Saffron Restaurant

This restaurant is out of business

Food was really cold on the buffet and would have tasted alright but I don’t like cold Indian food for lunch call me crazy !

To say that Saffron «sucks» would be an understatement bordering on flattery. Utterly failing in every criterion by which an eatery may be judged, Saffron provided me with the very worst restaurant experience of my life. Saffron is the Indian restaurant closest to my home, but I have gone out of my way to avoid the place for years, because I heard bad things about it, and have instead patronized other Indian restaurants, farther away. But, last week, I wanted take-​out that wouldn’t take me out of the neighborhood, so I placed an order at Saffron. When I arrived to collect my food, I thought the business was closed. The only light inside was coming from a tv frozen on some sort of menu screen, there were no other customers, and there was no sign or smell of food being prepared, despite it being dinner time on a weeknight. There were two people slouched at the bar with no food or drinks in front of them, apparently family or else shabby, shiftless employees. They glanced over their shoulders at me, rather disagreeably, shouted one indecipherable word toward the kitchen, then showed me the backs of their heads again, as I stood like a fool in the empty darkness. A man eventually walked out from the kitchen area, holding a ramshackle bag and wearing a sour frown. He plopped the bag in front of me, asked for a price that was very high, I thought, being at least 150% of the total I expected from the menu online. He had not quoted me a price over the phone, though I suppose I should have inquired, and the one he asked for in person might have been pulled from thin air, since there was no itemized receipt or any visible figuring on his part. Still, I paid it, and walked out with my dal makhani and vegetable biryani. I opened the containers in my car, and since both items looked suspicious, to say the least, I tried them before leaving the parking lot. First of all, I don’t know what I was given in place of dal makhani, but instead of being dark lentils and kidney beans in a creamy sauce, it was green (and I mean GREEN) slop in a bucket. As bad as it looked, it tasted worse. I had two bites each of that dal and the biryani (because the first bite of each was so horrible I couldn’t believe my taste buds and I needed a second bite for verification). Both dishes tasted remarkably similar, since both tasted like nothing besides serrano seeds and rancid grease. They weren’t even salted! There was no taste of ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, turmeric… or lentils or rice, for that matter… no flavor at all except for old grease and hot pepper. Honestly, after just two bites of each, I had a grease slag in my mouth that I couldn’t rid myself of for an hour. The food I received was fit for nothing but the trash can. I marched it back inside, dropped it on the bar and told the man who had collected my money (and had not yet roused himself to walk away from the cash register), «Both of these dishes taste terrible, and I’m not going to eat them, so you can throw them away yourself.» His only reply was, «what?» so I repeated myself, and then he turned to the two bar-​potatoes, they all shrugged in turns, and watched me walk away – never to return, I might add! I was $ 24 poorer, had no food, and no time to get more, but at least I didn’t disgrace myself by eating what I was served at Saffron.

New owner all bets are off. this was my favorite now recent reviews tell the story.

Prices online r not accurate. Prices increased months ago! Ripped me off by not telling me the total over the phone when I placed my order. Very upsetting. Raised the price of butter chicken from $ 8 to $ 12!!!

Was expecting average food when I went with a friend for lunch buffet but the taste amazed me.
Taste: It’s authentic Indian food (north indian to be specific). The best tandoori chicken have had in Chicago area till now
Ambiance: Simple but clean
Variety: Not many items but everything there was good. Wish they add variety to deserts
Cost: paid $ 11 so worth for the quality of food
Would definitely recommend if someone likes north indian food.

I used to love this place but after tonight, I no longer recommend it.
The butter chicken — which had been my favorite dish from here for years — had become super heavy, spicy and literally drenched in oil. I have had my fair share of Indian food in the past and have never seen anything THIS greasy. The garlic naan also went from soft and doughy to thin, hard and dry. But what really pushed it was the fact that they jacked up the prices to almost twice as much in less than a year — the butter chicken went from less than $ 8 to $ 13! Seriously, over $ 20 for an entrée with side in a «casual» carryout place and the food did not even taste like it used to? PASS!

Saffron is such a great name for an Indian restaurant but unfortunately, I was left disappointed.
After looking at pictures of Indian food for 20 minutes on the train, I couldn’t help but call in an order for take out. I decided to try Saffron since I haven’t had it before and it was on the way home. This marks the second place in the past month where I should have trusted my fellow Unilocalers. It was really disappointing.
For starters, the tikka masala was really sweet and oily. There was a layer of oil on top that no amount of mixing could get rid of. The rice in the biryani was overcooked and the dish lacked texture and spices. It desperately needed some fresh cilantro and crispy fried onions since they were no where to be found.
I’m skeptical of places that serve a dinner buffet because you never know if they are making your food to order or if they are just serving you from the buffet. This might have been the case because they have a dinner buffet on Tuesday nights.

