I have had a couple of enjoyable dinners here recently which I feel compelled to share with you. A little bit of background: Thai Saffron, in Church St, Brighton, is quite a hit with local Brightonites and is generally very busy. The first time I ever dined here was about 4 years ago for a friend’s birthday, and she had talked it up so much that I didn’t leave feeling as impressed as I had wanted to. At this time, however, my tastes were decidedly more conservative and I may have ordered something that wasn’t quite right for me. Since then, I’ve never jumped at the chance to eat here, despite subsequent satisfying visits. But all this has changed this week.
Last week, a friend and I headed to Thai Saffron for dinner, as we were on Church St and felt like some delicious Thai. She suggested it; I agreed. We walked briskly up the street, and were greeted promptly and politely on our arrival. We took two seats on the bottom level, somewhat sandwiched between two other couples but comfortable nonetheless. My friend was quite hungry and ordered the chicken satay skewers plus the larb gai; I ordered the red vegetable cury with jasmine rice. We talked, caught up and then our food came. The chicken satay entree consisted of two big skewers of chicken covered in a delicious peanut sauce. Very generous. When my curry came out, I was in heaven. It was a deep bowl full of veggies and coconut milk and pure deliciousness. Definitely enough for two people – even after a top-up, I still had plenty the next day for me and my boyfriend. Such an amazing curry, the vegetables were delicious and I’m loving tofu at the moment. Highly recommended.
My friend’s larb gai wan’t quite what she expected, as it came with a very generous serve of chicken mince on top. Her usual Thai place apparently uses more veggies, so it was something a bit different but enjoyable nonetheless. Definitely very generous servings and great service. There is a really lovely ambience to Thai Saffron as well, with nice soft lighting and something of a warm glow to it. It’s a great place to dine in for Thai.
After this successful dinner, my friends and I arranged a catch up dinner for four of us to be held at Thai Saffron. I was very enthusiastic about the place now and suggested it quite vehemently! I had eaten a large lunch earlier in the day, and had oversnacked on Cabdbury chocolate with my bf, so wanted something light for dinner. I decided to go with the tom yum pug, the vegetarian tom yum soup with tofu. the waitress said that it wasn’t big enough for a main, but I decided to go with it and could order something after if I wanted (the subsequent shared passionfruit cheesecake at a nearby venue following the meal turned out to be this ‘something’, much to my stomach’s later chagrin. But that’s a story for another time.)
Two of my friends ordered the pad thai, while my fourth friend ordered a stir-fried dish whose name escapes me. Oops. She wasn’t sure of the pronunciation and conversation moved on so I forgot to clarify it with her. But it was delicious! Both of my pad thai friends were happy with their meals too, as they love the dish. I’m not as much of a fan at the best of times, but to each their own!
Thai Saffron delivers quality food at reasonable prices. This time, we were in the upstairs section which requires the ascent of a very steep spiral staircase and while it is a nice place to sit, fewer staff may mean that there is slower service. We waited a while for our bill, until we figured out we should probably just go downstairs and pay. But this was a small thing, and the four of us girls enjoyed sitting and having a chat. That wasn’t a problem! It was a very satisfying meal, and I will definitely be going back soon.
If you’re looking for a nice Thai place to dine in with friends, Thai Saffron is perfect. Although it is located in Brighton, it’s prices are not unreasonable (my tom yum pug was $7; red vegetable curry $13; standard curry/stir-fried dishes around $15). A beautiful place with great service – and in a great location to get a sneaky cake afterward.
