From what I understand, Sophra means in Turkish, a table set to eating a meal. And this was a nice meal that we had at Sophra Grill Midtown East. This casual place is a hidden gem that offers a wide range of Turkish and Mediterranean dishes.
I started our meal there with Ayran, a yogurt drink that has a slight salty taste, very similar to doogh that you would get in Persian restaurants.
We then got their mixed appetizer sampler that is a great thing to share, allowing us to try few cold appetizers with a delicious homemade bread that I totally forgot to photograph! The sampler had hummus, babaganouj, tabouleh, cacik that is a yogurt dip similar to tzatziki, eggplant with sauce (made with tomato sauce, pepper and garlic, and ezme, a spicy salad.
I also tried their grilled octopus that unfortunately was over cooked and quite chewy. A bit disappointing.
We also shared their cheese pide, a long shaped flatbread topped with mozzarella, slices of tomato and butter. This looked very appetizing and was delicious: the crust was nicely charred and slightly crispy and they were quite generous with the cheese. This is a must try.
We finished with a kunefe and a Turkish coffee, medium sweet. I was so excited to try their kunefe, a dessert made with kataifi that is soaked in a sugar based syrup and layered with cheese. Crispy, gooey, sweet, this is heaven!
So, overall, this was a good meal that made me want to go back to Sophra to try other dishes. Yes, I’ll be back!
Enjoy (I did)!
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Sophra Grill - 535 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016