Delicious food. First trying this place and I really liked it. They offer military discount, and is open for dining in. read more

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My husband and I have been going to Saffron for 4 years now and have always been pleased with how delicious the food is. Within this past year we have ordered from them twice and although the food isn't bad it's no where near what it used to be. It's almost as if there is a different chef making the cuisine. The flavors are more bland. We typically order the vindaloo, butter chicken and the korma. All three of these dishes are bland abs lack the depth of flavor that we have been accustomed to from Saffron. Whatever has changed you can tell in the food. It's not bad, just whoever was making the food before made it way better. read more

Good Indian food in downtown Norfolk. Service was fast and attentive. Naan basket was yummy and our meals were tasty.

Very slow late on a Sunday night, but the food was still quite good. I chose the tikka masala with chicken, garlic naan, cucumber riata and mango chutney. All of it arrived promptly accompanied by a big bowl of rice. I always get the riata because you just never know how hot the curry is going to be. I ordered "medium plus" but it was closer to mild. Good flavor, just not much for hot. The riata was a little watery but the naan was well coated in garlic and cooked perfectly. The mango chutney had a few good sized pieces of mango in there. A good meal with reasonable service. Next time, I'll ask for it to be hotter. read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Saffron Indian Bistro in Norfolk - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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"Good small weekday Indian lunch buffet very near Norfolk Scope" We found this on Yelp while at the Norfolk zoo and swung by for a late lunch. They let people enter until 2pm for lunch and close the buffet at 2:30pm on weekdays. Buffet is the only weekday lunch option. The setting is a bit dark, and the selection wasn't huge, but the food was tasty and good quality. Certainly a good value for all-you-can eat. They were low on the chicken tikka marsala when we were there, but it's fair since we arrived so late (1:58pm) that they weren't adding to the buffet. But the chicken we had was good, as was the saag paneer spinach, the veggie pakora, and the other dishes sampled (e.g., rice pudding kheer). I especially liked the butter chicken and the chicken kebabs (with onions & bell peppers)-- the latter was in a separate tray that some others dining with me didn't notice-- tender and delicious. Service was good-- they brought us bread, checked on our water, and were generally friendly. Note: there's a Yelp check-in special for one free mango lassi with meal. The mango lassis were excellent. One other reviewer complained about the absence of parking, but there's a garage basically in the same building (though entrance from a different street), so parking didn't seem a problem to us, and it only cost $3 for the hour we were there. Overall, I'd happily go back if in the area and wanting some fast Indian buffet lunch. read more

I never write a negative reviews about restaurants but this one I have to write it due to their bad service. I had been to this restaurant with family this weekend. Food was not bad but the service was horrible. We asked for a small cup of plain yogurt and the guy said sorry sir I can't serve yo that because I am very busy and we are short staffed. You should order everything at once. He denied and not served. We weee end of our meal and I walked up to bar desk and paid my bill and told him that you are in a restaurant business but never do this. He started giving all the reasons and said you have to order everything at once. I am very disappointed and told him that I never visit this restaurant again. If the owner of this restaurant see this review hopefully he will corrective actions. read more

I love this restaurant! Good price, good taste, good staffs, good atmosphere,... I used coupon Buy one get one free with purchase of two drinks. $17 for 2ppl. Plus $1.5 for parking. You must try their tandoori chicken and Kheer! If you are sleepy, Indian tea too!! read more

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Literally consistently delicious!! Love this restaurant! If you're wanting something new to try downtown in Norfolk, you need to go. Chicken vindaloo, garlic naan and veggie samosas! read more

Beautiful restaurant! Service was fast and food was great! I'm definitely coming back!

Came here for Norfolk Restaurant Week and was incredibly impressed! I love Indian food and have to say this is some of the best Indian food I've had in a while. We ended up ordering classics from the regular menu (also since we haven't had Indian food for some time) and loved all of our dishes. The tikka masala was really some of the best I've had and was a hearty amount of food for the price. We also ordered the mango lassi which was yummy and perfect for the summer. The waitstaff were all very friendly and attentive and the ambience was pleasant. Would highly recommend for eating in, but takeout could be a great option too! read more

I've been to a few Indian restaurant, I had my wedding reception dinner in an Indian restaurant. This place has delicious food.

