Michael S.

Bristol and the area around it is slowly, but surely, getting some great food. A few years ago Noemy's shows up and now I finally tried Sofra. Go here. Go here right away. As soon as you can find the time go here. When it comes to Mediterranean / Turkish food I'm legitimately questioning if I've ever had any as good as what I just had tonight at Sofra. Every dish was what I wanted it to be. Every part of the cold appetizer platter was perfect. The hummus was the best hummus. The eggplant was addictive. The crushed veggies were delicious. And then my grilled chicken combo came out and it was all awesome. I've been to places with similar cuisine and I've enjoyed it, but I've never really been blown away. I'll get all excited by the sight of meats on long skewers or delicious looking dips only to eat them and think, "Yeah that's pretty good, but I don't think I'd pay for it again." But at Sofra it was like someone finally got things right. It not only looked beautiful, but the food tasted as seasoned as delicious as I'd always wanted this type of cuisine to be. It it a little pricey? Yes. Normally I'm cheap as hell and would write a place off if the food was more than I wanted to pay on a night out, but this food was so good that I already know for a fact I'll be back. It's worth it. If you get the app platter maybe split it with three of four people instead of two. We were stuffed. Go give them your business because we all know the location is a TOUGH one. Only one side of the street can turn in and it's easy not to notice it there as you zoom by on 13. But you should really go there like... today.

Pamela K.

My husband is from Istanbul and we live in Seattle, WA. It's so hard to find good Turkish food that isn't frozen from some big company. You get a lot of restaurants out west using pre-made frozen food to pass as their own. It's good but nothing compares to the freshness and flavor of Sofra. This restaurant made everything from scratch and to-order, including the manti. We waited while the owner rolled out the dough and hand made the manti. The food was exceptionally fresh! We started off our meal with Çoban salatası (shepards salad) and bread that my husband told me is typically on every Turkish families dinner table. It was amazing! It wasn't pre-made, the owner was cutting up all the vegetables to order and it was seasoned perfectly! The Adana kebab was flavorful with that little bit of heat it's supposed to have from the peppers and it's accompanied by grilled tomatoes and peppers. The owner was so kind and made my husband feel like he was back in Turkey. It's been awhile since we've been back but this made him feel less homesick. All in all this restaurant was a little hole-in-the-wall with amazing food and great customer service!

Jeff K.

SUMMARY This could be a gem of a spot but we expect that it will remain unchanged unless new management is put in place. And that is a shame, as the food is actually rather good. So, a potential success will likely meander on as it has for years. IT IS BEST TO CALL FIRST TO SEE IF THEY ARE OPEN. Hours are not posted and they open and close at their discretion. Unfortunately, the long-time owner seems rather set in his ways and is not interested in change. At the end of our meal, while paying, we mentioned the lack of posted hours and the "24/7 on the net" and received a very gruff and harsh response! Honestly and unfortunately, this really dampened what would otherwise have been a nice experience. FULL REVIEW Sofra has been here for decades. Yet, they are often closed when "posted open". In fact, now and then, they are closed for many months, without any signage. So - absolutely CALL BEFORE and make sure they are open before driving over. Many have noted this in their reviews. Their effective hours of operation are perhaps Tue - Sun, 11 am to 7 pm. Maybe ... As others have noted, their lot will almost certainly be empty even if they are open. It is what it is. We stopped here Saturday at 12:45 for a nice lunch. They brought a pitcher of ice water (lemon provided if you ask). Ok so on to the actual review. We ordered several things, for variety: FOOD 1. Lamb Gyro (sandwich). Excellent! Fresh and vibrant flavors. A very reasonable portion for the price - $7 2. Calamari (listed as entrée but is only an appetizer). $10. It is uninspired and average. Skip this. They have other seafood choices and we suspect their trout may be interesting, but, overall one is best advised to "focus on core Turkish dishes with lamb, veggies etc". 3. Babagannush / Baba ghanoush (app). $6. Vibrant, flavorful and delicious. Really quite superb and served with warmed bread. We can't wait to try other app options. 4. Turkish Coffee. $2. Flavorful and sharp. Served in an attractive holder. It is not for everyone. If you wait for it to really settle, you will them have a small portion of 1 - 1.5 oz before reaching the thick layer of fine grounds. Personally, I would prefer a strong cup of rich filtered coffee using the same blend. 5. The included basket of bread was likely from our order of babagannush and was very good, warmed up on a grill. SERVICE Overall, service was fine. Our server was a nice lady from Turkey who did not speak any English at all. She did not even understand when we said, "thank you" as she brought things to our table. We suspect that she just arrived in the US and hope that she tries to learn a few basics. We looked up thank you in Turkish but our pronunciation failed to hit the mark. Ah well ... So ... the owner helped to take our order. There really isn't a choice there, unless one just points and holds up fingers. He seemed a bit tired and harried. And, this seemed a bit odd at 12:45 on a Sat, as we had the entire place to ourselves ... After a bit a second table was taken by a pair of young women, who had clearly had never been here before and we overheard that they dropped by since they had seen our car out front. Yep, there is a lesson there for the owner, but we don't think it likely that it will be heeded.

