Saffron Restaurant & Lounge

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123 N. 3rd St. Minneapolis, MN 55401

612-746-5533

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Critics'
Pick
Best Middle-Eastern Restaurant
Award Winner 2012

Cuisine(s): Middle Eastern

Hours: Mon-Thu 5pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-11pm
Price: $

Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards
Features: Business Dining, Private Party

Parking: Street

Description

Say you love a good street-cart falafel, exploding with onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and leaving a trail of creamy yogurt dressing dripping down your wrist. Say you make weekly trips to Holy Land to stock up on pita, hummus, tabouli, and stuffed grape leaves. What do you do when you want to find these same flavors in your fine dining? You head to Saffron, where chef Sameh Wadi marries ingredients from the Middle East with haute-cuisine techniques he used while working at La Belle Vie. That means you'll find dishes the likes of which you've never seen served in the Twin Cities, from salmon and clam tagine to lamb brain with tomato confit-a sleeper hit, according to Wadi. "The Minnesota diner is more adventurous than I thought," he says. Wadi's $3.50 happy-hour menu, which riffs on classic bar food, is a rock-bottom bargain for gourmet food lovers. There are mini-burgers spiced with charmoula, French fries served with feta cheese, and a BLT made with house-cured lamb bacon that's the best thing between two slices of bread anywhere in town.

2012 | Best Middle-Eastern Restaurant

With each passing year, it gets more difficult to imagine a restaurant that could even come close to challenging Saffron, the incumbent in this category. Who else but executive chef Sameh Wadi could make lamb brains not only palatable but pleasurable to eat, with sweet and glossy olive oil-stewed tomatoes Who takes the oft-maligned white cauliflower and, by pairing it with a pungent fondue of feta cheese, elevates it to rock-star level Where else can you find cured and dried Turkish beef... More »
2011 | Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

Most Americans think of Middle Eastern food as hummus and shish kebab. But Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey have their own distinctive cuisines, a blend of culinary traditions that evolved over centuries of migration and war. Saffron is a fitting place to savor the diversity of the Middle East, as the restaurant features flavors of northern Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian Peninsula. Everything on the menu, from the giant beans laced with... More »
2010 | BEST CHEF

The Twin Cities is fortunate to have a deep talent pool of mid-career chefs, but this year the spotlight shone brightest on one of the most impressive up-and-comers, Sameh Wadi, who has been running his own restaurant, Saffron, since he was 23. Wadi's strength is fusing Middle Eastern flavors with refined cooking techniques. That means he puts a contemporary spin on age-old tagines, marries duck breast with mejdool dates or scallops with preserved lemons, and cures his own lamb bacon for a... More »
2009 | Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

A La Belle Vie-trained chef armed himself with his mother's Palestinian recipes and created Saffron's elegant menu of Mediterranean-Middle Eastern fusion fare. Sameh Wadi's creative cooking--strip loin with Manchego cheese and romesco; fried mussels with preserved lemons and tahini; duck breast with pomegranate, yogurt sauce, dried fruit, and pistachio--is unlike anything else in the Twin Cities. (It recently garnered him a nomination for the James Beard Foundation's Rising Star... More »
2008 | BEST MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT

Say you love a good street-cart falafel, exploding with onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and leaving a trail of creamy yogurt dressing dripping down your wrist. Say you make weekly trips to Holy Land to stock up on pita, hummus, tabouli, and stuffed grape leaves. What do you do when you want to find these same flavors in your fine dining You head to Saffron, where chef Sameh Wadi marries ingredients from the Middle East with haute-cuisine techniques he used while working at La Belle Vie.... More »

Saffron's $12-and-under options pack a mighty punch

By Kara Buckner | Tue, January 3, 2012

To kick off 2012, we're highlighting 12 of the best dishes under $12 in the Twin Cities. Scroll down to view the complete list. Sameh Wadi is our culinary Boy Wonder. Still in his 20s, he's already ... More »
Saffron reboots for the Target Field crowd