The food is DELICIOUS!! I have tried and HIGHLY recommend the following: Chicken Tikka Tandoor, Malai Kofta, Garlic Naan, Vegetable Samosas, Mixed Vegetable Pakora, and Mango Lassi. All of these are sooo good that they are making my mouth water just writing about them. You will be really happy about getting Indian from here!! read more

Saffron is one of my favorite lunch buffets. And all for $10. Not a bad price for authentic Indian cuisine. We came in for lunch and they were busier than usual. Service can be a hit or miss here, and with the large party that was seated across from us, I presumed service would not be up to par. I was gladly mistaken. I showed my check-in offer for my free mango lassi and we were served with our drinks right away, followed by the complimentary naan. That naan, oh maan. And they keep it coming, too! Throughout our whole meal, the different servers (not just one server) made sure our finished plates were taken away and that we had enough naan. They were also very prompt when it came to delivering our bill and checking out. Cuz the days where they are a "miss", they are MIA towards the end of our lunch and we have to wave someone down. (If you don't know me by now based on my reviews, that has got to be one of my restaurant pet-peeves lol) The selections on their buffet vary every day, but one thing I've noticed that is a regular dish item (other than the rice) is their butter chicken. Next to their chicken korma (it's my favorite and wish it was on the buffet more often) the butter chicken is always a winner. Other dishes featured were the vegetable fritters, chicken tikka, and vegetable korma in addition to their salad and soup bar. If you're not able to sit-in for lunch, they also offer take-out of their buffet, for $6 a pound. read more

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The food was very bland. I think they cater to an older crowd which is ok but if your expecting the traditional type of food in regards to the levels of spice you may be put off. All in all it was bad but I probably won't order from there again. I ordered the goat briyani on the bright side it was a very large portion that lasted for 2-3 days read more

This place is super cute inside and smells ABSOLUTELY DELISH! They have a $7.99 lunch buffet Monday-Friday which I wish I had time to try out. I ordered take-out, Lamb & Veggie Samosas. This place is a bit pricey as two meat samosa are $8.00. In Houston, I would get about 6 lamb samosas for $10 and sauce was included. Anyways.... I'm excited to try them out. read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - The bar area - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Felt like having Indian for dinner and fired up Yelp to find this place close by. It was empty at prime dinner time on a weeknight. That's usually not a good sign. Parking is hard to find nearby. Nice ambiance, but the booths are a very tight squeeze. Skip the booth and get a table instead. The prices are a little, even considering their location. I tried their chicken tikka masala and naan. Both very tasty. Service was very slow considering they weren't busy. read more

Restaurant week brought me to this very well decorated restaurant.  It was super cold out and I was a bit intimidated that there was only one table with people at 7pm. There were two menus, $35 and $40 per person and the major difference was the dessert trio at the end for the $40 choice. We decided to get all different plates so we could mix and match and try them all!  We started with a Mango martini, included in the price, which was so wonderful!  (I would come back just for this cocktail)  First course arrived - Gobi Manchurian (almost a sweet and sour cauliflower) and Chat - this was a very unique blend of chick peas both whole and smashed (almost falafel in texture), tomatoes, onions, a flaky pastry, and yogurt sauce.  I think it was a take on a Shepherds' pie.  2nd course was chicken vindaloo and chicken tikka marsala.  Both had a heat scale of 4 (you get to choose 2-5).  You could really taste the curry in the sauce of the chicken tikka and it was very buttery. Since I checked in on yelp, I got a coupon for a free mango lasse.  I showed it to the server and he hit the confirm button, however, I never received my drink... :(. I was impressed with the food, the service was a little lacking, however, I'd like to try the one in Town Center next time. read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Was visiting the area and wanted Indian food since there aren't many Indian restaurants where I'm from. Luckily I was staying close to Saffron. There's street parking and The Tide (public transit) which has a station in front of the restaurant. I ordered what I normally do when dining Indian: - tandoori chicken $13.50: seasoned differently than I'm used to but still tasty. ~6 pieces - chicken tikki masala $15.50 (medium hot) - tasty, but wasn't very hot (coming from someone who doesn't like spicy food) - garlic naan: yum, always a must. Need something to dip in the curry. ! free mango lassi with Yelp check in ! The service was great. Polite and courteous staff. I would definitely return and will probably order the same dish. If I'm feeling extra adventurous, I'd try a different curry. read more

