Feel Like (Halal) Chicken Tonight?

Turkish-Iranian Restaurant 'Urfa Sofrasis'
76 Agmashenebeli Avenue
Tel: (995 32) 96 50 94

Urfa Sofrasis, the most recent addition to the Turkish culinary strip on Agmashenebeli Avenue, has pretty good food—and a formidable bar—in a comfortable setting.

In spite of its unique niche (Iranian and Turkish cuisine) Urfa Sofrasis makes no attempts to invoke—whether through low lighting, acres of oriental carpets, or an over-abundance of pillows—either Persia or Turkey. Rather, a two-story-high drop ceiling vaults above a sea of enormous dining tables, each of which is bracketed by long thickly-padded benches. (Somehow this combination gives the restaurant the feel of a furniture showroom.)

Rather then perusing a menu, you place your order at two glass display cases — one containing raw meat for Turkish and Iranian-style kebabs and other grillables, the other containing everything else (meze, etc.)—then take a seat and wait. While this approach allows you to eyeball your entree ahead of time—and also permits the Turkish-Iranian culinary novice to point and grunt in the absence of lexical familiarity with the dishes in question—it does not give one a good sense of each dish’s impact on your wallet. (Happily, this ends up not being too severe).

While the ‘meze-etc’ case’s contents were not as extensive as those of some of the Turkish restaurants further up Agmashenebeli Avenue, there was still a lot to choose from. There are several vegetarian options (including an inordinate amount of eggplant). Our party ordered yoghurt sauce, olive salad, hummus, fried eggplant in yogurt, meat-stuffed eggplant, and stewed green beans. From the meat case we ordered chicken and ground lamb kebabs. We also indulged in a couple of bottles of Turkish Efes beer, and a shot each of raki (anise liquor). All together, our tab came to about 15 GEL apiece.

On our visit the food was hit-or-miss. The green olive salad — comprised of sliced olives, chopped fresh tomatoes, slivers of lightly brined cucumber, and chives—was very good. The hummus hit the spot, as did the yogurt-mint sauce. Some dishes were less successful, though—the grilled eggplant in yogurt sauce was bit bitter for our taste, and the stuffed eggplant’s meat stuffing was kind of nubbly. A very few items were flat-out bad: the beans were very salty and swimming in oil, and the ground lamb kebabs were dry and immediately unpalatable—no one managed more than a small bite. We scored with the grilled chicken kebab, however, which was downright succulent, and more than made up for the odd mediocre item. The chicken meat was moist and tender on the inside, with a crisp exterior, and a grilled aroma and toothsome flavor throughout.

If you are a diner with uncomplicated cravings, Urfa Sofrasis is definitely a worthwhile stop for dinner. You may, however, wish to pass over many of the salads and meze and skip straight to the grilled chicken, which, along with some raki or a bottle of Efes, makes a satisfying simple summer dinner.

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Published in Georgia Today, 18 May 2007