Saffron - Modern Indian Dining — Restaurant in Milwaukee

As a first timer at this place, I wanted to experience the hype for myself. After battling the nightmare that it is finding parking in the Third Ward, my first impression as we walked into Saffron was a very well appointed restaurant more towards the fancy end while not giving any sense of the Indian culture what so ever. That is, until you are sited when you realize how loud the club-like music is. This was a major turn off for me as I have sensitive hearing and immediately started working on what later became a full blown migraine. I politely asked our waitress if such loud music was the norm and she said it was, but was going to talk to the manager about turning it down. According to her, he did, but we did not notice any difference so my guess is he did not touch the volume at all. Worst yet, the music was so loud I was having trouble communicating with my wife across the table ruining the entire dinning experience. We started ordering some drinks from their cocktails menu. They looked interesting going by the name alone. We ordered two different kinds to compare. A Guava Margarita that did not taste anything like guava and a Mumbai Sour too sour to taste anything else. Neither of the two were what I’d call good and at $15 a piece, made me regret the choice of ordering cocktails to begin with. While all this was happening, they brought us some chutneys and some onions as you’d see in most Indian restaurants. The big difference there is you get something to put all that goodness on. At Saffron, you get absolutely nothing! This made us think it was just a table show piece to make you feel like you are in an traditional Indian restaurant, but the reality is different. These uncalled for for add-ons became part of the table decoration and took precious real state, but worst yet, all that went to waste! Not even some Papadam to go with these? Really? What kind of Indian restaurant is this? Do they even know how these are served? Sad. We then ordered some appetizers. These were good. For the entrees, we decided to play it safe and ordered the Dum Lamb Biryani which was pretty good. The lamb was tender and flavorful but it came with what looked like a Mexican tortilla on top that we could not eat because it was uncooked and the dough was raw, so I guess it is only for decoration and make it look fancy. Also ordered the Saffron Butter Chicken. This was also good and very hard to get it wrong but the quantity was barely enough for 2 people let alone for the three of us so we ended up ordering a second one just so we can get our fill. Also ordered some butter naan and it was the same story. One small naan cut in half was nowhere near enough served on some wooden holder that has no point other than, again, look fancy and make you feel good about paying the higher price. We must’ve piled up 6 or 7 of these by the end of the meal. At this point I started getting the picture. Saffron portions are meant for you to have to order more. Period! Something that DOES NOT happen in other Indian restaurants in the area. At this point we were so disappointed with the experience we did not order any desert and the music blasting in my ear was telling me… get out of here now! In conclusion, we wanted to experience this first hand rather that believe friends and other reviewers. And that we did. This was a one off for us. There are many other well established and TRUE Indian restaurants in the area that will do a much better job with your cultural dinning experience. While the service was OK, I found Saffron to be extremely over priced for what you get and focused more on giving you a high class impression rather than the delivery of your dinning experience. To me, honestly, not worth it. We don’t plan on going back specially having much better choices just a few...

I have been really wanting to check out Saffron since they opened, and unfortunately I feel like our visit just didn't live up to expectations. The atmosphere is cozy and perfect for a date night. The service was okay but somewhat slow and not very engaging. Some of the food was delicious, and some was so overpriced and disappointing for the quality. I feel like I wanted to like Saffron so much more but I can't.

The cocktails and the appetizers were definitely the star of our dining experience. The cocktails, although expensive, deliver in terms of quality and novelty. If you are going to charge $15 for a small cocktail in Milwaukee it needs to be really good. Our group had the Elderflower Blossom, which was the star with the grapefruit aroma smoke bubble. We also tried a Sidecar (delicious and sometimes hard to find a place that will make them), Cardamom Mezcal (probably the least liked but still nice), and Saffron Old Fashioned (so tiny). The beer selection is okay but overpriced.

Appetizers/Small Plates Spinach Chaat - tasty and enjoyed by the table, but mostly tasted of cheese. Samosa Sampler - all fantastic, a favorite of the evening Naan - we ordered the fig and our friends ordered the garlic. I only tried the fig, which I loved the novelty of but ultimately wouldn't order again - $7 for 2 half pieces of naan is way too much for the size.