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Ordered delivery from here. The curries and biryani are delicious! They had a nice level of spice. The mild was still a little spicy and the medium and medium hot had some nice heat to them. Garlic Naan was loaded with garlic. We also had the Acharya, which everyone loved. read more

Way less rice than before even though I got two curry dishes--rice reached nowhere near the lid (and only got one bowl of rice!)...Considering rice is cheap and I got 2 curries for 40$ (including tax), I think more rice should be given (or even 2 bowls). read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Vindaloo with lamb and garlic naan - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Scrumptious lunch buffet, great relaxing setting, awesome staff. One of my favorite lunch choices for over a year! Excellent food Retuned today as it's Been a while and just soooooo good! Butter chicken is to die for! read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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Food is always good here! I get the chicken vindaloo, garlic naan and the veggie samosas everytime. I've eaten here for 3 years. Love this place! read more

This is a solid four star Indian restaurant, had the chicken tikka masala and it was phenomenal. The rice and garlic naan bread Or equally as fantastic. The only reason it isn't a five star is due to some service issues, everything else was great read more

June 1st around 6:10pm we walk in. There are a few tables eating. We're seated. Hostess approaches us asking if our order has been taken. No, not yet, but we'll order all at once since we're going to the Lion King. She tells us it'll be at least 40 minutes until we get our food since we're "not the only customers." She's rude. We're not sure she actually meant it would take 40 minutes for any food to come out. Mind you, we haven't even ordered yet. So I clarify, if she means no food can be served until the earliest 7? It's now 6:20. Then, she's extremely rude and condescending as well. "That's what 40 minutes from now means, ma'am" and smirks at me. Well, thank you so much for trying to ruin my night out and patronizing me when I come into an eatery to spend my money there. No thanks. I was offended by her. She intended to be offensive. We got up and left. I've been going to Saffron in VB and Monsoon since they opened. Often taking friends and in-laws visiting from India. Not anymore. Not one more penny. read more

my all time favorite indian restaurant and go to 10/10 recommend, i always come her for my birthday too. the staff is so kind!

Beware!! 0 stars from me. Extremely Rude staff. I have been to VA beach Saffron over 100 times. Never had single issue at that location. Being an Indian i encourage and support local indian restaurants and businesses. But one simply cannot treat your customers badly and with disrespect. You will never see me there again. read more

Wow-what a downhill slide for this spot. I love Indian food, so Saffron was a favorite spot, though never top on my list for Indian food. However, my last take out there was absolutely horrible. I ordered two chicken tikka masala and received two containers of curry gravy, with 6 suspiciously perfect square bits of "chicken"? They were about a 1" cube that looked more like tofu and had absolutely no taste. The 3rd order was a chicken vindaloo. This one had actual chicken pieces a normal portion. Of course, none of this was realized until after I was home - a 35 min drive. I did call the restaurant and got handed from one person to another for about 5 minutes and eventually gave up. Absolutely my last meal there read more

