Zaffran One in St Albans

Still without doubt, best Indian Restaurant in St Albans. The food is excellent prices incredibly competitive, especially the early evening meal deal, and the staff are friendly and welcoming. We haven’t been for a few months since the opening of another restaurant in Marshalswick. A return visit reminded us just how good this place is.

We’ve had takeaway from here a few times and decided to order for Christmas Day lunch (cheeky, I know). Food turned up bang on time, hot and absolutely delicious. I’m never cooking on Christmas Day again! Thanks to Zaffran One for making our Christmas lunch excellent

If you are reading this review. Please don't go to this restaurant. Trust me you will regret if you go

Pathetic experience of all time, very rude behavior by the staff. The new T&T states that all customers who enter the restaurant are to order food mandatorily on an individual basis, with no sharing of food.

Worst restaurant I have ever been in my life. Very very rude staff. Zero customer service manner. 5 of us went to the restaurant. 3 of us ordered and 2 of us didn't. They straightaway said "then 2 of you wait outside, why did you say table for 5 at the time of entering?" We didn't even eat the complementary papodum and left, yet before leaving they made us pay 8 pound . It's not about money, it's about their behaviour and approach.

A real gem. Attentive service and food that is really delicious. A big plus for me is that the dishes aren't covered in oil like at so many places, and the spices are intricate without being overwhelming. I would rate this as the best curry house in St Albans

Worst Indian food in St Albans. This is their tandoori mixed grill and they r serving onion baggies in it and smallest piece of chx. Unbelievable

Really good, freshly made food. Service very friendly, prices fine.

For flavourless watery curry, this place can't be beaten. Not cheap either. So disappointed.

So good! Best peshwari naan in St Albans…

Amazing beautiful food and lovely people . Best Indian food around

Excellent service food delicious and piping hot toilets spotless as it should be well done to them Will definitely be back

Wonderful, absolutely incredible food and the young girl Sonia who served us was so amazing , best waitress I've experienced anywhere I've been. She actually made it. The food is to die for, superb quality tender meat flavoured to perfection . Cleanliness is faultless. Overall you ain't going to beat this if your a curry fan My 1st time there and I'll be right back Literally . 10 out of 10

We popped in for a quick curry before the World Cup game tonight. A delicious meal. Each dish was oozing with flavour. We usually order in from a well known Indian on London Road. We're now reformed. You'll definitely be seeing us again!

This is our local and we really like it! Lovely food, lovely people, good atmosphere and customer service.

All of the staff are very kind and good vibes. We had a really tasty meal just the two off us and I really liked the ambiance of the space even though it was a quiet Monday. Will be back again!

Lovely food, lovely people, great customer service, very clean. Brilliant experience.

Felt really welcome as soon as we arrived. Food was really lovely. Service was great. Also the toilets were spotless. We'll definitely go back.

The worst food I have ever had !! Inedible !! Runny sauce full of oil Disgusting Not sure how they can have so many good reviews clearly friends must be writing them

I called up before and asked them to do a lamb chop curry with heat which they did and it was lovely and I really appreciated it! I would have given 5 stars but the normal lamb curry I ordered today didn't have much flavour and was a bit watery. However, my partner had the chicken vindaloo and he said it was really tasty. Will try something different again next time!

Always great service, fresh food, lovely clean restaurant

Having had a couple of delicious takeaways in the past, tonight we ate in for the first time. It really didn’t disappoint! The food was excellent and really beautifully presented and the service and ambiance were totally spot on. It was my husband’s birthday and he was presented with a complimentary desert which was a really lovely touch. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will definitely be back!

Lovely dining and friendly service, definitely recommend.

A really fantastic curry, everything was tremendously fresh and high quality. A really, really good curry house.

Takeaway was really good and great vegetarian options.

Another great meal at this gem of a restaurant. The food is fantastic, great service and ambience, the only Indian restaurant for us!

We tried this place for takeaway a couple of times when we first moved to St Albans and enjoyed. Then we progressively tried other places with mixed results. Returned to Zaffran One yesterday and now wondering why we ever went elsewhere. Truly excellent food, tasty, good prices and portion sizes. Above all the menu choice is great, particularly when accommodating non-meat eaters with excellent seafood and vegetarian options. Strongly recommended.

Absolutely excellent takeaway. Ready within 30 minutes of order.

