Seaton T.
Yelp
Los Angeles has never lacked for great Mediterranean food. From the kebab houses of Hollywood to the Armenian grills of Glendale, the city hums with the smoky, spice-laden poetry of old world cooking. But Sora's Craft Kitchen, a quiet newcomer near DTLA, is something else entirely-- both a love letter to Mediterranean/Turkish cuisine, but also a combative challenge rendered with the precision of a chef (named Okay Inak) who understands that simplicity, when done right, is the purest form of sophistication.
The owner/chef/server triple threat, Chef Inak, has worked in the finest kitchens in the world, including Per Se in New York. Nearly every morning, he gets to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market to taste and buy the best ingredients he can find for the day. He sources whatever is good and writes the menu based on what he tastes. In a sense, your dining experience will be a Mediterranean (or, in his words, "MediterrAsian") omakase.
The Valentine's Day menu included a silky, nutty avocado hummus which was nothing short of revelatory. Then there was the baba ganoush that defied convention, using Japanese eggplant. An unexpected twist on a classic, where the refreshing eggplant combined a whisper of spice and the soothing bite of good olive oil. It's the kind of dish that lingers in the mind long after the last scoop has been greedily dragged across the plate.
If there is a star at Sora's, it might be the beetroot falafel. Crisp, refreshing, layered with both hot and cold elements, and hearty in a way that won't make your doctor angry. And for protein, we enjoyed the grilled chicken kabob, a dish so ubiquitous in the city that it often fades into the background. But not here. At Sora's, the chicken is marinated just long enough to let the spices whisper rather than shout, then grilled until the edges char just so, giving way to meat so tender it nearly collapses at the touch of a fork. Tonight, it was served with a healthy side of lavash bread for wrapping.
If this restaurant were in Beverly Hills, you'd be paying $100 a dish. You can get away with spending $80 or less for two people here, including appetizers. The neighborhood is rough around the edges, but for good reason. Without the cheap rent, Chef Inak wouldn't be able to serve Michelin level food at the price point he does. And the dining room itself is an extension of the food--understated, warm, timeless. It is a space designed for lingering, for slow, deliberate meals. If you're lucky to come on a weekday, you may even get a private chef's experience. But not for long--this place will get busy.
Sora's Craft Kitchen does not entirely reinvent Mediterranean cuisine, but it will surprise your palate. And it does so with food that is honest, accessible, unembellished, and impossibly, undeniably good. Michelin equivalent: two stars.
