One of the highlights of our trip to Walla Walla. Amazing, interesting food; friendly service, nice ambiance. We came in just in time -- Thursday, the day before Spring Release, and so glad we did. They were totally booked the rest of the weekend, with wait lists over 100 people long for every meal! The raviolo de Uovo is one of the most memorable dishes we have eaten - unbelievable! Duck 3 ways: braised, duck crackling, and soft duck egg w/ yolk that runs all over when you cut into it; filled with ricotta, tender fiddle head ferns, green garlic and mushrooms. We also tried the lamb tartar - amazing flavors - cilantro, mint, etc. The Guanciale flatbread (cured pork jowl w/ organic greens, white bean puree) - delicious, and the kobe beef cheeks -great. Add a couple bottles of great local wine and it was a perfect meal. read more

Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - The amazing Raviolo de Uovo w/ duck 3 ways - braised, duck crackling, and duck egg inside - Mediterranean Near Me - Walla Walla, Washington

We had a wonderful meal and experience at this beautiful and carefully designed restaurant. Three of us came with no reservation. It was early, and we were beyond thrilled that they made space for us, at a delightfully cozy table with a view of the kitchen. The owner was so kind, the food (calamari, asparagus, mushroom flatbread, cavatelli, black cod) were all delicious. Servers delivering our food and beverages commented on how cozy and happy we looked (we were!) The cocktails were perfectly balanced. When they were out of the wine I ordered, the server brought something comparable (and less expensive) that complimented the meal. We ended with an olive oil cake with the most incredible orange caramel ice cream. The owner spied us talking (rapturously) about the ice cream and promptly brought us another scoop. I can't imagine a better experience. That whole team worked hard and well together, producing incredible food and service. 10 stars. read more

Awesome food! Both of us ordered the same entree: Egyptian fried chicken! This was a truly a dish that one must order! Their service was really exceptional. We were a group of six, which obviously requires some advance reservation, but they managed to seat us (a couple in each table). They were truly friendly and welcoming. read more

Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - Mediterranean Near Me - Walla Walla, Washington

Eek! Methinks not is right! Dear Island Ainsworth, I've been a loyal customer everytime im in town, recommend you to all my friends and strictly love your food! Well..that was then in your small, low key, quiet and romantic location you had before. Now...you moved into a bigger, yet noiser location and lost all the charm you had before. Why? I hate to leave a bad review but, because of a miscommunication and poor handling on the your part, you cancelled my reservation and said I need to talk to my friends. (whom you said I should've made better choices) Who are you to judge? I made the reservation in advance and you should've honored it! I wouldn't have gone nor recommended your $hittie @$$ f$cking place knowing that we would be treated like we're beneath you. I don't really understand your frustration, maybe the stress from moving, but you should not take it out on people who want to experience your restaurant. We just wanted to eat. Duh! Island, why do you have a bad attitude? When we call and make a reservation you have a short fuse calling people rude when you seriously are! It will not get you anywhere in life and maybe you should take a break. Go get help, maybe a long vacation, but most importantly think about treating others with respect. You should be very happy that people want to eat at your establishment, but if you let Greed and your big EGO take over, you won't last long. I hope you have a blessed day. read more

Somewhat comical as I have not even eaten here yet but have already been told off by their manager or whoever takes reservations twice now. Called about a week and 1/2 ago to make a reservation as we are coming in for the weekend from Texas and I was told to call back, was told she did not even know if they would be in business in October. So I called back and was told off by her again, I felt like I was being reprimanded by my teacher. I guess the owners have hired this person to HELP THEM LOSE business. We have eaten here every year on our annual trip to Walla Walla but will not be eating here this time. Please give your business to another restaurant read more

Had the Lingcod en Salsa Verde with Taylor Shellfish Farms Manila clams on local collard greens, sweet onions and potatoes entree. Simply stated: one of the finest meals I've ever eaten! The very tasty pre-meal breads were a delicious lead-in to what was to come. The service was first rate. The lovely pourer at Va Piano Winery Tasting Room suggested it. I'll be forever in her debt. And to the equally lovely pourer at Waters Winery Tasting Room for suggesting we try Va Piano. read more