I can’t say that I’ve tried a wide variety of Saffron’s menu, but if you read my review about Priya, then you know I am on the hunt for some decent Indian food in the Schaumburg area. That being said, I simply cannot find a Chicken Tikka Masala (Butter Chicken) that even comes close to comparing to that served at the now-​closed Taj Mahal.
While Saffron’s Butter Chicken ever-​so-​slightly satisfies the craving when it hits, it does leave a bit to be desired. It is super greasy and heavy. and the naan is kind of hard, not crispy or doughy. I’d have to give Saffron’s menu a few more chances before I would recommend or not recommend giving them a try, though. It is super close to home and the dish is consistent. I’ve also heard great things about their Chicken Tandoori Pizza… perhaps I’ll try that next!

Saffron has been on my list to try (again) for ages. I have eaten there once before, eons ago when it was one tiny storefront with all of 3 tables. I remember the food being good, but have wanted to go back since they had revamped their menu and expanded.
Enter disappointment.
It wasn’t the experience I had hoped for. The lovely Danielle S. joined me for dinner and we ordered naan, roti, Butter Chicken, Peas Pulao, and Palak Paneer. The roti and naan were standard — nothing special, and I had hoped they would have been a little softer. Everything was very spicy and the waiter looked at me as if I had 3 heads when I told him so. I’m a white girl, yo. I’m sensitive to spice! The flavors were pretty good, but the food was overly greasy. Eww. I enjoyed the Peas Pulao rice, and for $ 5.99 you got a plate that would serve 8 people. No exaggeration.
The ambiance? It’s dive-​y. Poorly decorated. Dimly lit. And freezing cold. That about sums it up. Oh — and let us not forget the gigantic TV screens blaring a soccer game in a language I could not identify or understand. In the hour and and half we were there, only one other table filled up, and no one came in for take out.
The service was good. Our waiter was friendly and attentive, and tried to ensure we were happy customers.
If you’re looking for quick, cheap, spicy, and very heavy Indian food, Saffron is the place for you. As for me, next time I’m looking for some good Indian fare, I’ll stick to some of my tried and true spots.

I am by no means an Indian food connoisseur, but I do know what good food, good service, and good atmosphere are like. Saffron was about a 2.5 stars, pushing towards 3.
The first thing we noticed was how cold it was — I think they barely had the heat on. We could sit anywhere we liked (some of the tables still had not been cleaned up). We did not have silverware at the table, and we were served water that tasted very strange. It was also very dimly lit. We decided to try and look past the experience and focus on the meal.
Their menu is not the most extensive I have seen, but their prices are cheap. We ordered the naan, roti, Butter Chicken, Peas Pulao, the the Palak Paneer. The naan was not as soft as we would have liked it, but it wasn’t horrible. The Butter Chicken was very good, but a tad on the spicy side (we forgot to order it white girl style). I’ve had better Palak Paneer, and the Peas Pulao was a HUGE portion, probably triple what we needed. The food was overall mediocre — not bad. But I wouldn’t come rushing back.
The service was mediocre as well. The first guy we had was not very attentive and talked very fast — we were trying to get explanations as to what everything was since they don’t have descriptions on the menu. The second guy we had was very nice, attentive, and wanted to make sure everything was good. Had we had him as the server the whole time, I think I would have been happier.
Not my best Indian food experience, but it was worth a try!

I had a good experience here. I had the lunch buffet, and the tandoori chicken was perfectly charred, the butter chicken was delicious, as was the pepper chicken. The rice was great and there were three different types.
Everything was delicious and I’ll definitely be back.

this place used to be our favorite indian place in the ‘burb. I still remember its butter chicken and tandoori chicken pizza!
we went there couple of days ago and it was awful. they just changed the owner! food selection became a lot more limited from two full pages to two tiny pages. They don’t even have Naan. We ordered Paratha instead. they came soaking in oil. we ordered some curry dishes including butter chicken. It was all ok-​below average. i won’t go back there again.

Great take out food, great portions, fresh flavor.
I have had their takeout twice and I am really impressed. I am reserving their possible fifth star for a shot at their buffet that I will be trying in the near future. I really like their use of spices and their generous portions of meat. Their naan are a little smaller than I am accustomed to but they make up for it in flavor and texture. This place is worth a try if you like Indian food.

