Sofra Bakery + Café Allston

Sofra is a wonderful café and restaurant in Allston that specializes in a wide array of delicious Mediterranean dishes. Their menu is extensive, offering everything from vibrant salads and hearty sandwiches to flavorful traditional plates that showcase the best of Mediterranean cuisine. They also have an impressive selection of freshly baked goods, tempting sweets, and light snacks, making it a perfect spot for any time of day. The café itself is clean, thoughtfully designed, and has a warm, inviting atmosphere that encourages you to linger. The staff are always friendly and attentive, adding a personal touch that makes each visit special. Whether you’re stopping by for a leisurely meal or just grabbing a refreshing drink, Sofra has quickly become one of my favorite places in the area.

Sofra Bakery + Café is one of the many successful small businesses that have been able to grow into more than one store. Their Allston location supports this by the sheer scale of the operation. Walking into the store, I could tell that to experience all there is to offer, I would have to come back. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all served here. And the retail section of their cafe sells some unique experiences apart from their fine menu. I went to get a coffee, and take a look at their pastry selection. I was impressed by all they had to offer. Their to-go section had lots of variety, and I will make it a point to go there for a quick meal. While all I had was a coffee, I was impressed by my experience there. At one point, I could smell in the air something chocolatey. Some baked good was going to come out of the oven fresh and ready to eat. Stop by this place! While some sporadic parking was available, I recommend walking there if you can.

In short: the pastries are good (portions and flavor). Online ordering leaves some to be desired but quick turnaround (but can't order drinks). Insultingly small breakfast portions. Coffee is fine but I'm no connoisseur. We generally have to wait in a crazy line every time we go in so we tried to get around it by ordering online (10-15 minute wait) but you can't order drinks online??? Pretty silly. Food was ready upon arrival but we still had to wait to put drink orders in. Sat to wait for our drinks and after a while a woman came over (I assume the manager?) and tried to take our table number flag assuming we had our order already. She seemed outwardly annoyed when we told her we were waiting for our drinks (two iced coffees, nothing complicated). It's possible they forgot about us, we got our drinks immediately after she came over. Got the food home and were disappointed to see the portions on the breakfast items. Conveniently there are no pictures online so you have no idea you're getting a 2008 Weight Watchers-mom sized portion. For context I ordered the Çilbir and it came in a tin approximately 3in x 5in with one poached egg literally TWO fingerling potatoes. Thankfully I had also ordered the Borekfast which is a pretty large and dense pastry so I didn't have to cook a second breakfast. For the price, you'd really hope to get more.

Sofra is one of my favorites in Boston. I’d always go to the one in Cambridge but when I heard they were opening one in Lower Allston. It genuinely made my week. The energy in this location is great. It’s bigger, open layout with more seating. Sofra is going to do it every time for me. Consistent, fresh and delicious food and drinks. I’d go everyday if I could.

Beautiful store, delicious Dirty Chai, delicious coffee. It's refreshing seeing a coffee store that actually has good coffee and the employees always feel so happy. I'ma start shopping at the trader Joe's nearby even though it's further away just to stop by here.

Charged an arm and a leg for a gyro that had zero substance and the taste was meh. If it cost about 7$ less, I would give it 4 stars but this was a 17$ meal that was the weight equivalent of about 4 slim-jims (including the weight of the paper bag it came in). Wouldnt recommend unless you are either living comfy off a trust fund, killing it in the stock market, or are a masochist that gets their jollys from getting screwed over. Staff was super friendly and the atmosphere was cozy.

I love the savory pastries at the original Sofra, so was excited to try having a meal at the new location. It was popping at 11am on a Sunday -- there are around 10 small tables and a high top bar, and competition for seats was fierce. We ended up eating standing up for a bit before snagging a table. I got the chicken shawarma wrap, and it was delicious! Every part of it was great. The wrap was thin with perfect crisp and chew, the chicken and vegetables were tender and well seasoned, and the garlic sauce was light and flavorful. It was delightful, and I thought $12 was pretty reasonable. We also got the pecan and gruyere scone, which was interesting..I could do without the pecan and sugar, but the scone was otherwise good. The morning bun was good but it would've been even better if it was warmed up. My friend got the egg sandwich with egg and said it was great and the bacon was nice and crispy, and that the coffee was good. Overall Sofra is bustling and lives up to the reputation of the original location! I'll definitely be getting the chicken shawarma again.

Shishito pepper croissant is insane. Incredible bakery showcasing Turkish ingredients in a modern format.

There's a few rules I live by. 1. Do unto others etc etc 2. Order chips for the table 3. More Sofra is a good thing. I don't need to repeat this - this place is excellent (if a bit pricey). The only problem with the Cambridge location is it's the size of a broom closet. They tried an innovative new strategy here by...making it bigger. So, see rule #3.

They have such a large pastry selection it was so hard choosing what I wanted. My boyfriend and I went in the morning and it was full of people it was so hard to find seats. We got the lamb shawarma and the walnut baklava. The baklava wasnt the best I had it was a bit denser than I liked. The lamb shawarma had good flavor but was a little bit mushy. You order first and the workers were nice and the service was fast.

Food so amazing! Treats and savories- got hummus to go! spicy! I had lebanese breakfast such a nice mix! My hubby had sausage?pita or sandwich like thing he raved about.

3.5. Didn't quite live up to the magic of the original location. We are very hopeful that these are just growing pains, as avid devotees of the original location. Pros: The locatjon is quite nice and spacious, and service was quick and friendly (though there were a few small kinks). Cons: Overall, the pastries seemed a bit stale and/or like they were made with some lower quality ingredients (maybe the fat?). Of the four we tried, the savory pastry (pogoca) seemed to be the best, although it too seemed a bit stale. Something (the fat?) about the morning bun left a subtle coating in my mouth that tasted a bit odd. The chicken shawarma was okay, good flavor on the chicken inside although it was cold and the garlic sauce on top had an oddly goopy texture. The Gino's egg sandwich was more of a disappointment, with very little flavor overall, very unlike the original sandwich. Again, this location is still fairly new so we are hopeful that there are just some kinks that need to be worked out.

