Sofra Istanbul
Where: 245 Florida Road, Morningside
Open: Monday to Thursday 10.30am to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 10.30am to 10pm.
Call: 031 303 2285
When we’re at the coalface on a Friday night putting the finishing touches on your paper and making sure it gets to you on time, I often order in. And Sofra Istanbul has become one of my go to places on Florida Road. They celebrate Falafel Fridays so it’s often falafels, with roasted brinjals and Turkish yoghurt, and a spicy tomato sauce. It comes with hummus, and salad and a piece of soft lavash bread to mop it all up with as I’m busy at my desk correcting Page 1.
Sometimes it’s their saucy chicken, chicken cooked on the coals and then smothered in a spicy cream on pilau rice, or their Turkish style fish with chips and salad.
I often order at the same time a portion of their tasty mercmek corba – a lentil and vegetable soup which is enough for three light lunches, and which comes with a rustic brioche style Turkish bread. What I like about Istanbul’s food is that it’s authentic and real, and healthy to boot.
But the restaurant is also a wonderful place to sit outside and watch the world go by. And so one beautiful Sunday afternoon Trevor, Vivek and I spent some time chilling on the deck.
Not licensed, the restaurant is halaal, Istanbul offers an array of teas as well as their home-made lemonade. It’s one of my favourites. This time we were offered pineapple juice as well, but the lemonade called.
We started by sharing a mezze platter, a dish of roasted Mediterranean vegetables and a dish of spicy chickpeas served with hummus and more of that lavash to soak it up. We also shared two rounds of their lamb and beef gozleme, a thin crisp flatbread spread with lamb and beef mince, and served with sliced vegetables and chilli. These were wonderful to roll up the veg in crisp bread with the various sauces. It was a very hands on and sociable way to eat.
Then we shared the lamb shish kebab served with chips and salads and sauces and more lavash. The lamb always tastes so good roasted over the charcoal grill. One of the highlights here is their mixed grill, which while it looks expensive, it easily serves a party of four. It features all the different styles of kebabs, shish (cubes of meat), adana (minced meat on a skewer) and donner (slices from the revolving grill). And these will include chicken and lamb options.
We end with another favourite, kunefe, a baked dessert that features a spun pastry called kataifi baked around soft cheese and topped with a syrup and pistachio nuts. It’s a large portion and more than enough to share. And no trip would complete without tasting the baklava, which is the best in Durban.
Food: 4
Service: 3 ½
Ambience: 4
The Bill: Apologies, I lost the bill, but Istanbul offers very good value.
The Independent on Saturday