Saffron used to be my favorite go to place for indian food. That is, until yesterday.
Since the remodel, their quality of food has gone down completely. The samosas tasted like they were frozen and thawed out (not crispy at ALL, not even in the slightest), the kadhi had a disgustingly pungent taste that literally curled my stomach. The aloo baingan looked like mystery slop they serve at a dog food factory. The vegetable biryani felt like it was a few days old as well as undercooked so it had crunchy bits in it (maybe to compensate for the samosas?). I spent 80 dollars there, and literally would have been better off spending 80 dollars at taco bell.

Saffron gets 5 stars from me for three reasons:
1. DELICIOUS foods
2. Reasonable prices
3. THEY DELIVER!
My husband and I wanted to order in last week but we couldn’t decide what to get. Pizza, meh. Thai food is good but we just had that. I don’t like Chinese food. What to do???
We got on GrubHub and learned an amazing fact: Saffron delivers!
Within an hour, a pile of butter chicken, paneer tikka masala, tadka dal, naan and rice was delivered to our door for under $ 40. We had tons of food– more than enough left for lunch the next day and then some, and it was all delicious!
The paneer tikka was full of delicious chunks of cheese. The naan was soft and delicious. AND THE BUTTER CHICKEN. O-​M-​G, Saffron’s butter chicken is the best ever! It has amazing amounts of flavor and even a little spice in what is usually a mild, sometimes boring dish. It was so, so tasty!
Everything we had was fresh and delicious and I can’t wait to have it again, either at home or in the restaurant!

My boyfriend and I came into this establishment on a rainy day, excited for warm food and a comfortable atmosphere. Unfortunately, it was FREEZING inside (it seems like the place isn’t well insulated), so we had to eat in our jackets the entire dinner. This did not make me happy.
The service was okay. The guy who greeted us and then became our waiter wasn’t very friendly and didn’t really check with us a lot.
The food was pretty good. I asked for it to be a little more spicy than usual, and I got a realllllly spicy dish full of cut up, small hot peppers (so I couldn’t really fish them out). I got the malai kofta and my boyfriend got the chicken masala. He really enjoyed his food. I think mine was good – in between the gulps of water and my burning mouth. I took most of it home as left overs and mixed the rest of it with ample amounts of rice and it tasted much better.
The price is pretty good. We ordered samosas (really good), two orders of naan, some rotis and white rice. This was more than enough in addition to our two entrees. I think we had like 3 individual pieces of naan left over, and we are big naan eaters.
overall, it is a nice place. next time, they should be more clear on how hot they make their food, be friendlier and turn on the heat.

I decided to give this place another chance since it was the only nearby Indian restaurant open at 4pm. The frustration began with the phone call to order carry out. The person on the other end actually became impatient and snippy with me when I stammered to remember the phone number of my partner who would be picking up the order. Ugh!
I asked for «mild» to see if they could now do it. They said they could, but when I saw the order, it was obvious that they had simply added water to the two dishes. It wasn’t even mixed in well, so some of it floated at the top. (For the record, other Indian restaurants have no problem adding more veggies or cream, which tempers the spiciness while maintaining great flavor and consistency.) That wasn’t the end of it. Even setting aside the watered-​down issue, the spinach in the Palak Paneer was nasty – totally devoid of spinach flavor, like canned or extremely overcooked spinach. The dish was overwhelmed with ginger pieces as if to compensate for the spinach. The lentils in the Tadka Daal seemed similarly overcooked and did not have tomatoes as the description stated. It was a odd yellow color, not the rich red-​brown shown in the photo on their website.

Saffron will not win any awards for its décor. The place is adorned with cheap furniture and posters of food items tacked to the walls. What it lacks in ambiance, it more than makes up for with the food. The butter chicken was the best I have ever tasted. The paneer tikka masala, their fusion take on chicken tikka masala, was creamy and delightful. Their mutton masala contained a lot of bone but as one of my lunch mates pointed out, the bone makes the dish that much tastier. All these items were relatively inexpensive.
Amit, the owner, quit a lucrative job as a software developer to open up this hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant. He was sick of the cubicle life and wanted to pursue his passion. I, for one, am glad he had the gulab jamuns (the Indian equivalent of cojones, or at least what I think it should be) to quit his desk job. I know I’ll continue to benefit from his career change as I plan on eating my way through the many items on the Saffron menu.

I pass by here all the time and finally went to lunch there on Monday. Which, if you’re familiar with it, is a no-​no because they only do carry out on Mondays… :) But they were so nice they let us stay since it was only two of us, and the food was delicious plus we had a lot to take home.
The Butter Chicken was spicy buy flavorful and I loved the paratha bread and anise/​caraway rice. Yes, they’re extra, but the prices are so low it really isn’t a big deal. The Chicken Masala was also tasty, and a bit less spicy. I highly recommend Saffron for its prices and friendly staff, and most importantly, for the delicious food!