By Rachel Hutton | Wed, September 21, 2011

Recently, I ate two terrific dishes. The first was a disk of foie gras, covered with a caramelized-sugar crust, like a tiny crème brûlée with a savory, livery tang. It was plated with a smudge of bitter orange jam and two date-almond briouat pastr... More »
Top 5 restaurants for foodies

By Rachel Hutton | Wed, September 29, 2010

I'm often disappointed when national magazines and whatnot make their picks for the best this-and-that in various cities across the country without doing very thorough--if any--on-the-ground research.... More »
Bradstreet, Solera, and more: Happy hours for grownups

By Rachel Hutton | Wed, March 24, 2010

Happy hours seem to come in two varieties. With most, the focus tends to be on getting as intoxicated as possible for the least amount of cash. Those sorts of evenings never seem to end well, like the time you locked lips with Married Mike from ac... More »
Cheap after-work eats aplenty at Azia, Saffron, Pop!!, and more

By Bridgette Reinsmoen | Wed, October 22, 2008

"In these trying economic times" is a phrase used so frequently lately that it's becoming trite, but however you want to word it, many of us are looking for ways to cut back on spending right now. Eating out is often the first casualty of belt-tig... More »
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citypagesbestof | Minneapolis, MN | 145 Reviews

| Wed, May 6, 2009

Say you love a good street-cart falafel, exploding with onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and leaving a trail of creamy yogurt dressing dripping down your wrist. Say you make weekly trips to Holy Land to stock up on pita, hummus, tabouli, and stuffed grape leaves. What do you do when you want to find these same flavors in your fine dining? You head to Saffron, where chef Sameh Wadi marries ingredients from the Middle East with haute-cuisine techniques he used while working at La Belle Vie. That means you'll find dishes the likes of which you've never seen served in the Twin Cities, from salmon and clam tagine to lamb brain with tomato confit�a sleeper hit, according to Wadi. "The Minnesota diner is more adventurous than I thought," he says. Wadi's $3.50 happy-hour menu, which riffs on classic bar food, is a rock-bottom bargain for gourmet food lovers. There are mini-burgers spiced with charmoula, French fries served with feta cheese, and a BLT made with house-cured lamb bacon that's the best thing between two slices of bread anywhere in town.
Like (0) Dislike (0)

schmidty2129 | Minneapolis, MN | 28 Reviews

| Thu, November 11, 2010

This restaurant is a must try for everyone. The food is great and was cooked to profection. I tried new flavors I have never had before and that well keep me comming back to Saffron!
Like (0) Dislike (0)

hhunt | Minneapolis, MN | 129 Reviews

| Thu, May 13, 2010

Chef Sameh Wadi was the winner of 2009 City Pages Iron Fork competition and went on to compete on the Food Network's Iron Chef!

Dinner Menu

To Share Mezze, Tapas, Snacks

$9.00

A Selection Of Traditional Spreads
yellow lentil, smokey eggplant and spicy feta

$6.00

Lamb Brain
with olive oil stewed tomatoes, garlic and parsley

$8.00

Middle Eastern Sausage (na’anik)
house made beef/lamb/pinenut sausage with lemon 8

$6.00

Fried Beef Kubbeh
bulgur shell stuffed with spiced beef and pine nuts served with cucumber yogurt

$7.00

Grilled Kofta Meatballs
with a slightly spicy tomato sauce

$6.00

White Anchovies
marinated in harissa with radish and preserved lemon

$8.00

Octopus “a La Plancha”
cooked on a hot plate with toasted garlic, smoked paprika and sherry

$6.00

Giant Beans
dressed in lemon, olive oil and dill

$5.00

Marinated Olives & Pickles
a changing selection

$5.00

Grilled Haloumi Cheese
with watermelon and mint

$5.00

Crispy Potato Chips
with za’tar yogurt and spicy piquillo pepper sauce

$6.00

Fried Cauliflower
with sheep’s milk feta fondue and north african spices

$6.00

Slow Cooked Green Beans
with tomato in the style of my palestinian grandmother

$8.00

Bastirma
house cured and dried beef in the turkish style

Original- Just Like In Palestine $7.00
Royale- With Spiced Beef And Pine Nuts $8.00
Sultan- With House Cured Bastirma $10.00
50/50- With Spicy Warm Chickpeas $9.00
Turk- With Caramelized Paprika Butter & Za’tar $8.00

