Safta — Restaurant in Denver

tldr: drinks were good, starters were tasty but not amazing, wait staff was super friendly but multiple parts of our order were wrong, cute ambiance but felt crowded.

Was excited to try this restaurant after hearing so many good things but it was quite the disappointment. The ambiance was cute with lots of roses and pink accents, but the dining area felt very crowded and our table (maybe 2x2) felt too small for our party of 4. We ordered the salmon crudo, babaganoush, mushroom hummus, soft cooked egg hummus, Moroccan carrots, cheese borekas, lamb kebabs, and mujaddara stuffed squash. Our waiter was very friendly and gave her honest opinion on what wine to order which we appreciated.

Our drinks came and the waiter had an extra glass of wine that we had not ordered. The language of flowers was delicious, and a very pretty purple color with a carnation atop the egg white foam. The cardamom lemon & bubbles was really just a lemonade.

The salmon crudo was first to arrive and not what we expected. The salmon was cubed more like poké, but it was well dressed and spiced with a pleasant blend of crunchy bits (maybe garlic or shallot) and firm, good quality farmed salmon. The hummuses were delicious, but maybe the descriptions on the menu a bit misleading. The soft cooked egg hummus really only had half a soft cooked egg, with little egg flavor or texture incorporated into the hummus itself. Still tasty and incredibly smooth, but not what we expected from a “soft cooked egg hummus”. The foraged mushroom was also very tasty, but had a ton of tahini. The harissa also seemed rather mild, and the mushrooms were maybe just oyster mushrooms. They were caramelized so it was hard to tell. There was also a ton of tahini and seemingly little to no chermoula butter. The babaganoush was delicious though the portion a bit small, maybe 1/4 cup. We did need more pita than the 2 that came with the dishes. The carrots were far too acidic and seemed chilled rather than room temp. The flavor of the carrot and chermoula were lost in the pickling liquid from the onions and there was not enough mint for each bite to have some.

The mains were quite disappointing. When they came, the order was incorrect coming with a Persian rice and no squash, but this was quickly remedied by the wait staff. The borekas were tasty but not very crispy/crunchy. The kebabs were just ok, a nice balance of sweet, salty, and fatty when eaten with all the components in one bite, but rather boring on their own. The squash was surprisingly bland, though well cooked. The rice and lentils had an appetizing brown hue, but really tasted of nothing. There was also not feta fondue component as far as we could tell.

We decided to close out the meal with coffee, not feeling particularly excited to try anything on the dessert menu. The cappuccinos were quite embarrassing, especially since they have a nice espresso machine (la marzocco) in the cafe at the entrance. The espresso had no complexity, little flavor, and the milk was poorly textured (really just foamed). The espresso had no crema and looked like it had been sitting around before being brought to the table. Better espresso can be made with a Moka pot or Aeropress.

Overall, really disappointing experience and definitely not worth the price. Would not recommend coming here beyond starters and drinks. Not sure how much can be attributed to their losing their head...

My wife and I went here recently for our anniversary and weren’t impressed with the experience. The quick summary is that Safta is noisy, the service is middling and feels rushed, and the food is okay but not great. Here’s more detail on that:

NOISE: The first thing to know if you’re considering booking here is that the restaurant is cramped and by consequence of that is LOUD. If you’ve got a big group you’re eating with I’m sure it’s less noticeable, but if you’re wanting to have a more quiet/intimate evening this is definitely not the place to go. There’s just so many tables packed in together that you’ll be surrounded by the constant din of other people’s conversations. They also have most of their tables for two squeezed in between the bar and the outer tables of the restaurant, so to us it felt like we were eating in a hallway of a crowded bus station with staff and patrons constantly walking by on both sides.

