Sofra Bakery & Cafe

The flaky morning bun with orange blossom glaze is the item to lead with at Sofra Bakery & Cafe, the Middle Eastern bakery, cafe and retail shop in Cambridge that opened in 2008 under the Oleana Restaurant Group. Executive Chef Ana Sortun and Executive Pastry Chef Maura Kilpatrick built it around sweet and savory readings of Turkish, Lebanese and Greek cooking, and the name says what the place is after: sofra is a picnic, a table laid for shared eating, or the small square kilim a meal is set on.

Orange blossom, black pepper and a wide pastry case

The case is broad rather than narrow. Alongside the morning bun sit Persian Spiced Kouign Amann, Za’atar Man’ouche, Black Sea Cornbread, date almond ma’amoul and chocolate tahini tart, so laminated pastry, savory breads and spiced desserts share one counter. Kilpatrick is the award-winning pastry chef behind both this bakery and Oleana.

Black pepper cornbread is the other signature and the useful counterweight: savory, grain-forward, a different register from the orange blossom glaze. Tahini, dates, za’atar and regional breads recur through the sweets, and the retail side extends the same cooking into house-made preserves, prepared foods, pantry staples and Sofra’s own spice blends.

A small, busy Cambridge counter

Sofra runs as a compact counter operation rather than a full-service restaurant, with limited seating, a small patio and quick turnover. Saturdays fill early, guests hover for tables, and lunch can be done within fifteen minutes of sitting down.

The room is warm and crowded, the service familial, and the Middle Eastern music stays low enough to talk over. Guests pick baked goods, savory plates, prepared items and pantry goods from one line, which is what keeps things moving when the room is full.

Start with the morning bun, then go savory

Order the morning bun with orange blossom glaze first, since it is the most direct read on the pastry program. Then move savory with lamb shawarma, a Turkish breakfast, or a flatbread such as Za’atar Man’ouche, and add meze bar salads and spreads to fill out the Turkish, Lebanese and Greek frame.

For a bigger bakery order, take black pepper cornbread or Black Sea Cornbread, then something sweet: date almond ma’amoul, chocolate tahini tart, or the Persian Spiced Kouign Amann. Turkish coffee is the natural drink beside the case. What makes Sofra worth the trip is the overlap, with Sortun’s Eastern Mediterranean cooking and Kilpatrick’s pastry meeting in one small room, food to eat there and provisions to carry home.