Hole in the wall sounds appropriate to me - but don't let that stop you. some of the best Indian food in Asheville. Wonderful, attentive service. Bar service was excellent. Food was fantastic. Our party of 4 each tried a different dish - everyone was very happy. My Vindaloo was nice and spicy - I ordered the "medium". Don't know if I could have handled "hot". Portions were large, prices are great. Glad to add Saffron to the North Asheville list, getting better every day. We will be back, and often!! read more

I promise I am not reviewing ever meal I have had here. I am still supportive of this local Indian spot and rooting for them to come into their own. Slowly they are making a few upgrade inside but mostly it still looks like a bar with bad lighting. So you haven't missed the hole in the wall vibes yet. I have tried several dishes now. The menu has changed a bit already. At times they can send out dishes that are too salty or light on meat. They are not afraid of making a dish spicy. The chicken dishes are a strong suit. The sweet Manchurian shrimp app is good. The samosa is still good. A vindaloo I ordered arrived scarlet red and spicy. They even have a vegan dessert option! read more

Great buffet selection. The Goan fish curry was authentic and other curries with unique flavors. Probably one of the bigger selections of unique dishes for Indian buffets in AVL. Gulab Jamu and rice pudding were perfect. Raita and coconut chutney for sides. Veg Biryani. What more could you want. The tandoor chicken was a little dry but the flavor was good. All in all I'll go back and at a really fair price. Good job Saffron! read more

I love the food here! The place is so cute and comfortable. The food is amazing and so is the hospitality. I can't wait to try their weekend buffet. I usually just order to go. Today while i waited for my order, the owner kindly gave me veg pakoras to sample and I love them!!!! I will definitely add them to my next order! They also offer you water while you wait. What hospitality. The food is always fresh and very delicious. I always want to order from here. Can't wait to be back. read more

Saffron India - Steamed rice - Indian Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

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I went in to order and carry out. Casual and comfortable traditional Indian restaurant atmosphere. To those of us who know, the remnants of the Barrel House remain. The food was fantastic, as others have described. Reasonable portions at very reasonable prices, too. Definitely on our go to list now! Highly recommended. read more

Great experience. Wonderful staff. I got the aloo gobi and my wife the chicken biryani. Both were incredible. Absolutely delicious and will be back. 10 out of 10 read more

We had takeout - butter chicken, mutter paneer, naan and samosas. All of them absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to go back. Just better/different than most Indian food I have had, and I love Indian. The bar looked great with plenty of good beer on tap (shout out to Jai Alia!) so great for couples to cozy up and have a drink as well. read more

The food was fresh and it tasted good. We started with the samosa chaat followed by Chicken Kolhapuri. Both were excellent. The service was great too. They were very welcoming. I will definitely come back. read more

