Rice and Spice: Squid Ink Paella Triumphs at Saffron

“Back for More” is a regular magazine dining column in which we revisit old favorites.

On a summer day of growling skies, sticky T-shirts and short tempers, thoughts of flight drove us to seek out this little-known slice of the Mediterrranean. Inside the glass courtyard, restorative A/C coursed over tables like a levant breeze, and, bolstered by good olive oil and the Verdejo grape, we were soon lost to the delusion of deliverance – chewing, chatting and clinking glasses as if on the Catalan coast. But the tremendous squid ink paella (RMB 198 for two) still caught us by surprise.

Even though my Spanish companion, scraping the bottom of the cast-iron dish, bemoaned the absence of socarrat (that’s “crusty bits” to English speakers), he had to concede that the flavors were fabulous.

Each slick black mouthful was a carnival of bulbously tender rice and textured cuttlefish, with an earthy richness that lingered long and sweet. Scallops, shrimp and mussels were joyously plump, and we ate the lot straight out of the pan, getting through two dishes of aioli.

Rustic coca bread topped with Serrano ham and tomato (RMB 49) and unremarkable calamari (RMB 49) were long forgotten, profoundly usurped by the devilishly dark arròs negre (black rice).

A pair of strong espressos eventually snapped us out of our stupor, but a dish this lovely will linger long in the memory.

Standout dishes: Squid ink paella, garlic shrimp
Also try: Carmen, Niajo

Saffron
Tue-Sun noon-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm. 64 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District (8404 4909) 东城区五道营胡同64号