Sofra

Excellent food, great selection and fast service.
⁴⁄₅ because there is room for improvement in their customer service.

As a Jewish expatriate from Montréal, I know good Middle Eastern food and sub-​par Middle Eastern fare.
Since arriving in Vancouver, I can honestly state there is no better Mediterranean restaurant than Sofra. The falafel is flavourful and crunchy… the hummus is thick and garlicky… the salads are amazing! The staff is polite and respectful, the atmosphere is good and even the prices are decent.
I don’t say this lightly, but a case could be made that Sofra is THE BEST place for Middle Eastern food in all of British Columbia.
I eat here at least twice per week just because of how amazing it is! Seriously, if you are visiting Vancouver and like ME food, if you don’t visit Sofra at least once then you are depriving yourself!

Absolutely worth a visit! Really awesome little café with killer food. If you’re in Kerrisdale, make an effort to stop here.

One of my favorite places to eat in Vancouver. Friendly, inexpensive, delicious, close to my house. My go-​to is the chicken shawarma or chicken shawarma platter. Such a great amount of food for the price. After reading other reviews I’m excited to go back and try something new as it seems like the beef is good as well!

Wow this stuff was awesome! Shawarma and Falafel Platters were our order, and all of it was amazing. Healthy even!

This place is every bit as good as all the reviews describe, if not better! Tonight I got a Falafel Platter which I absolutely loved. The people were friendly, the food was great and cheaper than average.

This place is a hidden gem. It’s not a typical restaurant. You have to go up to the counter to order your choice of food, and pay up front. The well spoken guy at the counter brings the food over to your table. There is a self service counter for water where you fill up your glasses from time to time.
We ordered the the shared platter ($ 25) which came with both chicken and beef kebabs, large salad, hummus, tzatziki, pita bread and fries to share amongst the three of us.
The chicken kebabs were great, but the beef kebabs were just out of this world! I was forced to go up to the chef after the dinner to ask for his secret ingredient! (He was not ready to part with his secret though, daaymmn. All he said was spices and ground onions.)
The fries were freshly made, the two dips were tasty and the pita bread was so fluffy and soft. (Here’s a question to the greater Unilocal community who might be reading this: Why aren’t the soft and fluffy pita bread varieties available at the grocery stores?)
This place consistently provides good Mediterranean food at great prices. I’ve become a fan of Sofra in the last few days.

I was visiting Vancouver and noticed this place pretty close to where I was staying and they had Manakeesh so me and my friend decided to go there and try it out I ordered the meat one and she wanted the cheese one paid and sat at the table our order came one meat and one zaatar so I said fine let us do another one in cheese please and I said the same looking one like the meat pie dough style he said ok and I ordered 3 of those when done went to pay and to my surprise I was charged $ 15 per cheese one and he said they were same size of pizza I paid and I left with a bitter taste of the whole experience.
TO start we took an extra order we did not order then we requested the cheese one same size as meat dough and it did come but that did not warrant the price hike to $ 15 per item I mean I live in LA and we get family size Pepperoni pizza for $ 5 this was sorry to day a rip off and to make things worse the taste was nothing special to warrant the price
Next time I’m in Vancouver I would definitely visit the other place in downtown where everyone rave about the taste and price I’m sure you can Unilocal it and find ;)

I had high expectation for this place and the reviews were all so good but I was a bit let down.
The décor has the feel of a fast food joint even though they also have table service.
I walked in and the staff were really friendly but the food was just meh. I ordered a chicken Shawarma to go which to my surprise was not customizable as in I was asked when toppings I wanted on it only whether I liked some hot sauce or not.
The chicken was tender but the rest of the toppings were just ok… for the price they were charging I was expecting a better warp!

I was instantly impressed when I looked at the menu because this is one of the few places that actually allows customers to do beef AND chicken in their shwarmas. I think I was one of the easier customers of the day, I simply walked in, placed my order for takeout, paid, and told the employee I’d be back in about 5 minutes to grab it.
I came back about 3 minutes later and the employee saw me coming, walked my food to the front door (yes it was ready already) and handed it to me with a smile. It was an excellent first experience.
The food itself was delicious. Trying to get the full authentic experience of a new place, I allowed them to dress the shwarma with whatever they saw fit. It came wrapped nicely in a little foil bag, eating was extremely easy and left no mess. The spice level was perfect and the meet was juicy and fresh.
I will definitely be going back. I just wish they had a late-​night version downtown so I could grab this somewhat healthier option on my way home from the bars rather than the poutines I usually opt for.

I love this place. It’s a little gem in Kerrisdale with consistently delicious, hot, and fresh food. The staff is personable, the menu plentiful, portions are generous, and prices are reasonable. From their pizza to pide, kebabs to falafel you can’t go wrong. I’m pretty picky when it comes to hummus and tzatziki, but theirs always hits the spot.
The restaurant itself is quite small so they can’t accommodate large groups and during the lunch and dinner rush it can be hard to get a table. But takeout keeps well, and is just as good at home as eat in. In the summer it gets warm inside due to the woodstone oven and there is no air conditioning, but they put up fans to keep the air circulating. They have a great, albeit small, patio area that’s open in the summer.
If you’re in the neighbourhood, I recommend checking them out!

