Sofra

Sofra is a Turkish restaurant brand in London, United Kingdom. The name refers to a dining table in Turkish and reflects the brand's emphasis on shared food, hospitality and a broad selection of traditional dishes. The business began in 1981 as a small restaurant and subsequently developed into a multi-location operation in central London. The locations identified in reference material are in Mayfair and at St Christopher's Place, near Oxford Street. The cuisine centers on Turkish food, particularly the meze tradition in which a succession of small dishes and salads is served before the main course. Reported examples include fried eggplant, börek, falafel, grilled sujuk, broad beans, cacık, hummus, baba ghanoush and tabbouleh. These dishes give Sofra a menu identity based on vegetables, legumes, yogurt, herbs, olive oil, grilled meats and baked pastries rather than a narrowly defined single specialty. Sofra is closely identified with Hüseyin Özer, who is described as its chef-patron. The restaurants are presented as relatively simply decorated spaces, with Özer explaining that the absence of paintings and music leaves the focus on the food and assumes that guests can seek visual art and music elsewhere. This approach positions the brand around culinary quality and a distinctive dining philosophy rather than theatrical interior design or entertainment. The restaurants have received recognition in commentary about Turkish cuisine in London. Reference material describes Sofra as being regarded among the leading Turkish restaurants outside Turkey and notes that it ranked first in a list published by the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet. The available material does not provide independently verifiable details about revenue, ownership structure, employee numbers, current location count or a formal corporate parent. Sofra should be distinguished from Özer, a separate upscale restaurant named after Hüseyin Özer that operated near Oxford Circus. That restaurant was reported to be closing on 20 December 2013 after its lease was not extended following 14 years of operation. The closure concerned Özer rather than the Sofra brand. Based on the referenced description of Sofra's Mayfair and St Christopher's Place restaurants, the brand is treated here as active, although current trading details and an official website were not supplied.

Sofra began in London in 1981 as a small Turkish restaurant. It later expanded into a chain with central London locations, including premises in Mayfair and at St Christopher's Place near Oxford Street. The brand's development is associated with Hüseyin Özer, who is identified as its chef-patron and whose culinary approach shaped the restaurants' food and service identity. The restaurant's name comes from the Turkish word for a dining table. That association is consistent with Sofra's menu structure, which emphasizes shared meze and salads before the main course. The reported selection includes eggplant dishes, börek, falafel, sujuk, broad beans, cacık, hummus, baba ghanoush and tabbouleh. Together, these offerings represent a broad interpretation of Turkish cuisine incorporating vegetables, pulses, dairy, herbs, pastries and grilled foods. Sofra's physical presentation has been described as simple rather than ornate. Özer's stated rationale for omitting paintings and music was that guests should concentrate on the food and could visit galleries or music venues when they wanted those forms of entertainment. This gives the chain a clear food-first proposition and differentiates it from restaurants that rely heavily on decorative spectacle or live entertainment. The brand gained external recognition in descriptions of Turkish dining in London. It was characterized as one of the best Turkish cuisine restaurants outside Turkey, and reference material records a first-place ranking in a list published by Hürriyet. The available source does not establish the methodology or date of that ranking, so it is best understood as a reported accolade rather than a fully documented performance measure. Hüseyin Özer also operated a separate upscale restaurant called Özer near Oxford Circus. In 2013, that business was reported to be closing after its lease was not renewed, following 14 years of operation. The event is relevant to the wider career context of Sofra's chef-patron but is not a closure of the Sofra chain. The supplied material identifies Sofra locations in Mayfair and St Christopher's Place and does not report a discontinuation of the Sofra brand. No reliable details were supplied about incorporation, legal ownership, financial performance, current website, precise number of restaurants or later expansion, so those fields remain unspecified.

• 1981

  Sofra is established in London

  [1]Sofra (restaurant)en.wikipedia.org

  Sofra begins as a small Turkish restaurant in London, later developing into a chain.

• Expansion to central London locations

  [1]Sofra (restaurant)en.wikipedia.org

  The business expands beyond its original small-restaurant format to locations in Mayfair and St Christopher's Place near Oxford Street.

• Recognition in Turkish restaurant rankings

  [1]Sofra (restaurant)en.wikipedia.org

  Sofra is reported to have ranked first in a Turkish restaurant list published by Hürriyet and to be regarded as one of the leading Turkish restaurants outside Turkey.

A central London Turkish dining brand focused on traditional cuisine, meze-style sharing dishes and food-led hospitality. Its identity is associated with chef-patron Hüseyin Özer and deliberately restrained restaurant interiors.

• Restaurant cuisine

  Turkish meze

  A selection of small Turkish dishes intended to be served before or alongside the main course. The reported Sofra offering includes vegetable, pulse, yogurt, herb and grilled preparations, making meze a central part of the brand's shared-dining format.

• Restaurant cuisine

  Traditional Turkish salads

  Fresh and herb-forward dishes form part of Sofra's Turkish menu. Tabbouleh, made with bulgur, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley and aromatics, is among the salads identified in reference material.

• Restaurant cuisine

  Grilled and savory specialties

  The reported menu includes grilled sujuk and other savory Turkish preparations. These dishes complement the vegetable and pulse-based meze and provide a grilled element within the broader restaurant offering.

• Meze

  Hummus and baba ghanoush

  Sofra's listed meze includes hummus made from chickpeas, tahini, garlic and olive oil, as well as baba ghanoush based on mashed eggplant with paprika, garlic and olive oil.

• Meze

  Cacık

  A yogurt-based Turkish side or meze prepared with cucumber, dried mint and olive oil. It represents the cool, dairy-based component of Sofra's reported menu.

• Pastry

  Börek

  Baked filled pastries associated with Turkish cuisine and included among the restaurant's reported starter and meze-style dishes.

• 2013

  Closure of the separate Özer restaurantOther

  Background

  Hüseyin Özer also operated an upscale restaurant named Özer near Oxford Circus. Its lease was reportedly not extended after 14 years of operation.

  Action taken

  The Özer restaurant was announced for closure on 20 December 2013.

  Aftermath

  This event concerned the separate Özer restaurant rather than the Sofra chain. The supplied material continues to identify Sofra locations in Mayfair and St Christopher's Place.

  Source

1. 1Sofra (restaurant)en.wikipedia.org