Saffron Café: The finest in affordable Moroccan cuisine
One of the newest restaurants in Indianapolis is named after one of the oldest and most expensive spices in the world. The Saffron Café is a rare and special locale among the growing array of Indianapolis-based cultural dining gems.
Saffron is a very costly spice, used to flavor and color food. Each stigma is very small, and tens of thousands of individual strands go into a single ounce of the spice; since the stigmas are hand-plucked from the individual flowers, saffron's high cost becomes more understandable. Fortunately, a very little saffron goes a long way, but its use in this restaurant makes for a special experience.
The Circle City’s first Moroccan restaurant, the Saffron was opened about a year ago by owner and chef Anas Sentiss, who is trying to create the same atmosphere as his family's Bloomington restaurant, Casablanca Cafe, hoping it will become a culinary destination.
From the small chandeliers to the table settings, mirrors and draped curtains, all of which were imported from Morocco, this restaurant has an appropriate ethnic sensibility without declining into a hookah-bar caricature. Stylish photos of modern-day Morocco further balance the original atmosphere.
Spices, chickpeas, meats and vegetables underscore the menu at Saffron Cafe, and the food comes in the form of both high-end dinner items and a low-cost lunch menu. The taktoucka shrimp salad – a salad of cucumber, tomato, artichoke hearts and Kalamata olives – is among the best of starters. A plate of saffron mussels makes a great meal complement – freshly steamed in a fragrant, creamy white wine and garlic sauce. Entrée highlights include lamb tajine, a leg of lamb cooked with peas and artichoke hearts, finished with pickled lemon and served in a hot pot; or Atlantic salmon with charmoula, fresh wild salmon topped with cilantro pesto, served on a bed of couscous and crunchy vegetables.
The homemade tiramisu is most likely the best in the city, and the alternative dessert of baklava is equally satisfying.
HelloIndianapolis tip: Check out Monday evening’s wine tasting. And don’t miss the live Moroccan dancers each evening from 7pm to 9pm.
- by Jim Brown , Indianapolis Reporter for HelloMetro
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Jim Brown Jim Brown is a longtime freelance aviation, travel and destination writer and communications professional. A former reporter for Aviation Daily, Air Safety Week and World Airline News, Jim served for more than 15 years as a senior public relations executive for American Airlines, TWA and AirTran Airways.