My family and I went to Saffron before seeing a show at Chrysler Theater. It's in a great location, right around the corner, so it's easy to get dinner and still make it to a show at the Chrysler. We shared the Kashmiri naan (with coconut and fried cherries), which was delicious. Each of us got the korma as our main meal, which was delicious. I had the paneer korma, while my family had the chicken korma. We each got varying levels of spice, and I was very happy with the level 1 (not spicy at all), while my son, got a level 3 (out of 5), and was content with it. We ordered regular naan to go with our meal, plus the meals came with plenty of rice. I like that each entree comes in its own small bowl, and the rice is served family-style. I definitely recommend this place! read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Korma with paneer, with rice and naan - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Cold and inauthentic food, tiny portions, and terrible presentation. We ordered multiple dishes, naan, and appetizers but everything was cold and tasteless. I'm so embarrassed for having picked this restaurant for my family. We made a reservation, but the place was almost completely empty outside of our party of 10. Despite having plenty of notice and time, all of our food was clearly microwaved. The edges of the food were warm while the centers were cold. Bill was almost $400 but we barely ate any of the food. Had to order pizzas for dinner when we got home. Their chai is okay, that's about it. read more

Food was fantastic! $12 lunch buffet, had a little bit of everything and it was outstanding! excited to try them for restaurant week next week! read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Good price, the Virginia beer is very nice! - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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Quick dinner stop near the MacArthur Centre. Good food, and service could be quicker. Clean and good atmosphere.

I went online and looked at the menu prior to going to the restaurant, what drew me in was the Specialty drink called "Snake Charmer", made w/Tres Agaves, lime juice and ginger, I knew I'd love it cause Tequila is the poison used. I had eaten Thai curry hours earlier so I wasn't that hungry until I looked at the menu again while sipping on my Snake Charmer. I decided to try the KORMA Curry as I was intrigued by the cashew cream based curry. They offer spicy levels so I requested the #3 as I was unsure how spicy the spice is. The Korma Curry and Basmati rice met my expectations and more!!!!!! It was so mouthwatering DELICIOUS!!!! I look forward to trying another regional curry from the menu. I will be back read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Snake Charmer - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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When I saw a groupon pop up on my email for Saffron, I new I had to buy it because my wife and I love this place. But after I looked a little closer at the fine print, I recognized that they had a new location in Norfolk. We usually travel to the Va Beach town center from Hampton to eat at Saffron. So I bought the groupon for the Norfolk Saffron and we visited on Cinco de Mayo. We walked through the front door knowing exactly what we wanted to eat. My wife loves the vegetable biriyani. I usually hang out in the curry section. But today I decided to get the matar mushroom. This is a vegetarian dish that I added chicken to in order to satisfy the carnivore in me. My meal was pretty good. It was consistent with what I'm use to getting at the Saffron in Virginia Beach. Since I added chicken to a dish that comes with mushrooms and peas, there was not a lot of room for sauce. That is my one knock on the dish. If I could have ordered some extra sauce on the side, I would have done it. I actually should have done it. There was an additional $5 charge for adding chicken to my $13 matar mushroom. My wife was happy with her biriyani and naan. My only problem with our trip to Norfolk was the parking. There were no meters open on the street for us to park so we hit the garage. We had to pay $3 to park in order to eat dinner. Not a bad price to pay for a great meal, but it may be a deal breaker for some who would rather not get taxed to eat dinner In Norfolk. The garages in Virginia Beach near the other Saffron are free. read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Entrance on Monticello. - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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Walked by when deciding what to eat one evening and decided to give this place a try. I was seated immediately upon entering. The staff was welcoming and attentive. The food was delicious. I enjoyed mango lassi to drink. I enjoyed the matar paneer and assorted naan. I will surely visit again! read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Matar Paneer - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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Very excited that one of my favorite Indian restaurants is now finally in downtown! They have another spot in Town Center that is also great - actually, this was one of the only reasons I would venture to Town Center - but you don't really care about that. Considering it's a new spot in a somewhat new location for restaurants (same block as Tokyo Fresh), we had our pick of where to sit. We chose the bar considering the Skins were on (they changed the channel for us). The place looks very clean and modern with a decent sized bar that serves a full menu and is equipped with three flat screens. They also have booths on both walls that looked pretty cozy for a small group. They look to have growth for outdoor seating for warmer months - certainly looking forward to that! To start, we had the tomato soup (pictured) and it was great. Not as sweet and thick as the Town Center location - more of a clean flavor. The spice was just right at medium - a little heat, but still flavorful. For my main, I had the kerla pepper chicken and I have to say I currently prefer the Town Center spot for this dish. Don't get me wrong, there wasn't anything necessarily bad about it - I'm just comparing it to their other location (more heat/sweet flavoring). The chili garlic naan was great - a perfect crunch but not overly cooked. As an aside, I think there may be some tweaking yet to do with regard to the spice level. I was told that I was ultimately given medium/hot and I felt that it wasn't really that spicy - so those looking for more heat may want to dial it up a notch. My date ordered the del tarka and although she said the flavor was awesome, she too mentioned the lack of heat. One thing about the Town Center location we always comment on is the consistent perfection of what we are terming medium spicy. The service at the bar was awesome. We ultimately met the owner and he was a genuinely nice guy. Looking forward to many more visits! read more

