Sofra Turkish restaurant, Covent Garden

I adore Middle Eastern food and for me, it is one of my favourite cuisines. Today I went on my friend’s recommendation and had an amazing dinner at “Sofra” a Turkish restaurant on Travistock Street, in Covent Garden.

spacious conservatory at Sofra 

The outside face doesn’t do the place justice as inside it is quite elegant and the friendly staff are dressed smartly in their black waistcoats.

Sitting upstairs in the roof garden was perfect for this weather, as the conservatory like area gave us a cooling setting.

tucking in! 

We went for a tasting menu – a delicious sampling mix of falafel, aubergine ratatouille, hummus with salted lamb, spinach and cheese pastries, tabbouleh, baby broad beans, nut salad, baba ganoush and baskets of bread! I don't even like lamb but I ate all the hummus with it in, so that's proof of how morish it was! 

tabbouleh

hummus and lamb 

my favourite...baba ganoush (aubergine dip)

As part of the menu, you also have a main meal – I chose vegetarian moussaka and dad had chicken meatballs.

moussaka 

chicken meatballs 

The portions were certainly filling although we did manage to polish every single bit up. We thought it would be rude not to. The table beside us left so much food, we couldn’t take the shock off our face! What a waste!

This was the perfect reward for a long day’s walking around! We finished with a delicious fresh mint tea and Turkish apple tea. 

It was such a reasonable price too! two of us for £32. And we were as stuffed as an old teddy bear!

When I was little, my dad used to take me on “daddy day” day trips to London and seeing as he is back in the UK for a few weeks before the wedding, we decided today would be a perfect day for a daddy day. He wanted to go on a “literacy walk” that he had found in a book, taking in the sights and places of some of our great writers for his book club website. 

apple tea 

Although I am sure my dad was “accidently” turning it into an educational pub crawl! We started brunch in All Bar One, stopped for ale in “The George” (17th century and National Trust owned!), another at “The Anchor” (one of London's oldest pub) on Southbank and even a rest bite at the National Theatre. And a beer was obviously had to wash the dinner down!

I am not the greatest lover of literacy but I loved walking around London – I love how you think you can know a city so well but then discover a short cut through a back street that will make you feel as if you walked through the wardrobe of Narnia! I also learnt that the River Thames is a lot smaller now days and you can even see the gate in the park next to embankment station where it originally started!

It is amazing what you discover when you really open your eyes and take a look around!

X x X

ps, not sure why there is such a blue tinge to everything!