Passionate customer says this Northants restaurant is ‘definition of a hidden gem’ and deserves more support
A passionate customer of this Northamptonshire restaurant says it is the “definition of a hidden gem” and deserves more support before it is too late.
Saffrons Kitchen & Bar is an independent Indian restaurant based in Watford village, which has built an incredible reputation through online reviews since it opened 15 months ago.
Despite this, the restaurant is struggling to get customers through the door because of its quiet village location and lack of marketing – which is why customer Charlotte Marshall reached out to this newspaper.
Charlotte recently took her mother for a meal at Saffrons, having been recommended it by her brother who lives in the area, and the pair were the only customers there all evening.
Sam Azad has put his savings and heart into creating a beautiful restaurant, which is almost entirely relying on word of mouth as a hidden gem that locals simply do not know about yet.
“It’s an absolutely stunning and Instagrammable restaurant,” said Charlotte. “We had the most beautiful meal but we were the only customers there all night. I was shocked as the food and service were outstanding.
“Sam had nothing to do other than serve us and we had a really good chat. He put all of his savings into the place and hadn’t focused on any marketing, so no one knows they’re there and no one is booking.
“It has nearly 370 reviews on TripAdvisor and five stars, which is unheard of. It is number one out of over 580 restaurants in Northampton. It’s the same again on Google reviews, with 80-odd and five stars again.
“I don’t understand it at all, it ticks all the boxes. I want to help him and get people to know where Saffrons is, as it’s the definition of a hidden gem.”
Charlotte lives a 10-minute drive from the venue and she has returned on multiple occasions since the first visit with her mum, including on Father’s Day.
“Sam told me he’s always worked in a restaurant and he worked in his dad’s family business since he was a teenager,” said Charlotte. “It was bred into him to have his own restaurant and he has massive aspirations to open lots of franchises all over the world.”
Charlotte is a particular fan of the spiced chilli chicken starter, which she, her husband and their children enjoyed during their Father’s Day visit, and she also said the butter chicken is “to die for”.
The passionate customer concluded: “I’d love people to look at the reviews and menu, give it a try and make up their own minds. They’ll understand why it’s got these reviews. I’m trying to take as many people there as possible.”