Saffron Social — Restaurant in Peoria

First , the staff was not friendly. No one smiled , not the front staff, the bar or other wait stuff. We got there 30 minutes before our reservation and went to the bar. Told the front we were there but instead of coming and getting us when our seats were ready we had to walk back up from, with our drinks. We asked them to put our drinks on our dinner bill but we had to pay at the bar. When we got back up front there was many people there and they sat them before us even though we were there before them and our reservations were before most of them too. For the drinks we got the Saffron 75 and Grace Under Fire. As you can see by the pictures they don’t fill the drinks up all the way, I would recommend using a smaller glass or fill the drinks up. A half empty cup is not classy or makes people think that you are getting anything worth a dime. The drinks were good at least, and I very much enjoyed the Saffron 75. So I thought this dinner might be good, I was sadly mistaken. So we sat down and the table was off balance and as we scooted into our seat the table tipped over and the wine glasses crashed to the floor. After a clean up of glass we were still sat at that table. We started off with hummus. This was tasteless. Only thing that has taste was the fried asparagus and peppers. Very disappointing for an appetizer . The pita is just cheap store bought bread. Then came out the French onion soup. Ok this I will say is the best in Peoria area. The cheese could have been a bit more melted as it was not stringy or pulling like most cheeses are on top of French onion soup. But the taste of the soup was good, not over salty and you could tell they use a good oil to golden the onions. For entrées we got the seafood pasta and the chicken saltimbocca. The seafood pasta was missing the parmesan, so we had to ask for a side of Parmesan to put on it even though it clearly states on the menu it comes with it. It did come out warm and the taste was pretty good if it wasn’t for the fact that the dish was missing one of the main ingredients next was the chicken and this was lacking everything. The Mushrooms were extremely cold. The plate was loaded with mashed potatoes, which it does not say that in the description it says a side of potatoes, but it was a bed of mashed potatoes, which had almost no garlic flavor whatsoever even though they state this garlic, mashed potatoes. It had very little sauce or spinach as it does say in the menu too. I sent the first dish back as everything was cold and the amount of potatoes was astronomical and asked for them on the side. The next plate came out in fact, the chicken and those mushrooms also were cold, so I sent that dish back and did not have any entrée for the evening. We finish the night off with a piece of chocolate cake, which was very good, but we did find out that that was brought in from a local bakery in Chicago that caters to restaurants called Diane’s . So the only thing that they actually do at this restaurant to their desserts is add whip cream to them so I guess they couldn’t messed that up. As far as the atmosphere of the restaurant, the music was extremely loud and from a very strange array between 80s rock 70s music like ABBA, or some 90s alternative completely not what you would expect for the decor and atmosphere of this restaurant . For the whole entire two hour dinner the alarm was going off upfront and no one had decided to turn it off. What I will say is they had an amazing waitress name Lily’s, who did her best to try to help us with all of the issues that this restaurant seems to have. We were not the only ones who talked about the food being served cold and items not being up to par . I am not sure if it was an off night for them seeing that it was a Saturday they should have been well staffed and good at their job since they have been open for a while. I will not be going here again anytime soon and unless you want to be disappointed at overpriced food with little taste, I don’t recommend going, save your money and try a...

My husband and I recently went to dinner here. We've been wanting to try Saffron Social since we moved to Peoria from Las Vegas a couple of years ago. Being from Vegas, we know what should be expected from eateries, let alone an upscale restaurant like Saffron Social.

First impression upon walking in (with the exception of the salt and debris littered entry way) was good! The ambience is beautiful and eye catching. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, the restaurant atmosphere is a solid 9. Invest in some nicer table lamps and keep your entry way swept and the rating will increase to a 10 for ambience. (Our table lamp didn't work and it wasn't replaced until we were almost done with our meal). Service was beyond slow with other parties that were seated after us being served first, coffees were the absolute worst cups of coffee my husband and I have ever had - stale and burnt, yuk, and the crème brûlée was just awful. Crème brûlée should be slightly chilled at the base with a warm hardened caramelized sugar top layer. We had to chisel a piece out with our desert fork to eat. Also the layer of caramelized sugar on top looked instead like frosting and was unlike any brûlée I've ever had. Hands down the worst crème brûlée I've ever eaten (or in this case, attempted to eat).

My husband and I really wanted this restaurant to be a good experience but it wasn't. Maybe our expectations are a bit unrealistic, but guys if you want to be the best then set your bar higher. If you want to take this restaurant to the next level then some changes have got to be made. The servers and bus help didn't work as a team. Communicate with each other and help each other out. Serving times NEED to be faster. Everything came out way too slow. Soup has to be served hot and for pete sakes improve your Crème brûlée or don't serve it at all. Also, assign one person just to maintain the bathrooms, lamps, dining area floors and front entry. I recognize that it's winter and salt is on the sidewalk which gets tracked in, but the entry is the first impression of the restaurant. Keep it swept and looking good. Remove finished plates and empty dishes from the customer table promptly if at all possible. This eliminates clutter and shows that servers and bus help are on top of their game. Lastly, we never saw a manager or person that resembled leadership milling around and/or interacting with the dining room customers. This adds a touch of professionalism and quality atmosphere, and would have helped circumvent and address some of the aforementioned concerns before they happened.

The main entrees and appetizer were really good so we'd like to give this restaurant another chance. Maybe in 6 months to a year we'll try again and see if the overall experience has improved. I know this review is long but my husband and I really want this restaurant to succeed and be a staple of downtown Peoria. You can tell that people like it because there was a nice crowd in the restaurant during our dining experience. It has the potential to be a really really great dining option for locals and visitors. Unfortunately good food coupled with bad service doesn't equate to a good dining experience. It's the entire package that...

“Medium-Rare, Hold the Flavor”

You know that moment when your steak comes out looking perfect, and you take your first bite expecting a burst of rich, savory goodness… only to discover it tastes like a wet paper towel with grill marks? Yeah, that was my experience here. They cooked the steak medium-rare, as requested, but somehow, it tasted like the cow lived on a strict diet of cardboard and sadness. I kept chewing, hoping the flavor would eventually show up—kind of like waiting for a text back from someone who’s obviously ghosting you. Spoiler alert: it never did.

The mac n cheese was… ambitious. And by that, I mean they ambitiously avoided adding cheese. It was like someone boiled some noodles, drizzled them with yellow-ish water, and called it a day. I think I saw the cheese hiding in the kitchen, too ashamed to come out.

Mashed potatoes? More like mashed bland. They tasted like someone boiled a potato, smashed it with a shoe, and decided, “Nah, they don’t need butter or salt. This is fine.” Spoiler: it wasn’t fine.

The shrimp cocktail was where things got really interesting. The shrimp had the texture of rubber erasers, and I started wondering if I should be eating them or using them to fix typos on my tax forms. The cocktail sauce was aggressive, probably to distract you from the fact that the shrimp were having an identity crisis.

In summary, this meal was a masterclass in missed potential. If you’re into paying premium prices for food that tastes like nothing, you’ll love it here. Two stars: one because my steak was at least cooked correctly, and one because I didn’t accidentally gnaw on the table out of sheer desperation. Would I return? Only if they start seasoning things—or if I lose my taste...