We visited with our family for dinner and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere--it is a beautiful setting and the service was pleasant. The food itself was good, though not particularly memorable. Unfortunately, the pricing completely overshadowed the experience. As an example, we ordered two Pad Thai dishes. The menu listed Pad Thai at approximately $75 USD for what turned out to be a relatively small portion. The server asked whether we wanted shrimp or beef, and we ordered one of each. When the bill arrived, we were shocked to discover that the beef Pad Thai was priced at $140 USD. When I questioned the charge, I was told that the premium was due to the quality of the beef. While I appreciate the use of quality ingredients, it is difficult to justify a $140 Pad Thai that contained only a few small slices of beef. The pricing felt entirely disproportionate to what was served. I have dined at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world, including several three-star establishments, and I have no issue paying for exceptional food and service. However, there is a difference between luxury pricing and pricing that simply feels unreasonable. Unfortunately, in this case, the cost bore little relationship to the value delivered. It's disappointing because the setting is wonderful, but the pricing left us feeling taken advantage of rather than well cared for. As a result, we would not return. read more

Outstanding Thai food! Mexico is very seafood-heavy, and since I'm allergic, I was delighted to learn that Saffron was located in the Banyan Tree Mayokoba hotel. Right when you sit down, they bring these chips with dipping sauces. Then each of us were given a small serving spoon of pad gra pow as another amuse bouche. I was almost full after that! We then shared the satay to start -- to be honest, that would've been sufficient as an entire meal! Three skewers of chicken, and three of beef. I don't know that I'd ever had beef satay before, but it was delicious, as was the peanut sauce. Could definitely be shared by 3 people. I ordered the pad thai with chicken, but could only take a few bites before wrapping it up to take back to our hotel. But what I had, that night and the next one, was delicious. I particularly appreciated that they were willing to make it without fish sauce for me -- some Thai restaurants pre-make their sauces so that cancels out a few dishes for me. Our server could not have been nicer -- and we loved that when we were greeted, we were given the opportunity to wash our hands with flower water. One tip I'll share -- they take spice VERY seriously! So if you're someone who likes spicy food, I'd still recommend go for the lower level. I don't remember what we had medium spicy but it was HOT -- and I like heat! Will definitely return there next time we visit Mayakoba. read more

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Service was great and ambiance fantastic. The service was extremely kind and patient with our group of 8 rowdy people. read more

Saffron - Pad Thai noodles - Thai Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

Some of the other reviewers have commented on how insanely overpriced Saffron is... I visit NYC regularly for work and this place was at least 50% overpriced. An order of spring rolls $40, wok fried beef dish was over $100. My husband and I each had an appetizer and we split an entree. We ordered 4 drinks total. The bill was ~$450. The food was mediocre at best. read more

If you rate the food here alone, it's just okay for the inflated prices you'd be paying. But what you are really getting is the great ambiance on the water. Definitely come a little before the sunset so you can see all of the glow. One tip on the appetizers - definitely get the shrimps. Those were the best out of the lot. read more

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Above average Thai food that's overpriced (more so than other restaurants in the nearby resorts). Best dish was the appetizer sampler. My little one really enjoyed the crispy shrimp. We also ordered the crab fried rice. Besides the fried soft shell crab on top, I can't really taste the crab inside the dish. Mushy rice. Recommend to skip. Ice cream is decent. The fried banana is solid. Go to Tulum for the best Thai food. Prosecco by the glass was surprisingly good. read more

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The signature restaurant at Banyan Tree and all of Mayokoba. The setting is incredible nestled alongside the water and the beautiful trees. Very good service and Thai food. Was expecting more given the prices but it is still worth a visit mainly for the ambiance. read more

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Saffron is fine. Thai food that is ok. Lovely setting and good service. Good for a big group.

One of the most beautiful settings with a very attentive staff. The food on the other hand was just on the better side of good.... Warm not hot and the flavors were not soft lacking any pop.... Somewhat of a let down. read more

My god this place is so expensive. But, everything was so delicious. And the ambiance is fantastic too. It's hard to justify the cost, but once you're there eating.. you'll see why. We ordered the calamari and spring rolls to start, with pad thai and another dish I can't remember. Everything was "best ever" level taste and quality. Can't wait to return here again. Might make a trip to Mayakoba just for it. read more

Saffron - crackers with dips - Thai Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

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This place is insanely over priced for extremely average Thai food. Went there last night with 3 adults and 2 toddlers. We had one appetizer, two kids meal, 3 adult entrees and a total of 5 of their cheapest cocktails. My bill was nearly $509!!! For really basic Thai food, terrible service, and tons of mosquito bites. I'm pretty sure they over charged us but it seems like this is the norm based on other reviews. I guess they have a view of a river, not sure how they get off charging these insane prices in Mexico. Stay far far away!! read more

