Saffron Grill & Market

This mid-eastern grocery store has many items to choose from. I like mid-eastern food, nice to pick up new items. Also there are cafe tables in front, and you can order off their menu. Owned and run by nice people. I believe catering can be ordered, and Toast, a Novato restaurant, serves Wednesday lunches and some dinner selections provided by Saffron Grill.

Ordered the koobideh and it was delicious, generous portion of rice and their shallot yogurt sauce was so tasty. They only had a partial menu because they were under construction. We can t wait to go back when they have everything. The owner was so friendly and accommodating.

This place is one of a kind. It sells unique Persian, Moroccan, and other MENA foods that are rarely sold anywhere else. The owner is fun to talk to. I love the Persian canned eggplant dishes in particular.

Great food and great service! The only odd part has nothing to do with this restaurant itself, but with the business next door. They have a strange sign saying that customers from Saffron can’t use their restroom, which gives off a discriminatory vibe. Still, Saffron itself is fantastic, and I’d definitely recommend the food and staff here.

We had Saffron Grill & Market cater our wedding, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience. Mike was incredibly helpful, accommodating, and easy to work with from start to finish. The food was absolutely delicious—flavorful, fresh, and a huge hit with all of our guests. Mike went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect, and his professionalism and kindness made the whole process stress-free. Highly recommend Saffron Grill & Market for any event or catering needs. Truly exceptional service and amazing food!

V Wilson

Only place in the area I could find ketaifi (spelling?) and pistachio cream. Good selection of Middle Eastern foods; planning on coming back so I can get some fun new ingredients to try out. Halloumi cheese, pomegranate syrup, kebabs, etc. Local business which is nice. The baklava and other baked goods in the case at the front of the shop look very tempting.

Courtney Wright

Great food and great service! The only odd part has nothing to do with this restaurant itself, but with the business next door. They have a strange sign saying that customers from Saffron can’t use their restroom, which gives off a discriminatory vibe. Still, Saffron itself is fantastic, and I’d definitely recommend the food and staff here.

Dennis Kanygin

We had Saffron Grill & Market cater our wedding, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience. Mike was incredibly helpful, accommodating, and easy to work with from start to finish. The food was absolutely delicious—flavorful, fresh, and a huge hit with all of our guests. Mike went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect, and his professionalism and kindness made the whole process stress-free. Highly recommend Saffron Grill & Market for any event or catering needs. Truly exceptional service and amazing food!

Coolincatt

You would never know that they have the best grill in the back of this grocery store 🔥

Susan McCabe

Delicious! My daughter brought home a big tin with all kinds of stuff, grilled chicken, rice, cucumber salad, some kind of beef but it was like a sausage kind of and a sauce that was made out of yogurt I think. Will definitely come again.

Sharen March

This mid-eastern grocery store has many items to choose from. I like mid-eastern food, nice to pick up new items. Also there are cafe tables in front, and you can order off their menu. Owned and run by nice people. I believe catering can be ordered, and Toast, a Novato restaurant, serves Wednesday lunches and some dinner selections provided by Saffron Grill.

Eli

This place is one of a kind. It sells unique Persian, Moroccan, and other MENA foods that are rarely sold anywhere else. The owner is fun to talk to. I love the Persian canned eggplant dishes in particular.

sara marie

Tarlan was an amazing server. My lamb kabobs tasted super juicy and fresh. The restaurant serves the kabob plate with saffron basmati rice and a specialty (taadigh) crispy rice. The restaurant is clean and open 7 days a week.

Kamran Mirza

Top grade authentic Persian food here! As well as a variety of goodies in the store! Recommend ordering on phone and picking up, there isn’t many seating areas.

DP

Ordered the koobideh and it was delicious, generous portion of rice and their shallot yogurt sauce was so tasty. They only had a partial menu because they were under construction. We can t wait to go back when they have everything. The owner was so friendly and accommodating.

Erika Reyes

Owner is VERY kind and extremely helpful! You feel love the moment you enter this jewel market. Quality supersedes expectations! Everything here is exotic and special. Food is delicious and flavorful! Rare find! No disappoint here.

Olen Ka

We loved it!! What a gem!! It was so so delicious. I had to force myself to stop eating. In addition we found a ton of pantry supplies not avaialable where we live. Mike is an amazing host- made us feel so warm and welcome. We will make sure to be back!!

In Crepuscule, Roman Payne writes: “People wonder why so many writers come to live in Paris… Just like Italy, Spain, or Iran are the best places to pick saffron.” Well, I can’t comment on Paris or the search for novel ideas, but I can confidently say this: you don’t need to travel to Italy, Spain, or Iran to find saffron. All you need to do is drive to Novato. Saffron Grill & Market is a small, unassuming spot that serves a dual purpose, as both a Middle Eastern grocery store and a casual grill, and it does both surprisingly well. If you enjoy exploring spices, dried goods, and specialty ingredients, the shelves alone are worth the stop. I certainly got a kick out of browsing them. And if you’re hungry, just walk to the back of the store, look up at the menu, and order whatever catches your eye. The food is solid, comforting Persian cuisine, prepared simply and priced very reasonably. It’s the kind of place where you don’t overthink the order, you just pick something and enjoy it. The owner-operator is friendly and genuinely happy to answer questions, whether you’re curious about the food, the spices, or what pairs well together. It’s not flashy, and it doesn’t try to be. But if you’re looking for authentic flavors, good value, and a warm, local feel, Saffron Grill & Market delivers, all without leaving Marin County.

