Sofra Grill — Restaurant in South San Francisco

Millbrae, San Bruno, and South San Francisco are turning into a Mediterranean food hub now, and I am always looking for Turkish food and Turkish breakfast. As soon as we found out there was a new place open close to our home, we looked at each other and said, Let's go. I prepared myself that it's a brand new place, so I need to ignore little stuff here and there and focus on the food. Parking is on the street, and there is plenty of parking available. At that time, there were not many people because it was too early for us too. We waited a few minutes at the counter because I wasn't sure if it was a seated restaurant or not. Our server came and took us to our table, where he asked us politely for drinks. We ordered Ayran, but they were out, so he got us a regular yogurt drink. We also ordered tea at the same time. Here comes the menu, and I'm so happy my favorite dish, best, was listed. Usually, Beyti is lamb, but I requested chicken, and the Chef accepted my request, so I was very thrilled. My friend ordered chicken skewers with salad and some pita bread. Our food came on time, and I'm sure the waiting time will improve slowly since it's been only two weeks. We loved the presentation, and the salad came in a separate bowl, which I really appreciate when salad juices get mixed with food. I wish other places would start doing that or give customers dressings or lemon on the side. Both chicken dishes were excellent, and the meat was perfectly terminated and cooked. Beyti needs more sauce and yogurt; maybe I can request extra sauce next time. Most Turkish restaurant doesn't serve this authentic signature dish. Chicken kabobs and rice were full of flavor, and the pickle with salad was very yummy. I think these pickles are homemade because I can smell fresh and crunch simultaneously in my mouth. It was so good and then came the dessert that absolutely everyone needed to try. You can see in the picture how nicely it is represented. I am not a dessert person and usually don't like to order, but this Kunafa with ice cream on the top is freshly prepared and very crunchy, not too sweet, and we start enjoying it with a sip of hot tea. This is our new place for sure. We enjoyed being served by Arie, who was very kind and smiled during his serving. Then we met The Chef, Mr. Azad, who was a very gracious and humble person. He went to everyone and asked if all was okay with their orders. This place is very homey and simple, and some of us love these neighborly restaurants. We wish you good luck and looking forward to going back...

Located on the edge of residential, and a strip of 4 or 5 restaurants, this is a rather small shotgun style kitchen/dining space. We dropped in after a movie around 7:45 on a Saturday night. They close at 9pm but figured we were there early enough that it wouldn't be an issue. There were a few other tables seated and dining. Interior is pretty straight forward with the host/cashier right at the front, the tables along one wall, and the kitchen on the other wall the entire length. Our host was quick to seat us, and we ordered. Service was ok, but all the staff was literally cleaning up to close while we were ordering. I really hated that they left the front door wide open to have the staff coming and going with the nights garbage, and stock for the next day. IT WAS FREAKING COLD! We ordered the Muhammara as an appetizer which was good and on the 'rustic' side. The lamb shank came out as others have posted pics many times over, covered under the shroud of a pita dome. Interesting from the 'show' aspect as the server cuts around the edges to reveal the lamb shank, rice and dolma underneath. For as fun as that aspect is, the lamb itself was dry and rather flavorless. The Beyti was nicely presented, but that dish as well was rather flat. Both dishes required the garlic sauce that they offered. Be sure to use it! We weren't necessarily rushed to get out, but definitely felt the urgency based on how they were all rushing to clean the table as we were finished with each plate, and then all the other tables were cleaned off, and the busboy stood by the table...

Food: Good Ambience: Decent, but small and conjested Service: Pathetic

Comments regarding service: We have been here before once and were satisfied with the service. However, our experience wasn't pleasant this time. The restaurant closes at 9pm. We got here at 8:15pm. We were not greeted for a few minutes and kept waiting at the front. An employee eventually came to seat us, but all tables were full. We told him we can wait for a table to open. The employee (he appeared miserable working at this place) told us that we couldn't wait for a table because they would close in 30 min. We told them we can place the order in this time and wait for a table to open up since some tables were going to open in 5-10 mins. He told us we can only place an order after sitting but because it would be after 8:30pm we can't order then. He said: "you can either place a to-go order or don't have to order". There were clearly a couple of empty single person tables which they could have merged to make room for us. It seems like they were in a rush to close and leave the place, even though official listed closing time was 9pm. This employee also didn't bother to "sorry", "please", etc. and seemed to have some...