TL;DR5/5 Food1/5 service1/5 atmosphere2/5 costFood:Okay, before I delve into this the food was an absolute 5/5; the flavor was incredible, the heat was spicy and flavorful, the serving sizes were fairly generous, and myself and the large group we attended with were nothing but pleased with the food.Service:That being said, the staff was incredibly overly attentive AND UNCOMFORATBLE. There was no moment to breathe or enjoy each others company with one waitress consistently filling the water glasses quite literally every three sips. She would fill the glass non stop, interrupting conversation to do so. Politely we just declined, but slowly were growing more agitated with each approach.The waiter then came to take our orders, and he was incredibly uneasy to speak to. He was disheveled in appearance, generally jerky with his motions, and incredibly casually dressed. He did not make any of our guests feel comfortable at all, and looked either annoyed at our table or was outwardly rude in his tone.The staff then took it upon themselves to just stare at us from the far end of the restaurant. Very VERY VEYR uncomfortableAtmosphere:Arguably, people do not attend restaurants solely for the food. Most food you can make yourself or order to go, so atmosphere is incredibly important in creating an enjoyable eating experience, yet Saffron will NOT leave you feeling that unmistakably relaxing feeling of dining in a cozy, rich environment.There were gashes taken out of the wall on one side, and overhead the sound of horribly bland, tiring, ethnically-neutered elevator music haunted us. The dead, computer-generated, droning 'jazz' (?) was anything to be desired. That, coupled with the staff, made it difficult to enjoy our experience.COST:WOW. NEARLY $58 dollars to feed two people. Eating in Norfolk is a little expensive to begin with but for the food we were served the price was NOT justified. The automatic gratuity at 18% was frustrating, too. To be fair, the dishes with lamb or fish are $19 flat on the menu, but when you get your bill, you will see the meals were actually $19.50... a little misleading. Then, to make things even worse, the final bill had a QR code... if your phone does not scan QR (which, surprise, not all do) expect to be faced with a frustrated and annoyed employee.Overall, terrible experience, but great tasting food. Order to-go.
Bad service Bad food… first the food was really spicy and tasted below average.. second the experience was also below average.. the servers were clueless and not even interested to serve you… all they were interested were in getting you the check and make you pay right then and there. I was still having my food and the guy was jumping on my head to pay the bill.. came like 2-3 times…. Shud be 0 stars
Parked my Car in Public parking right besides bistro, if you are not local just drive in for 2 hrs free parking. I circled the place once before driving into the parking lot.Food is good, picked the combo option with Old Style Delhi Chicken curry, well prepared. Also had butter chicken which my daughter enjoyed the most with Garlic Naan.Would suggest to skip Gajar Halwa from combo menu somehow didn’t like the after taste, hence 4 stars.Mango Lassi is a treat, don't miss it.Loved the Ambience of this place.
I’ve tried many Indian restaurants around the country and this one was deliciously memorable. Generous cocktails, the biryani was on point, and we’ll be ordering the ‘samosa chat’ every time we go now. The staff was amazing as well!
Absolutely delicious! Nice variety on the menu and the garlic naan was amazing. Staff was very friendly.
Went to Saffron Bistro for date night last night. The food is incredible, the restaurant is spotless, and the the staff is welcoming and attentive. I have celiac and was so pleased that the majority of the menu is gluten free. Our servers were very kind and didn’t mind double checking for me that the items I ordered were gluten free. Can’t wait to go back!
VERY GOOD AMAZING TRADITIONAL INDIAN FOOD AND GREAT SERVICE. IF THIS RESTAURANT WAS CLOSE TO OUR HOUSE…WE’D GO THERE EVERY WEEK. EXCELLENT AMAZING DELICIOUS 10000/10
Beautiful place in Norfolk downtown for fine dining of Indian delicacies. I celebrated my birthday over here with my family and the experience was very nice. waiters and servers were very polite and attentive. We had ordered vegetarian food and it was excellent in all respects. Although naans were very buttery. Overall experience was very good.
Food is spicy so know your tolerance levels. I highly recommend the Tandoori wings.
My mother and I had a great experience at this restaurant! I ordered the Chana Masala and the waiter and staff took great care in making sure it was not too spicy for me. My mother got the butter chicken and we both agreed this was the best Indian restaurant we found here since moving from New Jersey. The Naan bread was very delicious as well. Highly recommend.