
Sofra Bakery & Cafe
A vibrant bakery and cafe serving Middle Eastern sweets, savory bites, and unique Mediterranean-inspired dishes with a cozy atmosphere.

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Sofra Bakery & Cafe

Highlights
Must-see attractions
A vibrant bakery and cafe serving Middle Eastern sweets, savory bites, and unique Mediterranean-inspired dishes with a cozy atmosphere.
"This place is AMAZING!!! We went here for breakfast and it was truly divine. I highly recommend if you are looking for a more unique breakfast in Allston."
Arrive Early
Popular items sell out quickly; arrive early to ensure you get your favorites.
Limited Seating
Seating is limited, especially on weekends. Be prepared for potential lines.

Quick Facts
Cuisine
Middle Eastern
Price
Mid-range
Highlights
Discover the most iconic attractions and experiences

Authentic Turkish Breakfast
Indulge in a delightful Turkish breakfast featuring Greek yogurt with raspberry jam and a perfectly cooked egg.

Unique Levantine Small Dishes
Savor unique Levantine small dishes like zaatar bread, falafel wraps, and savory boreks, bursting with flavor.

Inventive Mediterranean Pastries
Explore a treasure trove of inventive Mediterranean pastries, from date almond ma'amoul to chocolate tahini tarts.
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Insider Tips
from TikTok, Instagram & Reddit
Arrive Early
Popular items sell out quickly; arrive early to ensure you get your favorites.
Limited Seating
Seating is limited, especially on weekends. Be prepared for potential lines.
Weekday Visits
For a quieter experience, visit during weekdays. Weekends are typically more crowded.
Ask for Recommendations
Friendly staff can offer great recommendations, like the Shakshuka or mezze platters.
Tips
from all over the internet
Arrive Early
Popular items sell out quickly; arrive early to ensure you get your favorites.
Limited Seating
Seating is limited, especially on weekends. Be prepared for potential lines.
Weekday Visits
For a quieter experience, visit during weekdays. Weekends are typically more crowded.
Ask for Recommendations
Friendly staff can offer great recommendations, like the Shakshuka or mezze platters.
What Travellers Say
Reviews Summary
Sofra Bakery & Cafe is a beloved spot for its inventive Middle Eastern cuisine and delightful pastries. Diners rave about the unique flavors, fresh ingredients, and cozy atmosphere. While it can get crowded with limited seating, the food quality and friendly service make it a must-visit for many.
"This place was recommended and after receiving a gift card I went with my mother to check this place out.
While pricey, if you’re willing to cough up some cash it is well worth the money for the quality you will get from this food.
We had ordered the Turkish style breakfast which had a soft boiled egg wrapped in an ingredient I do not know the name of but it added crunch and mild sweetness to it. There were cucumbers, olives, tomato that was mashed and sweet yogurt which was topped with seasonal spoon sweets. You can refer to the image but this was one of my favorite things with the blend of refreshing vegetables that were light and paired with sweet creamy substances. It was filling yet not overbearing.
Geno’s egg sandwich was worth the getting my hands messy as the egg was cooked just enough that the yolk broke upon first bite adding extra flavor that brought out the halloumi cheese and tomato concasse.
The granola bowl was another favorite being served in Egyptian carrot jam and labne that made it stand out compared to other granola bowls.
We had purchased the Turkish coffee which we felt was decent but not as good as Andala coffee houses especially when comparing price and value.
The desserts were the date almond ma’amoul and chocolate tahini tart. The tart was smooth, rich and not overly sweet compared to the breakfast Items which was a nice change.
Lastly, the staff were extremely friendly and accommodating. The music was middle eastern and not so loud that you could not have a conversation."
Ashraful Rahman
"Shakshuka is a must try 🥘🫓! The portion isn't that big but great for one person or to share with another as a small brunch. It comes with a pita that's hot and very soft. Also, very picture worthy 📸"
Joyce
"Delicious Turkish menu with extremely fast service. The place though small it has a warmth about it. The siting space is limited but waiting is worth it as food is amazing. The servers are courteous and sweet. No nonsense place with some amazing dishes. U can also pick up thinsg off the shelf. Nice memorable experience."
Shalini Sankar
What People Like
What People Dislike
Frequently Asked Questions
Diners highly recommend the Turkish breakfast, Shakshuka, falafel wraps, shawarma, and the various pastries like chocolate tahini tart and baklava.
Yes, Sofra is highly recommended for brunch, offering unique Turkish and Mediterranean breakfast and small dishes.