If your going for the Thai food, its simple Fusion. I needed thai chili, they use Serrano. Didnt give the right fire. Started with Tom yom goong. And was presented with a clear broth for $25 USD... it should be rich and savory with a kick and some noodles. It was eh.. Pad thai, crab fried rice, green curry at close to $50 USD each is insane. Also no kick, the Nam Pric helped a little, but again it was serrano. The Green Curry was tasty, although, it had no chilis. We Paid a premium way above NYC prices, they charged me $27 for 2 bottles of still water. Price gouging to the max for their ambiance. The boat ride to the restaurant was probably the best part. Food was prepared high level, but still didn't justify the value. read more

Reservation at 815, seated at 845, food took forever and came out in waves vs all at once, paid $350 for 3 dishes and 1 kids meal, completely ridiculous. Why is anyone eating here? I wanted to leave but bc of the resort lay out there was no quick or easy way to get back to our room. NEVER again. Everyone needs to stop wasted their time at this over priced over hyped restaurant. read more

This was our by far our favorite restaurant on our recent stay in Mayakoba. I got the Massaman Curry and my wife got the special Green Curry w/ shrimp. Both were very good and we didn't leave hungry. They also brought out some interesting and delicious dips with crackers and a little spring roll type food. The massaman was great and I would get it again but it did have large chunks or cinnamon or something that was annoying to pick through. read more

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This is thus far my favorite restaurant in Mayakoba, Mexico. Saffron is located in the Banyan Tree Resorts and they offered both outdoor and indoor seating. I strongly recommended to sit outside on the wood deck that floats over water and surrounded by tropical mangroves. The dishes were all full of flavor and heavenly delicious. Cocktails were amazing and flavorful; you could immediately tell which ingredients were being fused into the drink. Wine list is short but enough to satisfy our needs for food pairing. The food is of top quality and it was such a pity that we were not able to try all of their dishes. Prices were on the high end but it was totally worth it. We will definitely come back for more next time in town! read more

Saffron - Thai Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

Good Thai food should be like $30 to $40 for a family of four for dinner. At a hotel, double that because it's a hotel. The other night my wife and and my two children ate here, had two entrees, one mixed appetizer, to kids meals and two drinks and the bill was $200. One of the entrees was a shrimp dish. It was 5 shrimp and was like $40. I have never felt so ripped off in my life. While the food was tasty, I couldn't get the taste of being ripped off out of my mouth long enough to enjoy my food. If you are thinking about going here just stop right now. It's offensively expensive. On the positive side, the setting was lovely and the staff was as well. Butt holy shit I'm still in shock at how much I paid. Just don't do it. read more

What an amazing ambiance! It's like magical, eating by the canal, lights and the service was phenomenal. Food was really great, we tried the appetizers for two, pad Thai and yellow curry. The place as everyone keepS mentioning is very expensive for thai food. I'm from New York and we have a lot of Thai restaurants that's pretty amazing for half the price. Nonetheless, you go for the experience! Don't miss out, just go and not look at the prices. Lol read more

Saffron - Thai Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

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The food was average, the service was good and the atmosphere was perfect. But what is not acceptable is that the menu is priced in US dollar and that when the bill comes they use a 20 MXN versus USD exchange rate, whereas the official rate of 17 MXN versus USD and so they are in practice overbilling you with 15% I made very clear to the manager that this was unacceptable, and after some kind words, they kindly offered me a 15% discount to make the issue go away I don't know if I'm the only one making an issue of this, but I was staying at the Fairmont Mayacoba where everything is priced in Mexican pesos and charged in Mexican pesos, and when you check out you pay in Mexican pesos, that is consistent and that is clear. When they start mixing up USD and Mexican pesos, and then use an outrageous exchange rate of 20 MXN to USD that is unacceptable, and that is fraud ! I hope more travellers make an issue out of this ! read more

