Sofra Bakery & Cafe

A wonderfully unique establishment serving modern Eastern Mediterranean food inspired by traditional Turkish, Lebanese and Greek cuisine; Sofra Bakery & Cafe is the younger sister of Ana Sortun's more widely known and highly acclaimed restaurant Oleana.The first stop in a venture around this quaint neighborhood on Cambridge's western boundary, (a short ride from Harvard Square on the 71 or 73 bus line), my sister and I arrived around 1 pm to a line of customers wrapped around a counter displaying goods for sale. The line moved at a swift pace but still allowed us ample time to decide on what to eat. I was enamored with all the specialty spices for sale as well as the hip and cozy middle eastern meets bohemian vibe.
Sofra and Oleana's produce is organic and locally grown at Siena Farms. Siena Farms supports a 300 member CSA as well as provides produce to numerous other Boston restaurant kitchens.
Leah and I decided to share a Mezze Bar Platter ($9) which proved a substantial lunch. I highly recommend you try it out if you visit Sofra!

The platter style option allowed us our choice of 5 mezze.

The outdoor patio provides a lovely setting, however, the awning added an awkward yellowish tint to my photos. To drink they offer fancy lemonades and iced teas, but my sister recommended we get the Sharbat ($2.75).

We chose the flavor of the day which was a white peach nectar.

Sharbat is a popular drink of the region (very common in Indian, Iranian and Afghan homes) prepared from fruits or flower petals. Served chilled over ice, this was unlike any juice I had ever tasted. It was sweet, syrupy and creamy all at the same time. I loved it!

Back to the Mezze Platter - I'll work my way across the plate, left-to-right.

1) Smokey eggplant with pine nuts. 2) Whipped feta with sweet & hot peppers.

3) Beet Tzatziki 4) Lentils with caramelized onion, greens & cilantro

5) Muhammarah - red pepper & walnut puree.

Everything we tasted was full of fresh clean flavors blended with oils and spices to create innovative and tasty spreads. Most lent a creamy whipped consistency - similar in texture to hummus, with the exception of the shredded beets in the tzatziki and the small round lentils. This entire platter was quite a feast for the two of us. We also ordered a dish from the kitchen served in an adorable mini cast iron STAUB skillet. The Syrian Style Bread Hummus ($5) proved to be a worthy choice.

Warm chunks of Syrian bread are both soft and crispy, surrounded by chickpeas and green garlic topped with a cold tart yogurt, a smooth tahini sauce and finished off with a sprinkle of sumac.

Ana Sortun's one-of-a kind concept launched in 2008 brought Sofra to the Boston food scene, and trust me city dwellers / anyone else in the vicinity, Sofra is well worth a trip!!

Sofra Bakery & Cafe

One Belmont Street

Cambridge, MA