SERVICE: Service was attentive but felt very rushed, and the staff wasn’t well trained. They offer sparkling and still water at the start of your meal - I got sparkling, then when I’d finished half the glass a busser came by and topped off my glass with still water without asking what I’d originally had (leaving me with what tasted like very stale sparkling water). At one point we asked a busser for fresh plates and she did get those, but didn’t replace our forks which were coated in past courses (and which she just placed on the bare table while she was getting the plates, which again wasn’t appalling but also wasn’t great service). When asked for her opinions on her favorite items on the menu, our primary waitress proceeded to recommend all of the most expensive items one after the next. I’m sure those items are all fine, but considering that rather large coincidence it didn’t feel like she was actually recommending anything other than a larger tip for herself.

FOOD: The food here was okay but not exceptional in any way. We had the short rib as an entree which was fairly dry - I’m no chef, but the meat was far less tender than any pot roast I’ve thrown together in a crock pot over the years. The beet salad was very nice, and the whipped potatoes were also good, though they had a texture closer to polenta than any sort of normal potato dish (this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, just a little surprising). The real issue with the food though IMO is the massive amounts of hummus and pita that the early courses of the meal are centered around. To be fair, both are tasty but they’re such a massive carb bomb that we barely had any room for the rest of the meal, which had us skipping dessert (which we never do when we eat out - we only go do something fancy like this every 6 months or so) and sent us home feeling far more overstuffed and bloated than satisfied. I don’t know if this is just an unavoidable standard of the style of cuisine or what, but it felt to me like if I’d gone to a nice steakhouse and the restaurant put an entire loaf of French bread down as the initial course. Regardless of how good the bread is, having that much grain at the outset of the meal IMO ruins the experience of eating the steak later on.

We agreed afterwards that we wouldn’t be back in the future, which was a bummer as we were hoping this could be our new go-to spot at the source (we were both huge fans of Acorn back in the...

This low review is reflective of the poor service I experienced with a friend from out of town. The food IS delicious and worth checking out, but the service really left a sour taste in my mouth and made the experience disappointing. If you are Asian, don't purchase an alcoholic drink, or dine with someone of the same gender, be prepared to be treated differently. I had had such a wonderful experience in 8/2021 taking another friend, but I do not think I will be able to recommend Safta in the future, which is really too bad.

Food/Beverages: Food is delightful. The wood roasted mushroom hummus is incredibly smooth and creamy and pairs well with the freshly baked pita. The texture of the falafel is delectable - crispy on the outside with a soft, light inside. I enjoyed the cheese borekas with the interplay of sweet honey on the outside and the savory cheese on the inside - as my friend pointed out, the shell is not as flaky as it could be, but it is still something to enjoy if you like a savory/sweet combination. The kofta bi tahini was a bit salty for my taste, although I enjoyed the spice profile; would likely pair well with the Persian rice to balance out the salt. The spice grapefruit & bubbles as well as the cardamom lemon & bubbles were refreshing and are a wonderful non-alcoholic option.

Ambiance: Situated in the Source Hotel, Safta has an open layout and airy feeling. It is trendy and fun place to dine, whether or not you are at the bar or seated at one of the tables.

Service: My first experience at Safta was wonderful and I felt very well taken care of; however, my recent dining experience really turned me off. The night started off in a pleasant fashion, but as our meal continued, it became evident that our server was ignoring us while checking in on the couples next to us several times without stopping to offer water refills (which our neighbors got frequently), sloppily sloshing hot water after I was able to flag her down as if annoyed, not offering a dessert menu, and not bringing our check after giving us to-go containers and us sitting there for a long time trying to get her attention (we had to flag down another server to help us, who was very kind, btw). We felt very uncomfortable by the end of the night and couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about us that the server did not like - was it because we were Asian or that we were two women (one wearing a Pride celebration shirt) or that we did not order alcoholic drinks? I did speak with the general manager on the phone later, who was apologetic and wanted to make things right; I just hope that their service in the future is better for other customers.

Pricing: On the pricier end, but the food is quality. Expect to pay $11 for hummus dishes, $7 for appetizer-like dishes, and then $15-50ish for main entrees.

Tip: Even if reservations are full, if you have a small party (2-3), getting a seat at the bar as a walk up can score you...