Sofra Kabab Express

I was here 5 years ago and it was wonderful but today I came here get my lunch, the register guy was aggressive and didn’t listened my order well, Instead 2 kabob he gave me only one, so I have to wait an other 20min to get my meal! This place need to be in control ASAP!!!

This is not Mediterranean food for sure. It’s like a raw beef budget burrito. The service was terrible, the guy at register aggressive. I requested refund and it’s happening once in five years.

Not sure there is a better feeling than breaking a fast with «iftar» at Sofra Kabab or coming here after praying at the King Fahad Mosque. I was able to do both last night, and what a meal. This is a very unassuming restaurant, but the food is phenomenal. My friend and I ordered the regular-​sized adana kabab, which came with a delicious salad, rice, and grilled tomato. We also ordered the garlic sauce, and were delighted to also receive hummus and pita. The whole meal was excellent, and I love the fact they offer three sizes for most portions (regular, large, and XL). This place is a good two hours from my house, but I could see myself driving there just to eat.

Even when I am suffering from food poisoning, I cannot turn down an invitation to shawarma, especially if it’s a NEW PLACE!
I met up with my brother at Sofra… He’s equally as obsessed with Med food as I am, and has quite the prickly palette. I got, what else, chicken shawarma, on a salad… And he got the kofra I believe?! Little beef sausages.
After about 20 minutes of waiting, our food was presented to us. His meal was HUGE! Extra large plate… But it was mostly full of rice. My salad came, which was pretty small, but because I wasn’t feeling too good, it was the perfect size. I really just wanted to get a taste for it so I could write this review.
My brother LOVED his dish, and wouldn’t stop regaling over the hummus (which comes to the table for free with your meal)… And I, I mean, it was good, and definitely finished it all even though I felt like I might throw up (not due to the food), but it wasn’t the best shawarma I’ve ever had before. It actually tasted kind of bland, and just a tad oily (even though it really wasn’t that oily).
Prior to meeting my brother here, I drove by and thought it looked a little sketchy. I even texted my brother saying we could go to other Med restaurants up the street if he wanted… But he had no problem checking out this informal eatery (where you order at the counter and wait for your food in one of the many booths, inside & out). And after we devoured our food, he is thrilled we stuck to our guns and ate here. I’m glad we did too solely because I like branching out of my bubble sometimes, however, I’ve definitely had better, far more flavorful shawarma before I my life. My quest for the best shawarma in LA continues.
PS: there is tight but doable parking in the back
PSS: outdoor seating allows you to bring your dog
PSSS: the pita is NOT homemade

The hookah prices are good.
****Open late
Nice people
Good tea
Clean
I was suppose to pick up my cousin from the airport and her flight was delayed 3 times! I was forced to find something to kill time that didn’t require drinking alcohol lol. I Unilocaled and Unilocaled and found this in the area. Parked, went in, got seated, ordered, got my order and drank tea lol. God enough for me

Hands down the best Turkish food I’ve ever had in Los Angeles. I came here with low expectations given that it’s a serve yourself AYCE. I’ve tried Z garden in Santa Monica. The new Kabob place in fox Hills mall that everyone is raving about, but this place has the best tasting meat by far. The chicken Kabob is grilled to perfection. Delicious and juicy, the fried tilapia was incredible too. My only wish is thay they would put beef or pork on the buffet menu. All the sides were incredible and of course the garlic sauce. I literally put that on everything! The waiter was incredibly sweet and put a fresh order of tilapia and chicken kebab in for me. Within minutes the choices were filled with meat fresh off the grill. They were super accommodating and on top of everything besides the water. Just go up to the cash register and ask for a refill. This restaurants is connected to a middle eastern /​ethnic market so be sure to check out the groceries too. I found some pretty sweet deals after my phenomal lunch. 5 stars for food, however I wish I could have refilled my water myself.

Great place for some lamb kebabs and humus! I was introduced to this spot a few years back when I first moved to California. Having never tried authentic Turkish food, I figure’d I’d give it a shot. Sooo glad I did! The food is fresh, the taste is great, and the service is friendly! Upon waiting for my order, the servers brought out some pita bread with humus to start us off with. The pita bread was nice and warm and the hummus was delicious!
When they brought my meal to the table; I ordered the lamb kebab platter, the smell of the food immediately encompassed my nostrils caused me to salivate. The food was soooo gooood!!! Jasmine rice, lamb pieces (kebab), and salad. It instantly became my go-​to platter when ordering in the future.
If I had to speak of a downside, it has to be the prices. Although I understand that it needs to make it’s money, the prices were a little high for my taste. Other than that, it’s a great place to check out if you’re in Culver City!

I have travelled to many states, dined in countless Halal restaurants; but no other restaurant comes close to Sofra Kabab Express! This place makes me keep on coming back!!!