I've been to Saffron several times before, and had a wonderful experience. Today just didn't measure up. The food was ok to good, not great, and the service was rather disengaged. We had the mesa and falafel as appetizers, which were both really good. The beet-goat cheese meza was really good. Our friend had the lamb entrée, and was quite happy with it, calling it the best lamb he's had in a while. My husband had the Gemelli pasta, which he really didn't like. I had the tangine, the only veg entrée, which was good but not great. The biggest negative was the service. The waitress didn't seem very engaged. My husband had asked if the Gemelli could tone down the tuna and was told yes, yet it came out very fishy. No would have been a better answer, and it raises an eyebrow when someone finishes with a dish virtually untouched and you aren't asked what was wrong. Overall this was a disappointing birthday dinner, and I hope Saffron can regain their historical prowess read more

Wanted to eat here but had the one of the top RUDEST experiences with the staff. We were going wi friends who've eaten here several times and they are appalled at the treatment and none of us will be going back. If the front of the restaurant isn't nice and respectful - there's NO point in having the food. And we will NOT be recommending anyone we know to go here. We're a group of nice people that don't ask for much but we're tired of restaurants that think their food can excuse rude treatment. Maybe this is just a rogue employee that needs to be dealt with... hopefully so, otherwise it's sad that this is a black mark we have on food scene here. read more

We really enjoyed our intimate dinner at Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen. Located right in the middle of downtown Walla Walla, this place was so good we wish we would've packed up this charming restaurant and taken it back with us to Seattle. The chicken and cherry flat bread started off our meal (can I say amazing!), along with a bottle of Singiovese that was the perfect recommendation. The Kibbeh, which is a mixture Ground cooked pigeon mixed with Pomegranate seeds had the perfect mix of flavors. The hanger steak with caper berries, along with a side of hand-roasted fingerling potatoes w/ sea salt did not disappoint! Needless to say we left with happy stomachs and this is one of those places you'll want to go back to, since there were so many tasty things on the menu! read more

Outstanding. This was our first trip to Saffron, and we'll be back. We visited in January only to find the restaurant closed for most of the month. Food is creative, and Meditteranean in style. The food is high quality, wine list extensive, and the service attentive. Just what I like in a restaurant. read more

This place is super cute. We went during brunch on a Sunday and it was pretty slow. That was such a relief b/c it was spring release. I can't say anything we tried was Mediterranean. I had a flatbread that amazing. The downside is they're not flexible with they're options. For example, they don't list au gratin potatoes on the menu however they're served with the steak. They refused to sell a side of of the au gratin, however one could order a side of fingerling potatoes. The au gratin potatoes were amazing but no point in discussing if you're vegetarian b/c they're not an option. My advice make things to order and if you run, then oh well. Don't prevent customers from buying things b/c of some weird rules. read more

Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - Mediterranean Near Me - Walla Walla, Washington

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Not a wonderful dining experience. First they charge six dollars for six cracker-sized pieces of bread. The Prosecco was good and well priced. We ordered halibut and beef cheeks which were good but I was most excited to see they had plaki beans. They instead brought out green beans which I wasn't interested in. Our server was very sweet and just took them away. When they charged us for them, I thought it was a mistake. The waitress tried to take them off the bill but said her manager (I think it was the owners wife) would not let her. Then the manager came running over to tell us that they weren't Greek (she's Asian- I think I figured that out) and I shouldn't have expected plaki beans even though that's what was on the menu. Plaki was just "an inspiration "! She finally took the charge off the bill b made the poor server pay for the beans. I was horrified to think she would do that to the server who was wonderful all evening. Before we came, we read some good reviews about the food and some unbelievably horrible reviews about the owner/management and their disdain for customers and their employees. Believe the reviews. They are horrible people and don't deserve your business. The picture is the comical serving of bread. read more