Yes, Sofra has many vegetarian options including stuffed flatbreads, salads, and various mezze dishes.
Seating is limited, especially on weekends. It's advisable to arrive early or be prepared for a potential wait.
Yes, Sofra offers a wide variety of coffee selections, including Turkish coffee and specialty drinks with homemade syrups.
Yes, Sofra offers a selection of gluten-free items, including many of their meze dishes and granola.
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The Best Restaurants In Cambridge - Boston
This Middle Eastern counter-service cafe and bakery in West Cambridge, which comes from the same team behind Oleana and Sarma, is one of those places where you can easily walk in and linger for hours. Snack on mozzarella-stuffed börek and date turmeric rolls for breakfast, and then toss out any other plans you might’ve made for the day in favor of muhammara, whipped feta, and tahini hummus with beef for lunch. Before you know it, you’re getting some to-go spinach falafel and lamb shawarma for dinner.
18 Best Breakfast Spots in Boston To Start Your Day Right
Casual sibling to Oleana and Sarma, Sofra attracts throngs of guests to its location on the Cambridge-Belmont border with its selection of Mediterranean specialties like gözleme, shawarma and börek. But this spot isn't all about the savory; it also offers Turkish, Greek and Lebanese baked goods, including tasty breakfast treats. Try items like the olive oil granola, chickpea pancakes or a morning bun with orange blossom glaze, available for breakfast on weekends.
The Best Breakfast And Brunch Spots In Cambridge, MA
If you’re in the mood for a bit of a different breakfast, Sofra Bakery & Cafe is the place to go. This Middle Eastern bakery is a hidden jewel for sweets and food inspired by traditional food in Turkey, Lebanon, and Greece. The name ‘Sofra’ is synonymous in Turkey with generosity and hospitality, making this casual café a favorite for locals.
Where to Eat and Drink in Boston: A Local's Guide
A year before Yotam Ottolenghi shook up the London food scene with his first eponymous café, Ana Sortun was opening Boston’s eyes to the flavors of Turkey, Greece, Syria, and North Africa at her first restaurant, Oleana. At Sofra, in the less-talked-about neighborhood of West Cambridge, she and pastry chef Maura Kilpatrick bring the same sensibility to a bakery/café format, serving meze, soups, salads, shawarmas, and some of the most inventive fusion pastries in the country in a compact, colorful space stocked with top-notch spices, halvas, jams, oils, and other Middle Eastern pantry essentials. (Tables can be hard to come by, so arrive early.)
Cambridge | Offbeat Eats
Last month, my brother came to visit from England, so on the morning of St Patrick’s Day we had to pick up my brother at Logan, which meant this was a good opportunity to try out a new place for breakfast someplace down in the Boston area. I know a rather good selection of places to eat in the Boston area, but not a lot of breakfast places (a byproduct of the fact that Boston is around 2.5-3 hours from here, depending on traffic, is that we usually get there well after breakfast hours). But several of my friends up here in NH have lived down there, so I asked coworker A for a good Saturday brunch suggestion.
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Bostonians close their eyes and dream of Sofra's pastries and savory specialties (for this writer, it's always the cheese borek). And even if you wake up immediately after said dream and head over to Sofra bright and early, you'll probably still have to wait an hour or so for your fix. From pistachio rosewater croissants and bittersweet chocolate tahini tarts to lentil soup, shawarma sandos, and rhubarb-adorned baked feta, this bakery and lunch restaurant is so beloved, folks will brave the February cold just to eat their treats on the curb outside.
Where to Find the Best Cookies in Greater Boston
Around since 2008, this offshoot of acclaimed Cambridge restaurant Oleana is an extraordinarily popular spot to grab Middle Eastern pastries and other cafe fare, not to mention meze, shawarma, ready-to-bake meals like moussaka, and more. The earthquake cookies are a fan favorite, featuring a lusciously chocolate interior and a crinkly, sugar-dusted top. As executive pastry chef and co-owner Maura Kilpatrick writes in the Sofra cookbook, Soframiz, “This is a fantastic fudgy cookie, and not at all Middle Eastern, but impossible to resist.
Where to Find the Best Gluten-Free Restaurants in Boston
Sofra, often a go-to pastries, cookies, and other confections, is also a must-visit for the extensive selection of freshly made meze, much of which is gluten-free. Take the Moroccan-Style Carrot Salad, for example; Parsnip Almond Skordalia, or Grape Leaf Dolma, just to name a few. The Mediterranean cafe is also filled to the brim with prepared food to-go and delectable retail items, including gluten-free Olive Oil Granola, Sesame Caramel Cashews, and Sweet & Smoky Pecans, so you can bring the magic of Sofra home.
