Why Sameh Wadi Is Bringing Back the Beloved Saffron

Credit: Roy Son

It has long been one of my favorite restaurants in Minnesota. And now, chef Sameh Wadi is bringing back Saffron. He opened it when he was 23 years old, in 2007, in the middle of a recession when everyone was opening gastropubs.

“I was completely insane,” he tells me. “The time right now is no different.” In an era when takeout and delivery are king, people are dining out less often during the week, and white tablecloths are out. But Sameh and his brother Saed are bringing back the chandeliers.

“I never put a burger on the dinner menu. We stuck to it, did what we wanted to do, and we grew and were making money. We’re going to do it the way we want to do it,” Wadi says.

He has spent the last year doing some soul searching, traveling, resting, and, if you follow him on Instagram, you’ve seen him doing a lot in the kitchen. “I’ve been in the lab cooking up all this stuff and realized I had one more in me,” he says. “I’ve been doing this, on my own, signing checks, for 17 years. I think I have one more project in me that requires me, personally, to be deep-diving into it.”

Why now? When, at the same time, he has plans for expansion with World Street Kitchen and Milkjam Creamery? “What I miss is the sense of community that it brought, the day-to-day of talking to chefs about what ingredients they want to use. I miss having a place that friends can come and celebrate and I can celebrate with them.”

Credit: Roy Son

Since Wadi shared the news this week, he has been overwhelmed with stories and memories from people who celebrated milestones or moments at the Warehouse District spot. While he was thinking about sending out 10 orders of branzini, it wasn’t really about the fish itself. There were 10 different tables enjoying the dish, making 10 different memories. “I needed this for me as a person as much as for me as a chef,” he says. “I realized we created something really special with Saffron; it wasn’t just a restaurant that had good food. People had so many memories with it. It blows my mind.”

What to expect? I’ve called Wadi “the master of spice,” and I expect that to continue. No one layers bold flavors like he does. “My style of cooking has evolved, but the core of it stays the same,” he says. “For years, I’ve thought I had to fit into the Euro-centric way of cooking. I don’t think that anymore. We’re seeing it now, chefs like Christina Nguyen (Hai Hai) and Ann Ahmed (Gai Noi) cooking bold flavors from their home countries, and they’re not compromising.”

So, where to put it? Sameh doesn’t have a spot—but he’s looking in northeast Minneapolis and the North Loop.

“This is a restaurant with roots and a restaurant that represents old world. I’d love to put it in a space that has some character and patina and has some of that energy. I could be wrong, but I feel like it needs to be in a place that has history. Doesn’t have to be an old restaurant, but a building or space that has cool or unique spaces to it,” he says

If you’ve got a space, hit him up. I, for one, can’t wait.

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