Good neighborhood place for take out. We ordered chicken and lamb kebab plate. Both chicken and lamb were great, not some cheap quality meat. I liked the salad that comes with it. Rice was just ok for me but my husband loved it. One thing we both didn’t like was old and not crunchy at all fries. I know we came 2 hours before closing and it was late but still. Seriously the worst fries I ever seen. I’d feel better if you’d just tell me you were out of them and offered me more salad instead.
Order took a bit longer than we expected but that was ok. We weren’t in rush.
I think we will come back sometime in the future. Hope we won’t see those fries anymore;)

AMAZING… the buffet is a great value. driving back from LAX and our visitors were hungry. found this place thanks to Unilocal.FREE parking in the back of the building. order inside at the register and then take a seat. We ordered the Inegol Kofte Palte small. enough for 1. for 8.99 see picture. I got the bufett for 13.99…i will come back for sure. BOOKMARKED…

This is the very best Mediterranean restaurant I have been to in LA. Even as the main orders are well above average for flavor, the pita bread, hummus, and special hot sauce (the best!) provided free of charge are the best of all! The staff is extremely pleasant and accommodating and the food is made fresh and quick.
Every time I drive by, I consider the Brazilian place across the street, but I always consider how I’ll be passing up an opportunity to have Sofra again and always opt for more Sofra!

Perfect place to eat on the go. Food is good all you can eat $ 14.00 Buffet is the best

So much flavor! Great place to eat when you’re in a hurry. Their buffet is open until 11pm and everything tastes like it was just made. Talk about a food coma!
Make sure to try their kadayif (dessert), it’s warmed and sooooo mouthwatering. Friendly staff, clean bathrooms and plenty of parking in the back. Our new favorite Mediterranean place!

Very happy to have found this place. I have done the lunch buffet a few times and loved it. Ate lunch there today and the place was almost empty which made me nervous because I was afraid the buffet might suffer in freshness and quality from sitting around, but this was not the case at all. Salads were nice and crisp, meats were tender and juicy and overall flavors still great.
It is not super cheap but well worth the price. Quality is similar to the food I ate in Istanbul earlier this year.

I ordered chicken Kanab plate large size, shared with my coworker. The texture of chicken meat was like steak because they cook the chicken with yogurt!
It’s amazing how they cooked chicken tasted like steak. The owner was also nice. And there’s a little patio and couches for indoor seating.
It’s my second time ordering. And I will definitely recommend this place to people cherish the quality and quantity of food!
It’s one of the best restaurants for chicken Kabab.

Heard Mediterranean diet is supposed to be good for the brain so my GF and I decided to try Soffra Kebab for dinner.
We each got the dinner buffet for $ 13.99 per person. The buffet was not bad for the price. Decent selection of different foods. They had lamb and chicken which were both tender and full of flavor. Loved the hummus and garlic butter sauce.
We also got the baklava which was the best baklava we’ve had. Loved the flakey outer layer and it wasn’t overly sweet like other baklava. Note: baklava was separate from the buffet.
Customer service was really good. Would come back with an empty stomach.

1.5 stars. I’m not sure why this place has so many good reviews but wow I was so disappointed. I ordered the chicken and beef adana plate and it was so gross.
The beef was chewy and was so hard to cut through. The chicken was just as bad. They were both soooo greasy, too. The rice tastes like rice pilaf that’s in a box from the grocery store. The french fries were soggy and did not taste fully cooked. Lastly, the tomato was not ripe. The salad that came as a side was drenched in ranch sauce, and it was so soggy.
Honestly, the entire meal was just terrible. The only good thing was the pita bread and hummus. I would have gone back and told them it was disgusting but I had already driven home. Ugh so disappointing. I don’t think I’ll ever come back. Don’t order this dish, order the kabab because maybe that’s actually good!

This is a review of the lunch buffet. Overall I liked it. Specifics? I liked the cold dishes better than the hot dishes; with the exception of the grilled chicken chunks/​Kebob. The kebob was delicious.
I am posting pictures of the choices. Hummus, tabouli, baba ghanoush made with tehina not mayo, garden salad, choban salad (looks like Israeli salad), stuffed grape leaves, cacik (a tzatziki-​yogurt dish), kisir salad (bulgar), Sofra salad, pickles, sauces, and spices to dust on. I liked them all.
The hot dishes included two types of rice, red lentil soup (forgot to try), chicken sote, lamb sote, shrimp sote (nasty), fried tilapia (ok) and cayenne pepper sauce spicy wings (good) and those yummy chunks of chicken kabob.
I didn’t care for the sotes. The chicken was edible, the lamb was tough and the shrimp was weird. Maybe it was me, not them. Unfamiliar flavored?
I feel bad being so negative, the man at the counter was so nice, the place was sort of cute for the genre. They did a lot of takeout while I was eating. I will go back and try menu items instead.

I don’t really like kabobs even though I’ve been to Turkey and have had kabobs there, however I think the kabobs there taste better than the kabob I ordered. Although I was displeased with what I ordered, I will come back to try something else and hopefully then I will change my mind. Other than that, it’s a clean place, quick service, and good customer service.
PS: I ordered the chicken and beef adana kabob, the «L» sized plate.

I’m not sure what’s up with the negative reviews here. The service was great. The english was minimal but they were clearly doing their best and got me everything I needed and then some. The menu is very extensive!
I got the Chicken Schwarma Dish and it was delicious! The rice was moist and the chicken was flavorful and tender. I like large plates of food so I get the larger size and take the leftovers home and they taste great the next day too.
I had the babaganoush too and it was really good! Highly recommend you give this place a try. It’s so cheap too so you’re not really losing anything!