Saffron Cow a true neighborhood gathering place — with ambition

Bless their hearts, at least they're honest at Saffron Cow.

Four of us showed up for dinner at this quirky West Seattle restaurant, market and antique store. While we waited by the burbling fountain for someone to notice us, we had plenty of time to gawk at spangled quilts from India and a 300-year-old Spanish confessional. We could hear the hum of conversation emanating from a cocoon of burlap curtains that create a cozy dining nook in the cavernous brick-walled space. In the open kitchen, a skinny young man whose brow utterly failed to support his too-large toque worked in glum solitude.

Once seated we had plenty of time to sort out what we wanted to eat, before our server bustled over with a friendly smile and, in the nicest possible way, suggested we might want to leave.

"I think you should know," she began, "That we only have one person in the kitchen tonight, and some of these people have already been waiting an hour for their food. So if you're really hungry, you might want to go somewhere else."

Alas, I was not a good-natured Fauntleroy neighbor who might be willing to assuage my hunger at the Mexican place across the street; I was a restaurant critic on a deadline.

But I appreciated the heads-up. There had been no such alert at "blunch" when an hourlong wait for food was hard to endure with two 6-year-olds and a server so in over her head we couldn't get coffee without several reminders.

"I just don't know what's going on in there," she said, apologizing for the food's delay.

When it finally arrived, the Dutch Baby was undercooked, the seafood frittata burnt, the cheddar cheese had congealed on an otherwise tasty tuna melt and the kids took one bite of the cold French toast and said "Yuck." Instead, they made a happy meal out of some excellent drop biscuits and a generous pot of freezer jam.

How dare I recommend this restaurant, you might be thinking by now. Well, my first visit to Saffron Cow went far more smoothly.

We were greeted and seated promptly and soon were dipping a crusty, warm baguette into a bowl of oil and vinegar. We never lacked attention and were well satisfied with our entrees: filet mignon ($22.95) sauced with marsala, garlic, butter and mushrooms, accompanied by boiled potatoes, sautéed spinach and sweet carrots braised with swiss chard; and seafood pasta ($19.95) combining fresh tagliatelle noodles, shrimp, clams, sea scallops, squid and mahi mahi — each item cooked to perfection in a piquant, cilantro-spiked tomato-and-red-pepper soup.

And even on the night we were forewarned of a delay, it never materialized.

What did, and fairly quickly, was a bottle of the house red wine, a 1998 Onix Priorato from Spain ($26), and an appetizer sampler plate ($13.95) of crostini with various spreads — hummus, tapanade made with green, black and Kalamata olives, and fluffy smoked-salmon mousse — as well as fresh mozzarella and basil on a not-so-ripe tomato.

Entree prices include soup or salad. The spicy beef pozole was a bit oily but packed with hominy; the corn chowder, peppery and thick with potatoes, was corny enough. The dinner salad, draped with the dressing of your choice, was a fresh mix of cucumber, tomato and greens.

On that visit, entrees were less consistent. Best was a hearty plate holding two char-grilled boneless pork chops ($19.95), caraway-flecked braised cabbage and knedlicky, a savory Czech-style dumpling that falls somewhere between a meatball and a matzo ball. Breaded veal Parmesan ($17.95) was crisp and light under its parsimonious drizzle of cheese sauce. The earthy joy of creamy wild-mushroom risotto ($17.95) embellished with Stilton cheese and a splash of raspberry port syrup were mitigated by leathery slices of smoked, grilled chicken breast. The gnocchi ($15.95) were leaden.

The meal ended with a wonderfully wicked hunk of caramel layer cake and New York cheesecake (both $4.95) sauced sublimely with orange-blossom-scented strawberry purée. We knew it was time to go when someone wheeled an industrial-sized bucket into the center of the floor, turned up the lights and began mopping.

Saffron Cow's owners, Giles Jeffery and Kristen Hladecek, met in Katmandu three years ago. In short order they married, bought a house in Fauntleroy and opened this store. What began as a deli, cafe and market a year and a half ago is still evolving into a full-service restaurant that, pending Liquor Board approval, could soon have a bar and lounge.

As a neighborhood gathering place, Saffron Cow is clearly popular. Excellent house-roasted coffee, fresh scones, imaginative and reasonably priced sandwiches built on good bread plus live music on weekends are all part of the draw. Dinner is an iffier proposition.

Saffron Cow is worth a visit if you're in the neighborhood, but it's not a destination restaurant yet.

Providence Cicero: providencecicero@aol.com.