Detroit – With their colorful lanterns and flavorful food, Saffron De Twah is bringing the taste of Morocco to the D.
“I knew that I wanted people to have a taste and flavor of what it’s like to go to Morocco, " explained owner Omar Anani.
While this is Omar’s first restaurant, he is no newbie to the food. He stared off young, working in his parent’s restaurant as a dishwasher. One day, when it was busy, he was asked to help cook in the kitchen, and he fell in love with it. Culinary school was next for Omar and then he opened up several food trucks including The Twisted Mitten and Fat Panda Kitchen. The next step was opening a restaurant. Originally he thought of making Fat Panda Kitchen into a restaurant but noticed there were several Asain Fusion restaurants in the area. He was at a loss until one night, he had a dream.
“I woke up at 4 in the morning and I said, ‘Wait a minute, I am a French-trained chef. Detroit’s a French city. Morocco was occupied by the French. Where are the closest Moroccan restaurants in the city?’ So I did a Google search and nothing popped up,” said Omar.
So in April of 2019, he opened Saffron De Twah, adding his own flair to classic Moroccan foods and flavors. The restaurant is small but features lots of colorful lanterns on the wall, and a beautiful mural on the outside wall. Favorites on the menu include their Moroccan fried chicken sandwich and their lamb tagine.
In their short time open, they have won many awards from Eater Detroit, The Detroit Free Press, and Hour Magazine, The James Beard Foundation, and even Local 4′s Vote 4 The Best competition, but that is not the only way Omar measures success.
“When you see someone grab a piece of food and shove it into their friend’s mouth - ' You’ve got to taste this. This is so good!' - and that is the biggest honor and privilege,” said Omar.
Typically they are open for dine-in-service, but currently, due to COVID-19, they are open for curbside pick up, and take-out only. If you would like to try out Saffron De Twah they are located at 7636 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit.