Safran Restaurant Cafe — Restaurant in Waitematā

The restaurant was very quiet, but we decided to give it a chance.

Good points first, great service, friendly, attentive, when we had an issue, it was addressed immediately, without complaint.

But... the wine was really awful, and after the entrées we really should have left. We had scallops and qebapa as entrées, and they both left us cold. They weren't inedible, just...meh. I love scallops, and the best thing I could say about the scallop disk was that it had scallops in it. We stuck around for the mains, which was a triumph of hope over judgment. We had lamb rump and pork belly. The red wine jus on the lamb was overpoweringly burnt, and the lamb was overcooked. The dish was inedible, and so it was sent back. And honestly, this us the highlight of the experience - it was dealt with smoothly, deftly and with tact. I can't state how much the service outshone the product here. The kicker, though, is that the replacement dish was nicely cooked (though without the jus, which was a blessing, I guess?) - so it's not that the ability is not there, just that the care is lacking.

We didn't attempt the desserts, as even the most foolhardy adventurers learn when the odds are against them.

Overall, dear reader, you'll not be surprised that we won't be going back.

But the gutting thing here is that they do so many things right; it's just that their main product, their food and drink, their literal bread and butter, is so very,...

😩I am honestly so sad to write this review. The service was AMAZING! The ladies are an absolute delight however the food was well below average. We ordered the paprika chicken to start and to be honest we should of left after that. It was 7 small dry pieces of under seasoned chicken for $17.5! I couldn't taste,see or smell any paprika, not even a dusting on that weird yogurt dressing 🤷🏽‍♀️ our mains were the lamb rump and lamb ragu pappardelle. The lamb rump was cooked well medium but soooooo under seasoned. The lamb ragu pappardelle was so tasteless, not a fresh herb or dry one in sight. It was this watery, bland red sauce.... didn't find it like a ragu at all. The pasta was so overcooked that I thought they used fettuccini instead of pappardelle but it was the pappardelle noodles falling apart because they were so over done. I was soooo looking forward to this place but I dont think we'd go back. I regretfully leave...

First time trying this place and I was pleasantly surprised!! I've been to a few other places for bottomless and the food is usually average and drinks are watered down, But not this place, I walked away feeling like I got my money's worth, the sea breeze cocktails were amazing and could definitely taste the alcohol in it, the food on the menu was really tasty & its definitely a decent portion size, this place has more options for bottomless drinks and meals compared to other places. The staff and service was amazing too kept coming around to top up the drinks, there was one waitress who had black hair with bright red bits in, I didn't get her name but you were an absolute doll to deal with, You have amazing customer service, I definitely told my other friends about Safran and we can't wait to be coming back in...