Saffron Indian Kitchen 5426 U.S. 280, Birmingham, AL 35242

"This place's lunch buffet was recommended to us, so we tried it out for the first time today. I guess it depends on what you look for in an Indian buffet.....for me, this wasn't it, but I can see why it may be for some. Let me break it down for you. If you are like me and what makes an Indian buffet is super fresh nann and yummy sauces to dip the nann in, then, well, go to Taj. I don't need a lot of variety or a lot of different proteins, I just need a few quality, fresh, yummy hot dishes and always hot and fresh nanns. Taj fits the bill. Saffron....not so much. You know they say first impression is the lasting impression? Well, it's true. We walked into the restaurant at 11:49am on a Friday. Hit the buffet immediately and the first thing we saw was a tray meant for nann. There were 6 pieces of nann in it. They looked flat, old, and cold. So I skipped over it temporarily, hoping it would be refilled. Got a little bit of about 9 different dishes to try and then circle back to the same sad 6 pieces of nann. So I got a couple as....well, a girl has got to have some nann. Maybe they will taste better than they look. So I sat down with my variety plate to try. Most items were cool to cold. Nann tasted as bad as it looked. I ended up with about 3 dishes out of the 9 that I thought were decent. Then fresh nann finally came out, so that was pretty good to go with the 3 decent dishes. Moving on to dessert. They have this mango ice cream that looked good, so I got some to try. It was like yogurt texture and cool but not icy. Later I saw a new pan and it was actually frozen, that's when I realized what I got wasn't how it was supposed to be, it was just that it has been there so long that it all melted. Lack of quality control was evident based on the cool/cold dishes and melted ice cream. I was not impressed overall and neither was my SO. So, under what situations would I go back to Saffron? Well, personally, under no situations. I don't want to have to keep an eye out for nanns, hoping some fresh ones will come out while I am having my meal. I also like all of my hot food to actually be hot and I found Taj to do a much better job in this area. However, if you don't care about fresh nann and you don't mind your food being on the cool/cold side, Saffron definitely does have more variety and is on par in terms of quality compared to most buffets. The restaurant itself is open and bright during the day. The employees are very nice and quick to clear dirty plates off of tables. No issues at all there!"

"Heard about this new Indian joint in town so we decided to check it out, it’s swankier than the old restaurant that used to be in it. Called in a take out order and they had it ready in 15ish minutes. Lots of seating inside, was met & greeted with what I assume were the owners, they were friendly & engaging and were obviously promoting their place. Food was delicious and wasn’t too spicy."

"Interesting though welcoming atmosphere (thanks to the extremely personable, Fedora-wearing co-host/owner), and delicious food. The service is otherwise good but could use a little more patience from servers re: dining payment. (Presenting the bill and then 15 seconds later coming back to the table to grab it, only to find it's not ready, and then coming back *again* in 15 secs...; we're not going anywhere, just give us a bit to let the food settle, finish up a conversation please.) Again, delicious cuisine but, honestly, I'm not sure if the offerings are very unique or uniquely prepared to warrant a visit if you're on the other side of the city. (There are so many wonderful options around town.) If in the area though, a solid selection for your Indian food fix."

"Went for dinner and the place looks very clean and modern. Tried the samosa chaat, gobi Manchurian, butter chicken, Bharta and some roti. Everything I tried was really good, gobi Manchurian and butter chicken were amazing. Had a good collection of Indian sweets. The owner was really helpful to narrow down food choices. Will definitely be back to try the lunch buffet."