Very friendly and warm welcome. Food tastes really delicious and fresh. Very nice and clean environment with nice modern decor.proper place for fine dine. Can’t wait to visit again once lockdown is over. But not missing their food thanks to the team for keeping up delivery services. Cheers Zaffran one team. 👍👍👌

Very delicious food as always. I’m getting used to their food. Been to this place few times but as lockdown I don’t miss the take out services. Food ia always warm and freshly made. Specially murg kolapuri is my fav. Highly recommended to the food lover and can’t wait to go and eat inside again with my partner. Keep it up Zaffran one. 👍👍

Only had takeaway, it was very good and reasonably priced and the staff are friendly and helpful.

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE Absolutely poor service and customer care . I ordered food for delivery yesterday night , it didn’t turn up for two hours , I had to go to restaurant , at this point they haven’t even made the food , I had to wait for 20 minutes on top of the two hours for the food to come ! There is usually a discount for collection so I asked them to apply it for my order , they said they can’t do it as I ordered it online , the guy who was at the front desk for rude and not helpful , they don’t know how to treat the customer well ! I wouldn’t order from them again ... The food was not bad on the plus side ...

Very nice 😀 Warm welcome, lovely spacious layout. Attentive service and wonderful choice of food and wine. Both were sublime. Look forward to returning. 100% Reccomend for a good dinning experience.

Food quality was far better when it was in the town centre, a big gripe! Are the pickles, they are the meanest of any Curry house I've eaten in, and I've eaten in many, from Manchester, to Chichester, Norfolk to Plymouth, and all places in-between, seriously! 3 very small pickle dishes hardly worth putting on the table? Embarrassing. This is the Zaffran restaurant that was in Waddington road and is now located at 254 Hatfield road near the Rats Castle. Not worth the money, the Curry dishes even appear to be smaller portions since lockdown too, And pricier, a good chef, and front of house staff make for a good restaurant, but things here need improving, Not a place I'll be going back to.👎

Bad service and highly expensive!

First time eating here for me and i will definitely be returning. Lovely intimate atmosphere and staff were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. The food was amazing, all 6 of our party agreed it was the best curry tgey could remember. Price was reasonable and all in all a really nice night out. Highly recommended.

Been 4-5 times in the last few months and it’s always been very good. Tandoori king prawns are amazing. Staff are very good too, especially the female waiter.

We tried this restaurant for the first time today and it is incredible. It is quite possibly the best Indian in St Albans. Food is amazing everything is delicious, portion sizes are fab and prices of dishes is not too expensive either :) perfect Indian, you must try!

This is a hidden gem in St.Albans and if you are local, one you must try. The food, standards of service and ambience are outstanding! I was there last night, incredibly they are still running the “Eat out to help out” at their own expense! Mon - Wed (50% off food only) Max £10 Thurs and Sun (25% off food only) Treat yourself at bargain prices, the “speciality” dishes are amazing!!

Excellent food, service was good, very good size portions. Friendly staff. Never tried this place before, will definitely order again

Small place but tasty food, pricey.

We have both eaten in and had a take-away from Zaffran One on the Hatfield Road in recent weeks. All the food ordered has been of excellent quality, delicious and well presented. Get yourself down there!

Best curry in St Albans, can’t recommend it enough.

Great takeaway. Friendly staff and welcome addition to the restaurants in Fleetville.

Ordered delivery from Zaffran yesterday- fantastic food, good prices, quick delivery and even some extra papadum. Zaffran exceeded all our expectations, great job! Will certainly order again.

Just ordered a meal from Zaffran. I have to say it was the best Indian meal I've had in a long time. Didn't really know who to choose. So i went with my decision based on the reviews. 4.9 - I thought i had to add to that with another 5* review. Well done guys, I'll definitely be calling you again. Stop offering discounts the food is amazing, if anything you should put your prices up. Mark

One of the best curries I've ever had. Always so fresh!

Delicious meal just ordered direct on the phone. Fresh and tasty. Will return back

Immaculate restaurant ,always friendly and superb food. Been loyal customers for many years,truly excellent. Pat mcdonagh

Pricey, but worth it. Great hot fresh Indian takeaway food delivered fast. Will be ordering again.

Staff were very rude and gave our food to someone else, resulting in a long delay. Good food though but bad service for the high price.

In my opinion as a regular takeaway eater, this Indian restaurant is currently the best in St Albans. Neither cheap or expensive, quality of food is exceptional. Good size portions very well made. I can’t vouch for the sit down experience but for a delivered takeaway it can’t be beaten.