Great service and even better food. Everything was excellent. I had the cod with a wonderful salsa and it was outstanding. My wife had a flatbread which she loved. We shared an order of wilted greens and both loved them. I might go out of my way to return to a Boise just to dine at Saffron read more

I asked to move to outdoor seating because I was seated within 2 feet of the next table as I'm in an at risk group for COVID-19. They agreed to seat me outdoors but then refused to let me move my chair 2 feet to sit out of the sun even though I was very far away from the adjacent table. The manager then got very huffy and refused to serve me because I asked to move the chair. I would consider this restaurant a COVID-19 risk because of the adjacent seating. Possible for two people to be 18"-24" from each other, which doesn't comply with state guidelines. read more

Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - I was seated in the booth to the right, next to the guy in blue jeans, who was tall; his head was above the partition when he leaned back. - Mediterranean Near Me - Walla Walla, Washington

My wife and I have had an amazing experience at Saffron during both of our last visits. It has become our favorite restaurant during our annual trip to W2. The place is small but awesome, make your reservations and you won't have a problem. The noise level could be considered loud buy some - but we love it! The kitchen is crazy busy and entertaining, the staff is responsive and if you've toured some of the wineries that day, you'll run into some of the owners and staff you met. The wine selection won't disappoint and the food of course is fabulous! We had a pasta dish and the hanger steak on our last visit. We have been fortunate to chat with Kimi and Island both quite a bit and will continue to make this place our special dinner stop on our visits. Cheers! read more

Excellent food! To start, we had the eggplant mezze with pita and pork belly with green beans. Fair warning - the eggplant mezze, though delicious, will leave a garlic taste in your mouth for hours. The pork belly was perfectly cooked and juicy without too much fat. The pide flatbread (turkish spiced beef, local greens, feta, saffron and sumac) and agnolotti with rabbit (and grilled corn, mushrooms and ricotta) were unique and had very bold flavors. Every dish we had was strong and stood out on its own. For 2 people, these 4 dishes were plenty. We made reservations for Friday at 8pm, at which point it didn't seem too crowded. It is a bit loud though and some tables are cozy so don't expect too intimate an experience. Our server was fantastic and explained everything thoroughly. read more

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Super delicious multi-course and shareable menu. A lot of inhouse items, such as homemade chorizo and sausage, and delicious handcrafted and well balanced cocktails. No substitutions, and not a full bar, so no off menu ordering. But this Seattle girl had an amazing meal at Walla Walla prices... and is happy. read more

Our waiter gets 5 stars. He was awesome! The food recs and dining experience was great. To start my hubby and I had the Padron peppers which are flash fried. Very nice touch. The owner of the restaurant which is a Vietnamese woman brought our appetizers out herself. We also had the feta mezze with pita which was very nice. For dinner my husband had the hangar steak, cooked perfectly and very flavorful. Attentive server, nice ambiance. My 9 year old enjoyed her ravioli as well and says she liked the restaurant :) read more

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Had an exceptionally nice evening at Saffron in Walla Walla recently. They do things right from start to finish and have adapted well to service in the Covid era. I arrived early to have Island Ainsworth introduce herself and escort me to a table where I was to meet the rest of my party. I came to learn that Island and her husband, Chris, are the proprietors of Saffron. Island was a presence throughout the evening and made all of us feel right at home. We also chatted with Chris, whose artistry in the kitchen is special. The meal was wonderful all around; I especially enjoyed the razor clam and ricotta flatbread. Again, dinner at Saffron made for a great evening in Walla Walla and I look forward to a return visit. read more

Not sure if the owners are pretentious are stupid. They will not make a simple mixed drink for you but you can have one of their specialty mixed drinks. Don't show up early they will invite you to wait outside. The hostess was very personable but our waitress was horrible. The bad service our party received gives their food rating an OK. read more