10 Best Dessert in Boston : Dessert Places for a Hearty Experience
If you are looking for Mediterranean desserts in Boston, Sofra is a compact, counter-service bakery with a sylvan outdoor patio, best known for its incredible meze, sweets and chocolate based desserts. Start your meal with a Turkish coffee in a traditional copper pot and proceed to dig into baklavas glazed with hazelnuts, sesame, chocolate and honey. Dukkah macaroons, thin-crust apple pies, tahini shortbread and chocolate chunk cookies are also sold on the curbside at Sofra with peppy beverages.
25 Best Breakfast Places In Boston
This Middle Eastern bakery is described as a modern interpretation of a traditional Turkish breakfast, with an assortment of sweet and savory bites. A few mouthwatering options include their raspberry rose petal turnover, bittersweet chocolate tahini tart, pistachio olive oil cake, and chocolate hazelnut baklava. The restaurant is small and it can be hard to find a table, but guests say the quality of the food makes it worth a visit even for takeout.
This Cambridge cafe is the only Mass. eatery to make The New York Times’ 2021 Restaurant List
Sofra Bakery & Cafe, on the border of Cambridge and Watertown, made The New York Times’ 2021 Restaurant List, an unranked roundup of 50 of the “most vibrant and delicious” eateries around the country. The article, which came out Tuesday, said the Times sent reporters, critics, and editors from the Food desk to scout restaurants nationwide, eventually whittling the list down to the flavorsome 50.
Best Cookie Shops in Boston: Top 5 Must-Try Bakeries
If you want to travel safely, look no further than Sofra Bakery & Cafe, whose name roughly translates to "generosity" and "hospitality" in Turkish. The store’s Middle-Eastern inspired baked goods will whisk you away to Turkey, Lebanon and Greece. Enjoy a powdered sugar-covered Earthquake cookie with a crumbly texture and dark cocoa fudge filling, or go for a classic molasses cookie.
This Cambridge Bakery Just Made The New York Times' Best Restaurants List
Sofra Bakery, located on Belmont Street in Cambridge, was just listed on the New York Times’ Favorite Restaurants list for 2021. This Middle Eastern bakery, café, and retail store serves deliciously modern interpretations of traditional Turkish, Lebanese, and Greek pastries. And it’s no wonder why the bakery sells out so early and so fast every day—these pastries are world-class.
5 Best Boston Brunch Spots - For Vegetarians
I have to thank my friend Khushboo for introducing me to this real Turkish delight – Sofra is a real jewel. It is a a casual cafe cum bakery cum specialty food shop that serves tastes of Turkey, Lebanon and Greece with a twist. The space is a bit compact but the queue moves quite fast – you are looking for about 20 – 30 mins wait if you arrive at peak brunch hours.
The 5 best breakfast and brunch spots in Cambridge
And then there's SOFRA Bakery & Cafe, a Strawberry Hill favorite with four stars out of 756 reviews. Stop by 1 Belmont St. to hit up the bakery and Middle Eastern breakfast and brunch spot next time you're looking to satisfy your cravings. This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor.
12 Best Must-Try Bakeries in Boston
Sofra Bakery & Cafe offers a unique Middle Eastern culinary experience, with a wide array of sweet and savory flavors inspired by traditional cuisines from the region. It's a great place to try something new and delicious. These are just a few examples of the many fantastic bakeries that make Boston a haven for food lovers.
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Located in Cambridge, MA, Sofra is a modern Mediterranean bakery and café that serves up some of the most spectacular dishes you’ll find. Whether seeking breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, or even a dessert, you’ll be pleased with whatever you select. The décor compliments the food, and the specialty drinks are to die for.
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Sofra is Paradise among the landscape of eateries in Cambridge. The bakery and cafe comes from the mind of Executive Chef Ana Sortun, who brought us Oleana and Sarma, also taking its inspiration from the best flavors of Turkey, Lebanon and Greece. On the menu, you’ll find delectable macaroons, baklava, and tahini tarts.
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Upon stepping into Sofra Bakery & Cafe, I was immediately enveloped by the delightful aroma of amazing pastries that seemed to dance in the air. As I observed the bustling bakery, I couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation for what awaited me. The first treat that caught my eye was their authentic Turkish tea.
