Old kitchens. A new table.

Saffron House reimagines the royal kitchens of India for the modern table. Chef Arjun Rao draws on recipes from Awadh, Chettinad, Kashmir and the Konkan coast.

Each is served as a seven-course tasting journey in a forty-cover dining room in Nungambakkam, Chennai. Nothing is rushed. Spices are ground each afternoon. The tandoor is lit at four.

The story of the house

Hands in low light scattering a careful pinch of seasoning over a small dish

Signature dishes

Plates we are known for.

A few dishes that never leave the menu. Ask, and we will tell you where each one began.

The tasting menu

Seven courses. One evening.

A journey through four regions, paced for conversation. About two and a half hours.

Per guest: ₹6,500
With wine pairing: ₹9,000

Reserve the tasting Full tasting menu

Course 1: Amuse-bouche
Saffron Pani Puri
Semolina shell, spiced potato, chilled saffron and mint water, pomegranate.
Pairing:Grower Champagne, Brut Nature
Course 2: From the Coast
Kingfish, Kokum & Coconut
Line-caught seer fish cured in kokum, coconut milk, curry-leaf oil, puffed red rice.
Pairing:Albariño, Rías Baixas
Course 3: The Tandoor
Galouti & Sheermal
Hand-minced lamb, rose petal, warm saffron sheermal, onion murabba.
Pairing:Pinot Noir, Central Otago
Course 4: A Pause
Kahwa Granita
Kashmiri green tea, saffron, cardamom, almond snow.
Pairing:Warm kahwa, poured at the table
Course 5: The South
Chettinad Pepper Crab
Mud crab, crushed black pepper, kalpasi, curry leaf, a single lace appam.
Pairing:Gewürztraminer, Alsace
Course 6: The Valley
Rogan Josh & Gucchi Pulao
Kid goat in Kashmiri chilli, wild morels, aged basmati, Pampore saffron.
Pairing:Syrah, Nashik Valley
Course 7: Dessert
Saffron, Milk & Smoke
Six-hour kulfi, Kashmiri saffron, pistachio, charcoal-smoked jaggery.
Pairing:Late-harvest Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch

Regions of India

Four kitchens, one map.

Choose a region to see what it brings to the table.

Awadh

The art of dum.

Signature dish: Galouti Kebab
Spice notes: Mace, green cardamom, rose and kewra. Fragrant rather than fiery.

A chef plating at the pass of a dim, warmly lit open kitchen

The chef

“I am not trying to improve these recipes. I am trying to deserve them.”

Chef Arjun Rao

Arjun Rao grew up between his grandmother’s kitchen in Karaikudi and his father’s postings in Lucknow and Srinagar. He trained in hotel kitchens in Delhi and Mumbai before spending six years cooking with home cooks, khansamas and fishing families across the country.

Saffron House is the table he always wanted to set. Rigorous about origin, quiet about technique, generous at the pass.

Meet the chef

Gallery