Saffron Haveli is an Indian restaurant at 25 Kent Terrace, Wellington, on the eastern edge of the CBD near Mount Victoria and a short walk from Courtenay Place and the Basin Reserve. It is a family-owned restaurant established by Kashmir Singh.
### Concept and the room
The restaurant takes its name and its fit-out from the haveli, the Indian mansion where extended families live and eat together. The building's interior follows that idea directly: the restaurant explains that brick wall partitions have been used through the dining hall to divide the large room into smaller sections, echoing the traditional haveli layout. The result is a dining room that can seat a substantial group while still breaking into more contained areas.
### Cuisine and menu
The kitchen describes its cooking as drawn from research and exploration of Indian food, with recipes tied to particular regions of the Indian landscape alongside dishes inspired by Indian street food, prepared using traditional methods and Indian spices. Separate dine-in dinner, dine-in lunch and takeaway menus are published as downloadable PDFs, and the dinner menu includes a section of sizzler plate specials. Online ordering for pickup is available through the restaurant's ordering platform.
### Hours and bookings
Published hours are lunch from 11.30am to 2.30pm and dinner from 5pm to 9.30pm, Monday to Sunday. Table reservations can be made through the website's booking form or by phone on 04 385 9000.
### Groups, functions and catering
Saffron Haveli runs dedicated corporate events and special events streams. It states a seating capacity of 100 people and positions the restaurant for gatherings, events and casual lunch meetings, noting that groups exceeding 100 can be accommodated with additional seating if the restaurant is told in advance. Its catering service covers complete food preparation, beverages and crockery, and is also offered for private parties, birthdays and events.
### MICE suitability
Of the central Wellington Indian restaurants, Saffron Haveli is one of the more explicitly event-ready. A stated 100-seat capacity with scope to extend, a published corporate events offer, an in-house catering service covering food, drinks and crockery, and a partitioned dining hall that can be broken into sections all make it workable for delegate dinners, conference lunches and end-of-event group meals. The Kent Terrace address sits within walking distance of the Courtenay Place hotel cluster and is straightforward for coach access. Organisers should confirm exclusive-use terms, group menus and pricing directly. Compare with other Wellington restaurants.
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