Saffron Indian Bistro Norfolk — Restaurant in Norfolk

TL;DR 5/5 Food 1/5 service 1/5 atmosphere 2/5 cost

Food: Okay, before I delve into this the food was an absolute 5/5; the flavor was incredible, the heat was spicy and flavorful, the serving sizes were fairly generous, and myself and the large group we attended with were nothing but pleased with the food.

Service: That being said, the staff was incredibly overly attentive AND UNCOMFORATBLE. There was no moment to breathe or enjoy each others company with one waitress consistently filling the water glasses quite literally every three sips. She would fill the glass non stop, interrupting conversation to do so. Politely we just declined, but slowly were growing more agitated with each approach. The waiter then came to take our orders, and he was incredibly uneasy to speak to. He was disheveled in appearance, generally jerky with his motions, and incredibly casually dressed. He did not make any of our guests feel comfortable at all, and looked either annoyed at our table or was outwardly rude in his tone. The staff then took it upon themselves to just stare at us from the far end of the restaurant. Very VERY VEYR uncomfortable

Atmosphere: Arguably, people do not attend restaurants solely for the food. Most food you can make yourself or order to go, so atmosphere is incredibly important in creating an enjoyable eating experience, yet Saffron will NOT leave you feeling that unmistakably relaxing feeling of dining in a cozy, rich environment. There were gashes taken out of the wall on one side, and overhead the sound of horribly bland, tiring, ethnically-neutered elevator music haunted us. The dead, computer-generated, droning 'jazz' (?) was anything to be desired. That, coupled with the staff, made it difficult to enjoy our experience.

COST: WOW. NEARLY $58 dollars to feed two people. Eating in Norfolk is a little expensive to begin with but for the food we were served the price was NOT justified. The automatic gratuity at 18% was frustrating, too. To be fair, the dishes with lamb or fish are $19 flat on the menu, but when you get your bill, you will see the meals were actually $19.50... a little misleading. Then, to make things even worse, the final bill had a QR code... if your phone does not scan QR (which, surprise, not all do) expect to be faced with a frustrated and annoyed employee.

Overall, terrible experience, but great tasting food....

Normally, I love Saffron and highly recommend it. However, tonight was a complete disappointment. I took my boyfriend there tonight for his birthday and was dismayed at the service. Our waiter informed me that our meals no longer come with Naan (which must be a recent change because it has before) and instead we would be charged for it. There must be a new chef because my boyfriend's Chicken Biyurani was no where close to as good as the last time he had it. It had a lot of odd ingredients added to it thst werent there the first time. Our drinks did not get refilled, nor were we asked if we would like to refill the Naan we paid for. I informed the waiter that I had purchased a Groupon and he walked off with my phone for a long period of time - making me nervous about what was going on. He had said he needed to scan it and then came back with my phone and scanned it at the table. Why he had to walk off with it, I do not know. I paid our remaining balance with cash and the waiter asked if we were done and went to just take the money. I asked if he could give us change back and it was apparent that he was irritated. He brought me back a $10 bill and some coins as change. It seemed as though he expected me to leave him the entire $10 bill as tip. When my boyfriend asked him politely if he could give us change he stated that he could not because they did not have any $5 bills. I asked him for 10x $1 bills instead. He made us feel like we were a huge inconvenience at this point. Needless to say, the service was very disappointing with this visit and the change in menu policy was also upsetting. I don't think we will be visiting this...

(LONG POST ALERT‼️) So I ordered the Vegetable Bashlik & Roti on Saturday night (6/18) via a phone order on my way from Virginia Beach and paid $20.81. I ordered it because the description was very detailed & included "Broccoli/ Bell Peppers/ Cauliflower/ Yoghurt/ Ginger/ Garlic/ Blend Of Spices" Now mind you, I got all the way to Portsmouth with my food only to open it up & find everything BUT cauliflower and instead substituted MUSHROOMS, which I despise....... so I call back & speak to the same employee who took my order & explained to him what happened to which he states that sometimes they use mushrooms along with Cauliflower & that I could come back to have it remade.. I explained that there were NO cauliflower at all & that mushrooms should be listed as an ingredient if included to which he responds that he believes a new cook just messed up. I explain that I can't come back tonight & that I'm disappointed- he states that he will take my email and number so the manager can send a voucher for the mistake. 2 DAYS LATER- Today I receive an email voucher for $15, not even enough to reorder the same entree, much less the same meal... 🤦🏽‍♀️🤦🏽‍♀️ upon speaking to the same employee from the 1st transaction, I was told the manager was not in & that there was nothing he could do and no way to reach the manager....a real disappointment for my 1st time here & very inconsiderate of their customers time. 👎🏽👎🏽btw, the vegetables were...