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2 words: korma. curry. yessssss. I came here with my husband because we had a good deal on a groupon, realizing that if it wasn't that great we were just out a few bucks. Seriously, though, the food was something straight out of a 5 star indian restaurant (or what I would expect there, anyway). We were the first customers of the dinner hour, and only had one server at that point so service took a few extra minutes, but didn't leave us waiting long. When you walk in, the decor really is astounding, they've kept the place looking super sharp and high class. I've been to a lot of indian restaurants with great food but lackluster tables/chairs and no effort put into the restaurant... so this was a refreshing change of scenery, and definitely made you feel like you were getting what you paid for. We ordered the garlic naan, and it came out timely as an appetizer. I really liked the flavor, and it came with a yogurt sauce (really don't know the name, forgive me) that went well with it. On the naan, they also put cilantro, which I really enjoyed as a bold flavor to go with the garlic, but fair warning if you're not a cilantro fan. And I had the paneer korma curry. Paneer (a type of cottage-cheese squares, similar texture to tofu) has always been one of my favorites, and wow did they do it well here. I got spicy level #2, which was just a little kick but not even close to overpowering. The richness of the curry flavor was just amazing, it was like I could taste each of the spices they cooked with, and they all belonged. There were bits of cashews as well, which I was afraid would make it too sweet- but on the contrary, it added just the right amount of cool-down to go with the curry flavor. And my husband had the tikka masala curry level #3, seriously that was amazing too. And the rice! Cooked to perfection. I could go on and on. I don't know if I'm partial to Indian food or I just was really in the mood for it, but this place blew me out of the water. I can't wait to go back! read more

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Happened on 2 visits //Ordered from the menu... it was Pre-cooked food ( possibly 2 days old) , just Microwaved and served // 2nd time it was there Buffet ( it sure looked like left over's from the previous day) // Overall Bad experience and hope the restaurant owner's see this YELP info and start serving FRESH FOOD instead of Re-cycled Food /// I am sure the Staff is aware of it// read more

My daughter sent me the information on Downtown Norfolk Restaurant Week and as I was flying in from California I decided this was the place we needed to try. And we were not disappointed at all. From the moment you walked in the smell of wonderful Spices and garlic met our nose. The staff was friendly and welcoming. The restaurant was clean and very nice. The food was absolutely amazing and we ate til we could not eat any more. The butter chicken was good the tikka masala was spicy and delicious. The naan bread hot and fresh. The desserts were good but the ice cream was way on the sweet side. Overall I'd eat here often if I lived here. But I'll be back when I visit Norfolk. read more

So glad we found this place. Love the crispy naan. The chili Naan was just right. The vegetable Shashlik, chicken Biryani (which was a huge portion), the butter chicken, and chicken curry were sooo good. Can't go wrong with any of those dishes. The Shashlik left my mouth watering. We should have bought dinner while we were there for lunch. The staff was very friendly and helpful also. read more

Wow! JUICIEST goat & chicken!!! We are impressed. We came for the lunch buffet- Small # of options because each option is very good & great quality. Wonderful curries. Lots of butter used & some unique perfect hints of vinegar. Perfect spice level!! Mild-Medium throughout. Perfect Good fresh naan. The Chai Masala Tea could use a little strength. read more

Saffron Indian Bistro - Dahl, Goat Vindaloo, Butter Chicken - Indian Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia