Confessions of a Wino

Shepherd’s Market in Mayfair is one of the most charming places in the capital.  It’s totally unique.

By contrast, Turkish resto Sofra, has a number of branches across London.  My myopic view of restaurant chains is that they totally lack flair and employ cooks rather than chefs to dish out someone else’s imagination…poorly.

So when invited to Sofra (Mayfair) I attended with some trepidation, that turned out to be totally unwarranted.

First glance was at the wine list where I was only partially shocked to see the ubiquitous (my God! I really do see it on every other wine list!) Sancerre Les Collinettes, albeit at a fairly reasonable (for Mayfair) £28.50.  I plumped for the Chilean Casa la Joya 2006 Sauvignon Blanc at a reasonable £10.75 for a half bottle.  This typical South American Sauvignon went perfectly with the food and did not overpower it.

The real star of the show was not the wine.  I ordered the “Healthy Meal” set menu at £8.95 (£10.95 in the evening) and was presented with a cacophony of gorgeous flavours.  Tabbouleh, Kofte, skewered lamb and chicken, Falafel, Kisir, Imam Bayildi to name just a few dishes.  I am no expert on Turkish food but if this is healthy eating bring it on!

At a total lunchtime price of £54 for 3 people including service I don’t think you will find better value in Mayfair.

Sofra, 18 Shepherd Street, Mayfair, London W1Y 7HU.  +44 (0) 20 7493 3320.  www.sofra.co.uk/SofraMayfairIndex.html

This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2007 at 1:53 pm and is filed under food, Loire, rip off restaurant mark-ups, south america. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.