There are 3 Indian restaurants within a stone’s throw of each other in Tam Coc. Saffron, Aroma and Curry King. We went to Saffron and Aroma.

They both serve pretty good food (some of the better Indian food I’ve had – and I have had an enormous amount plus I cook my own). Aroma has a slightly wider menu and includes both north and south Indian food, but essentially, both have the usual favourites (you know the ones). We liked that Aroma provided several chutneys to go with their food. I won’t say which restaurant had the better food but say that both served great tasting food that had its own distinct flavours. However, we did have the Mutton Korma at Saffron and it was absolutely delicious. We had garlic naan at both - they were huge but we preferred the one at Saffron as the bread was puffier and wasn’t as damp as the one at Aroma.

Saffron had a definite feel of a more welcoming and professional team – smartly dressed, very polite and enthusiastic. Almost all, if not all staff were Indian and always smiling. The restaurant was well decorated and had comfortable furniture. Sadly, we didn’t have a very welcoming smile from the local staff at Aroma – it was just a job that they didn’t feel too attached to. Our meal at Aroma was definitely less expensive, however, there was a very high % charge to use a credit/debit card, presumably to encourage the use of cash - which we did. There was no surcharge at Saffron (the first place in Vietnam that didn't charge us that extra 2.x to 3%).

Again, both had fantastic food and you wouldn’t go wrong with either, but if I was given the choice to only go back to one, I’d pick Saffron for its environment and a more pleasant dining experience.

I've also posted a photo of the food we ordered at Saffron on their review page.