Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant

Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant
100 Beach Road
#02-42 Shaw Towers

http://www.sofra.com.sg/

Chef Plate (SGD $22.90)

Well Established, Halal Turkish Restaurant

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 6
Food & Beverage: 6
Service: 7
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $32 per person.


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Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant has been around for well over 10 years, and it looks like they're still going strong. Recently, we celebrated a Muslim friend's birthday here.

The oft recommended Chef's Plate allows one to try a sampling of signature dishes at Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant. Included are favourites like the Shish Kebap, which is a skewer of grilled meat, and Izgara Kofte, which is a grilled flat meatball.

I particularly like the Izgara Kofte, it still retains the natural meaty juices, without being too dry.

Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant also has other traditional Turkish dishes like Sofra Kebap, Sofra Musakka, and Pide.

Everytime I eat Turkish food, I never fail to order Hummus, which is a dish of mashed chickpeas garnished with tahini. I normally enjoy it with Sesame Bread, which is light and crispy, and not as filling as their Turkish Bread.

Do try their Baklava as well, the pistachios give a nice crunchy texture to the light filo pastry, although the syrup can be a little too sweet.


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Chef's Plate

Hummus

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Update Feb-2016: Returned to Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant more than 4 years later, and I'm glad that standards are more or less consistent with before, and price increase for dishes is only marginal. Ambience at Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant remains the same, spacious and brightly lit, with comfortable, modern furniture laid out neatly, and set with patterned table cloths. Decorative lamps, rugs, and pictures still hang on the wall, though the window blinds seem aged. Service at Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant remains consistently friendly and efficient, staff are quick to seat diners, fulfill orders, and clear away empty / dirty tables. Food at Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant is also just as good, though there are now much better Turkish restaurants out there, the standard here is decent, slightly above average. Portions remain large, and prices have not changed much, budget about SGD $32 per person for a meal here.

Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant Exterior

Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant Interior

Menu Starters

Menu Mains

Menu Desserts

Hand Woven Rug

Colourful Lamp

The presentation of the Turkish Apple Tea (SGD $2.90) is underwhelming, I had hoped they would serve this in the traditional cup. At least the taste is sweet and fruity, a decent beverage.

Turkish Apple Tea (SGD $2.90)

The Turkish Tea (SGD $1.50) is stiff and strong, though the small serving size makes it rather useless as a thirst quencher. Decent if you're looking for a pick-me-up.

Turkish Tea (SGD $1.50)

You can tell the Hummus (SGD $5.90) here is handmade, because of the somewhat grainy smooth contrast of textures. Still as good as ever, I love the floral, earthy, mild nutty flavour of the mashed chickpeas. Highly recommended!

Hummus (SGD $5.90)

Hummus

The Chef Plate (SGD $22.90) is still that tasty, excellent meat fest that it was. This sampler platter features a mix of savoury moist chicken doner kebab chunks, savoury moist beef doner kebab strips, grilled flat lamb izgara kofte meatball that is rather dry and slightly gamey, grilled flat chicken izgara kofte meatball that is tender and moist, sharp cruncy onions, fresh crunchy cucumber, juicy cubes of tomato, and a large skewer of firm chicken shish kebab with grilled red and green bell peppers / capsicums. Served with a half side of pide bread, which I found dry and tough. The meat, specifically, the doner kebab, on this plate is excellent, everything else is average at best.

Chef Plate (SGD $22.90)

Chef Plate

The Yaprak Tavuk (SGD $19.90) is a delicious, hearty, baked casserole dish, with smooth mashed potatoes coated in gooey, stringy, salty cheese, and the Turkish equivalent of a chicken roulade. With a crisp, savoury skin, the chicken roll has tender, moist meat, and is stuffed generously with button mushrooms, Arabic spiced rice, green and red bell peppers / capsicums, onions, and a small amount of chili. Satisfiying comfort food, will order it again. Good!

Yaprak Tavuk (SGD $19.90)

Yaprak Tavuk

Yaprak Tavuk

The Baklava (SGD $5.90) isn't as good as I remember. While the filo puff pastry is still thin and crisp, the sugar syrup it's soaked in seems less sweet than before, though I suppose to some that's a good thing. The crunchy pistachio nuts lend good texture, though it's also less generous than before. Now this dessert is average at best, as I've had better versions elsewhere.

Baklava (SGD $5.90)

Baklava

Reserve a table now @ Sofra Turkish Cafe And Restaurant

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