Address: 3330 Brighton Blvd #201, Denver, CO 80216
Introduction:
Safta is a restaurant located in the River North Art District of Denver. It is a part of Pomegranate Hospitality Group, a restaurant group run by Alon Shaya, a two-time James Beard Award-winning chef. Safta serves both traditional Middle Eastern dishes, such as Baba Ghanoush and Falafel, as well as Jewish delights like Matzo Ball Soup and Knish. Safta’s success earned the restaurant a place on “The 38 Essential Denver Restaurants” list by EATER.
Picture of Alon Shaya. https://countryroadsmagazine.com/. January 21, 2016. https://countryroadsmagazine.com/cuisine/Louisiana-foodways/chef-alon-shaya/
The Experience:
Safta is one of many restaurants that is not currently offering “dine-in” due to state regulations. So instead of discussing ambiance and service as I usually would do, let’s talk about a more relevant type of experience, a digital one. Safta’s website was very easy to navigate and ordering online was a piece of cake. This might not sound particularly impressive, but many online ordering platforms are ridiculously difficult to use. When we came to pick up our order, I realized that Safta was in The Source, a hotel, and marketplace that is home to over 25 artisan shops and restaurants. When we arrived, we were greeted very quickly and were immediately handed our order. The entire take out process at Safta was quick, safe, and efficient.
Picture of The Source building. https://www.uncovercolorado.com/. https://www.uncovercolorado.com/activities/the-source-hotel-market-hall/
The Food:
Safta’s menu is abundant with a wide variety of traditional Israeli sides, salads, and dips. Of these is hummus, a very well known Israeli staple. An intriguing aspect of Safta’s menu is that it offers hummus with a variety of different toppings. My entire family loves mushrooms so we went with the hummus topped with wood-roasted mushrooms, chermoula butter (a North African condiment consisting of warm spices, herbs, garlic, and chilis), and scallions. The hummus itself was rich and savory. The mushrooms provided the hummus with a deep-earthy flavor, while the chermoula butter gave the dish herbaceous notes. My only critic is that there was no textural contrast. The hummus was vastly smooth and the mushrooms were soft. There was no element to counteract the overall creaminess of the dish.
The pita served with the hummus was very nice, as well. It was pillowy and had a slight crunch. Although considered a flatbread, most pitas still incorporate yeast, and the fermented sour quality of the yeast really stood out in this pita.
The remainder of our meal consisted of many different small plates. Arayes (wagyu beef toasted inside a pita served with Israeli salad and tahini) was one of my favorite dishes. The heavily spiced meat was tremendously juicy and tender, and the Israeli salad complimented the Arayes by giving the dish some freshness. The flavor profile of this dish reminded me of Lahmacun, a Turkish dish consisting of a thin piece of dough topped with spiced minced meat, herbs, and vegetables.
Growing up in Kazakhstan, my father loved Khachapuri (a Georgian style cheese bread that is commonly topped with an egg) and is still obsessed with it to this day. Khachapuri is not widely available in Colorado, so we were very delighted to see it on Safta’s menu. Safta’s khachapuri was very different than other khachapuris I have eaten. It was topped with tons of gruyere and mozzarella cheese, as well as, a Morrocan style tomato sauce called matbucha. I loved this iteration. The dough itself was nicely chewy and crisp on the outside. The matbucha zinged with acid and cut through the rich combination of Mozzarella and Gruyere. I really enjoyed this dish, and will definitely be coming back for some more khachapuri soon.
Another one of my favorites was the lamb kebabs. I’m beginning to see a pattern that I just can’t resist these Middle Eastern spiced meats. The lamb kebabs were topped with matbucha (the same sauce used on the Khachapuri), tahini, and spiced pine nuts. The meat, similar to the Arayes, was superbly flavorful, and once again the matbucha brought a punch of acidic tomato goodness. However, the star of this dish was the tahini. In contrast to the powerfully flavored matbucha, the tahini worked to round the dish out. Its creamy texture mellowed out the matbucha’s acidity and its nutty flavor complimented the lamb nicely as well. The toasted pine nuts were also a good addition, as they gave the dish some crunch.
Safta’s saffron rice really does sound delicious. Robustly yellow saffron rice topped with sunflower seeds, cherries, and scallions sounds like a fantastic combo, but to be frank it was disappointing. The rice itself was flavorless and the distinct floral aroma signature to saffron was nowhere to be found. The cherries and sunflower seeds would have been a nice addition if the rice was more flavorful, however, they just seemed like an afterthought. The rice also had a strange after taste that was fairly off-putting. The after taste reminded me of chlorine, and after doing some research, I discovered that this sort of taste could possibly be a result of old or poorly stored saffron.
For dessert, we got the Bake at Home Cookie Box. This cookie set included 3 flavors: chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, and double chocolate raspberry. During the pandemic, the concept of heating up or cooking food from a restaurant at home is very appealing to me. This way you get fresh, hot food as intended if you were actually at a restaurant. These cookies were too good. I started by eating two, one snickerdoodle, and one chocolate chip, but the next thing I know, I realized that I have just inhaled 8. Long story short, these cookies are most definitely worth getting if you are getting takeout from Safta.
Overall Rating:
It is commonly known that sometimes takeout may not be a fair representation of a restaurant in comparison to food straight out of the kitchen. Steam from the takeout container can change a dish’s texture, one aggressive right turn can ruin the plating, and a hard stop can make a plate of food appear unrecognizable. Regardless, our meal at Safta was delicious. The dishes were bright and abundantly flavorful and the flavors of Israel were wonderfully represented. Besides the saffron rice, the meal was consistently impressive. Safta is a must-visit restaurant as soon as the world decides to open itself back up to its inhabitants. My overall rating is 4.5 stars out of 5.
If you enjoyed this restaurant review, check out my review on Garibaldi Mexican Bistro, an awesome Mexican restaurant in Englewood, Colorado.
