Sofra Istanbul, Turkish Grill and Bakery
Where:
245 Florida Road, Morningside
Open:
Daily 9am to 10pm
Call:
031 303 2285
A friend phoned to tell me excitedly about a good Turkish eatery that had opened on Florida Road, and the lamb kebabs were exceptional.
We both remembered those happy days of our youth in London when, after the pubs emptied, everyone would pile into a small authentic Turkish kebab shop next to the Tube station and feast on delightfully messy doner kebabs, which come off massive spikes piled high with meat that rotated on a vertical grill and was shaved off as it cooked.
And because the place was so busy, the meat was never overcooked. In fact they had three of these going at once and we often had to wait for them to be ready. The kebabs were wrapped in flat bread with onions, and a garlicy yoghurt with lots of pungent chilli. We munched on them on the walk home.
The restaurant is a lot smarter than the little hole in the wall I remember outside Tooting Broadway.
Set in an old house, it has a large front deck and a smaller eating area inside. At the back is the bakery counter with a range of the day’s delights on display. The service was welcoming and we were offered a complimentary glass of tea.
The menu itself is simple: Turkish breads and pastries, and kebabs cooked on the coals in the traditional way. You can see your food being prepared.
Breads include a traditional flat bread which can be topped with a variety of fillings or lamachun, a Turkish pizza topped with cheese and tomato, or cheese and spinach. There’s also a baked quiche-type option.
On the grill side, there’s adana kebab, that’s the spiced minced lamb cooked on a skewer, iskender kebab, which is thinly sliced doner meat, either beef or chicken, and chicken or lamb shish kebabs, that’s whole chunks of meat on a skewer.
Wanting to try it all, we chose a mixed grill for two (R290) which literally had something of everything. It was served with a red slaw, a pepper heavy salad, lots or marinated red onions and three sauces, a tahini yoghurt sauce, a spicy tomato sauce and a chilli relish that really packed in the heat.
I liked the adana kebab; it was well spiced, and the chicken shish was perfectly cooked; the meat was nice and juicy. It worked well wrapped in a piece of Turkish pizza with all the vegetable trimmings. The doner was enjoyable, although I think lamb would work better than beef with the style of cooking.
But we munched away happily but couldn’t finish the platter.
For dessert we enjoyed a proper Turkish coffee (R20) and, yes, the spoon could almost stand up in this, and their semolina cake (R30) which was doused in honey.
The restaurant is halaal and obviously not licensed, but a range of softdrinks are available.
I’m sure we’ll be back soon.
Food:
3½
Service:
3
Ambience:
3½