Saffron Indian Restaurant Ninh Binh — Restaurant in Ninh Bình Province

As British visitors who consider curry a staple, we found this experience disappointing.

We recently dined here and, unfortunately, the overall experience fell short. We ordered a dal and egg curry, specifically asking the waiter for both to be spicy. After a brief chat, he assured us they would be. However, when the dishes arrived, they were both quite bland. I had to send mine back to the kitchen. My girlfriend intended to do the same but, after waiting a while for my dish to return, she decided not to bother so we could eat together.

On a more positive note, the garlic naan was good. That said, the vegetable samosas were disappointing — they were only lukewarm, very dry, and lacked flavour. They gave the impression of being pre-cooked and reheated, rather than freshly made.

Service also left room for improvement. After asking for the bill and having our request acknowledged, we sat waiting for around seven minutes. Eventually, we noticed another table go up to the till to pay. It would’ve been helpful if the waiter had explained the payment process rather than leaving us uncertain.

Additionally, during our visit, we saw an ingredients delivery being brought in. Staff restocked using the same wheeled table used to serve food, which had visible curry stains and didn’t appear clean. For a restaurant in a prominent tourist area, we expected higher hygiene standards.

We found the cost of what we had to be more than other Indian restaurants so far in Vietnam, we are happy to pay more providing the food and service meets the value of price.

Overall, the food didn’t meet expectations in terms of spice or freshness, and the service and cleanliness were disappointing. We won’t be visiting the other locations in Vietnam during our trip. As Brits who truly appreciate good curry, we sadly can’t recommend this place.

We hope this feedback is taken constructively, and we wish the team success in making...

I don't understand the hype about this place, maybe because it was lunch and not dinner?? I wasn't greeted friendly or greeted at all for that matter. I was handed a menu but they didn't wipe the table down first. Once he saw me start to wipe it down with a napkin he came over with a towel.

Im not Indian and I've only tried Indian food four times but two of those have been in Ninh Binh. After traveling for over a month, I needed a break from Vietnamese food, and to be honest, Ninh Binh isn't a place you're going to get authentic Vietnamese food anyway. The owner/manager of Saffron took my order and the food was ok and he brought me a glass of water. I had a lentil type soup with a rice that had veggies in it but after that I never saw anyone again. I finally found a gal to get me a box and then I had to ask for the check. I'm leaving for Malaysia tomorrow, so I wanted to use the rest of my VND and then the rest on my card... It was an astonishing 220VND PLUS a 17% surcharge. I looked more closely and he hadn't deducted the cash I'd given him from the total that he ran on my credit card. Im sure it was a communication error but that was 50 VND. Im comparing my experience today with the experience I had last night at Auroma.. They greeted me at the door, showed me a table, brought me a menu, and offered me a beverage. They didn't rush me, they asked me how I was doing, I didn't have to ask for a box or the check. I paid 100VND less, and the food in my opinion, was much better. I even left a tip. This was just my opinion but Id go back to Auroma but...

Had the chance of visiting this restaurant and I must say that of all the Indian restaurants (5-6) tried from Ho Chi Minh to Danang, this one is the least recommended. Ordered Pakora, Gol Gappa (2), Bihari Boti (2), Daal Tadka (2), mix vegetables (2) Peas Rice and Tandoori Rooti. Food came in very small portions hence had to reorder few items (we were informed about that but didn't know that they serve the size of the appetizer portion for main course ) . The tandoori rotis provided were burnt and upon notifying the shift incharge there he remained adamant to the fact that this is how it's cooked and even brought the roti maker to support his arguement instead of accepting as it's not our first time eating the tandoori roti and aware about the difference of looked burnt and taste burnt. He also made high claims about the food quality but it's way below standards. Just for sharing how overly priced it is, we paid 1540000 VND for these items. Yes you read it right it's for Daal, Mixed Vegetable only as main course. Summing up the food Quality and Service standards feedback , have to share that the ambiance is quite royal and spacious plus the location of...