Saffron Indian Cafe — Restaurant in Winston-Salem

We were in the area and had been hearing good things so we stopped in for an early dinner. The smells as we entered were promising and made us excited to try the food. That was the highlight. We sat at a table that was said to be ready but had to brush off some crumbs.. it happens, and the menu looked great so we kept going. We ordered dumplings as an app, and tandoori chicken, a side of naan and dal as our entree. A few minutes later another couple entered and sat two tables away. After a longer than expected wait, we saw the waiter coming out with dumplings… but the went to the table that arrived well after we placed our order… they had also ordered the dumplings so they obviously didn’t think anything of it. A few minutes later ( a good 15-20 minutes after we had ordered) they tried to deliver the tandoori chicken to the same table… they hadn’t ordered that so that sent the waiter looking for the correct table and we waved him down but explained that we hadn’t received our app, and also the Dal wasn’t there yet either. A couple of minutes later they came back with the dal and naan and promised the app was coming right out. The dal was very good, the naan was average but the tandoori chicken was dry and some of it seemed to be missing as it was ordered a half chicken but only had part of the breast ? It was also a little dry but did have some good flavors. We completed all of the entree and still no app. We sat for a long while without any refills or questions about the food we had received so eventually flagged down the waiter and asked for the bill. We explained to the waiter who came over with a handheld device with the bill that we shouldn’t be charged for the app that never arrived and the waiter said ok but walked away for several minutes before returning and saying he would check the status of our app.. keep in mind we had finished our meal. I told him the status was “undelivered” and that I wanted to pay so that I could leave… he said ok but again walked away, then got on the phone for several minutes before disappearing in the kitchen. After another long wait, I calculated the price and left the appropriate cash on the table and left. We also watched another couple sit for a long while without service just leave without ordering. They are new so maybe it will get better but we will never know because this was our first...

Unfortunately, no pictures...cause we seriously ate our food right up.

The whole experience of visiting Saffron was incredible. The young man serving us was polite, friendly, and attentive. The atmosphere is calm - and with the fact that the restaurant itself is on the small side, the air was filled with delicious smells of cooking.

We tried two vegetarian appetizers and two entrees. Both appetizers were so flavorful and aromatic - definitely layers of spice in both dishes. The first appetizer was the Samosa Chaat (one Samosa covered in a mixture of chickpeas, yogurt, fig, tamarind, with mint chutney on the side). Oh my goodness. All the flavors blended so well, and the Samosa under the other ingredients was still crunchy. The mint chutney was fantastic - subtle and warm flavor.

The second appetizer was the Amritsari Savory Paneer Tikka. Imagine like, 6 squares of paneer grilled, with grilled onion and green pepper to accompany it. You're provided a wedge of lemon - we squeezed it across the top of the paneer. We took bites of the cheese, along with the veggies, and also dipped in the mint chutney. So yummy.

Our entrees were just as good. We tried the Lamb Biryani - also complex, aromatic flavors with soft rice. We also tried a vegetarian entree - the Organic Dal Bukhara. Imagine a warm, earthy, thick lentil soup and soft basmati rice on the side. The description says it's slow-cooked for 32 hours, and I can believe it with the thickness and great taste.

On the side we shared the Onion Kulcha. Great onion flavor, 4 large pieces. Yummy to dip into our entrees.

It was a great first experience and we can't wait to go back to try more. I'm thinking it's a new hidden gem in Winston - I hope it sticks around for...

I'd say this is most likely the best place for Indian food that you can get in Winston-Salem. There's a large variety of food that you can select whether you choose North Indian, South Indian, indochinese, or even some American if absolutely necessary. I've gone twice since opening, once to go and once in person. For my to go order, I was able to order the pepper lamb fry as well as the gobi Manchurian, both of which were phenomenal. I also added on a mango lassi to wash it all down and it's not overly sweet but actually quite refreshing. Second time I went is just the other day, I tried to aim to go towards the end of the day past the rush hour, but they were still a little bit busy. Service was a bit off since our order was taken and someone came around to take it again, this would be on top of ordering water and then having to request to get water again since it did not come around. I likely attribute this to a newer team and the rush hour shortly before being the reason why. In person, we got a Mysore Masala Dosa, Chicken Vindaloo, and chicken biryani, all of which were rich in flavor and provided tons to eat. We also had some Chicken 65 momos that brought the perfect amount of heat and some samosa chaat that we all thought was a great compliment to the meal. Overall, my thoughts are that the food from this restaurant are second to none in terms of Indian food in Winston-Salem. I'd recommend to go over in person just because of the smaller space and how service can be difficult when the place is very busy. I know the place will continue to do very well and I likely will be getting a lot of...