Simon W.

I've had dinner at and take out from Sofra a few times now and aside from a few items on the menu, I haven't been totally wowed by the food here overall. In regards to some of the items I do like, the chicken chops and the lamb are great. I should also say that they are great if they aren't overcooked which they are on some occasions. When the chicken chops, which are at time large pieces of dark meat chicken or small chunks of dark meat chicken at other times, isn't overcooked, they are quite frankly awesome and definitely the best item on the menu. I can make the same comment regarding the lamb which I feel are slightly overcooked as the norm. Neither dish is oversalted and I'd say the mediterranean flavors are slightly muted. I've tried a few other items on the menu like the combo meat platter (which includes the chicken chops), the falafel, the mixed appetizers which include the hummus, stuffed grape leaves and babganoush but they aren't what drive me to return honestly. Finally the rice and grilled veggies that accompany your proteins are more consistent and well prepared. I'm not sure what the lunch crowd looks like but the dinner crowd is really non existent on each of my visits which is both strange and understandable given my mixed review. Sofra does have the potential for a great meal on occasion and the staff here have been really friendly on each of my visits which keep me coming back for my favorites.

Aimee K.

Besides the fact that Sofra doesn't look like much from the outside, we also never see any cars in the lot. I often wonder how this place stays afloat. Nevertheless, we have heard good things about the food from Yelpers and friends so, we decided to give it a go. We came for a 5pm Sunday dinner. There were no other patrons, but I wasn't alarmed since this seemed to be the case in every review. The owner greeted us and sat us at a table off to the side. Turkish music was playing and although a bit loud, it added to to our dining experience. We were immediately presented with a pitcher of ice water, a basket of warm flat bread and a plate of walnuts and cheese. The walnut plate could have a better presentation but that didn't stop up from gobbling it up. We quickly ordered the babaganoush for the bread. It was delicious and had the the right amount of garlic and oil. It was not overpowering and made it easy to finish the entire basket of bread. (Like we needed any help) My husband had the lamb kebab dinner. The lamb was very tender and was grilled and spiced to perfection. I had the Lamb Adana kebabs. Juicy minced lamb with just the right amount of cumin and chili flakes. I was glad to have the cucumber yogurt dipping sauce to cool it a bit. Both platters were served with buttery rice, grilled tomato and a grilled hot pepper. Overall, it was excellent. Portion sizes are just right and everything was reasonably priced. We would definitely go back.

Amazing food. Hard working owner. They need more waitressing staff available for service. Been here twice. Hummas, eggplant, and meat dishes are great. I was not a fan of any of the yogurt based dishes.

Hira M.

