Saffron Indian Bistro — Restaurant in Phoenix

I honestly don’t even know where to begin. My friends and I decided to check out this Indian restaurant based on a recommendation, but it turned out to be a complete disaster from start to finish.

First off, the service was absolutely terrible. The young Asian guy serving us was completely uninterested and rude. It took forever to get anyone’s attention, and when we did, it was like we were a burden to him.

On top of that, there was some private party going on in the back, and the owners seemed more focused on their own get-together than on actually running the restaurant. The group was loud, obnoxious, and, to be honest, they didn’t seem to care at all about the other diners. There was this one large Indian woman , possibly related to the owner, going in and out of the kitchen, who was the worst of the bunch. She was practically throwing her weight around annd not least bothered about others. Yelling across the restaurant, and when they all stood up to say goodbye to their friend, they hovered over our table, cackling loudly, making us feel extremely uncomfortable.

Now, let’s talk about the food. Honestly, it was one of the worst meals I’ve had in a long time. We drove all the way from Page, excited to try some authentic Indian food, but it was just awful. The papdi chaat was a joke—basically plain, unseasoned boiled potatoes smashed on top of some papad with a dollop of yogurt. That’s it. No flavor, no spice, nothing. The naan basket kept tipping over because the naans were so big and the basket was so small (and the naan itself wasn’t even good). The chicken tikka was disgusting—cheap quality ingredients, bland, and poorly cooked.

I really don’t understand how anyone could actually enjoy this food, especially when it’s supposed to be Indian cuisine. It’s honestly shocking that this place is still open, with how bad everything was. The empty chairs and tables speak for themselves—no one in their right mind would keep coming back after a visit like this.

We won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Save yourself the disappointment and find...

Good service, impressive menu, stale, rotten food. I was happy to try different Indian restaurants in Phoenix, so based on the reviews, I ordered for take out three dishes from Saffron. The chicken curry dish tasted like lamb, smelled like fish. Having lived in India for years, and only experienced one bad meal (Bombay Taj, no less), I know mistakes happen; Malabar Paratharumali is sometimes sold as rumali roti, chapati passes for paratha, or plain nan, but labels seldom matter. It is the food that counts. So we consumed that dish despite the strange meat.

But when we tried the biriyani, something was definitely "off." As soon as we lifted the aluminum foil off the dish, it smelled bad. My guests looked shocked. So I carefullyI examined a few pieces of the cooked meat inside the rice dish. Most were OK, but a few were putrid, definitely rotten. How did this happen? How did a few rotten pieces of decaying, bacteria laden meat get mixed with fresh meat? Rotten meat has a nauseating odor. We all examined it. All said it was rotten. One person admitted to biting into a piece of rotten meat, but politely removed it and said nothing.

So if you are OK with a kitchen that employs cooks who cannot tell, either by the color or the smell, when they are serving rotten meat, then take your chances and dine there: but make sure it is an informed decision. I have to admit, this is the first time I have left a bad review of an Asian restaurant, since most are excellent, clean, and scrupulously focus on serving fresh food. But my first and last experience with Saffron--in any city-- has only alerted my diligence to all Indian restaurants Arizona. And the is...

STOP!! Do not eat here!

I’m not one to leave a knee-jerk bad review. But this was a terrible food experience.

We ordered through Uber Eats, so I won’t comment on anything about the service or atmosphere.

But the food was really not good.

The samosas were the only average, palatable part of our order. They weren’t extraordinary, but they weren’t terrible. And if everything else had been delicious, I would have been happy with them.

Everything else, however, was not delicious. It was very disappointing.

The naan was completely unremarkable. Had the look and consistency of a pancake, and the garlic tasted bad from (a) not being toasted long enough on the naan, and (b) being from a jar (which would be fine, if it were toasted long enough).

The “korma” tasted like Chef Boyardee - which is crazy, because korma shouldn’t even contain tomato. Ever. And it even had canned green beans in it. Like, what?? (See photos)

The butter chicken was slightly better, but still mostly terrible.

Both sauces were EXTREMELY thin, to the point of being watery.

And the chicken in both was very obviously precooked, pre-grill-marked, and from-frozen. (See photo)

We barely ate either dish. Both entree photos are what was left AFTER we had eaten what we could stomach.

I sincerely hope this place stops...