Sarma Restaurant
Small plates restaurant · Somerville
249 Pearl St, Somerville, MA 02145
Highlights
Inventive Middle Eastern meze, from pork ribs to Black Sea cornbread
Inventive Middle Eastern meze, from pork ribs to Black Sea cornbread
"Ask enough people, and you’ll start to realize this colorful Winter Hill Mediterranean spot is everyone’s favorite restaurant in Boston. This is one of the longest menus in town, but you only need a few plates like lentil nachos and harissa BBQ duck to fill you up. Even though this place is behind the high school in Somerville, it’s extremely hard to get a table. If you don’t have a reservation, get there early and try to grab seats at the bar, where you can watch the prep station and ask the bartenders to whip up whatever they feel like making." - tanya edwards, jonathan smith
"Sarma is a choose-your-own-adventure palace of seasonal produce. Some of our favorites are familiar dishes that get remixed with unlikely ingredients—we’re talking about you, halloumi poutine with celery root fries and manti served in a potato leek soup. Servers also come around with specials, and if the karaage-style chicken is one of them order it immediately. They also have a really interesting wine list, which features pours rarely seen around town (hello, Armenian and Lebanese bottles)." - tanya edwards, lala thaddeus, catherine smart
"Sarma, the sibling to Oleana and Sofra, opened in late 2013 on the tip of Winter Hill in Somerville, just uphill from bustling Union Square. It’s a beautiful, colorful spot with a lively bar scene. Chef and owner Cassie Piuma — who has been recognized as a James Beard semifinalist or finalist eight times in the last ten years — creates a gorgeous array of Eastern Mediterranean-influenced small plates. Know before you go: Reservations are next to impossible to get at the last minute here; planning ahead is important. If you’re walking in, line up outside just before the restaurant opens at 5 p.m. to give yourself the best chance of snagging a bar seat." - Erika Adams
"Cassie Piuma, the restaurant's chef, was named a finalist for the Outstanding Chef James Beard Award, marking the spot as one of the Boston-area's leading culinary contenders." - Erika Adams
"A dish of creamy, cooling tzatziki piled with a heap of tangy pickled vegetables and herbs and served alongside decadent, spongy slices of za’atar-crusted focaccia showcases the inventive, detail-minded cooking of chef Cassie Piuma. The preparation is another example of why Piuma has earned James Beard semifinalist or finalist nods repeatedly (eight times in the past decade) and is often considered overdue for a win." - Erika Adams
