this is the place for you. Also, the place is small, old, and not keep up very well either. Our waiter?s excuse for being late or forgetting everything was because he was "next door at the sister restaurant" (which happens to be an Italian restaurant) getting it. UH? Our Moroccan food is coming from an Italian restaurant? REALLY?!?!?! I was so disappointed and will not be back. This location has been many restaurants and I say, it's time for it to be another one, and maybe good one this time! Too many other choices in Houston to waste your money here.

08/23/08

Comment on family-friendliness

by lafilledusud

We recently visited Saffron with my two young nieces (10 and 12 years old). I like to take them to try different types of food when they visit, and came across Saffron?s listing on CitySearch. Hesitant due to the comments on the site about the restaurant not being kid or family-friendly, I called ahead to inquire before making a reservation.

Although the food was a bit pricey, it was quite authentic. The staff was very friendly and my nieces had a fabulous time!

04/25/08

Strange service, mixed food - will never return

by ceroma

We recently had a meal at Saffron and were very disappointed.

From the start things were strange..... 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. Then he proceeded to act the fool - generally bothering most tables for the whole evening. We waited for menus, and then also had to ask 3 times for the bill.

Some of the food was good, but some was terrible. For example, the lamb chops were good but the lamb tagine was inedible. The limited amount of meat was of poor quality and surrounded in fat.

There are so many great places to eat in Houston. We wont return to Saffron.

03/24/08

The best barbeque ever! But......

by srmtx01

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. We arrived at seven pm and were greeted at the door by the (?)host who looked us up and down and asked how many were in the party, asked if we had a reservation, and rolled his eyes and dramatically closed the door in our face. We were perplexed, standing looking at each other wondering if we should leave. Then he returned and whisked us into a little side room. There was NO ONE else in the restaurant so I'm not sure why the drama. 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. All extras were a-la-carte and VERY expensive. 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!), and they ate maybe about one piece of chicken. Also, the kids weren't addressed when salad orders were taken by our waiter or ever offered drink refills. Our waiter, although entertaining, was rude and did not deserve the 18% tip included on the atrocious bill. It would be a great date restaurant due to the location and ambience, but it's definately not group or family-friendly at all. I would suggest at least speaking to the manager to get discounted prices or a recommendation for something little kids could enjoy. Our mistake- we chose the place from the info they provided on their website!

• Pros: The barbeque
• Cons: Price, service, not a family place on Thursdays for sure. Thursday night "special"

07/13/07

Nice place

by shervinj

We went there in a big group so we got a private room. The room was a cramped but this is our fault since we had so many people. The place is very well decorated and the second you come to the restaurant you notice the detail. They had a special on Thursday where you get all the Moroccan barbeque and beer and frozen mojitos you like. Not a bad idea since most items on the menu cost 15 dollars. Food was very good. The barbeque is not anything close to American barbeque. It is skewers of chicken, beef and sausage. No sauce or anything is on the meat. It was all well prepared and came with sides and bread. Usually I hate eggplant but this place makes it very, very well. Each skewer of meat was huge. You probably get about a half skewers worth of meet at other Mediterranean places and a couple of sides and they charge you 8 or 9 dollars. This place brings out tons of food to start and then they just keep bringing it out.

The one and only issue I had with this place was that the waiter did not tell us the special ends at 9pm. We showed up at 7 and like with any group outing people keep arriving until about 7:45. It is our fault for waiting until everyone showed up before placing our order but it would have been nice if they had told l us it ended at 9pm. At 8:55 the waiter shows up saying last call and there was a ton of confusion. It wasn?t until the next day when I got on citysearch did I see the hours for the special.

I think one of the best parts of the night were the belly dancers. There are two, young and attractive ladies who dance for the restaurant. They make their way to all the different rooms and do a great job. I was SO happy it was not 50 year old belly dancers.

We were in a big group but the pace can be a romantic place. I don?t know if I will be back again with my wife because the place is not vegetarian friendly. There is one dish on the menu but it did not sound very appetizing.

• Pros: Frozen mojitos, bbq, belly dancers
• Cons: service needs a little tweaking

06/28/07

Worth Going

by jtjones1

Very nice decor. Average+ service. Well rounded Moroccan menu and well prepared dishes. Quite resasonable prices. The Osso Boco with Prunes was good, but the lamp soup was delicious. The chicken over saffron broth and bread was rich and delicious.

• Pros: Decor, Food, Value.
• Cons: Big Calories

06/10/07

Delicious

by lightman76

My wife and I tried Saffron for dinner. It was delicious. We started off with

an appetizer of Merguez Sausage. They served bread with some plates of

various goodies (spiced tomato sauces, eggplant, cucumber salad, and

olives). Our meals were spectacular. The lamb chops were great, but

on the small side of what I was expecting. The Tagine B'Djaj was

delicious and a very generous portion. We had the Phyllo Flower for

dessert, and it was also wonderful. The service was great, and the

appetizer and meal both came out quickly.

Lush, romantic restaurant serving authentic Moroccan food--a commodity as rare as the spice it's named after.

by 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 cheese--is a must. Use the Moroccan bread to soak up lemony olive oil, tomato and roasted peppers in the Taktouka salad. Familiar couscous is made adventurous with a mix of vegetables, aromatic spices and nuts. Varied tagines include beef, braised foul, rabbit, oxtail, fish and lamb. For a slow-roasted treat, the braised lamb shank is fall-apart tender with a sauce redolent of cinnamon, garlic, cumin and the crunch of roasted almonds.