Saffron Restaurant Review

Most people who attend Kalamazoo College have heard of the infamous “K-Bubble.”  Our students are notorious for being unmotivated and unwilling to leave campus for things like shows, parties, and even restaurants.  Despite this, Saffron, an Indian restaurant located just northwest of campus on West Main, is somewhat of a hot spot for students who do wish to pop the K-Bubble and adventure off-campus.

Saffron, which describes itself as a restaurant of “Fine Dining Indian Cuisine,” has a classy and open atmosphere.  The artificial lighting within the restaurant is dim, but the large windows at the front of the establishment allow for sunlight to stream in and aid in the lighting of the restaurant.  The walls are covered in beautiful pieces of artwork, all of which seem to fit with the restaurant’s Indian theme.  The walls and furniture are mostly dark shades of brown and beige, but bright vibrant oranges and reds pop out periodically as accents.

Saffron offers two distinct dining options.  A lunch buffet is available during the day, running from noon until 2:00 or 2:30 (depending on the day of the week), and the restaurant closes after this is over.  The next few hours are spent preparing for dinner, and Saffron reopens for the evening at 5:00.  I’ve only had the opportunity to eat at Saffron’s lunch buffet, which, despite the high-class atmosphere and expensive price-tag, was altogether unremarkable.

The buffet table, which sat in the center of the restaurant, had only 10 chaffing dishes clustered atop of it.  Upon further inspection, it became clear that almost half of these were filled with side dishes or deserts.  The array of entree choices was limited, and most of the dishes proved to be disappointing.

Two different kinds of rice adorned the buffet table, a yellow one which was dubbed “Saffron Rice” and a white one described as “Plain Basmati Rice.”  However, had it not been for the stark color difference, these two dishes would have been very difficult to tell apart.  The yellow rice was almost flavorless.  The only thing that keeps me from calling it bland was the presence of the plain rice to which I could compare it.  Perhaps this was intentional though; the rices served the purpose of mixing with the other dishes well.  Next to the white rice sat a dish filled with Naan, Indian flatbread.  It was fluffy, flavorful, and delicious; one of the saving graces of the buffet.

There were only two meat options on the table, Tandoori Chicken and Lamb Keema.  The Tandoori Chicken seemed to be made from high quality meat; it was juicy, fresh, and perfectly flaky.  It was definitely one of the more tasty options available, but even this dish had its drawbacks; the seasonings were sparse, usually covering only one side of each chicken cube, and it was sometimes hard to taste the spices at all.  The Lamb Keema, which sat to the left of the Tandoori Chicken on the buffet table, was rather disgusting to look at.  It had the appearance of elementary school cafeteria ground taco meat, complete with a dull film which developed over the top the longer it sat out on the buffet table and a questionable orange liquid that leaked from it onto the rest of my plate.  I decided to sample this unappetizing goop against my better judgement; it was much too tangy for my taste, with the only real distinguishable taste being that of the lamb itself.

The Channa Saag, a dark brown vegetarian dish filled primarily with chick peas, was the spiciest thing on the buffet.  This is not saying much, however, because I could only begin to taste the heat in this dish after a couple of bites.  The Channa Saag had a thick, porridge-like consistency to it.  The chick peas were well-cooked, and though this meal had a full flavor to it, it did not linger; the only perceivable aftertaste was the twang from the spice.

The Mutter Paneer was a similar dish filled with peas and white rectangular lumps that I was later told was a type of cheese.  This had a consistency closer to soup, and was actually quite delicious.  It was not very spicy, and it had two distinct and strong flavors to it, one from the sauce and the spices and one from the peas themselves.  The Mutter Paneer was particularly good when spooned onto a piece of the sensational Naan.

The only cold dish (besides the dessert which I’ll get to later) was an array of fruits and vegetables called Saffron’s Sensational Salad.  Despite this cute wordplay, the salad was anything but sensational.  It was a bizarre mixture of flavors; it paired apples and grapes with onions and tomatoes and covered the whole thing in oil, vinegar, and a spice that may have been pepper.  The ingredients were all visibly fresh and beautiful, but this odd mixture of flavors was not well executed at all.

The final dish which I sampled was the Badami Kheer, an almond rice pudding.  This sweet dessert was absolutely phenomenal.  This was, without a doubt, the highlight of the buffet.  It looked rather unappetizing-- it was white and runny and not well-distinguished from the buffet’s other contents--and I almost passed it up.  The second I tasted the first bite, though, was bliss.  It was rich, sweet, and creamy, with soft pieces of rice and little bits of almonds providing a contrast of texture.  This desert was well worth it, and I was glad that this was the last flavor in my mouth.

The service at Saffron, like the decor and atmosphere, was top-notch.  The servers were friendly and sociable, but also courteous; they did not hover near the tables when they were not needed, allowing the opportunity for serious conversations to bloom between patrons.  The buffet, too, was replenished regularly.  I caught the tail end of it, but fresh food continued to be put out on the buffet table even within five minutes of the buffet’s closing time. 

All in all, Saffron had a strange dichotomy about it.  It was well-maintained, the food was fresh, and the atmosphere was positive and peaceful.  Despite all of these things, though, the food was, for the most part, unsatisfying.  The few good dishes were not enough to counter-balance the general blandness and lack of choices that the buffet had, and it’s doubtful that I would go back of my own accord.