If you like Indian food, or just great food in general, than you will most likely have heard about Saffrron in Parap, with an extra R for sexyness. The name of the game here is quality cuisine with an emphasis on local ingredients (where possible) and industry leading eco-friendly practices.

Tadka Dhal - Combination of green and yellow lentil, tempered with garlic, mustard and curry leaves

Not much has changed visually since they opened their doors back in 2008. The decor is still elegant and roomy, the red and brown colour theme throughout evoke warmth and romance, the water pot stands where it always has and the waiting area has remained untouched. This is all good of course, because despite their loyal following and popularity, the focus has always been first and foremost on serving quality food and not about making profits.

We arrived early at 6.30pm and were promptly greeted and seated, the waiter even going as far as tucking in my wife's chair, making me look really bad in the process. Thanks a lot buddy.

Drinks and orders taken with Arun the waiter making sure to inform us that what we ordered was hot and making sure we knew what we were doing. It's always reassuring when the wait staff know what's on the menu.

Our food arrived about 20 minutes later and all in rapid succession, 6 dishes in total.

The garlic naan, fresh from the oven was delicious and totally worth the garlic breath that comes afterwards.

Andhra Chilli Chicken - Fiery preparation of chicken sauté with green chilli, curry leaves and onion – an Andhra speciality

The first main comes out, "Don't eat the chilli, it's really hot and is only for garnish" says Arun. But that is only an invitation for me to try it and it wasn't that bad. Perhaps because the curry had sucked all the hotness out of it already, as the Andhra chilli chicken was smokin', but the spicyness is only an after taste to what is a lovely, rich and vibrant curry. The fresh curry leaves were a nice addition too.

To me dhal is just a vegetable filler, something to eat in between mouthfuls of spicy curry. Saffron's Tadka dhal is quite nice though being both smooth and soft.

Pumpkin kara kiri - Pumpkin tossed with channa dal, black mustard seeds, coconut, green chilli and curry leaves

The pumpkin kara kari was a highlight for me. I've never had such lovely roasted (Humpty Doo grown) pumpkin before. Soft and perfectly cooked all t he way through without being too mushy, every ingredient perfectly balanced, from the crispy and sweet coconut shreds through to the sprinkling of channa dal, black mustard seeds. A real winner.

Beef Saagwala - boneless beef sauteed with onion,tomato, spinachpaste & spices.

The medium hotness beef saagwala sauce was nice, although the meat itself was a bit tough unfortunately. A slight letdown in what would otherwise be a great dish.

Service is exceptional and I do not say that lightly. Arun and his sidekick without a name badge looked after us really well through out the night. Super polite and magically appearing when needed and absent when not required, nothing more than a glance in their direction would have them over in a jiffy. They quite possibly even know that you want some attention before you do so yourself. You really could not ask for better service and you would be hard pressed to find a better example anywhere else in Darwin, possibly even the entire world.

If you haven't been  to Saffrron before and you're thinking the dinner ware looks a bit cheap, well you can be forgiven for that. Saffrron are big practitioners in eco-friendly dining and everything except for the cutlery is made from zero-waste, carbon-neutral and biodegradable  bamboo and sugarcane - even the take away containers and bags. It's my understanding that they were the first in Australia to do so as well. Captain Planet would definitely eat here if he wasn't so busy catching eco-evil animal poachers.

I used to come to Saffrron often when my wife worked nearby, usually for a quick lunch, but I must admit it has been a while since my last visit. The good news however, is that they are as good as I remember, nay, better. The team here evidently do not rest on their laurels and indeed they're gonna have to build a few more walls to hang their ever growing pile of awards (save some space for this review...)

Best Indian in Darwin and one of the best restaurants too. Highly recommended.

Saffrron contact details

Address: 14/34 Parap Road, Parap
Phone: 8981 2383
Website: www.saffrron.com
Email: [email protected]