Saffron Red Bank - Modern Indian Dining | BYOB — Restaurant in Red Bank

TLDR (SOLID 4/5) Saffron Modern Indian Dining offers some really good and interesting Indian dishes with a spin. I sadly did not get to try the dessert but they went a little viral for their Foggy Assorted Kulfis! Food is unique and tasty but very small quantities for the price. Not sure if they are going for a fine dining restaurant but if they are then it loses points for ambiance because the tables are situated too tightly with one another. The music is BLASTING and you find it a bit hard to hear your partner or friends. Hard to recommend as a date spot if you struggle to hear each other. Service was decent but I can tell it's above average. Seems to be a delicate balance between the volume of customers they want to pack in all-at-once versus high-end dining service. (I went for dinner around 8) At the end of the day if you want an experience and don't mind the price point to try the food then it's worth it! Other than that it's a good restaurant with a smart casual, but no restrictions on outfits vibe, with decent flavors and a visual experience.

Food (4.5/5): There are a few items I did not get to take a picture of, but I also had the Garlic Naan (Because how can you not when you have curry!) and the crispy cauliflower. (We received this as complimentary because they had cooked our entrees before the appetizer.) Flavors are for sure a banger but you would hope so for the price you are paying for it. Naan was decent, was firm and fluffy and paired decently well with the curry we had. Stand outs were the butter chicken and tandoori lamb chops! Butter chicken was delicious and there was a lot of sauce but not a lot of chicken. Other than that it hit just the spot. The lamb chops were cooked pretty good. They are not mind-blowingly tender but had a good smokey flavor along with the sauce. Cauliflower was good but I don't know if I would personally get it again for the price. Croquettes were good and cooked decently. Kullar chai for dessert because they ran out of their most popular ones. (The Assorted Kulfis and Mango Ghevar.) Personally the chai was nothing too special and the other desserts seemed to be the winner. Especially the Assorted Kulfis as they have high presentation value with the dry ice spilling out! (Can't say for the taste)

Decor and Ambiance (SOLID 4/5): Immediately first impressions is that it feels high-end and the decor is great. Decent quality utensils. Bathroom is cute and clean. The main issue comes depending on where you are seated. It's situated almost like an arrowhead with an additional room on the bottom right for more tables/ kitchen/ and hallway bathroom. The problem is on the sides the tables are situated WAYYY too close to each other where some people have to squeeze their way in. I believe they tried to present themselves as a romantic, high-presentation location, and it shows with their food and decor. The table seating feels like they wanted to get in as many customers as possible, however, that also adds to more noise. The amount of tables versus waiters also affects service quality which I will get to later. When it is packed it gets really hard to hear your partner. Overall, it is solid and a nice spot when not overcrowded.

Service (3.5/5): Front desk coincides with other reviews where they had individuals that were not welcoming. They were not rude but for a modern dining experience or fine-dining it hurts the score a bit. Waiters and waitresses are fantastic but the seating is a bit tight since the restaurant is smaller. If it's a full house, because there is so much seating you might have moments where it is hard to get a waiter. There is a balance between high volume and quality service they need...

Saffron is an absolute must try and such an amazing addition to the Red Bank restaurant scene. My wife and I just ate here for the first time after trying their take out and it was nothing short of incredible! The menu is elevated and modern twist on Indian Cuisine in a Sleek Environment. And a nice bonus is it’s BYOB!

The Food: The menu is terrific so we ordered everything knowing we would have leftovers lol. Started with the Pulled Tandoori Chicken, Crispy Cauliflower, and Smoked Tandoori Lamb chops. We absolutely love Bao buns and have never seen them Indian twist and it worked so well! Same could be said with the Lamb Chops which were cooked perfectly and really Delicious. Our Entrees we’re the Butter Chicken and Prawns Narkel Shorshe along with a side of Naan. Butter Chicken is an Indian staple and this did not disappoint at all. I never would have thought to order the prawns but I am soooo happy our waiter recommended them because they were nice big shrimp and the coconut curry sauce was amazing. Both sauces were so rich with so much depth of flavor which fantastic with the Naan. Finally they were so kind and gave us a Rasmalai sponge cake in a Saffron Milk on the house. It was so freaking good and served over dry ice which was a nice touch.

The Service: As someone who works in the service industry I appreciate good service and waiter was Sai who was terrific. We literally ordered everything he recommended each dish was better than the next. He constantly checked on after each dish to hear our opinions. Everything came hot and was on top of everything. The owner Manish checked up on us as well and it was awesome to hear his passion for this restaurant and the experience he wanted his customers to have.

Ambience: Exposed brick walls, Gold industrial duct work, beautiful chandeliers, tasteful artwork, gold silverware, artistic plate wear. They clearly put a lot of thought into this restaurant and it shows! The plating was beautiful, creative, and inviting.

I highly recommend checking Saffron out and the Dine in experience was amazing. Red Bank has had a lot of turnover lately and needs a restaurant like this. Support a local restaurant and have a...

My experience didn’t start off well, and got progressively worse. We were a party of 7 and celebrating a bday. I brought a small cake in a box As I was assisted to the table, I was immediately told that we had a two hour and 15 minute limit from the reservation time . I figured that time limit would be fine. No one took the box cake from me, and I finally had to get someone and ask if they could put the cake in the back until dessert. My party arrived promptly and we were all seated for by our 6 o’clock reservation. We ordered three appetizers and seven entrées. It is a BYOB, so no beverages were ordered. The food was very good. I thought the flavors were great and the presentation was very nice. We all enjoyed our meal The waitress was not attentive at all, So there was a little delay with service. Our party didn’t really require much, Again, figuring the time would be fine After our meal, My girls neatly stacked the plates (Having been waitresses themselves) To make it easier. There was some food on the table, and I politely asked for something to wipe it up, The waitress literally threw a napkin on the table My daughter could not believe it. She then asked if we wanted dessert, my daughter said that we brought something that was in the back At that point someone came out and told me there was a $25 service fee for the cake. That is usually customary when you bring a A cake to a restaurant, I totally understand that 5 minutes later , the waitress came out and put the bag on the table. The cake was still in the box. After 10 minutes of no one coming to assist, I had to get up and find someone to help. Now I was worried about the time It took another 10 minutes to get dessert out, but they did rectify The situation. So it took an extra 20-25 minutes to get dessert but At exactly 815 we were kicked out of our table. It was a Sunday night and there were many tables open We were also seated in the back by the kitchen. Not in the nicer , front area. Given the fact that we lost so much time, not due to us, I felt that they could’ve given us another 10 minutes to finish up it didn’t make for a special night. Bill came out to...