After coming here today to get some take-out with a no-fuss experience, I decided that a review was long due for Sofra.
It was a friend who mentioned about his meal experience here and then took me along one chilly evening in July. My first dining experience here was satisfactory and the owner who had a rather practical personality was quite hospitable to the point where she was able to accommodate a family of five who was not certain about the seating arrangements for their table. I also remember her going around to each party that was there and striking up a conversation also checking on the customers about their meal experience. Overall, there was a homely atmosphere at this restaurant.
The meals that my friend and I had were just as scrumptious as they look in the pictures. I had the chicken skewer and steel spear that was used to cook the chicken pieces was a first for me, never seen anything like that when dining in at other Middle-eastern style eateries. The salad was so fresh and lettuce was crisp and the cherry tomatoes were firm to the bite. The flatbread that we had, called a Laffa which looked like the Middle-eastern version of Naan bread was warm and soft which was a good thing because it's been a very long time since I've had a flatbread of that quality. Just look a the picture of it! I am also a big potato lover and was not disappointed with the herb infused garlicky flavor of their potato dish. I took half of the meal home and it was just as tasty after being heated in the microwave the next day.
During a subway ride today, I wanted to get some take-out around North York Centre and decided to return here for a second time. I picked the first option for the Lunch Specials which was the $10 deal: a meat dish + a side + three choices of their cold appetizers. I think I chose the chicken donair and of course the garlic potatoes. The food was shaken up a bit in the take-out bag but it still looks appetizing enough.
I got here around 1:30pm and it wasn't busy and customer service was friendly enough and my order was prepared and packed in good enough time.
Alright so I had half of my take-out earlier for dinner and I will say that chicken was a bit dry since it was the shaved meat used for the donairs and sharwama. he meat for the skewers are more moist in texture. Since I didn't get a laffa, I had to use a slice of bread which I stacked with some of the meat and appetizers. The garlic potatoes tasted the same as before. Out of the three appetizers the tabouleh stood out and had a refreshing taste to it. I also liked the hummus with the sharp taste of the tahini. The taste of the grilled eggplant which was alredy pureed was lost in the flavors of the tabouleh and the tahini.
Word to self: next time handle our take-out with care.
The dining area here is small which means that customers can't really "loiter" around during their meal, even though the patio in the summer allows for more sit-down dining experience. As someone who would prefer to get take-out and eat this back at home which is very comforting, I would come here whenever I crave for cuisine from this region of the world.
And as far as Sharwama and Kebab restaurants in that area are concerned, Kofra does stand out.