Harsharndeep Kaur D.

This is the first Turkish restaurant in edmonton I have tried it is also one of the most recommended restaurant in the city. Went for a family dinner on a weekday and I would recommend making reservation even on weekdays. It is quite a busy place. Order: Tavuk Sis Kebab: Delicious, tender and flavourful chicken skewers comes with bulghur pilaf, mixed greens in house dressing and grilled vegetables. Izgara Kofte: Scrumptious grilled beef meatballs with pilaf, mixed greens in house dressing and grilled vegetables as one of the most ordered dish. Sucuklu Pide: Cheesy pizza with sausage, egg and green onion was on the salty side and it was difficult to eat after few bites. Baklava: This mouth-watering layered pastry was perfect dessert to end your night with. Sweetness in the baklava was just perfect. One plate has 4 baklava pieces. Rating: Taste - 4/5 (I haven't tried any other Turkish place yet but loved this one except the pizza) Price - 3/5 (I found the restaurant on Pricier side) Serving : 4/5 Service - 4/5 Ambience - 4.5/5

Anna H.

Somewhere around downtown on the end of 106st, you'll pass the bold black sign with the words "Sofra Authentic Turkish Cuisine", which is actually less striking than you'd imagine. Lost between beige buildings in between some not so bustling impark parking lots, it's something you can easily miss, but once you're inside, boy are you in for a treat. Once you walk in through the entrance the warm orange painted walls wrap you up into the cozy space. Pendant lights from the ceiling unconsciously draws our eyes up as it brings to view the quirky wooden window grills peaking into their 2nd level dining space. The main area, being their main dining spot is tight but strategically spaced out for enough wiggle room for tables and diners to move around freely. Right in the middle is the spiral staircase leading to the basement where you'll find the third dining area! With a more intimate feel, the more prominent detail of this part is the Turkish seating area, which is where we opted to be. The biggest difference between Sofra and other Turkish eateries I've been to is probably the price between dishes. This is definitely one of the pricier places i've been to for Turkish food, portion sizes were big, but overall not really anything over the top in my opinion to justify the price. I'm guessing with the layout and atmosphere, they're aiming for more of classy date night spot, which explains the ballooned prices. Biber Ezme - ($12) - A red pepper yogurt dip that came with fresh pita, the dip was delicious, just well done flavors of tangy creamy yogurt. The pita bread was dressed with some olive oil and sesame seeds. Not a fan of the bread here at all TBH , I think the sesame seeds took away a lot of the flavors from the dip rather than adding to it. Even more ridiculous that you have to pay $5 for extra bread. Adana Kebab - ($23) - Their signature spicy ground beef kebab, this was also pretty good, kebab was juicy and pact a lot of flavor, not really spicy though. Tavuk Sis Kebab - ($28) - Chicken Skewers "charred to perfection", charred to perfection, sure, chicken was still moist. Wasn't as flavorful as I'd want it to be though. All entrees came with grilled vegetables, a salad with their house dressing, and a portion of bulgur pilaf. The salad dressing was my highlight, would come just to order a salad just because the dressing is THAT good. The bulgur pilaf was tomato based which actually made it super heavy and I wasn't a fan of it. Overall, as we sat cross-legged on some comfy cushions and pillows, we enjoyed our dining experience. It was fun and something new, but this wouldn't be my first recommendation for Turkish food. Nor will it be at the top of my list to revisit again.

Tracey S.

Lovely place for dinner. We will be back! Started with these appies: - hummus: must have (so delish and the pita was so light and tasty -apricots: these were not bad but not my fav, prob cuz I'm not a fan of mixing sweet with dinner dishes -pastrami: must have (so tasty, the mix of salty with the cheese and the figs was the perfect blend and I don't really like figs but u cuz taste them slightly -meatballs: these were also tasty although I much preferred the pastrami dish For our entrees we shared the sea bass and grilled chicken. Both were so tasty but my fav was the sea bass. Highly recommend! Not a fan of the rice that comes with but the salad and grilled veggies were good

Cyn D.

Ah sofra...I never knew you were there...I cannot believe sofra has been in its location for 11 years and I go to the hairdresser up the street. Apparently I live under a rock. Anyway, finally tried it. Mmm mm, delightful. Right up my taste alley. I love the whole chick pea, lamb, beef, bread, Mediterranean, wine experience. Also the desert colours on the walls, the anti evil eye symbol right in the table, and Comfortable chairs, all so relaxing. My fussy friend had the salmon, loved it. My lamb aficionado friend had the rack of lamb, loved it. I had the koftes which I am sometimes reluctant to order because I don't like any pink, they were perfect. We are going back soon to try other things....

