Sofra Mediterranean Cuisine

I still think about the fries.
I love their seasoned fries. I’m not usually a fan of fries, but they came with a combo that I ordered. I would hold back on the salt a little. Otherwise, it’s great.

Customer service is poor and price is way too expensive when you have other better options within the area !!!

Unfortunately, Sofra is now a statistic — closed, according to the sign, «due to circumstances beyond our control».

After coming here today to get some take-​out with a no-​fuss experience, I decided that a review was long due for Sofra.
It was a friend who mentioned about his meal experience here and then took me along one chilly evening in July. My first dining experience here was satisfactory and the owner who had a rather practical personality was quite hospitable to the point where she was able to accommodate a family of five who was not certain about the seating arrangements for their table. I also remember her going around to each party that was there and striking up a conversation also checking on the customers about their meal experience. Overall, there was a homely atmosphere at this restaurant.
The meals that my friend and I had were just as scrumptious as they look in the pictures. I had the chicken skewer and steel spear that was used to cook the chicken pieces was a first for me, never seen anything like that when dining in at other Middle-​eastern style eateries. The salad was so fresh and lettuce was crisp and the cherry tomatoes were firm to the bite. The flatbread that we had, called a Laffa which looked like the Middle-​eastern version of Naan bread was warm and soft which was a good thing because it’s been a very long time since I’ve had a flatbread of that quality. Just look a the picture of it! I am also a big potato lover and was not disappointed with the herb infused garlicky flavor of their potato dish. I took half of the meal home and it was just as tasty after being heated in the microwave the next day.
During a subway ride today, I wanted to get some take-​out around North York Centre and decided to return here for a second time. I picked the first option for the Lunch Specials which was the $ 10 deal: a meat dish + a side + three choices of their cold appetizers. I think I chose the chicken donair and of course the garlic potatoes. The food was shaken up a bit in the take-​out bag but it still looks appetizing enough.
I got here around 1:30pm and it wasn’t busy and customer service was friendly enough and my order was prepared and packed in good enough time.
Alright so I had half of my take-​out earlier for dinner and I will say that chicken was a bit dry since it was the shaved meat used for the donairs and sharwama. he meat for the skewers are more moist in texture. Since I didn’t get a laffa, I had to use a slice of bread which I stacked with some of the meat and appetizers. The garlic potatoes tasted the same as before. Out of the three appetizers the tabouleh stood out and had a refreshing taste to it. I also liked the hummus with the sharp taste of the tahini. The taste of the grilled eggplant which was alredy pureed was lost in the flavors of the tabouleh and the tahini.
Word to self: next time handle our take-​out with care.
The dining area here is small which means that customers can’t really «loiter» around during their meal, even though the patio in the summer allows for more sit-​down dining experience. As someone who would prefer to get take-​out and eat this back at home which is very comforting, I would come here whenever I crave for cuisine from this region of the world.
And as far as Sharwama and Kebab restaurants in that area are concerned, Kofra does stand out.

If you want easy, no-​frills Mediterranean food, this is your spot. It’s tiny – like 4 tables inside tiny, but there’s a larger covered patio, weather permitting.
The woman who owns (or runs) this place is a gem. I can go months without coming here and she remembers me the minute I walk in and knows my order better than I do. All the employees are nice and helpful so I’m confused by the bad reviews. I mean MAYBE the owner is a bit pushy, but when she’s pushing exactly what I like to eat at me without me having to think (or worry about things being vegan) why wouldn’t I like that?
You order at the cash register and they bring the food to your table. I get the Greek Salad with no cheese and the 4 combo plate (hummus/​cole slaw/​eggplant/​tabouli (with sides of tahini and spicy sauce). Their portions are generous and pricing is average to slightly higher than average.
My companions got the falafel combo, beef kabobs with fries and the lamb sandwich and they all enjoyed their meals very much. Or at least I assume they did. I was busy eating. Who has time to listen.
Street parking is available and there is a lot behind the restaurant as well. (a pay lot)
Good food with quick service. Ignore the haters.

Second time we’ve had Sofra for delivery and the food has impressed both times! The meats are great (steak, lamb kafta and two types of chicken). The hummus/​tahini/​baba Ganoush platter with the mushrooms were so good. Will highly recommend especially if you’re catering a get together at your place. Also, the lady/​owner was very polite and helpful.

Swingged by the other day for a quick shawarma pita wrap before movie with bf.
The lady (I think she’s the owner) was very nice and sweet.
Got chicken shawarma wrap so did my bf.
it tasted so good but too much oil made the pita soggy. And the pita fell apart by the end. So much sauces on the wrap, felt like I was having soup but that’s the way I like it. Would be better if the sauces went evenly.
Bit too pricey tho.

