One of the really best Sri Lankan restaurants, you don't find restaurants this good often. Price is…read moreone step towards the middle higher end and food full of flavor. Haven't tried everything for this restaurant yet, however Lamb madras curry is definitely a whackbang of garlic and spices. Honestly not a big fan of Indian food, however this restaurant is something special that can lurk me into it with the food smell spreading across the street. Service is really great, polite and efficient.

Decent food, friendly staff and good set of vegetarian options. Visited couple of times during a…read morebusiness trip and was able to try few different types of dishes

At first glance this restaurant at one end of the Ivanhoe shopping precinct appears to be like any…read moreother Indian restaurant. Similar décor. Service. Music. However, where it differs is the standard of food. The food is delicious, authentic and well priced, which is why Cafe Saffron is so popular. Cafe Saffron offered a range of banquets which are great value if you arrive starved or if you want a range of dishes! Visit Cafe Saffron with a large group so you can order many dishes and have a little (or a lot) of each. If this isn't an option pretty much any dish will sate your hunger and have you licking your lips. They offer a range of vegetarian options as well as chicken, lamb, beef and seafood dishes. I cannot single one dish out over the others as they are all well made and deserving of your attention. Overall, Cafe Saffron are a good value and consistent option. Drop by for the lunch specials or pick up take away. They also deliver locally. But don't forget my favourite, the garlic naan!

It's the fresh spices that make the difference. Cafe saffron has some of the best Indian food I've…read moreeaten. Everything is fresh and of good quality. The flavours reflect the fresh ingredients and always leave you wanting more. Both eat in and take away are available. It's a real surprise packet as the food is just that good, it should be in the CBD charging more. But we'll happily keep it here as our local.

Food - Generous and tasty Value for money - Excellent…read moreAmbience -Spacious but could do with an upgrade of interiors

Poor food with very poor hospitality. Food was not fresh and the staff is very rude. The food was…read moresour, literally stale. Worst indian restaurant in Melbourne

Food was really good! We ordered the chicken tandoori, butter chicken, garlic cheese Naan, saffron…read morerice, sweet and sour vegetable soup. It was phenomenal and so delicious. We ordered the chicken to medium spice levels and found that perfect for us. Also, the value for the portion size is really good. I highly recommend this resturant and would come again. Service was very attentive and lovely.

Aangan is located on a street full of competing restaurants with enticing cuisines from the western…read moreand southern parts of India. Aangan tries to do it all with an extensive menu featuring street style food "chaat", indo-Chinese food, South Indian masala dosas, goan fish curry, lots of veggie North Indian options and meat curries with choice of lamb, goat or chicken. Their beverage menu is equally extensive with various types of lassi. The typical salted, sweet and mango lassis are found on the menu but you can additionally order their mixed masala lassi, mixed fruit lassi and even jaljeera. The restaurant has an extensive wine and spirits list too. Portion sizes are large for the price you pay. Aangan means courtyard and though you enter a large enclosed restaurant there is also an attached courtyard with long tables that may be used to host functions. We ordered the chaat platter with our choice of three chaats. We got the samosa, papdi and aloo tikki chaat. The aloo tikki was the most delicious out of the three. Tender potato patty with a smoky flavour in a creamy yoghurt, tamarind and coriander chutney sauce with sliced onion, tomatoes and boiled chickpeas. The samosa filling was above average but not amazing. Papdi chaat could do with a kick to it. The goat madras curry now was one of the best curries I've had. Didn't taste like pataks. Not creamy or buttery sauce. Just a really thick masala sauce with tender pieces of goat and strong but not overpowering fllavours of mustard. The thick garlic naan was equally delicious. We couldn't have enough. Even though I was full I had to get to the bottom of the copper bowl holding the curry. I tried the masala lassi (arrived in a massive mason jar) which was as expected savoury and requires a palette that is acclimatized to drinking masala in yoghurt. The mango lassi was nice but sickly sweet. The dessert options include various flavours of kulfi, gulab jamun, carrot halwa and faluda. The faluda had a strong almost pungent flavour of rose syrup. And it was hard to finish. Should have been served in a sundae glass with a fork as the noodles were slippery. The service is polite, quick and attentive. Make a booking as the place got very full very quickly even on a public holiday. Patrons included both Indians and non Indians. They do lunch take away curry specials for 10 bucks. though some menu items can be worked on - I really enjoyed the food and service.

I like this place. It's simple but delicious Indian vegetarian food. And for those of you who think…read more"vegetarian" can't mean "filling" -- well, you need to try this place! The potatoes, lentils, chickpeas, rice, naan bread, and unlimited refills make for a very filling meal, and the flavours are very nice. Plus, you can't beat the price. It's $6.50 for all-you-can-eat vegetarian thali. It comes served in an ugly metal platter with raised partitions that makes you feel vaguely like you're in institutionalised home -- or prison. Luckily, all you have to do is look up and around you to realise that you're actually in a pleasant, cozy place -- the atmosphere is nice, cheap and cheerful, with brightly painted walls and a view out onto Elizabeth Street. They also have a variety of sides like samosas that you can order, as well as a few drinks (mango lassi, etc.) It's definitely authentic-tasting Indian food, as well -- as evidenced by the fact that many of the patrons here are Indian themselves. This place also supports the homeless -- anyone who is hungry and needs a meal but can't pay is welcome at Om for a free meal between 3pm and 5pm. For vegans, note that the vegetarian thali is all-vegan, but specify when you order so they make you vegan naan bread. (The naan bread by default is non-vegan, but they don't mind making it vegan for you.) Also, the mango lassi and a few of their desserts contain dairy, so just be aware. There are 4 locations of Om Vegetarian -- one near Southern Cross, one at Capitol Arcade between Collins and Little Collins, one at Wales Arcade between Collins and Flinders Lane, and this one (Elizabeth Street, just north of Flinders Street station). I've been to this one and the Capitol Arcade one and definitely prefer this one in terms of atmosphere. To get to this one, you have to go into the Gurkhas Institute Building and go up the stairs. It may seem a bit confusing at first, like you're going the wrong way, but you'll find it :) It's definitely worth it. (There are lifts as well.)