This place is a hidden gem! We ordered the sofra kabob, which feeds around 4 people. The meat was cooked well and was very flavorful! We also ordered the manti which tasted really fresh and seriously brought back all the feels from the time I visited turkey. Knafeh and baklava were delicious. I was kinda upset to find out they didn't have pide on the menu anymore :/ But literally everything we ordered was so good so it made up for it! Also the manager is so sweet and friendly!

Jason D.

Nice little restaurant. Went here for lunch with the wife while our car was in the shop. The place was empty while we were there. So it ended up being a romantic dining experience. The ambiance is casual, with traditional songs played over loud speaker. The food was tasty. I chose this place because according to yelp, it served a traditional Turkish pide. Something I've longed for for years, and the only other place I've had it was in a restaurant in Toronto Canada. Unfortunately this establishment doesn't serve it anymore, major disappointment! It looked yummy in Yelp pics. The shawarma was delicious, served with warm pita, and walnuts and cheese. Turkish tea was soothing. Overall, a good experience. But please BRING BACK the pide :)

Sorangie S.

This place is baklava hidden gem. Right across from Walmart, who knew.. Kinda romantic setting, the owner was our waiter and chef ‍. I got the gyro sandwich and BAKLAVA heaven. I have ate alot of it in my 33 years of life and this is the BEST pistachio baklava.

Steve D.

We stopped in here late on a Sunday night driving home from a stop at Long beach island. It was very quiet and the owner was extremely hospitable.We ordered the Baba ghanoush which was incredible. That was followed by the mixed grill which was insanely delicious !!! Everything was cooked to order and not a thing was half cooked and heated up....I absolutely cannot stand restaurants that do that. The owner also kept our tea cups full throughout the whole meal!!! He make awesome tea !! for dessert we shared a Kunefe which we both enjoyed as it was the perfect size for two. Honestly, i cant wait to stop back in as i love Turkish food, and this place is super authentic.

From the outside, as many have said before, this place does not look like much. When I arrived here on a Friday night around 10:00 PM, there was no one in the parking lot besides what appeared to be the owner/sole employee on duty's vehicle. This was kind of concerning at first, especially for a Friday night. But I reminded myself of all the good reviews I read on Yelp and I went in anyway. Inside, the place was mostly empty and quiet except for the television blaring some Turkish music on a Turkish television station, and the older owner/sole emloyee who came out to seat us and hand us menus. I enjoyed the quiet, and as I was glancing at the menu pages, some cheese, walnuts, and flatbread were placed on the table. We ordered a lamb gyro and the chicken combo with a mix of chicken adana, chicken shish, and chicken chops, served with rice and grilled tomato. Both of these dishes were served with tzatziki sauce on the side. And in both dishes, I noted two things. A few elements were a bit more charred than I would have liked, but I would not go so far as to say they were burnt. And secondly, there was far too little tzatziki sauce for either of the dishes. Particularly, with the combo, the chicken adana made with ground chicken was my favorite of the three chickens. The others were not as good and two pieces of the meat were both charred on the outside, but slightly pink on the inside, which was a bit concerning for it being chicken. I just decided to eat everything else besides those two pieces. Combined with the rice and tzatziki sauce, with a bit of grilled tomato in each bite, the dish was delicious! But even better than any of the three chicken dishes was the lamb gyro. I think that the simple gyro sandwich was the hallmark of tonight's meal. Succulent, tender, delicious pieces of scrumptious meat in a soft, warm pita with some vegetables and tzatziki sauce. A wonderful marriage of flavors when combined, and I only wish there was more of that excellent, flavorful, texturally-contrasting tzatziki sauce on the sandwich. Finally, for dessert we tried the baklava with pistachios. This was an especially perfect treat to round out the night. Sweet, but flawlessly so. Not too sweet, and just right. Flaky and buttery phyllo pastry with yummy pistachios in between some of the many dozens of layers. Melted in my mouth! I would 100% recommend the baklava here even if you try absolutely nothing else. I am telling you, it is worth it! All in all, for a total of $35 including tip for dinner tonight with a friend, I think that the experience was well worth it, and I may come back in the future.