Saffron Cafe & Bakery

I made reservations to dine with my friends before seeing a show at the Gaillard. We were so excited as it had been several years since we ate at this iconic Charleston restaurant. We arrived and were seated promptly. We then proceeded to wait more than 15 minutes for someone to come to the table. We ordered water and also had to ask for a wine list. The water never arrived. One of my friends approached the hostess and said we don't have a server. She said "I know" and left it at that. My friend looked all over the restaurant for our server with no luck. Mind you, the restaurant was not full or terribly busy. Fortunately, another server volunteered to take care of us and she was lovely. She took our order and we told her we were going to see a show. She told us the kitchen was backed up, but would do her best. When the food arrived, it was cold. We hurriedly ate and drank, not finishing in time , so had to leave our wine and food. This was disappointing on so many levels. Will probably not return.

Everything was very satisfying. The atmosphere was warm and calm, especially the outdoor space. We didn’t get a chance to try the sweets, but the very long bakery line clearly showed how popular the place is.

This was a surprise for us. We came across this great little Turkish/Mediterranean pastry and coffee place. It's not fine dinning. But it's fantastic in it's own way.

Ordered the Reuben sandwich with onion rings, a side salad with ginger dressing & the She Crab Soup. The sandwich was “eh.” It needed something. Added salt, which helped, but still needed something. The soup was fabulous. It came with a roll, which was tasty and great dipped in the soup. The salad was absolutely fabulous! It had fresh mushrooms, spinach, avocado, tomato & cucumbers. Our waitress was simply wonderful, friendly, outgoing, helpful and very chatty, which we liked. To us, that makes our experience more personal. We didn’t get pastries since we ate dinner, but they looked very yummy.

A Charleston staple on East Bay. Been around for decades, strong value play! Entrees around $20, glasses of wine 6-10. Ill say that again - glassed of wine around $8- when was the last time anybody has heard of that in 2025!? Very diverse menu, huge amount of desserts. Not the most high end in town, but not trying to be. Worth a try for a casual meal or dessert. Hard to call yourself a local without stopping by at least once.