Small Market with a Persian restaurant attached. When I went they were doing takeout only. Decided to get 2 Koobideh plates. Flavorful tender meat, fluffy rice. Food overall was very good, solid 4 out of 5. Came out hot and fresh. Service was a bit slow, atmosphere is to be expected for a small market with counter service ordering.

Afshin Afshar-Ghasemlou

In Crepuscule, Roman Payne writes: “People wonder why so many writers come to live in Paris… Just like Italy, Spain, or Iran are the best places to pick saffron.” Well, I can’t comment on Paris or the search for novel ideas, but I can confidently say this: you don’t need to travel to Italy, Spain, or Iran to find saffron. All you need to do is drive to Novato. Saffron Grill & Market is a small, unassuming spot that serves a dual purpose, as both a Middle Eastern grocery store and a casual grill, and it does both surprisingly well. If you enjoy exploring spices, dried goods, and specialty ingredients, the shelves alone are worth the stop. I certainly got a kick out of browsing them. And if you’re hungry, just walk to the back of the store, look up at the menu, and order whatever catches your eye. The food is solid, comforting Persian cuisine, prepared simply and priced very reasonably. It’s the kind of place where you don’t overthink the order, you just pick something and enjoy it. The owner-operator is friendly and genuinely happy to answer questions, whether you’re curious about the food, the spices, or what pairs well together. It’s not flashy, and it doesn’t try to be. But if you’re looking for authentic flavors, good value, and a warm, local feel, Saffron Grill & Market delivers, all without leaving Marin County.

Cameron B.

Small Market with a Persian restaurant attached. When I went they were doing takeout only. Decided to get 2 Koobideh plates. Flavorful tender meat, fluffy rice. Food overall was very good, solid 4 out of 5. Came out hot and fresh. Service was a bit slow, atmosphere is to be expected for a small market with counter service ordering.

Great place for takeout. Consistently great food. Grocery shelves always contain something new and interesting.

v stetsovsky

Great place for takeout. Consistently great food. Grocery shelves always contain something new and interesting.

The staff seemed quite friendly and I was delighted to learn how to make Turkish coffee at home. However, That being said, I spent $7 on a very small package of specialty rice. When I went to cook it, I was disappointed to learn it had expired 4 years earlier. (My bad for not noticing this at the store)

Jeannie Thomas

The staff seemed quite friendly and I was delighted to learn how to make Turkish coffee at home. However, That being said, I spent $7 on a very small package of specialty rice. When I went to cook it, I was disappointed to learn it had expired 4 years earlier. (My bad for not noticing this at the store)

We picked up one chelo kabab and one chlo morq and salad. We were very disappointed with a very cheap quality of meat they used in their kabab. They did not tast like a persian food. very disappointing. I also asked how old the Baklava is; the owner assured me it was made a day before. when we tried it at our hotel we realized it was stale and so old we could not eat it.

I really want to support small business owners as much as possible. I was excited to check out Saffron. I'd been wanting go for a while. When I went in, the lady behind the clear plastic pointed to and said the menu. I couldn't read it through the plastic and wanted to ask her about the dishes, being my first time there or at any Persian business. She was on the phone. I stared at her....phone I waved at her..... phone I spoke saying I couldn't read the menu... Phone I walked around the entire small store ... Phone She had no interest in having me as her customer. She just spoke on the phone. Too bad I'm loyal and spend a decent amount of money out. Also I tap about everywhere I like and my friends will listen to my recommendations. But just stay on the phone lady. No customer willing to spend money in your place is more important than being in the phone. There were 3 people there by the way, all on different phone calls.

Mike’s food made my family sick with diarrhea for 2 weeks - the rice and stew tasted and looked several days old but we were hungry so we ate it to not waste it. Another time, his prepared yogurt had mold in it. He does not have sell-by dates on foods he prepares himself. We have since stopped eating his prepared foods because we can’t trust it. As far as his groceries theya are very overpriced and on two different visits he recommended and sold canned goods to us that were expired (2023 sold in 2025). We gave him a chance because he seemed nice. But he has no quality control. The health department should investigate! We will never go there again.

Mae Kalbassi

Mike’s food made my family sick with diarrhea for 2 weeks - the rice and stew tasted and looked several days old but we were hungry so we ate it to not waste it. Another time, his prepared yogurt had mold in it. He does not have sell-by dates on foods he prepares himself. We have since stopped eating his prepared foods because we can’t trust it. As far as his groceries theya are very overpriced and on two different visits he recommended and sold canned goods to us that were expired (2023 sold in 2025). We gave him a chance because he seemed nice. But he has no quality control. The health department should investigate! We will never go there again.

Patcharee Boyd

I really want to support small business owners as much as possible. I was excited to check out Saffron. I'd been wanting go for a while. When I went in, the lady behind the clear plastic pointed to and said the menu. I couldn't read it through the plastic and wanted to ask her about the dishes, being my first time there or at any Persian business. She was on the phone. I stared at her....phone I waved at her..... phone I spoke saying I couldn't read the menu... Phone I walked around the entire small store ... Phone She had no interest in having me as her customer. She just spoke on the phone. Too bad I'm loyal and spend a decent amount of money out. Also I tap about everywhere I like and my friends will listen to my recommendations. But just stay on the phone lady. No customer willing to spend money in your place is more important than being in the phone. There were 3 people there by the way, all on different phone calls.