Restaurant Review – Aya Sophia

On Friday I found a great Restaurant.com gift card for Aya Sophia, a Turkish/Mediterranean cuisine spot in South City. If you’ve never been to Restaurant.com – go now! You can get some awesome gift certificate deals for real cheap, and it gives you the chance to branch out on your dining experiences, as well.

So, Aya Sophia. I was really excited when I found out they had a belly dancer perform on Fridays! Sadly, she doesn’t dance until after 9:00 and we arrived at 6:00. We shared two appetizers, but I can only go on Steve’s opinion for the appetizers, as I had a weird repulsion to the pita bread instantly, and eating anything else before my entrée was making me nauseous.

Steve was a big fan of the salsa that comes with the Babaghanoush, but thought the noush was more Babaghafail. We also tried the Sigara Boregi – which is a crispy filo stuffed with feta cheese, parsley and dill. I think I would have really enjoyed this had the pita for the Babaghanoush not grossed me out (it wasn’t Aya Sophia’s fault, sometimes pitas gross me out, weird, I know). The Sigara Boregi was very cheesy and had a yummy tomato dipping sauce.

For my entrée I had the Izgara Kilic Baligi – swordfish with cous cous. Cous Cous is surprisingly good! It was like little noodles that looked like bubbles. The swordfish was tender and delicious! Steve really enjoyed his Iskender, beef and lamb served with a tomato and yogurt sauce. But, the most important part of this adventure was the dessert, which, happily, did not let me down. Mmmm Baklava – pistachios and pecans layered in sweet, flaky filo dough and very syrupy tasting. This was something I have had and loved before, and Aya Sophia did not disappoint me!

Overall, it was an interesting new adventure. The servers were very attentive. I think Steve’s water glass was filled at least seven times…seriously. They had a wide array of martinis, wines and other drinks, but we were sober for the night. Voted one of the most romantic restaurants in the area, I would recommend going on a late Friday evening and sitting indoors for the romance. And, if your date sucks, there’s always the belly dancer!

For more information on Aya Sophia – visit their website: http://www.ayasofiacuisine.com/tatli.html