Elaine C.

I went to sofra with some girls from work on a Friday evening. We've all been wanting to come for a while so this was much anticipated. For parking, it is free after 6 pm for side street parking (as per the meter). The restaurant is located pretty closely to grant mcewan. The restaurant has a very warm ambience. We had a nice reserved spot in the back with a clear view of the kitchen. Overall service was good and our server gave us her recommendations which we appreciated. The dips are a must have item. We were all blown away by the hummus dip. Very flavorful with a little kick to it. The feta dip and red pepper dip was nice and creamy with a tangy flavour as well and paired very well with their seasoned pita bread. We also shared the orduevi (we ordered 2 because there were 8 of us altogether). The jumbo shrimp and the beef flatbread were my favourite but everything was very tasty. I found everything spiced to perfection! Next i had the lamb loin which was delectable! I'm a lamb lover so he warned if you're not a fan of that mildly gamey taste (i personally love it). The lamb was cooked to perfection and very flavorful and not at all dry. I devoured the entire thing! It was also accompanied by the tiger prawns (again I highly recommend this) and salad and rice and with some delicious cheese to pair with my meat. We loved sofra and cannot wait to come back!

Antonella C.

I went to Sofra on a spur of the moment "how about" with my companion on the 25 of January :-) We hadn't been here in YEARS (yes, double digit years almost!). I am glad we returned as the quality hasn't changed and the friendliness of the Staff hasn't either :-) We ordered the Biber Ezme and a Piyaz Salad (we should have stopped there....the portions are very generous so I recommend you share these in 4 if you have an average appetite) before our entrees. They were both delicious and flavourful. My entree was the Adana Kabab which was delicious and filling on a chilly night. My companion ordered the Ahi Tuna which was VERY good and next time will order myself! For dessert, we ordered the Baklava and I had the Sutlu Irmik which was a new taste for me and I really enjoyed it. The flavour isn't sugary sweet and there are delicate flavours of nougat and rose :-) A nice and easy spot to have a really nice and easy dinner :-) Looking forward to returning SOON :-)

Sanna S.

Love love love LOVE this place! From walking into The beautiful interior and having the most amazing food in this city.. THe chef is remarkable!!! The service could be more friendly/welcoming and more customer service orientated. It could be that they are super busy. I had placed an order for the sun dried pizza, kabab, chicken, and lastly the mouth watering baklava. Everything was perfect and I cannot wait to go back again. Just wish it wasn't as pricey !!

Dia D.

We had a very nice dinner here in the upstairs private room which was very nice and quiet. We started with the three dips with pita bread which was thinner than other pita bread that I've had. All of the dips were delicious and they brought us more bread when we asked. I had the Donar Kebab which was spicy and had an excellent flavor. For dessert, we had the fig and date parfait which was also very tasty. Service was great.

DineoutGal A.

Great service. Delicious food. The stuffed grape leaves were at tad pricey at $12 for 4 but they were good. I had the Adana kebab ($23) - spicy Turkish meat skewer (sooooo good and flavourful) served with a bulgur pilaf and a delicious honey vinaigrette salad. Absolutely delicious meal I could have every week. It's near the new Rogers Place if you're there for an event.

Jonny M.

Sofra is another restaurant that has been on my hit list for quick some time now. It looks quite unassuming from the outside but once you step inside, you are greeted to an inviting, cozy and warm Turkish restaurant. Yes, you read right, this place specializes in Turkish food. Not something you see much of in this town. We dropped by on an early Saturday evening, a spur of a moment kind of decision. With no reservations (I'd recommend it if you want a prime time slot), the staff informed us we could have a table as long as we were out of there by 7:45pm. That gave us more than enough time (over 2 hours) for our meal so we took it. Sultan's sofrasi ($80.00) - this is Sofra's meal for two to share: two appetizers (yaprak sarma and humus), a mixed grilled meat sampler (chicken kebab, swordfish, beef meatballs and rack of lamb) and baklava for dessert. The best way to sample what Sofra has to offer. - Yaprak sarma - grape-vine leaves stuffed with rice, raisins and pine nuts. These were a great way to start off our meal. Similar to Greek dolmas, the yaprak sarma were light, flavourful and had an umami balance of sweet and sour flavours. - Humus -the humus came with a generous amount of fresh baked pita. The pita was lightly brushed with oil and nicely seasoned with sesame seeds. Man, if I could make pita like this at home, I'd be one happy camper. The humus was fresh but taste wise, it was pretty standard. It could have used something else (squeeze of lemon or garlic perhaps?). - Grilled meat sampler - the grilled meat platter came with two pieces each of chicken kebab, swordfish, beef meatballs and rack of lamb. It also came with a couple pieces of grilled vegetables (zuchinni, tomatoes and green pepper). It would have been nice to have more veggies. The other dish consisted of bulgur pilaf and a mixed green salad. I don't eat much bulgur pilaf but this was perfect with all of the meats we had. The swordfish and lamb were delicccious (the lamb was perfectly cooked medium rare). The chicken was moist and flavourful. The salad was standard, basic greens. - Baklava - everyone loves baklava and these ones were made just right, stuffed with walnuts, pistachio and drizzled with honey syrup. Not too sweet, these were the perfect way to end our meal. Stuffed and happy. I'm glad I was finally able to try out Sofra's. While it's not the cheapest place, you pay for quality. It definitely is a great place to celebrate a special occasion with friends, family or that special someone. They recently renovated their bottom floor, aptly named The Cellar at Sofra, which is spacious and looks great. They even have a separate menu, which you can find on their Facebook page (see link below) by clicking on "Menu". Next time I will have to try that out or their pideler (traditional baked pizzas)! Look for the "evil eye" carved into the tables for added amusement.

