Saffron Valley East India Cafe
| Address: | 26 E St E, Salt Lake City, UT 84103, USA |
| Phone: | +1 801-203-3325 |
| Site: | saffronvalley.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | Closed 11AM–3PM 11AM–3PM 11AM–3PM 11AM–3PM 11AM–4PM 11AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
DI
Dive Rightin
*** Update 11/6/2016 Pongal, Sambhar and Rasam (sour tomato soup) were really good. Those were tasty enough to give todays service four stars, but the pongal got over soon and was replaced by vermicelli!......Really? The green Kurma and the ice-cream tasted good. Rest were ok. It was crowded and noisy today. Understandably, the plates and cups were slow to be replaced. However, they could have used paper plates or cups during rush times, so that the customers dont have to wait in queue for the plates/cups to arrive. After all these years, you would expect them to handle such situations with ease....hmmm. Btw, the cutlet tasted weird. Is it the oil or the flour? Anyway, it sucked. Overall, it was OK. That one serving of pongal was worth it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ** Update: 2016/07/11 I went on a Saturday for the buffet. Unfortunately, the food was back to its customary blandness. Even the coconut chutney was old and way diluted. They put a very little serving spoon in it, as if people are going to take multiple servings of that. This came as a surprise, as I had earlier given four stars (I am deducting two now). The people who run this place must understand that customers like Consistency. You are only as good as your last service. If I want to eat less flavorful food with negligible sodium, I would go to Subway. Why do I want to come to you? If you are going to be consistently bland and tasteless, so be it. At least, I would avoid it. I want to feel good about what I am eating...so disappointing and complete waste of money! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **** Let me tell you where I am coming from, so you can gauge my review. Im a South Indian, who appreciates a good vegetarian food. During the initial days, when they opened the Saffron Valley, the food used to be excellent. But they underwent a crisis of identity and started experimenting their recipes/ menus to taste more and more Americanized or best Indo-American (bland!). I guess it was to appease their American customers. I cant blame the previous chef. I had eaten his preparations and it was awesome, when being loyal to his background. Their branch at Downtown was no good either. They couldnt even serve a good dosai. So, I stopped going there for a few years. Recently, I thought Id give it another chance. I was pleasantly surprised! I ate at their Downtown branchs Sunday buffet on two occasions now and I have to say the vegetarian items are quite good. The Sambhar, Idli, Pongal, Onion Pagoda (first few items on the buffet table) were tasty and remained true to the South Indian taste buds. I went for second helpings! The Rasam (soup) was awesome. The spice and salt levels were appropriate. It brought pleasant memories to a person, who is so far away from home. For people who are unfamiliar with South Indian recipes, the Sambhar and Rasam could also be liberally mixed with white rice and eaten with the fried white Appalams/ Pappads (sides, located at the end of the buffet table). The Sambhar and the white cocconut chutney goes as a good side to Idli (cloth-covered steamed rice cakes) too. The green Kulfi and tea was pretty good! I didnt even get to taste the other vegetarian items on the menu. I was full and satisfied. They may consider adding Paruppu/ Ulundu Vadai to the table, instead of Sambudani. The kothu Parotta is best, when prepared fresh....but, its still ok. I hope the management read this review. Let the chief be true to his upbringing and dont mess around making any changes, at least to the South Indian items on the menu.
PA
Patriot oftheWorld
The Place and the Look of the Restaurant from outside is S T U P E N D O U S! Saffron Valley the name is Impressive. The Food here is not worth even a Dollar for the taste. Two Stars for the Place and Name only. No Stars for Food. Why do people go to a restaurant? to fill their stomach or to fill others pockets? I walked all the way from City Center trying to locate this restaurant which was rated best Indian restaurant for last few years or from their inception maybe. People go to restaurant for good food, not just the ambiance, hospitality or look. Taste is the most important part of food anywhere. There is no taste in any of the varieties Safforn Valley serves according to the taste standards of India. If you are looking for authentic taste of Indian food, I recommend everyone to go to Indian restaurants where there are more Indians than Americans or others. This is not even close to any Indian standards in taste. Suggestions for Improvement -- A South Indian cooking North Indian Tandoori food and North Indian cooking South Indian food does not bring any good taste to either. Bring in both South Indian and North Indian chefs/cooks for respective tastes of food. Please provide Quality Taste of Indian Authentic Food when you have such good ratings and claim to have researched so much. Thank You Patriot of the World
SU
Sunny Bose
Saffron Valley does have variety. After checking their reviews out, we headed out for dinner there. Being true-blue Indians (pun intended) we tried the chaat first. Its funny how puris are called poppers, but they were tasty. The golguppe fancily termed as pani poppers were nice, though we thought the meetha sauce lacked a bit of zing. The lovely chicken-65 was cooked in typical Chennai fashion- no regrets there either. The clear winners were the Kebabs. The Salmon kebab tasted fabulous while the chicken kebab was at its best. For mains we had the Three pepper kadai Lamb, Chicken tikka curry, naans and Hyderabadi biryanis. The biryanis could have been more flavorful - but catering to a wide range of Americans as well, we thought they kept the spice down consciously in order to not burn the western tongue. We werent too keen on the Indian desserts, but did end up having a glass of Mango Lassi each -now these, are to die for. Creamy yoghurt and mangoes blended with some sugar and saffron were the perfect end to a good indian meal. Service is ok, good in fact if you want to be left undisturbed and have a good time.
BR
Bryan Uhri
Ive eaten here twice in the last few months and have never been disappointed. Food: Phenomenally delicious and fresh. The lunch buffet offers a wide variety of authentic dishes for the spicy and savory pallet. The perfect blend of spices on the tandoori chicken is top notch and the fresh naan was delivered to the table. The dinner menu also does not disappoint offering various options for all with an empty stomach and taste for Indian food. Service: Exceptional as well. There is never a shortage of staff and they promptly saw to all my needs. Atmo: I love the exterior as it appears to break the surrounding mold. Once inside wood beams contrast a dark ceiling and Edison bulb light fixtures whisk you away to a far away escape. A sign at the door states to leave prejudice outside and I cant think of a better place to enjoy the scenery, the people and, most importantly, the food.
L.
L. P.
Very few choices for lunch buffet. Nan was dry and crunchy. Sauces very tomato-y. Nothing like the creamier sauces at other Indian places. Most everything had same basic spicing. Not much variety. Its just mediocre, nothing special. Tandoor Grill and Copper Bowl have a far better buffet and menu. Its more authentic. In fact, my neighbors who are originally from India had their daughters wedding in the canyon last summer. Tandoor Grill catered the event. It was superb! Hope Saffron Valleys new location on 21st South is better. I wish them well. If not to your liking, drive a few blocks to 3300 South and get food at Tandoor Grill. You wont be disappointed.