Great place with a beautiful ambiance, excellent service and delicious food. Authentic flavors, great wine list (local wines are pricey!) and well made cocktails. We had the beef cheeks and Kibbeh, but the Turkish flatbread really stood out. Our server recommended that we roll it up like a burrito and cut it into pinwheels. The cacio e pepe was delish, and we were too stuffed for dessert but ordered the chocolate mousse and strawberry ice cream anyway. read more

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So impressed by this place, very delicious and impeccable service. Loved the open kitchen as the nice but not stuffy ambiance. Small seasonal menu and extensive wine list. I don't get to Walla Walla often but I'm genuinely looking to return. read more

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Saffron is arguably the best restaurant in town. The more you dine there, the less arguable it becomes. The food is consistent and inspired. From the classics like the hanger steak and lamb shank, to the lamb tartar and expertly made fresh pastas there is something for everyone. The wood fire in the kitchen adds an amazing and subtle flavor to the meats. The hidden gems are the flatbreads. The seasonal razer clam and ricotta flatbread is something I will dream about for years. The lamb tartar is easily the best tartar in the northwest. The service team outdoes themselves as well. Owner/front of the house hero Island makes you feel at home and wanting to return. She may be the best front of the house person in all of Washington. Pros: great food, inspired cocktails, reasonable prices for epic meal, ambience in dining room Cons: sometimes it can be hard to get a table, be sure to get reservations ahead of time! read more

Popularity is great but can be fleeting when you have a snarky attitude! We are planning a trip to WW in October with friends and had hoped to return to Saffron where we had a good meal several years ago. I called every day once the reservation period opened and left a message each day and never had any of my messages returned. I finally reached a live person yesterday who was SOOOOO rude, arrogant and condescending that needless to say ensures that we will go elsewhere! Based on some of the other reviews, this attitude is apparently not new news. WIsh I had read them before I wasted so much time trying to make a reservation! My husband says that we probably dodged a bullet! read more

Came here last night with friends as none of us had been before and wanted to try what is perceived/assumed to be the nicest dining experience in Walla Walla. We had reservations so we were seated right away in a corner window. Mediterranean cuisine here is more North Africa/Egypt/Lebanon, rather than Italy/Spain/Greece. The restaurant is decorated with this way, and it gives you the feeling you're in Casablanca. We started with a small cocktail, along with the rye bread and oil. I had heard the tapas were great, so we started with the octopus dish and the Turkish sausage. Those were both ok. Nothing spectacular that wowed us. I had checked out the menu before, and was debating between the Egyptian fried chicken and the hangar steak, which I hadn't heard of before. I went with the Hangar steak ($30!) but also tried what my friends had, too, which was the lasagna and the lamb. Both were very rich in flavor, and their portions were enormous. Dessert was offered, but they don't bother listing the price. The orange basil sorbet sounded great. I ordered that, and it finally came 10 minutes later. No taste of basil At all; I had expected a few shavings of fresh basil on top. Service overall was good. I'm not a big fan of Mediterranean cuisine, so I won't be back. But glad I tried it. If you like this cuisine and have a big budget, by all means try Saffron. read more

Hands down the best restaurants we have recently been. It is super clean. The service is perfect, and the food is amazing with artistic twist of Mediterranean flavor. We definitely come back . read more

This place was absolutely incredible--we loved everything that we ordered here. The Zatar was an absolute delight, I could eat that every day. The cocktails were well-made and absolutely delicious as well. The service was upbeat, engaging, and friendly. We would absolutely make the trek out to Walla Walla again just to eat here! read more

