By 
In May 2022, Ori Menashe and his wife Genevieve Gergis opened Saffy’s. This is the new sister restaurant of Bavel and Bestia, two critically acclaimed restaurants located in the Arts District. Bestia, which opened in 2013, received praise from renowned Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold, who passed away in 2018.
Ori and Genevieve wanted to open a Mediterranean restaurant inspired by the kebabs Ori grew up eating in Israel. Both of them were born in LA, but Ori spent his formative years in Israel, whereas Genevieve was raised in LA. The menu features Middle Eastern food with a modern twist.
Saffy’s is located in a gorgeous revamped Art Deco building, right across the street from the Church of Scientology in East Hollywood. The restaurant is named after their daughter, Saffron. The interior decor is elegant and classic, reminiscent of old Hollywood.
That day was very cloudy, so I wasn’t able to get good pictures of the restaurant interior, but here’s what it looks like.
Although reservations are strongly encouraged for big parties, walk-ins are also welcome. Parking in this area is hit-or-miss, but I was able to find a metered spot right across from the restaurant! Make sure to read the signs! If finding parking becomes too much of a hassle, you can always park with the valet.
I went by myself and I was seated right away at the bar. Sitting here gave me an overview of the indoor seating area and the open kitchen, where Ori Menashe was at the helm shaving meat off of the giant rotating spit.
Next to me, a mother and her daughter were sharing the hummus plate, which seemed to be ubiquitous. This is what I had:
Tomatoes
You can find hummus or falafel at every kebab place in LA, which is why I wanted to venture into more creative dishes like this one. The two waiters I talked to highly encouraged me to order it.
This tomato dish is served with feta cheese, smoked eggplant purée, cilantro and a sprinkling of nigella seeds.
It was so good! The tomatoes were so fresh and I Ioved the thick chunks of salt. The combination of the soft feta cheese, the citrusy hint of cilantro, and the smoothness of the purée brought everything together. It was perfectly executed and I really enjoyed savoring all the different textures. If it’s your first time, you definitely have to get this as an appetizer! It’s not that big, so if you go with someone else, you can order a second appetizer.
Skewers
For their signature dish, you can choose two meats. The options are chicken, beef or lamb. Your choice of two meats comes on two long metal skewers, which are very intimidating to say the least! The plate comes with homemade laffa bread and tahini chopped salad that is topped with anba sauce. A small cup of “chili crunch” sauce is served on the side. Their freshly made laffa bread is served from the oven straight to your plate.
One of the waiters saw me struggling to slide the meat off the skewers and onto my plate, so he told me to use the fluffy bread. I did as he said and that did the trick! The servers keep an eye on the tables and remove the formidable skewers once they’re empty.
I got chicken and beef. The waiter said that the beef came from Australia, whereas the chicken came from local farms in California.
When I go to a kebab place, rice plays an integral part. Here, rice is only served if you order one of their larger dishes.
However, the generously sized homemade laffa bread and the tahini chopped salad made up for it.
The beef was cooked to perfection. The chicken was also really tender, as you can see in the pictures below. Look at that beautiful char on the skin! Every bite was packed with so much flavor.
In between bites, I occasionally tore off pieces of the laffa bread and dipped them into the tahini chopped salad. The salad was good, but I wasn’t crazy about it or the side of chili crunch. For me, the real winners were the perfectly cooked meat and the fluffy homemade bread.
The mom and daughter who were sitting next to me also ordered the skewers. The daughter placed the meat on the bread, spread some of the tahini salad and then folded it like a taco. It all depends on your preference! The meat at Saffy’s already shines on its own, so for me there was no need to add more flavors on top of it.
Do not skip the dessert! One of the reasons I came here was the enticing pictures of their bergamot chocolate cake with rose ganache, and boy, was it worth it.
This was probably the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. It tasted just as good as it looked in the pictures!!
Once it arrived, the couple sitting on the other side of me couldn’t take their eyes off the cake. “Oh my God, that looks amazing! Wow!” said the woman. Then the man chimed in: “We definitely need a report on that.”
The cake was very fluffy. I felt like I was biting into a cloud. It was also moist, which is always a good indicator of its freshness and quality. Surprisingly, the decadent chocolate frosting wasn’t sweet at all! Altogether, this delicious slice of chocolate cake was surprisingly light. My hat goes off to the pastry chef!
My bill came to almost $80 without tip. You could say that this was definitely a splurge. Although Saffy’s isn’t my go-to place when I’m craving a kebab, the experience and creative dishes made up for the hefty price tag. Another note is that Saffy’s is slightly cheaper than its two sister restaurants.
For the ambiance and the quality, it was well worth the money. Not all kebab places will have beef flown in from Australia, or a scrumptious homemade chocolate dessert, such as the one here. Additionally, this place is perfect for people-watching. Since it opened, celebrities have flocked to Saffy’s. I went very early and I didn’t see any, but apparently, from what I read, the later you go, the greater your chances of spotting one.
If you want a more elevated experience than your run-of-the-mill kebab joint, then Saffy’s is worth the visit. Since opening, Saffy’s has been featured in countless LA food publications, so I wanted to see what the hype was all about. Was it worth it? Undoubtedly!
4851 Fountain Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Book your reservation here.
Have you been to Saffy’s?