So seems like the lady (owner/​manager) who works here is kind of a b*tch. But the food is good. So if you can order quickly and you don’t mind her snide remarks then this place is A-​ok for you!
First thing I noticed is that this location is small!!! There’s three small tables inside and maybe 6 tables outside in their «patio» area. The inside is always packed with people so not a good place to have your food peacefully. There’s no menu anywhere on the wall, which was what I expected when I walked in. You can just grab one of those take out pamphlets from the basket on the counter. Nothing is explained, don’t ask questions, if you hold up the line she will be pissed. I don’t really know what’s the rush to get all the orders in quickly, they couldn’t even make the food fast enough. When my hubs was ordering his chicken skewers, she asked pita or laffa. And she wasn’t impressed with how long he was thinking so she proceeded to do another task and when she came back he said pita. Then she asked whole wheat or white, and he was thinking again. She was clearly not impressed, and she said it’s not that difficult. When I ordered she asked what side you want? Veggie. Salad? House. Pita or laffa? I said laffa. And she said that’s how I like it. My hubs was not impressed, he was pissed!
Whatever they were doing, they weren’t doing it right. She was constantly yelling at her employees. There were obvious communication issues. They were slow and kept getting things wrong. Everyone was not happy in there, especially the customers. I think the chef back there was about to throw down his apron. At the end even though I had ordered laffa she gave me pita in the take out bag. If she had actually gotten my order right maybe I would have given her an extra star. I like all the sauces they have here, the veggies and pitas are fresh, but the chicken shawarma was so dry some of the pieces were so hard I couldn’t bite it. The food is good, which is why I think people keep coming back but they definitely to streamline their processes and change the way they communicate in order for them to survive. And as the boss lady repeatedly said during the time we were inside, They ARe Not associated with the other Sofra Grills!!!

This place has some good food, everything is fresh and nice but they are over priced AND charge you a lot.
They were out of pita so they offered laffa, which is great but at this point they shouldn’t be charging for the laffa ($ 1.50 extra!)
Beer bottle is $ 7… Wtf!
Meal for one person including an alcoholic beverage is $ 18! Yep… Just that stupid expensive.
I like the food but not when a shawarma is $ 11!

The prices may high but the large portions make up for it. The food is delicious. Possibly the best fast food middle eastern in the area. This is saying a lot because there are many schwarma places in the area.
The service, while friendly, is very slow. Try delivery if possible to avoid the long wait.
Recommend: anything in the laffa.
Avoid: ordering take out. It’s just too slow. Get it delivered!

The lady at the cash has an attitude that she is dong you a favour.
Already expensive prices where shawarma sandwich costs $ 10 then adds insult by asking for additional $ 2.00 to add babaganoush to sandwich. I understand $ 1, but this was something she just made up and pocketed — tax free.
The food was like any other joint in the area. Was starved after finishing a workout, so maybe that made it taste better.
Will not be returning.

If you want authentic heart of the middle east flare, with the edge of the region, then Sofra uptown is a great place to grab take out, or dine in.
Small yes, but as the old saying goes… «you pay for what you get» the quality of the food is top notch.
I have been a customer of Sofra I thornhill, and now thrilled it’s in the hood.
I have read some of the past reviews… Food has never been an issue… And the service, it’s fun … Well I enjoyed it and will return often.

I have over a 100 reviews and this is only the 2^nd time I will give a location a 1 star. TBH– i feel guilty as it is a small ownership company and this review might hurt their business.
Yet, I have gone against a lot of Unilocalers before and found out the hard way– So it is my duty to warn others about this place. I ordered 2 sandwiches + soup combo’s and 2 bottles of water plus a small eggplant salad for delivery and the total came up to $ 43 dollars.
They told me toppings were free but ended up adding charges to my pita’s. They charged me for AVIAN water at like $ 3 each. Sent me 2 NESTLE waters instead.
The food was good, but the bait and switch for people who dont have vehicles and have to resort to ordering was pretty WACK! Stay away from sketchy people. I feel people in the food industry should serve with love and care– instead of just making it for the money.
Shameful business ethics! (with known establishments like Me Va Me, Mr Combo, Belle, even shawarma Max around the corner) At least justify us paying super high prices for your product!
Edit: the owner did get in contact with me after the review and offer to reconcile the issue. However even with high quality food, there was a bad taste in my mouth. I am still on the fence about ordering from here again.

I got the chicken souvalaki wrap and was pretty disappointed. While eating it, I bit on something hard. I spat it out and it looked like it was deep fried chicken skin or something nasty like that A few bites later there was bit of bone. Definitely not worth the $ 7+ I paid and I will not be back.

Food is fresh and very good. I usually order the Chicken kebabs with rice (which is delicious) as well as the red cabbage slaw and hummus. Only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is the price… it IS a little pricier than comparable cuisines in the area.