Superb, amazing, wonderful! Can't say enough good things about this humble storefront restaurant that reminds me of the Slanted Door in San Francisco before they became famous and corporate. Absolutely THE place to eat in Walla Walla if you are a foodie. Worth a 4 hour automobile trip here just to enjoy this restaurant. We started with octopus wood grilled with squid ink, sweet onions, Meyer lemons, parsley. As good as it was, it turned out to be our least favorite dish. It paled a little in comparison to what followed. Next came the beef cheeks. Tender delicious beef with red cherry sauce gooseberries, basil--oh my! Break it apart with a fork like you would carnitas or beef stew perfectly cooked. Halibut with coriander, wild ginger, green garlic, snap peas, pea vines was out of this world great. Sherry glazed pork belly with local asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, saffron infused white beans, lovage another dish for the ages. Did not love the morcilla blood sausage but maybe you will. Overall, this is a restaurant one would be proud to discover in San Francisco or Seattle or New York City. Amazing find in WW. A must try if you are here. In the way of wine suggestions, we loved the L'Ecole Merlot 2008. The bread was luscious, service superb. The place did everything right, and I also noted a very casual dress code on this hot day. Shorts for guys are standard. No need for formal wear, but if you prefer to dress up, go for it. Be comfortable, enjoy! read more

Food is good enough. But expensive. But the real reason to go here is the passive aggressive wait staff. They are a real treat. Another restaurant where the staff think they're the owners. Please read all of the other YELP reviews and you will see I'm far from alone in my experience. I think our waitress was same as Food B. We won't be rushing back here anytime soon. read more

Bryant was our waiter this evening. The level of service he provided my party and I was absolutely excellent. Top notch. The best that I've experienced in a very long time. We walked in without a reservation and Bryant seated us immediately. He provided us with a card to scan the code for the menu. He was informational. Made amazing recommendations and didn't disappoint. After our meal we asked for winery recommendations. Bryant made a list and spent time going over the items on the list. He is confident and can sell any item on the menu. When we were asking questions he made sure to address the party and not just the person asking the questions. Very important. My friends ordered menu items that were a bit more expensive than my dish. He made sure to charge us each for what we each ordered. I'm very happy to have met him. Bryant is very talented and any business is lucky to have him as an employee. I called the restaurant as soon as I got to the hotel. I left a message for the restaurant manager. I hope Bryant received the message as well as the restaurant manager and owner. 10 stars for Bryant! Thank you! read more

Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - Wilted greens and pulpo faglioli - Mediterranean Near Me - Walla Walla, Washington

Promoted a prix fixe $39 dinner Researched it on line Called for a reservation Drove 200 miles After being seated informed that everyone had to order the same thing or no one! Total hustle! We walked out And will never go back! They could have informed us at reservation or before seating us or better yet in their website or ads! Check out their website; nothing there about everyone orders the same thing! read more

Good service, wonderful olive bread with zaat'ar dipping oil. The rest of the food was pretty disappointing. Out of the two dishes we wanted to order (rib eye and branzino) so we settled on three different pasta dishes and the flat iron steak. It's kind of hard to not make fresh pasta delicious. And yet.... not a single one of the pastas we tried were very good. Oily. Underseasoned. Completely uninspired. read more

Most disappointing meal of our 3-day stay. The gozlem flatbread and black pepper gemelli were good, but the patatas brava were too tomatoey, the wilted greens were disappointing for this time of the year, and the leg of lamb was ridiculously overcooked. We were so bummed... read more

