Saffron

I will admit that I really liked Saffron. We went as a family, and as we were greeted by the staff, who were all tidily uniformed and ever so nice, there was a generally nice relaxed vibe about the place, which is good points fodder in my opinion. I hate eating out at places that require me to stand on ceremony and sit as if there is a rod up my back. A place you can turn up to in jeans is alright by me. Don’t get me wrong the place wasn’t anything you could describe as scruffy, in fact, rather the opposite, it was nice and shiny and smelled of food. Bingo! As it was Sunday, we hit the mega buffet, and mega it was. £8.95 per person, and you could go back as many times as your belly or your shame would allow. With a steady flow of vegetarian friends, I was pleased to scan over the vegetarian options and see there was more than the token vegetable offering. Score! There are the traditional dishes that everyone knows, and there are a few tongue twisters that you might not order if it weren’t for the fact you weren’t bound to eat it as your only choice. There’s a steady stream of starters, mains and sides for the palette’s delectation. There are also tasty deserts to tempt you if your belly will allow. There’s a fully licensed bar if you fancy the beer and curry combo, or water jugs on hand if you’re trying the spicier of options.
Under a tenner a head for an all you can eat fest. Bargain.

Saffron has that sort of generic restaurant/​takeaway appearance that means most people wouldn’t give it a second glance when walking past it, which is a shame as this restaurant offers a good selection of tasty food at reasonable prices, if not the most sophisticated of dining experiences. I’ve only ever eaten takeaway from here, but the restaurant looks nice enough, if a little bland — the sort of décor that seems commonplace for cheapish Indian joints around Leeds. The food however is surprisingly good; there’s a huge choice of vegetarian dishes, which I found appealing, and more unusual items like kasmiri sabzi — mixed vegetables cooked with cream, banana, lychees and pineapple — alongside the more typical masal and daal. They also do a good thali, which seems to be missing from many Indian menus, and some British dishes for the milder palette. Prices are what you’d expect from this sort of venture and very similar to most other Indian eateries in the area, but the food is of a higher quality than your average takeaway grub. If you like your food hot, try the chilli naan — it’s delicious, but keep a glass of water close by!