We had a really delicious takeaway from here last Friday night. It was cooked quickly and tasted really fresh. Generous portions, too. Will definitely visit again.

We ate as a family with children. They were so welcoming and friendly. The food is excellent, one of the best curry houses I have been to. They brought out natural yoghurt for the kids to cool their mouths! The perfect place for an early Saturday evening meal with the kids. A great neighbourhood restaurant.

Totally lovely food! Delivery arrived fresh hot and brilliant. This is now my go to for a curry in St Albans!

Have eaten here a couple of times recently and the food is excellent. A good variety of dishes with distinctive flavours. The staff are friendly and the service quick and attentive. Highly recommendec

Fantastic food and service, will definitely be visiting again

I’ve been here 4 or 5 times recently. This is the same Zaffran that was in St Albans centre a year or two back. The food is very good. Food is cooked freshly and we all like it. I really like the chicken chilli masala that has just the right heat for me. It’s a bit out of the way but parking is easy. Also, no after affects the morning after which you can’t say about a lot of curry houses out there!

We went on a Monday evening. We were the only guests so not much atmosphere but the food was delicious and great value with a weektime deal. I often find curries too oily but this wasn’t and the chicken was still moist in the curry. Attentive polite service, will definitely be going back.

I've eaten here 5 times now trying a different dish each time and each one has been delicious. I'd say it's the best Indian restaurant in St Albans

As we often return I thought I would write a fresh review. The staff are polite and helpful. The place clean, as were the ladies convenience. The food fresh, delicious and hot temperature wise. The wine and beer excellent. ... And hurrah! They have changed the music. We now have modern Indian music instead of mu-sack..So improved. ) Only ONE thing. Although it is lovely to be greeted by a polite waiter and shaken by the hand I prefer to have my hand shaken upon leaving rather than before eating as I expect to eat with my hands. Please don't take offence, we like the staff and appreciate the sentiment Its just a hygiene thing.

Had a fabulous meal at Zaffran tonight great food good service very friendly food wonderful staff were very friendly nothing too much trouble

We’ve been here 3 times now and on each occasion the service and atmosphere has become worse. The food was better than other Indian restaurants we had tried locally, so we kept going back but on the most recent visit the staff behaved as if it were an inconvenience having customers (we were the only table in the restaurant). Even asking for a drink we were made to feel as though we were hassling them. In addition, they offer a set deal on weeknights, but they kept telling us certain things were not on the offer and adding extra costs (we didn’t ask for anything that had not been included in the offer before, and not anything that was actually listed as excluded). It’s a shame that the staff are so offhand and unenthusiastic (perhaps this is why it is always empty?) as otherwise we’d dine there regularly and bring family and friends, but after this experience I’d be embarrassed to take people to this restaurant. I’d say we’d order takeaways from here but to be perfectly honest I grudge spending money in places where there is absolutely no customer service, and prefer to support independent restaurants who understand this concept.

Customer service excellent food

Excellent meal would and will recommend this restaurant.

Really good quality and great service

My wife runs our local village curry club and having recently tried Zaffran1 we thought it ideal for the club. How right we were!

Superb food and great service... What's not to love?!

The best Indian food for miles around. We’ve had take away a few times since Zaffran reopened and decided as friends were over we’d eat in. The food is absolutely delicious and staff friendly and attentive but not intrusive. It is a little off the beaten track compared to where it was before but I don’t mind at all as it really is worth the effort. So pleased you’re back we did miss you.

This is the best Indian in St Albans, the flavours are amazing and there are some fantastic specials. Try the Adrak with ginger and the Kali Mirch with sweet peppers and mushrooms. We keep coming back and won’t go anywhere else now. Try it!

This restaurant took over what used to be cafe Marsala and we go here because it is a short walk away.We were surprised last week to find the place very quiet and so were pleased as we didn't book a table. The waiters are very attentive and kind. They look after us well. We return often as the food is truly first rate. Everything arrives delicious and temperate wise hot. They will tone down the heat of the chili for you if you ask. There are ladies and gents separate loos and although they could do with a more modern refit they are very clean and I am really pleased they have paper towels as well as the hand dryer because I cant use hand dryers. The prices are a bit higher than most Indian restaurants so maybe this is why it is quiet in there although they seem to be doing a roaring trade in take out collection.. However. We like it enough to return. Only one thing I'm sot so enamored by is the music. They do play this sort of cover copy music you hear in DIY stores and I am assuming they don't have a licence to play mainstream. I wish they would just play some good classical music or something and am wondering if this could be putting people off a bit. It could be why they are a bit quiet in there.