This place is a rare gem surrounded by bland.
They somehow manage to keep the prices reasonable and the portions generous (even with the expensive rent in sure they have).
The food is amazing. Flavours slam your mouth hard in the best way possible. Taste is incredible.
I’ve tried a few things on the menu and they are all worth the price of admission. In fact, I recommend everything. I know the food is great.
The salad was the only part of the meal that didn’t «blam» my mouth with flavour. I’m okay with that. It was a free add-​on to my meat.
I. Like. Meat.
Yay!
Good price and super-​duper-​amazing food.
Now, please roll me onto my side, I need a nap after eating all this great stuff.

I’ve eaten here twice (both times getting the beef plate), and i’d sincerely have to say that it is nothing short of PHENOMENAL. I’m persian so I’m a tough judge when it comes to ground beef type kabobs since I have tried the best of the best kabobs in my country. However, their ground beef kabob is extremely tender with this juice that is slightly different than persian food making it unique and different. The salad and side of hummus and yogurt just enhance the experience and give your taste buds something to flirt with. I love this place. If i worked in Kerrisdale, I would have lunch here probably 3 – 4 times a week. Incredible.

The food at sofra is quite good. The platters have a reasonable amount of food, except I don’t think that the fries are a necessary side. The only downside to Sofra is the man who works at the cashier — he is cold and unfriendly which makes me feel unwelcome.

Glad to get a chance to check this place out, after hearing good things about it.
I ordered a sausage pide with lentil soup, and my colleague order a chicken pita wrap.
I was somewhat disappointed with the pide that I ordered — mostly bready dough with very little to accompany it. The sausage and cheese was delicious but totally overwhelmed by the amount of bread. I’ll probably try something else next time around!
The lentil soup is a little on the salty side but has a great consistency and really sticks to your bones. If I’m in the area on a rainy day I’d definitely visit again for this.
My colleague seemed happy enough with her pita, and it wasn’t badly priced for the area.
I’ll try some different items next time I visit, but I’ll return to give it another shot.

Still my favourite go to when I forget my lunch. a small lentil soup for $ 2.99, Is expertly spiced, and will fill you up until dinner. My go to today.
My only complaints are 1) the prices are a bit weird. i.e. $ 2.99 for a lentil soup but $ 5 for a side tabbouleh salad. I love me some tabbouleh, but I don’t know that paying $ 5.00 for a side of it is really worth it. So I most often settle for a platter — either a dolmades or falafel platter.
Then you’ll get to try the tabbouleh, as well as their fattoush salad… which, although delicious — Complaint 2) is often drowning in dressing
another favourite — baba ganoush — has the delicious somewhat smoky flavor from charring the eggplants, and is perfectly smooth. I also love their hummus.
I will say the consistency of the food is bang on, the restaurant is always clean, and I’m always satisfied after eating there. It’s definitely a little gem in Kerrisdale. Would love to see a downtown location

* West Side Pide *
I really love the Pide at Anatolia’s Gate (
), but sometimes it is a bit of a schlep to get out there.
Enter Sofra. While not the same consistency and quality as Anatolia’s Gate, they do a pretty good pide that can hit the spot. It is a bit high priced, and sometimes is a bit underbaked. But when they do it right it is good.
On the latest visit I had the pide with ground beef, onion, egg, and pomegranate sauce ($ 12.25). The meat was slightly underseasoned but the sauce fixed that issue mostly (could have used a tad bit more). The egg on top was a nice addition. Photo:
Straight forward, and comforting food that hits the spot when the drive out to Anatolia’s Gate is just too long.

Step into the Mediterranean café with a lovely vibe. A few tables out front on the south facing patio, a few tables inside with the floor to ceiling windows open wide.
The baklava was delicate; do try it, there is a lingering taste of cardamon which is delightful. Lovely strong, full-​bodied coffee.
The platters looked amazing, so I will return for a shawarma lunch.
A very earnest manager keeps the place organized and clean. Sofra attracts a very diverse clientele.

Finally opened, after eyeing this for a few months, as they renovated over an existing casual asian bbt place, i think.
Ordered the chicken sharawarma to go, and despite unfairly compared to DT’s pricing, this still considered good value: lots of rice, shredded chicken (halal if anyone cares), small house salad, amazing, fresh tzatziki and if not even more amazing, the humus, garlic enough for me, though i felt the pita bread (3 small pieces) a bit lacking. Not just the small sizes, but the lightness of it haha.
Every bite seemed to be comfort food ;)
Liked the décor, the rustic look. Just a 16-​seat resto, and they offer free delivery.
Clean washrooms.
Metered parking.
Definite return.
Date friendly.

Sofra is a cute Mediterranean café in the front with a large take out space in the back. According to them, they specialize in pizza, kebab, pide, falafel, donair, fries and shawarma.
I popped in to order a take out chicken shawarma. The cashier told me it would be $ 13 and change. When I asked him why it was was so expensive given that the posted price was $ 7.95 he claimed that I had ordered a chicken platter. Instead of behaving like a normal person who would state that he misheard me and then make an immediate correction on my order the dude had the nerve to argue with me that I was wrong, roll his eyes and do a combo tsk/​sigh — the trifecta of bad and annoying customer service. But for the owner quickly rushing to my side and acting pleasant I probably would have just left.
The cook was making the food in an open kitchen about 6 feet behind the cash register and cranked out my shawarma right away. It had a nice spicy flavor, heavy on the garlic which was okay with me. The pita tasted homemade and they gave it a little bit of a crispy finish by toasting it in the sandwich press for a few seconds. Unlike most places where it is presented almost burrito-​like, this one stayed a little flatter and was not quite as messy to eat.
The food at Sofra is a 4 but the establishment get a point deduction for the piece of work at the cash register.