I'm new to Boston and live in the Allston, so sometimes I feel I'm left out on my side of the Charles with coffee and pastry shops. I happened to stumble upon an article about Sofra and was excited to check them out. I went on the weekend, and the place was BUSY by mid-morning. Even though this is a bigger location, there doesn't seem to be enough seating to fit the need, so I took some pastries to-go. The line does move quickly and the staff are friendly. I think the pastries and food is reasonably price where it won't cost an arm and a leg to enjoy. I've enjoyed all the pastries I ordered (the orange blossom morning bun, the pistachio and saffron roll, saffron sugared cookies), but my favorite has been the ginger molasses cookies. (I loved them enough that I order 2 dozen to bring to Thanksgiving this year). I have also tried the orange blossom lemonade which balances sweet and tartness nicely (on a busy morning the drink did take about 10 minutes to reach me, but I was forewarned when I ordered). I do eventually want to try other foods, but will need to come earlier in the morning in order to grab a table.

I was excited to try out Sofra's second location, since the first is a little out of the way for me. We came on a weekday morning and it was pretty busy. You order at the counter, where you receive a number to bring to your table and they bring your order to you. The ambience got a little too loud for my liking, which is obviously a personal preference. We ordered the shakshuka, a pastry, and two drinks. The food came out pretty quickly, but it seems they forgot about our drinks because someone came to check on what we were still waiting for and I saw them make our drinks and bring them over shortly after. It felt like they were still figuring things out with being newly opened. I probably wouldn't come back to this location, but if I'm ever in the area I'd give their original location a try.

Thoroughly enjoyed my visit to sofra today! The food menu was extensive, a little bit overwhelming trying to decide what to get. My mom ordered an egg sandwich with halloumi which she loved and I got the mezze platter which was also great. You could choose the 5 sides you wanted on it. The beet tzatziki and tahini hummus were my favorites. It doesn't come with anything to dip so you do have to order a pita on the side. A must get was the Black Sea cornbread, I really enjoyed this. Different than your typical cornbread. Would definitely get that again. The desserts we got were good as well but nothing super standout. Nice restaurant. Very cute place to sit and do work or to bring friends. You order at a counter and then they bring the food out which came pretty fast. I will definitely be back here!

The selection of food, dips, and pastries was so amazing and had tons of variety! Loved the cilbir, whipped feta, Black Sea cornbread, and Shakshuka. This location is large with a good amount of indoor seating. Quick and friendly service. Recommend going with a group and sharing plates family style

We stopped in here on a weekday morning around 10 am. There was no wait with plenty of open tables. The space inside is quite big with an open kitchen. Service was very friendly, staff was happy to answer any questions about the menu. I had already had breakfast, so opted for a couple pastries. We got the sweet cheese brioche and the spanakopita. Sweet cheese brioche was very fresh with a hint of sweet. The spanakopita was flaky but it was quite oily and reflux inducing. I'm not sure if you can ask to heat up the pastries but that would've made the experience soo much better. Also tried the cortado. Their espresso tastes better than average. Overall a great new addition to the area - looking forward to trying the rest of the menu!

I have not shown up to a dinner party without Sofra's dips! Their freshness and bold flavor make these a hit! My go-to, if I am able to grab a seat, is the sausage stuffed pita. Overall, my favorite thing about Sofra is that I've never had anything like it before.

My Tahiti brown butter doughnut with a cream filling was amazing as was hubby's bittersweet chocolate Tahiti heart. Hubby enjoyed his yellow lentil mujadara. My sausage pita was prepared well but I didn't realize that it has olives, which I hate. A small dark chocolate apricot baklava was OK but not amazing. We bought some items to go. Arriving before 8 a.m. on a Sunday, we found a spot in the restaurant's small parking lot. On the weekend, nonresidents can park on the nearby main street. Plenty of tables were available. In good weather, one can sit at 2 picnic tables outside.

I am so excited to have a Sofra on this side of the river. I've been a couple times now and was super impressed with the pastries. The pumpkin jam turnover, in particular, was so delicious, with its perfectly flaky pastry and sweet filling. The coffee is also really delicious, though I paid for flavored syrup both times and don't think it was there either time. The second time I went, I was with my daughter, who has a sesame allergy. We had to go back and forth with an employee several times to confirm that our food had no sesame. I would've liked the staff to be more confident in confirming that. Overall, I think this is a great spot, but they need to work out some kinks as a new cafe. I am sure I will be back.

Beautiful new location in Allston with plenty of seating and a wide range of sweet and savory options. Choose your own Mezze plate with lots of options to choose from like Turkish babganoush, tahini hummus, beet tzatziki and carrot salad. You do need to order pita or chips separately. Great breakfast options, really liked Gino's egg sandwich with halloumi and interesting sauces on brioche bun. The Black Sea cornbread is amazing! So many treats - we enjoyed the brown butter tahini donut, bitter chocolate tahini tart and the pistachio shortbread. They also sell a nice variety of seasonings, tahinis, oils and other middle eastern pantry items. Will return to try more!

The food here is spectacular!! They have good GF options, including an almond rose pastry that I loved. It's a nice space inside, and the staff are all super friendly! This is a new favorite of mine.

I love Sofra. There's a variety of pastries and the food is delicious. Some of my favorites are the Borek, Spinach Gozleme and Sausage Pita.