Saffron Unveils Annual Menu Refresh
New slate of dishes leans into seasonal ingredients and regional flavors.
Morel and sweet potato kofta. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
Bouncy pop music and the buzz of conversation filled the low-lit dining room at Saffron on Monday evening as servers ferried platters of prawns, dumplings and bao from table to table.
It was a typical dinner service at the modern Indian restaurant at 223 N. Water St. with one key difference: Saffron had swapped its regular menu for a list of nearly two dozen new dishes.
The preview event offered a first taste of the restaurant’s annual menu refresh, which debuted Tuesday with a mix of returning favorites and new additions.
Seasonal darlings such as morels and soft-shell crab appear on the revamped menu, with mushrooms suspended in a rich cardamom sauce alongside sweet potato dumplings and soft-shell crab deep-fried in seasoned chickpea batter.
Other standouts include minced beef kebabs with truffle-infused potato purée, lamb-stuffed bao with chili aioli, and jackfruit and goat cheese dosa — a vegetarian dish featuring pulled jackfruit wrapped in a rice crepe and served with roasted red pepper and walnut chutney.
Saffron’s canapé flight offers a sampling of lamb tart, smoked chili barramundi roti and a crispy makhana doughnut, while dahi bhalla offers a texture-rich mix of soft lentil dumplings, candy cane beets and shiso under a blanket of sweet yogurt sauce.
Larger plates include tandoori lamb chops, braised short rib stew and Mangalorean prawn curry — three whole tiger prawns over tamarind-infused coconut curry with roasted coriander seeds. Edamame paneer malai and dum vegetable biryani round out the restaurant’s robust vegetarian options.
Cocktails such as a curry-infused gin and tonic and chai-spiced Flaming Mezcal are now listed alongside crowd favorites such as the Golden Coffee and guava margarita. A refreshed dessert list features jalebi waffles, cardamom-scented tiramisu and shahi tukda, a rich bread pudding finished with saffron crème.
Even with new menu items on offer, showmanship continues to headline service at Saffron, with smoking cocktails and billows of dry ice regularly wafting from neighboring tables. Owners Fatima and Hanish Kumar, who lead the restaurant with head chef Abhishek Patil, say they draw inspiration from their world travels, placing particular emphasis on presentation and experience as well as flavor.
The couple launched a second Milwaukee restaurant, Aya, in February, bringing Mediterranean cuisine and an extensive wine list to the ground floor of Ascent at 700 E. Kilbourn Ave.
Saffron is open for lunch Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner service is held Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Reservations are available to book online through OpenTable.
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