I see that the other yelp reviewers had a bad experience. Our was pretty positive so I wanted to provide my opinion to balance things out. If you check out TripAdvisor, most the the reviews are glowing. The setting is simply magical. Set on a tranquil mangrove lagoon at Banyan Tree Mayakoba under soft string lights, you feel light years away from the bustling city. Everything is presented beautifully. You get a lovely hand wash with herb water when you come in. A table outside is a must. At dusk, there will be mosquitoes so I wore jeans but I did get a couple of bites on my ankles. They provide some mosquito repellant you can spray on. Service was excellent for the first half, then pur waiter simply went MIA and another waiter who was more like a busser came to serve and take our dessert order. Since we had a toddler with us, our reservation was early (6 pm when they opened). Once more people started coming in, service was slowwwww. It was hard to catch anyone's eye. The pad Thai was good, not the best I've had but quite delicious and spicy. The green curry was delicate and delicious. The prawns rolled in noodles and deep fried were very good as well. We did not like the chicken wings. They were unusually fatty and greasy. They offer you water but we didn't realize that regular water was $11 a bottle. Eek. I only drank 2 sips too. Just FYI. I realize we are on Mexican time but even with that in mind, the food came out slowly and it took a long time to get the check and a long time for the waiter to come back and pick it up again. They had a small kids menu but it was 100% Thai food as it is a Thai restaurant after all. However, I think it would behoove them, as a high end establishment, to please their clientele's children by having a basic dish or two that's generic kid food, like chicken fingers or a burger or fries. It is very expensive for Thai food but one is dining in a spectacular setting in a resort so that's what you're paying for. In summary: stunning setting, romantic ambiance, mostly delicious food that is beautifully presented, not kid-friendly, slow and inconsistent service (sometimes amazing, sometimes frustrating). I would go back if I had a huge craving for Thai food while in the area and at the same time wanted fine dining in a beautiful setting, with the understanding that it will be over $200 for dinner for two. I would not bring kids here. read more

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So very disappointed with Bayan Tree and how they could have a "Thai" restaurant in their hotel that is not authentic, but more like Chinese food. Their kitchen staff should be properly trained on Thai cuisine. It's a step above Panda Express. It's not horrible, but definitely not worth the price! To summarize our meal, it was sub par and priced ridiculously high. Not worth it, but I understand why they would price gauge. For 5 adults, our meal was around $600. The lack of good food and expensive pricing alone would deter me from coming back to this beautiful property and region. read more

Cannot believe the prices- it was $42 for fried rice with seafood that consisted of two fishy extremely rubbery mussels and three shrimp. I cannot believe the highway robbery here on the cost of food. If it was good I wouldn't have had a problem but it was flavorless and and ill prepared. I have had better food from a hole in the wall deli in NYC. Price is one thing but price for totally crap food is another. Never in my life would I go back or recommend this. My friend had pad Thai with no protein for $38 USD: again price only is issue when food is complete garbage. read more

Food...outstanding. Service...outstanding. Setting...outstanding. It is an expensive restaurant but if your expectation is that all Asian food is cheap then y'all need to get out more! I had the yellow curry as my main and it was velvety and delicious. The satay starter was deliciously seasoned. A previous reviewer expressed distress at not being offered chopsticks. Thailand does not use chopsticks! If you want a nice, relaxing high-quality Thai meal then visit "Saffron". Nb: it is expensive. read more

The most mediocre Thai food I've ever had- completely devoid of flavor or texture (ever hear of pad thai with no peanuts? Me either). We had to request chopsticks, which should tell you something about the guest they are catering to. Service was very good but the food was totally unnoteworthy. To make matters worse, the prices are obscene- try $50 for a pad Thai. After all the amazing food at incredible prices I've had throughout Mexico this truly felt like being robbed. The setting is somewhat romantic except that tables are pretty close together and there is a mosquito issue. But even with the best service and most beautiful setting the food is a complete disappointment at outrageous prices. read more

This restaurant was magical in every way and the perfect dinner for the last night of our mother/daughter vacation! The ambiance and service were outstanding and the food was amazing! The entire waitstaff treated us like royalty and we especially enjoyed Jose who even tried to arrange a special boat ride for us after dinner! The little unforeseen extra treats at Saffron were very special...from the chef's aperitif to the coconut treats after dinner...everything was delicious and served with such pride and care. We highly recommend this to everyone whether you have little ones or you are on a romantic date. We can't wait to return! Thank you Saffron! read more

Saffron - Bar area with beautiful lights! - Thai Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

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Beautiful setting, elegant dinner choices, great service. Everything was perfect, except the mesquites ruined our dinner read more

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Very good food in an incredible setting. My wife and I had the tenderloin beef curry, a Thai inspired shrimp dish and dessert (green tee ice cream with berries. They also served us a rice cake starter with different toppings - all were delicious. The setting is just perfect - on a small pier in the Banyan Tree hotel lagoon with all types of birds about with sunset in the background. We started at the hotel bar and thoroughly enjoyed our speciality drinks with a calamari / mole appetizer. The Banyan Tree lobby and surroundings alone is worth the visit. As others mentioned, this is not a cheap date date spot but I didn't feel bad about the $200 expense. read more

The best birthday meal thanks to Marcos! The setting the food and the service was INCREDIBLE!!! I will be back for my next birthday xxx

