Sofra is located at 8915 Fifth Avenue, between 89th and 90th Streets in Bay Ridge, and is currently open from 12:00 noon to 10:00 p.m. daily
Mohammad Shaaban lived all over the world, and led a lot of different lives, before he (semi-)settled in Bay Ridge last year. Among the many bullet points in his bio: growing up in a small town outside of Alexandria, Egypt, earning several master’s degrees, and currently enjoying a successful career as a “drilling engineer” in Texas.
But as he told Brooklyn Magazine, what Shaaban really loves to do is invite people to sit at his dining table—his sofra—for hours of lively conversation, a cup of tea or six, and as many platters of soul-satisfying food as everyone can handle. Which is exactly why Shaaban is now here in Brooklyn, and why he and his partners (both of whom he’s known since childhood) spent the better of a year building out Sofra, their sumptuous new Egyptian restaurant in Bay Ridge.
Photo by Scott Lynch
“Sofra means the dining table. In my culture, this is where everything happens, where we gather every day,” said Shaaban. “We wanted a spacious place where people could stay for as long as they want. As long as you’re here, you’re sitting at my sofra; and if you’re sitting at my sofra, you’re my personal guest.”
In addition to acting as host at Sofra, Shaaban is also the chef. And though some of the stalwarts here have been given a bit of a contemporary update, everything is based on the home-cooked food he and co-owner Mohammed Elbhery grew up on. In fact, Shaaban said his mom had to approve every innovation and every dish before he put it on the menu.
Moussaka, $13 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Sofra’s moussaka, for example, eschews the usual Egyptian stew-like preparation (and the beef) for a simple stack of roasted rounds of eggplant and peppers in a zippy tomato sauce. The flavors are all there, but this moussaka, plated as an appetizer, will not weigh you down.
Macarona béchamel, $28 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Fatteh, $38 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
The Egyptian macarona béchamel, which vibes like a pastitsio, is wonderfully rich and chewy, and, since his mom never made her béchamel with sauce, Shaaban serves his version with a crock of the stuff on the side. Our other entree on the night, Sofra’s fatteh, delivered on its promised “celebratory” feel—basically, a whole lamb shank, the meat funky and falling apart, plopped atop a mound of crisp pita chips and well-seasoned rice.
Baladi salad, $10 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Molokhia, $10 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
The diced baladi salad—cucumbers, tomatoes, onions—is heavily herbed, dressed with balsamic, and hits the table in elongated form. You can get three kinds of hummus: a plate of “Alexandrian” beef liver stuffed grape leaves, a beefy “Pharaoh’s pot pie,” several kinds of fish, and three different soups, including an eye-opening molokhia, thick with slightly slimy (think: okra), barely bitter jute leaves in a garlicky chicken broth.
Kunafa, $15 (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Beverages are all non-alcoholic, including a lengthy list of complicated fruity mocktails that run from $10 to $18. And the strong Egyptian black tea makes for the perfect accompaniment to Sofra’s block of sweet, sticky kunafa that you definitely want for dessert.
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