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Anna Sortun is a local powerhouse in the area with restaurants Sofra, Sarma, and Oleana at the top of the list for many area foodies. Did you know Sofra offers cooking classes themselves, often taught by Sortun?. These classes are expensive, over $125 per guest, but you can be assured to gain a lot of knowledge.
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The tiny place is often mobbed, but do wait, because you’ll be rewarded with Persian spiced doughnuts or shakshuka, eggs poached in curried tomatoes with pita crumbs. The cuisine is authentic Middle Eastern and Eastern Mediterranean. Devotees make time to go midmorning on weekdays, when you can find a seat.
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SOFRA is a modern Mediterranean bakery and cafe that serves up some of the most spectacular dishes you'll find. Whether seeking breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack or even a dessert you'll be pleased with whatever you select. The exotic decor compliments the food and the specialty drinks are to die for.
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We’d do crazy things to live around the corner from chef Ana Sortun and executive pastry chef Maura Kilpatrick’s bakery and cafe. We can see it already: Each morning we’d line up and decide which of Kilpatrick’s many pastries we’d try that day. Would it be the syrupy pistachio baklava nest?
The Best Breakfast in Boston: 27 Must-Try Spots
Although Sofra is technically located in Cambridge, I think it still deserves a spot on this best breakfast in Boston guide. The Middle Eastern bakery draws influence from Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. Breakfast pastries include saffron twists,Tahini Brown Butter Donuts, and baklava.
Outdoor Dining Options in Cambridge, MA
Get transported to a world of culinary magic when you visit Sofra. Serving a wide array of Middle Eastern inspired house-made preserves, food made keeping sustainable agriculture and local farmers in mind, and signature spice blends, Sofra has a very warm and inviting atmosphere.
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Sofra Bakery and Cafe is a Cambridge-based bakery that is known for its Middle Eastern pastries and breads. They also offer a variety of pies, including pumpkin, apple, and pecan. Their pies are made with fresh, local ingredients and are always a popular choice for Thanksgiving.
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Sofra Bakery & Café brings a little bit of the Middle East to your next breakfast in Boston. Established in 2008 by Executive Chef Ana Sortun and Pastry Chef Maura Kilpatrick, diners can explore the traditional cuisines of Turkey, Lebanon and Greece.
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The word “moist” should never be used unless you’re describing this cookie. It’s dense, chocolate-y, chewy, and perfectly moist. #SpoonTip: If you can’t make it out to Cambridge, pick up a pack at Siena Farms at the Boston Public Market.
Press & Events
Imagine a flakier, more buttery version of a Pop-Tart, stuffed with finely chopped pistachios and blackberries. A chocolate-hazelnut baklava that is fudgy, not cloyingly sweet. A densely textured yet delicate almond-rose cake.
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1 Belmont St, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States (617) 661-3161. Sofra is stacked with Eastern treats like almond-rose cakes and Tahini shortbread. They have different spice blends you can take home and house-made preserves.
Here are 8 bakers' favorite pastry shops around Greater Boston
I never leave Sofra without one of their earthquake cookies. They're like heaven-sent cookies. If I'm wanting something savory I usually get one of their spreads with one of their crick cracks, which are so good.
Best Breakfast & Brunch Spots In Cambridge
Last but not least, there's SOFRA Bakery & Cafe, a Strawberry Hill favorite with four stars out of 751 reviews. Stop by 1 Belmont St. to hit up the bakery, breakfast and brunch spot next time you're in the mood.
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This popular Middle Eastern bakery & cafe is located in Cambridge. 📍 Google Maps | ☕ Website | 📞 (617) 661-3161. Sofra Bakery & Cafe is a little spot in Cambridge known for its breakfast and lunch.
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With unique menu items like Syrian shortbread, almond-rose cake, chocolate-hazelnut baklava and other savory treats, Sofra offers something beyond the average bakery in the area.
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Sofra, Sarma and Oleana: these incredible Cambridge/Somerville restaurants are women-led, founded and run… mothers, managers, chefs, entrepreneurs, wine directors and more
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Sofra Bakery & Cafe (Mediterranean, $): This bakery and cafe is known for its Middle Eastern-inspired vegetarian dishes, such as lentil soup, shakshuka and mezze platters.
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That’s the appropriate way to experience Sofra, whose menu tours Turkey, Lebanon, and Greece, and whose flavor combinations are singular,” Krishna wrote of the eatery.
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from TikTok, Instagram & Reddit