On a Sunday afternoon, there weren’t any customers other than us. They had a table set up for a photo shoot for their menu, which seemed to be the only thing the owner and the employees cared about. Not their only paying customers for lunch. We ordered the Kefta lunch combo and a falafel pita sandwich. We waited around 8 minutes for our food, while we watched another customer come in, buy a sharwama sandwich and leave within 1 minute. I was a bit upset because I’ve been to plenty of sharwama restaurants around the city and I usually get my food a lot faster than 8 minutes. Even though 8 minutes may not sound long to you, but all I saw were the employees standing around, chit-​chatting, and asking their photographer what else they needed. Once I got the food, the owner came out and explained to me why the food was taking so long. «We cooked the lamb fresh when the customer comes in. You don’t want fresh food?» That was a bit condenscing with attitude. Anyways, the girl who filled my falafel sandwich took no time to explain what some of the other sauces/​toppings were (I’m not THAT familiar with shawarmas). I was a bit bothered by that, especially when I had to ask them twice how long the food was going to take.
The food was meh. The lamb kefta (which the lady owner so emphatically emphasized that it was freshly cooked) was moist but completely bland. The rice side was very little in portion and the salad was plain boring. This for $ 11. My falafel sandwich was alright, but small for what I’m used to at other shawarma places in the area. The falafels were cooked well but quite small. The ingredients seemed fresh. The hummus was nothing to brag about.
Another thing that bothered me was a dad and his son came in and looked at the menu and left the store. The lady owner loudly commented, «How rude». So, I guess, customers aren’t allowed to walk in, peruse the menu and decide to leave? Wow.
So if you want mediocre food with rude service, then by all means, try Sofra!

First time here. I ordered a chicken shawarma laffa and my friend ordered a lamb kefta laffa (Laffa = Mediterranean wrap). They use house made saj bread for their laffa which is pretty awesome. You get to top your laffa the way you like subway style but with Mediterranean toppings like taboli, hummus, babaganooj, tahini sauce etc. More toppings than what you find at most shawarma places.
Portions are very generous. Laffas are wrapped in foil and are nicely presented on a plate. The chicken blends nicely with the toppings and the bread to create a juicy, great tasting laffa. Prices are reasonable. Free WiFi. Service was friendly even though we came half an hour before closing time.
I am not sure why all the negative reviews. Next time I will try ordering something different. For now I strongly recommend the chicken shawarma laffa.

I tried the shish kabob combo today and the eggplant appetizer. It wasn’t anything special for a meal that came up to almost $ 20. I’m not sure if the eggplant appetizer was supposed to be cold or they should have warmed it, but I didn’t like it cold and it was very bland.

I’ve been to Sofra the past month for their Shawarmas and Laffas which I must say are very good. Their food has a taste of real homecooked Mediterranean food.
I last went to Sofra last Friday for lunch, and they were all lined up (I guess they must be doing something right!). I waited for 5 minutes for my turn in line, I ordered the Chicken Laffa, which is my regular staple. I noticed the portion was 40% less than what I normally get (when the place isn’t as busy). I don’t know if its just the chef is in haste to mass produce the food and doesn’t have as much care. I would advise people who want to taste a more authentic Shawarma or Laffa to come at off peak times (avoid 12−1pm or 6−7pm).

Sofra Uptown is the newest restaurant on the block, located where the old Dairy Queen used to reside. The place itself is serving up Mediterranean cuisine and has another restaurant in Richmond Hill as well. The restaurant is rather small and appears to be primarily a takeout and delivery spot. However, the warmer months brought the ability to throw some tables and chairs outside which make for a small little patio for some good olé fashioned people watching.
Menu options include shawarma, shish kabobs, and pita/​laffa sandwiches. Opted to go with a lamb shish kebob laffa sandwich ($ 7.95). The laffa bread is a $ 1 more than the pita but is made in house. It came warm and was incredibly fluffy and soft. The lamb kebabs were pretty small, but it tasted good. I like that they ask whether I would like it medium or medium rare (love bloody lamb: D) The toppings are mostly free and they have everything from cucumbers to hummus to coleslaw. Everything can be thrown into the sandwich which is nice. All the toppings go very well together and the laffa is the ideal wrap to house it all together.
The best part of the meal was definitely the laffa bread, with the toppings being A-​OK. The entrees look good too, but I’m a bit unsure of the portion size. Service was friendly, but a bit overwhelmed. Place is still relatively new in the area, so they have plenty of time to patch things up a bit. They’ll be a solid spot for anyone who wants a shawarma.
P. S. Parking is pretty bad around these parts, but they do have a small parking lot out back. And when I say small, I meant it…