The furnishings here are pretty minimal. It's the old, somewhat rundown Barrell House with a few Indian flourishes added. Just know you're not going here for the atmosphere; you're here for very good Indian food in a friendly, family-run environment. We started with an appetizer of chili chicken. It was a large enough serving it could have been an entree. The chicken pieces were tender. The green peppers were absolutely lovely. The chili sauce had a touch of sweetness from the soy, but a good amount of heat from the chilis (we ordered it Medium heat), tempered a bit by the ginger. On top were green onions and sesame seeds. You could taste all the different spices. It was an excellent way to start our meal. For mains, we ordered 3 dishes. First was chicken tikka masala. We always order this at a new Indian restaurant in the same way some people order lasagna at a new Italian restaurant: it's a great way to establish the restaurant's baseline. Here, we found the masala sauce just a bit too much on the sweet side at first (again we had ordered medium heat). But an interesting thing happened: when we had a second taste after having other dishes, especially a more spicy chicken vindaloo, the masala sauce improved. It picked up a nice smoky taste rather than tasting as sweet. Whether that was from resting for a couple minutes or from exposure to the hotter dish, I can't say for sure. The chicken pieces were very tender and tasty. Speaking of the vindaloo, it was very good. The chicken itself seemed to have been cooked tandoori style prior to the sauce being added. That made for a great combination of the spicing on the chicken and the spicy vindaloo sauce. This had some real heat even as Medium because vindaloo by nature includes some hotter spices. There were a few small potatoes mixed in, as you would expect. The white rice served with these was nice and fluffy, with a few peas included. Last was a chicken biryani. While the serving size of the first two mains was ample, the size of the biryani was huge. You could eat this for a week. And I gladly would. My first impression of this was that it was good, but not great, at least compared to my favorite biryani from India Garden (also in Asheville). But as I ate more of it, it again grew on me. It's quite different from the one at India Garden, but very good in its own way. It's a bit heavier and with broccoli in it (the broccoli worked well in it). The chicken chunks in this dish were well seasoned, too. We usually like naan for soaking up sauce, but this time we chose onion kulcha instead of naan. It had a lot more character than a typical naan, even a garlic naan. Beer goes well with Indian food. We had 2 beers that were on tap from the former Barrel House: Blue Moon (great) and Salt Faced Mule (good, but a little on the light side). Finally, as a palette cleanser, we all shared a gulab jamun for dessert. The dough of the 3 dumplings was excellent. The sauce was not cloyingly sweet like it is at some Indian restaurants. Here it seemed to be more honey-based, so it was sweet, but light. That made for a very good ending to the meal. Service was good and prices are on par with other Indian restaurants in Asheville. It's great to have an Indian restaurant in the north of Asheville, as most are downtown, Tunnel Road or south. We'll definitely be back. read more

Saffron India - Chili chicken appetizer, finished with green onions and sesame seeds. - Indian Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

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We had a great night here. Fantastic service!! Amazing food! Nice ambiance! Loved the baby 5 stars read more

Saffron India - Restaurant - Indian Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

When they have enough money to renovate, these guys will start attracting the less ambitious diners. For now, it's that lucky hole in the wall that you happened upon. Went in for take out a couple weeks ago. Made the choice to try a dish I had never considered. Chicken Kolhapura. Good gravy, amazing blend of so many warming spices. Enough for me to enjoy for two days. I had to go back this week and get it again! I can't seem to edit what went well. Not ambiance FOOD and SERVICE five read more

We loved it. Delicious food. Professional & kind service. Very sweet owners. Easy going clientele; families, couples, friends. Relaxed atmosphere. Full disclosure, the building is old so look past the imperfections and give them a try. A little pricey (but good ingredients cost.) read more

Felipe's food. Warm and welcoming service. Very cheerful and festive atmosphere. Can't wait to go back

We really like Saffron Indian, it's good food with complex flavors and excellent service from the husband & wife proprietors.

We got takeout--fish madras and navratan korma with naan. They were wonderful! Such amazing flavors, though a warning that medium spicy actually is pretty spicy. In addition to being delicious, the portions were large. I would highly recommend this restaurant! read more

Today, while searching for a "take away" place which does not yet have dine in, we happened upon Saffron India. Serendipity to be sure! Met Mom: Minu with baby Harjot in tow and Dad: Sonny and trust me, we are fortunate to have this new dining spot in N. Asheville. We started with the Chicken Pakoras served with Tamarind sauce made in house and stellar. They were absolutely delicious and perfectly cooked by chef, Joshua. Next, for my husband, a foray into Chicken Biryani profuse in amount, lovely veggies and spot on seasoning. My husband was so taken with the Tamarind sauce, he used it on this dish. Another spot on perfect rendering lastly...My absolute fave: Chicken Tikka Masala with white, perfectly executed rice. Naan is a side item but no Tikka Masala for me would be complete in its absence. We left this jewel dining experience with enough food for dinner, completely stuffed and thrilled with having gotten to meet the family Singh who have not only skilled and delicious dining in mind for their customers but also are planning many exciting changes for the coming year regarding both menu options and decor upgrades. W will see all of them again....SOON. read more