You can count on Indian restaurants for hot and spicy food, vegetarian choices, and Kingfisher beer (if there’s alcohol at all). But décor, you don’t expect much. Saffron House, on Addison’s restaurant row, stands as an exception, with its brick- and saffron-colored walls, banquette seating, and sculpted Indian figurines.
Prices matched the decor. Dinner for two, plus a single glass of wine, totaled $55 before tip. An $8.95 appetizer sampler amounted to a couple of vegetable samosas, crisp pastries filled with potato and pea, and a smattering of pakoras, fried vegetable fritters made with onion and potato.
Tandoori mixed grill, sizzling on a skillet like fajitas, revealed shortcomings at the art of cooking meat. Whether lamb or chicken, drumstick or thigh, it all seemed cooked too long, while green peppers and onions were barely cooked at all.
But rice flecked with spices looked fetching in its hammered bowl, and it tasted good, too. And Saffron does dosas, the crisp, delicate South Indian crepe rolled around fiery hot, spicy mashed vegetables. To offset the heat: a sweet, cooling chutney made of grated coconut.
Get contact information for Saffron House.