Salume P.

Sofra never disappoints. We go there for most, if not all of our special occasions. The chef is super friendly, welcoming and so down to earth. Staff are always friendly and accommodating but give you some space. The place gets packed sometimes and it's a good idea to make a reservation. Highly recommend the 3 dips and fresh bread appetizers for groups ( the bread comes out coated in butter/margarine). Personal favorite on the menu is Pasa Kebab which is lamb and 2-3 prawns with a bit of their slightly spicy tomato sauce and a little bit of yogurt dip, served with bulgur pilaf and a salad. Other suggestions are Adana Kebab (spicy ground beef skewer), rack of lamb and chicken pide. We are usually too full for dessert but we have been offered a few pieces of baklava on the house on a couple of occasions and it was very good (more on the mildly sweet side).

Bernice G.

I Heart Sofra! This is a true gem of a restaurant in Edmonton. If you enjoy Turkish food or are wanting to try it, this is the place to come here in the city. You have a great selection of grilled meats, seafood and vegetables to tantalize your taste buds. The variety, the flavours, the ambiance and the hospitality all contribute to my 5 star review. I have been here many times and have thoroughly enjoyed every experience but last night's meal and service was top notch. I was especially impressed because it is Downtown Dining Week and it can get very busy. This combined with a set menu can sometimes diminish the quality but this was not the case. Some of my recommendations are the dolma - stuffed grape leaves with rice with a bit of cinnamon - so delicious. The stuffed apricots with goat cheese are to die for. The feta stuffed mushrooms with tomato basil sauce are great and any of the dips with pita are wonderful. I would have to say the way that the pita bread is prepared is my favourite compared to any other Mediterranean restaurant in the city. The baked pizzas are fantastic! I especially enjoy the Ispanakli Pide: spinach, egg and cheese pizza. If you are too overwhelmed by the menu, the Sultan's Sofrasi is a good choice as it gives a little sampling of a variety of things. As for my meal last night - the pita bread and hummus were great as per usual as well as the stuffed mushrooms. But what blew my mind was the lamb tenderloin served with pilaf, lightly dressed salad and grilled vegetables. The lamb is the best I have ever had! So moist and tender - I felt like I was eating the creme de la creme white meat of steaks. The flavours were wonderful. The salad wasn't overdressed but refreshing and the veggies were grilled to perfection. The service last night was especially great. I unfortunately forget our servers name but she was very friendly, helpful and checked in on us regularly. I look forward to my next visit!

Ardy S.

From time to time Edmonton manages to surprise me with a hidden gem. For sure Sofra is one of those restaurants. We were a group of 8 and we had our own dining table in a private room which was a fantastic arrangement for a large group. The restaurant has a warm ambiance and it almost feels like dining at home. Everything on the menu from desert to bread is cooked by the chef. We started the meal by stuffed apricots and a trio of dips and fresh baked pita bread. All of them were perfect and taste of spicy date dip and stuffed apricot was truly unique. The bread was also excellent. As the main dish my wife and I shared the rack of lamb and lamb loin dishes. Both cooked to perfection. The lamb was excellent and the spices and herbs that was used to cook the lamb made it taste authentic. We finished the meal with Turkish coffee and house made Baklava. For sure a grand finale. Do not miss the Baklava. The restaurant is on the pricey side but it totally worth it. I will defiantly go back there.