Located in the Banyan tree hotel, they bring guests to the restaurant in a golf cart, the decor is colorful, yet relaxing & elegant with perfect lighting - The food is savory. the staff is delightful & incredibly thoughtful & polite. The setting is on the water, with a choice of indoors &/or outdoors, sound levels of other guests was non intrusive, even with a party of 16 guests next to us .. unbelievably enjoyable! A must !!! read more

The shrimp appetizer is amazing! But we really loved everything our group of 8 had...we will be going back a second time this week because we liked it so much! The Tom Yum soup was good but $25 for a cup of soup seems a bit outrageous...so the prices are high but they are at all the restaurants at Banyan Tree. read more

I'll start this review by saying that the food was good overall, and the setting was very pretty. What bothered me the most was the feeling that the food is in no way reflective of the costs. I felt cheated my whole meal to the extent that it was difficult to enjoy. All of the portions were quite small. The tom kah soup didn't have much flavor and had a really small portion, and the spring roll appetizers had like three rolls cut in total. the calamari was a large portion though for an appetizer. The green curry dish I ordered I literally counted eleven spoonfuls of curry (including the chicken which made some spoonfuls larger than others). I definitely felt insulted by how small the portions were in relation to the price. Not only that, but because I was eating in Tomahawk, supposedly, and they are used to using different dishes, apparently, my food didn't come with the crispy fish and the boiled egg that was supposed to come with my food. Then, they brought out a boiled egg and LITERAL BREADCRUMBS instead of fried or breaded grouper, which is what I was told I was getting. I gave up at that point. Some of my chicken in my curry tasted a little undercooked but it wasn't a huge deal. Other than that, if you ask for water, they'll bring out Fiji water and charge by the bottle. Also, the food service wasn't quick by any means. If you couldn't care about price, I probably would recommend this place. The food was overall pretty good. The service was overall good. If you had the slightest concern, I wouldn't recommend the place by any means. So much better Thai food for a fraction of the cost. read more

Let me first restate my criteria for ratings: ambiance, service, food, price. The ambiance was very nice, romantic, set out on a porch overlooking the Laguna. It was very dark and hard to see the menu or food. The waiters used flash lights. I thought it was silly, but that did not bother me. Service was nice and attentive. However, the waiter was pushing to order more. That's not very classy. This is a Thai restaurant. Food was fresh and potions are adequate to share. But,but... the price was insane. Almost everything is over $30 USD. It did not match the food quality or the ambiance or service. It also did not match the other restaurants on the resort like El Puerto or Agua Azul which offered comparable ambiance and superior food and service. read more

Tried to pay with cash and they wouldn't let us pay. After we left a more than generous tip, they chased after us and told us we had to wait until they could verify that our cash was real. Delicious food, terrible service read more

It was a beautiful location, we ate our dinner on a dock over the lagoon at sunset... But we just couldn't get behind the pricetag for the food that we got. We had been in Mayakoba for a few days so were used to steep prices at the restaurants at this resort. Still, Saffron stood out as the most disappointing restaurant we tried in the resort. We had read reviews about the $45 pad Thai so we gave it a try. I don't know who reviewed this dish positively but I'm sure they have never eaten Thai food before. It wasn't that the dish was crazy, insanely, expensive, but that it wasn't as good as any $10 take out in Dallas. DALLAS TEXAS I had the yellow curry. The flavor of that dish overall was good, but both the potatoes and sweet potatoes were undercooked. Our favorite part was when they brought out 4 different types of rice to choose from as part of our entrees. I think it was coconut, lime, brown, and white... But unfortunately they all tasted the exact same. We wondered whether it was flavor or just food coloring. We left this place feeling disappointed and a little ripped off. Spend your money somewhere else in Mayakoba and deal with your Thai craving when you return to wherever you live. If you really want to spend $45 on pad Thai, tip your delivery guy 300%. read more

Great food and great service, not to mention a stunning environment. Loved the fried rice, shrimp wrapped in noodles and the pad Thai. Everything my family tried was just delicious. Oh and the calamari and satay were equally as delicious. Make sure you get a reservation. This is a hot spot. read more

Yes it's overpriced , but the food is out of this world and the service leaves nothing to be desired!

I don't know how this place has 3 stars. This is by far the best Thai food I've ever had. Every thing we had was amazing. The bugs will eat you alive if you eat outside. read more

food is great and the people are really nice but the service is so slow!!! omg it took 45 minutes for them to bring the bread!

I agree price is outrageous. However you are staying in an overpriced resort as well. I cannot compare to food in Thailand as I have never visited so I cannot claim this is authentic. Still it is one of the best Thai food I have had next to Lers Ros in SF. read more