It's all about the naan. ALL ABOUT THE NAAN…read more Omg. Delicious bready goodness to sop up the amazing curry on your plate without shame as you eat with your hands. I don't know what the dishes are called and one day I plan to learn but it changes every month or so. If you ever find them serving a yellow curry yogurt potato dish PLEASE CALL ME. I have been hanging out for that to come back on the menu since forever. They also rock an excellent lentil dish and their spice/curry ratio is just perfect - enough to hit the taste buds but not to make you cry. Get on that mango lassi too - a sweet treat to balance out all that curry. Also don't be afraid to try the little sweet treats they put on your plate - I hesitated at the ghee nut and carrot mix that was sitting under my naan once but then it put it in my mouth and it was delicious. Apart from all the good food is the good vibes this place is rocking. Instant inner peace, well almost. And at $6.50... I actually couldn't ask for more from a place.

We stopped here for a quick dinner on my last night in Melbourne. It was cold and rainy outside…read more The restaurant was full of people and there were a couple of small tables outside. The place is not large but seems to use space efficiently. The girl at the counter said we could sit outside or, if we wanted there was a table for two that we could have for 45 minutes inside. We sat inside, ordered quickly and we're served quickly as well. The food was really tasty and we finished in about 46 minutes, not really feeling rushed, but they definitely wanted the table back for the reservation. We had the chaat platter and mixed grill... to get a sampling of their offerings in our limited time. The tandoori chicken was really excellent. I suggest making a reservation. Also, my cell phone had just about zero reception once we hit the small alley where this place is located, so be aware if you're trying to meet someone there.

Great food, fair prices, Very friendly staff! We had a Thali with three curries and chicken tikka…read more All was fantastic, especially the garlic naan!

Well, I have now been to this restaurant twice and it is simply yummy! For some reason, my first…read morewas not reccomended... Oh well, I can say the dal tadka was deliciously spicy and the chicken was tender and yummy the second time as well. Nirankar has some of the best butter chicken I have had outside India. I was impressed with the dal makhni as well. This restaurant has the best Indian food in Melbourne. Delivery to Southbank, fresh ingredients and excellent flavors makes this a return very soon for me and my family!!

I never go out for lunch with lunch usually being scoffed at my desk in front of my laptop as I…read morerespond to emails or write reports - so today was definitely a welcome change. It was good to walk into an empty restaurant at lunch hour as this would have meant quick and efficient service; however, Nirankar failed us in many ways. As we entered the place, we saw lunch specials from $9.90 and even as low as $8.50 on a chalkboard; however, we were handed dine-in (nothing was 9.90 on this) menus. When asked about the lunch specials which are $10 on their website, we were told that these no longer exist and are only from Mon-Wed. When I questioned them further about how then were these "weekday" specials, the waiter continued to say that the website needed to be updated. I thought this was quite unprofessional. I then asked what the chalkboard outside was for and he finally brought us "Lunch special menus" which actually started from $11.90. So the lunch bowl includes one choice of curry, rice, salad and "papa" (which I assume is pappadum and not a human being or an undiscovered plant). We ordered the butter chicken lunch bowl and the lamb rogan josh lunch bowl (where I asked to replace the rice with naan). For starters, we got 6 momos (Nepalese dumplings with a tinge of spicy tomato chutney) for $8.50. The momos take 10-15 minutes to steam which we were warned about. They were quite doughey but nice with mince chicken inside and a delicate spicy thick tomato chutney to dip them in. Our plates were slowly taken away and our lunch bowls brought. So, my friend's lunch bowl was soggy pappadum, butter chicken and rice with a leaf as salad. My naan arrived separately to my lamb rogan josh (which I appreciate) but no salad and pappadum. I felt cheated. The naan was delicious, the lamb rogan josh was just the right amount of spicy (so when you ask for very hot - you'll get an average spiced curry) and the butter chicken had a nice charcoal flavour to it without being too sweet (which I appreciate). Their tomato base in the lamb rogan josh was definitely fresh. The waitress tried to take away our plates while we were still eating. This place has potential but I think they need to work on a lot of factors such as false advertising on their website and customer service (the waiter was quite incoherent). Their food when compared to some restaurants I have been to in Melbourne is definitely above par - fresh and delicious!

A wonderful menu full of India delights from across the country. We tried several dishes from the…read moreexpansive Vegetarian section. The naan (we tried butter, garlic and Kashmiri) is equally amazing. The service is friendly, but much slower than expected.

The chicken 65 was so dry and deep fried with tough meat which made it difficult to eat. The goat…read morecurry and cheese naan also were stale or probably cooked from the ready to eat meals. All the family members who ate that have got food poisoning and have been vomiting or with motions. Highly disappointed after paying a hefty amount of more than 100$... not sure if there is any quality check that happens at these restaurants.