Istanbul Sofra Mediterranean Cuisine

6 Reviews on “Istanbul Sofra Mediterranean Cuisine”

• Naor Wallach

  A group of friends of mine decided to try out this place recently. We made reservations on a Thursday night and congregated there after work. The place is deceptive from the outside – positioned as it is between an Irish bar and a pizza joint, so when I got there I was a bit concerned for our group. Not to worry though, there are a couple of additional dining areas that you cannot see from the front that provide ample space for dining.The menu is relatively large, and since none of us were particularly knowledgeably about Turkish food, we asked our waitress for some advice and pointers. While she was certainly friendly enough, she was not really helpful in her descriptions of the differences between one dish and another. Consequently, we ended up making a wide range of selections and shared many of them so we could each make up our own minds.For instance, there were four different hot appetizers offered. Luckily, there is also a combination plate that gives you two pieces of each of the four appetizers. We got that. What arrived were two pieces of a Feta cheese filled Borek – which is a kind of flour shell rolled into a cigar shape but then stuffed – as well as two pieces of spinach stuffed ones. We also got two pieces of falafel and two pieces called Zucchini. The boreks tasted a little like flour tortillas with the fillings. While they were interesting , there was nothing particularly special about them. The falafel was very different than any others we had ever had! Elsewhere, they are shaped into small balls, here, they were more like elongated hamburger patties. Unfortunately, our servings spend too much time in the deep fryer and were therefore much too dark and way too overcooked to be enjoyed. The most pleasant surprise what the Zucchini: these were triangular chunks of thick mashed and seasoned zucchini that were then fried. It reminded us of two pieces of Texas Toast cut into a triangle shape after being stacked on top of each other. The seasoning was perfect and these were very tasty!For our main dishes, we tries every one of their chicken offerings – including the daily special – as well as a mixed grill that included lamb, and even a gyro dish. Each of these came served on a bed of rice with side of pickled red cabbage; grilled tomato halved and grilled pepper halves. The main dish in each case was heavily spiced. Now, I do not want you to get the wrong impression, I am not saying they were spicy hot. No. These were heavily spiced in that there were lots of spices used in the various preparations and each of the dishes was very very tasty!We did have some misses. There is a Kofte and an Adanat listed and when you read the descriptions, it’s hard to tell what the difference is. Since we were sharing our dishes, I can tell you that the ground meats used (in this case – chicken) were identical in flavor. The difference appeared to be that the Kofte was shaped as a small meatloaf and then grilled, while the Adanat was made into a slab that was then grilled. Same identical flavors – and they were vary tasty!None of us were disappointed in our meals, although at least one of our group did not particularly care for the Gyros which they found to be too dry and overcooked. There was certainly enough food for all of us and we ended up not ordering dessert and taking leftovers home. I will definitely be coming back to try some of the other intriguing dishes that I saw on the menu, but did not have the chance to try out … yet!

  May 27, 2016, 4:27 am

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• A. Waltz

  The apps were good (we got the small mixed platter) and the waitstaff was very friendly and attentive, but my Chicken Kofte definitely made me sick. If I come back, I’ll stick with the vegetarian dishes.

  October 6, 2015, 11:09 pm

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• Ron

  Perfect spot for a great dinner. I am a Turkish guy who knows the best local places in Turkey for the best tasting food. I was happily surprised that great Turkish food at Istanbul Softa tastes like eating from those local Turkish places. I couldn’t even find the same great taste in NY of DC Turkish restaurants, that means I don’t have to travel elsewhere to eat great Turkish food. Here is the secret for this restaurant; the owner has years of experience in food industry and the chef is from a southern Turkish city that is well known for Adana Kebap and all other Mediterranean dishes and deserts. I have visited this place with my family already five times and their service is quick with a great smile representing famous Turkish hospitality. I won’t tell you about the beautiful decoration and the authentic nice atmosphere, because you need to see & feel it yourself. After you finish your lunch or dinner (I am sure you’ll thank me for writing this review), don’t forget to ask for a Turkish tea or coffee at the end, like a Turkish local. Enjoy!

  June 8, 2015, 2:19 am

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• Sersibil

  Delicious food and kindly service. We went today with my husband and brother. We tried lentil soup, spinach borek, adana kebab and iskender kebab and spicy ezme salad. All of them were very delicious. We also liked kindly service and their restaurant design which represents Turkish culture. i think, it is a good choice to eat Turkish food in Pittsburgh.

  May 17, 2015, 4:06 am

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• Sw33tAng13

  Delicious…..but skip dessert. The food was delicious. My friend and I split the baba gannoush, the hot appetizer plate and the mixed grill platter. Everything was delicious with the exception of the baba gannoush which had little to no flavor. The service was not terrible but it was not good either. As far as the dessert went…my friend and I were shown four desserts that are supposedly made fresh and in house. We chose one that we were told resembles a warm rice pudding as it was made in an oven. The next dessert we chose was a cake. The deserts arrive. My came was covered in a thick syrup substance, which was not on the display version of the cake and we were not told it would be there. The supposed rice pudding was so hard the top was like rubber. Our waitress then informed us it had been in the fridge for a few days. I asked her why she would say it was fresh. She said she did not know that it was that old. Typically, they let the dessert sit ib the fridge until they go bad.

  March 28, 2015, 4:42 am

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• Daltoncm

  Good food. Could be more generous with the pita bread, 3 pieces with the large appetizer platter.Food in gneneral was good.The cut hard plastic that was ontop of the table cloth was tacky and had sharp edges.Good service

  February 24, 2015, 6:21 pm

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