Saffron: perhaps best for take-out

Our local food critic gave Saffron such a positive review that it's been on my to-try list for some time. The dinner menu looked good and interesting. The Executive Chef's pedigree was beyond reproach. So it was with some hope and anticipation on Saturday night that we ventured to the Morrisville strip mall that houses the restaurant.

The reservation process should have warned me what to expect.

Reservation man: Saffron.
Me: I'd like to make a reservation for four for Saturday night.
Reservation man: Name?
Me: Mark Van Name
Reservation man: You spell.
Me: V-A-N
Reservation man: No. You spell first name.
Me: M-A-R-K
Reservation man: Okay. Phone.
Me: [my mobile number]
Reservation man: Okay. You done.
Me: I didn't tell you the time.
Reservation man: You come seven o'clock. [click]

Fortunately, seven was a fine time for us, so we showed up then.

The place was loud and, with tile floors and no sound baffling, only going to get louder, but we could live with that, though conversation was difficult in the beginning and became nearly impossible as the restaurant reached about sixty percent of its capacity.

The menu was indeed promising, and the appetizers we chose were quite good. We became hopeful. Service was spotty but tolerable, and we thought it might improve.

Then the main courses dribbled out, the servers forgot one whole dish, beverage service was hit-or-miss, and one item, which the menu described as being crispy and involving tomatoes, was not crispy and had never even passed near a tomato.

Overall, the food was good enough that we'd eat it again, but only for take-out. The staff was polite greeting us and showing us out, but for most of the meal the service varied between oblivious and mediocre. With so many good restaurants now in our area, that's just not good enough.