We had a takeaway and the food was excellent. Highly recommended!

When the original Zaffran closed we tried to find a similarly good curry in St Albans, but none were as good. Thankfully Zaffran has relocated and it’s the same owner and the same great tasting food. Highly recommended, very happy they’re back!

So glad the zaffran has opened again. Went on a Wednesday night and had the banquet. Top quality food was had by us all.

My family and I are delighted this restaurant has reopened, they consistently deliver delicious, high-quality food. My favourite dish is the Zaffran Special Murg, I haven't found a curry anywhere else which can beat this! Highly recommended.

We visited Zaffran for many years and were never disappointed! We were so upset when you closed. Tonight we visited your new restaurant! Still wonderful flavours and an extensive menu! Great news we will be back.

We've missed this restaurant and are so pleased it's reopened with the same staff. We had our usual takeaway tonight and can confirm that as ever the flavour and quality is simply the best in St Albans.

Fantastic food, service and new decor. We had two mains and three sides which was enough for two of us. The Murg Tikka was delicious and so was the saag aloo. Will go back or get a takeaway.

It was a delightful Tuesday evening, attentive staff and delicious food. I would highly recommend a visit for any occasion.

After the shock of the news that Zaffran was closing, its been a little tricky to find a top class Indian restaurant locally (and boy have I tried). Well worry no longer as Zaffran One is now up and running in Hatfield Road.

I was familiar with the Indian restaurant that used to inhabit this spot, but didn’t know it had changed to Zaffran until recently, so we thought we’d try it out. When trying a new Indian restaurant, I often order my favourite Jalfrezi, and I have to say this was the best Jalfrezi I’ve had in a long time! All the food was excellent, and the service very attentive.

So this is the same owner and chef that ran the old Zaffran in st Albans high street. The food is every much as good as it was before. The restaurant is clean and modern. If you liked old Zaffran or you didn’t get to try the old one you must try this!

This place has gone down hill massively. Used to be one of my faves but the customer service was terrible the other weekend. I'm guessing a change of management or a new financial focus. I've never been told what I can order or can't share before!! Won't be going back, lots of other good options nearby.

I'd not used Zaffran before and was keen to try it. Having walked past a few times when it was closed it looked a quality establishment. Five of us went along for a friends birthday meal, with the table booked for 8pm. On arrival the place was fairly full. On sitting down we were eventually offered poppadoms and our drinks order was taken. There were only 2 servers and we were told that we'd have to wait to put our order in. Eventually we did, the menu was good, so I was quite hopeful! Our starters arrived at 9.15. My Kabli kebab was cold and had to be sent back for replacement. Watching the 2 servers try to serve a lot of frustrated customers, was like watching a comedy of errors! My friend ordered a second beer, but was told, apologetically, that they had run out.The mains arrived just after 10.00. Not as tasty as the menu suggested, so disappointing! To add insult to injury when we put in an order for some teas and coffee, we were told that there wasn't time, as they wanted to tidy up and go home! It was 10.45, their website says that they are open until 11.30. Over priced food and drink, average food, but the slowest of service made it a frustrating evening. I won't be going back.

Great staff, great food. A proper little gem of a restaurant!

Great Indian Restaurant, my favourite in St Albans. Friendly service, extensive Menu and great flavours. JJ the owner is always welcoming and the Restaurant itself is more upmarket than the usual you come to expect from a Locsl Indian. Keep up the good work JJ

I really love the food from here. We get take aways, that we go and collect. They are friendly and welcoming, and we have always love the food.

Have to come out of the restaurant because of the rude behaviour of the staff there. Ordered something but, left it there.

Choose of the special menu. I didn't want a side as I don't like them but was made to have 1. Main was very small, and nan was to crispy unlike nan should be. Don't get me wrong main and starter was good apart from the small potion and being the only 1s in the restaurant!!!! Probs won't come back any time soon.

Best curryhouse in St Albans, easy

Well so far the food has been o my good ! Very nice Best in a long time thank you very much. ...👍

Great authentic curries. Reliable and good service. One of the best in Snorbins. We are frequent diners here.

Really great freshly cooked food, highly recommended :-)