This is a very good restaurant. That said, there are a few little nitpicks from tonight's visit that I will share with you. One ... they will only make you a cocktail off their cocktail list. In other words, you can't have say, a martini, because it is not on their list ... even though they have everything to make it. I like a martini when I go out to a nice restaurant, so by definition, this wouldn't be considered a nice restaurant, because I couldn't have my martini. I could go on about this for awhile, but I'll just leave it here. You can consider your own favorite cocktail. It's probably not on the list. The bread was awesome. I don't usually rate the bread, but the bread here and the olive oil with Za'atar was really good. The crust! Yum. Before I go on, our server was perfect throughout. She was smart, fun, funny when it called for it, and always on. No complaints about the service whatsoever. My wife and I shared an apple, feta salad. It had some other things in it, but since the restaurant's website doesn't work, I can't tell you exactly what they were. It was really good, but a bit over-dressed. Vinegary, to be exact. But all the right ingredients were there and it was pretty easy to eat parts of the salad that were not soaked in the vinegar. It was very tasty. Sadly the restaurant's website is not working. This means you cannot plan ahead. This is particularly important when choosing from their cocktail list, because that is it. Don't ask for anything special. Great wine list of local and global favorites. They had some really nice local wines both by the bottle and as glass pours. I had a New York Strip and my wife had the fettuccine with shrimp and such. My first bite was steak only, and that was bland. Well cooked though. My fault ... it was supposed to be eaten with the relish atop. This night it was made of capers, caper berries and things like that. Salty things. Altogether it was really good. And it went well with our local wine selection. My wife enjoyed her fettuccine and gave me bites. I thought it was a bit dry. It looked a bit dry. Dry and sticky. Not moist and alive like you would hope a plate of pasta would be. I love pasta. This was dry. Dessert: Flatbread apple pie thing. We had this five years ago when we came to this restaurant. We had it again tonight. We will have it again the next time we come. It is really really good. Overall Saffron is a very good restaurant. Excellent for a date. It has great ambience and the service on this night was really great. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and will come back. The slips I have mentioned could happen in any restaurant. I am just sad that they all happened to us tonight. But not that sad. It was really good. read more

The food here is excellent as is the service. The noise level is very high and would prevent us from returning. It seems that much of the noise is from the kitchen and certain wait staff. read more

Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - A Great dish, everything we ordered was outstanding. Service is Excellent. Very High Noise Level which would prevent us from returning. - Mediterranean Near Me - Walla Walla, Washington

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The staff and service here is amazing. The owners are so kind and welcoming, good vibes all around. If you're in the area you must try the food-so good you won't regret it! read more

So rude and disrespectful. If you want to be treated like crap, this is the place for you. Do not expect the staff to be flexible or accommodating. We arrived 35 minutes early for a 5:45 reservation. We masked up and walked inside. The place was empty except for one table. We checked in and asked if we could sit down early. We were told no and to come back at 5:45. I asked if all the empty tables were booked for the next 35 minutes and I was told yes. I commented that that was interesting. We left as requested. 20 minutes later we get a call from the owner who informed us she was canceling our reservation because we were harassing the staff. We ended up at Russell Creek Winery. Fabulous dinner we had flatbread pizzas by the fire, incredible evening. read more

Delicious food. Excellent service. Beautiful, open building. We were able to make a last minute reservation on a Saturday evening while in town hiking at Palouse Falls. Normally we would prefer outdoor seating, but with 100 degree temperatures we were happy to sit inside at a little bar overlooking the kitchen. We genuinely loved watching the staff interact with each other; they appeared to enjoy what they were doing. The hostess, and chef's wife, was simply amazing. She seated us quickly, took our drink order, and made fabulous food recommendations. We had a seasonal heirloom tomato salad, the octopus, and the hanger steak-all dishes were delicious. read more

Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen - Mediterranean Near Me - Walla Walla, Washington

The food smelled amazing, the service was not. Also, they don't have high chairs. We walked in for dinner on a July Saturday evening at 7:30, 4 adults and a young toddler. The waitress greeted us, saying, "five?" and we said yes. Then she snidely said, "Oh. Did you call ahead?" and we said no, so she snidely says, "Oh. Well, I'm going to have to shift some things around, it will probably be a few." while she's looking around at all the empty tables (probably 6-8 of them) and walks off. Then she comes back and says they're working on getting us a table, unless we want to sit on the patio, there's room there. It was 90 degrees outside, but we say the patio would be fine. She almost acts as if she doesn't know what to do with our answer, and then says they'll get a table ready. We ask if they have a high chair, and she replies that no, they do not, and tells us we'll have to hold the 14 month old, 25 pound, squirmy toddler while we sit in their tiny little wooden chairs. I was aghast that they had no high chairs. That's the first restaurant I've ever seen without any. Between that and how snotty all 4 of us thought the waitress was, we decided to leave and go eat somewhere else. read more

One of the top restaurant in Walla Walla. Waitress was wonderful and we absolutely loved their lamb. read more

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