Hummus
a puree of chickpeas with tahini, lemon, garlic and palestinian olive oil

Salad, Apps, Sides

$9.00

Gold & Red Beet Salad
with yogurt cheese, pistachio and honey

$8.00

Romaine Heart Salad
feta/peppercorn dressing, crispy pita, radishes, chickpeas and pickled peppadew peppers

$9.00

Endive & Apple Salad
with manchego cheese, black figs and sherry vinegar

$9.00

Lamb Bacon “blt”
house made lamb bacon, saffron-tomato jam and arugula on vanilla egg bread

$12.00

Foie Gras
with mejdool date-almond birouat and bitter orange

$8.00

Chicken “bisteeya”
an aromatic saffron stewed chicken & almond pie wrapped in a phyllo pastry with cinnamon sugar

$12.00

Poached Laughing Bird Shrimp
tossed with arugula, soft herbs, fennel, pink grapefruit, coriander yogurt and jalapeño

$9.00

Orzo & Mussels
with ouzo, dill, fennel and cow’s milk feta

$7.00

Coriander Potatoes
with roasted tomatoes and caramelized paprika butter

$7.00

Charred Brussels Sprouts & Parsnips
with black figs, chili flake, brown butter and lemon 7

Entrees - Big Plates

$19.00

Roasted Chicken
with eggplant lovash, tahini and exotic spices

Whole Roasted Branzini
“mediterranean sea bass” with crispy grape leaves, olive oil, lemon and herbs.

$18.00

Sautéed Parisian Gnocchi
with summer vegetables, soft herbs and black truffle-taleggio cheese fondue

$32.00

Grilled Lamb Loin
with a “cassoulet” of beans & smoked lamb ham

$27.00

Grilled New York Strip
thick cut strip loin, marinated in greek herbs & spices, served with lemon/olive oil sauce

Tagine
A Traditional Slow Cooked North African Dish Named After The Cooking Vessel.

$28.00
$56.00

Beef Short Ribs
with fingerling potatoes, melted onions and artichokes in a black truffle sauce

$19.00
$27.00

Morrocan Duck Kefta
ras el hanout spiced duck meatballs in a sweet & spicy tomato sauce with egg yolk and chickpeas

Market Price $18.00
$25.00

Vegetable
vegetables and legumes in an aromatic vegetable broth with preserved lemon

Seafood
a changing selection

Dessert

$7.00

Olive Oil Couscous Cake
pineapple & yogurt sorbets and berries

$7.00

Spiced Apple Trifle
baked apples in north african spices layered with sherry soaked cake, salted caramel and crème fraîche

$9.00

Traditional Pastry Plate
a selection of our favorites, to be shared...or not!

$9.00

Shredded Phyllo & Sweet Cheese Pie (kunafa)
with cardamom-saffron syrup and pistachios (please allow 15 minutes)

$8.00

Chocolate Ganache Cake
with flavors of arabic coffee

$6.00

House Made Ice Cream Or Sorbet Flight

Looking for another city?

Saffron Restaurant & Lounge

123 N. 3rd St. Minneapolis, MN 55401

612-746-5533

Description

2012 | Best Middle-Eastern Restaurant

2011 | Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

2010 | BEST CHEF

2009 | Best Middle Eastern Restaurant

2008 | BEST MIDDLE EASTERN RESTAURANT

By Kara Buckner | Tue, January 3, 2012

By Rachel Hutton | Wed, September 21, 2011

By Rachel Hutton | Wed, September 29, 2010

By Rachel Hutton | Wed, March 24, 2010

By Bridgette Reinsmoen | Wed, October 22, 2008

citypagesbestof | Minneapolis, MN | 145 Reviews

schmidty2129 | Minneapolis, MN | 28 Reviews

hhunt | Minneapolis, MN | 129 Reviews