Mains 24 Carat Lamb Shank - good value for the amount of food, beautiful presentation. I didn't try this but our friend enjoyed.

Goat Mirch Masala - nicely cooked, good portion size. A little gamey tasting compared to other goat we've tried.

Saffron Butter Chicken - tasty, nicely cooked, good portion size. The sauce was really nice, although I don't know if it was substantially better than butter chicken we've tried elsewhere.

Lobster & Scallop Moilee - the biggest disappointment. The lobster was so, so overcooked, our friend had to pry it out of the shell. It was just...sad to see a nice piece of seafood so overdone. If you're charging $34 for a plate of food, which is mostly a lobster tail, a few tiny scallops you need to hunt around for, and sauce, the lobster should be cooked well.

Dessert Apple Jalebi - pretty presentation but don't bother ordering. The breading was so thick and the taste of canola oil was so overpowering. The chocolate shell was very thick and hard to break. The second biggest disappointment behind the lobster.

Ras Malai - sponge cake infused with saffron milk - I didn't try this one but our table enjoyed it. Beautiful presentation.

I am glad we went to Saffron, but ultimately I would only go back for appetizers and a cocktail, and only if others wanted to go. For 4 people our bill was over $400 and with some of the issues with the quality of the cooking it just didn't feel worth...

I stopped in for a boozy Friday lunch with a buddy. Ketan, is a master of mixology amongst his many other talents, and we tasted some fantastic cocktails made with liquors and spices from around the world. With menu suggestions from the aforementioned Ketan, both of us had an amazing meal. Everything on the menu is fabulous. I know Indian food, having had the fortune, as a child, to have the former chef at the Indian embassy as our family’s cook. Saffron is one of the best sub-continent restaurants in this country. For Milwaukee, it might be its best restaurant period.

Dining at Saffron reminded me to get my head around, “this ain’t the Milwaukee of twelve years ago.” Saffron could be in NYC, London, Hong Kong, Delhi, or any world class city. Sophisticated, aware, with the right kind of trendy, Saffron’s gestalt transports diners to the new Cream City. International, diverse, and delicious, I loved my experience at Saffron. Even the name is cool.

Sitting down at the slick, marble top bar, Desi Hip Hop was heard in the background. How cool was that! I was greeted warmly by Jair, a mixologist originally from Toluca, Mexico, an alpha city about 40 miles from CDMX. I love Mezcal, and Jair was a aficionado of the Agave elixir. He mixed me a wonderful cocktail using Mezcal and spices from South Asia. It was fantastic. His service was warm and informative all evening. In fact, everyone at Saffron was welcoming.

The cooking at Saffron reminded me of the iconic, dearly departed NYC restaurant Tabla, the pioneer of modern Indian cuisine. Everything tasted great, flavors bursting. I could have used more heat, but that’s my individual palette. Crispy cauliflower was the perfect appetizer and I devoured them, the garlic and ginger providing a subtle kick. The flavor of the Tandoori Duck Seekh Kebab was orgasmic, reminding me of why I love South Asian culinary bursts of flavor. My Malabar Chicken Curry needed more heat, but it was so good I swept my plate with Nan, not missing a drop. I wanted more truffle flavor in the morel lamb korma, but the flavors were balanced and the lamb tender. Nothing was left on the plate.

Before departing, I had an opportunity to meet one of the owners Hanish Kumar, and understood the origins of this restaurant. Hanish lived in New Delhi, London, and other world class cities before landing in Milwaukee. He oozed continental sophistication and so does Saffron. I would have enjoyed more “kick” from the spices, but my palate handles lots of spice these days. Also, my plate was too small for the large portions, because I like to pile everything together; the nan, the rice, the entree the chutney, bring it all on. Yet, Saffron was my best dining experience of 2023, and for as much as I travel, that’s an...