This was my second visit, with the last being over 5 years ago. Although I want to love the place, the food was only so-so, and the service was slow, slow, slow. Seriously, they could have been flying the food in from Ankara. The décor is fun, and the bus stuff was amazing! All in all, I reminded myself why I waited 5 years to return: wanted it to be fabulous but, instead, was incredibly underwhelmed. read more

One if our favorite Mediterranean restaurants in town. A warm, friendly atmosphere. Great service, delicious and beautiful food.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU! My husband and I came this evening for our first Valentine's Day celebration in 3 years that he has been healthy and not in the hospital. I wanted a place with wonderful food, but just as importantly, an ambiance of romance and love. We got the trifecta! We will def be suggesting aya sofia to everyone we know! Just a lovely evening! Thank you, again. read more

The food was good and ambiance is really nice but wouldn't recommend coming here with kids. The doner kabob was more like a fancy gyro too be honest. Not bad but wasn't expecting that. read more

I previously gave a bad review of this place, based mostly on poor service. But a friend and I ate here last night, and it was just a wonderful experience. Without a doubt the food is good--creative, rich, varied. They do wonders with lamb, their rice pilaf is excellent, and the swordfish kebab appetizer left us both wanting more. Add to that the fact that Sondra, our server, was just about as charming and efficient as a server can be, and Aya Sofia gets bumped way up on the rating scale. read more

One of my STL favs! Amazing food and excellent atmosphere! I could do without the belly dancing, but that's just me. I'll gladly over look it for the great food! read more

If you're looking for an authentic Turkish meal, contrary to popular belief, this is not the place. Ambiance was more like a wanna be Middle Eastern restaurant, rather than an authentic Turkish experience. Not really authentic if you know what authentic really is. Sigara börek started off the meal. They were not very tasty, and at $7 for 4, very pricey. Wrong dough made them appear to be a knock off of the real deal. My wife had the köfte wrap, and pulled out enough lettuce as filler to make a salad! If you do ever order this, ask for little to no lettuce, unless you prefer the main ingredient to be rabbit food. The meat inside was tasty, but nothing to write home about. I ordered the iskender, which is one of my favourite Turkish dishes, so I'm well aware of what a good one should taste like. Although the meat portion was more than adequate, the same could not be said about the taste. The underlying pide bread was very thin and the sauce tasted like some canned marinara sauce picked up from the local grocer over on the Hill. It was missing the all important melted butter poured over the top at the table to complete the taste. The grilled tomato wedges and pepper half, (what, is there a pepper shortage?), were the highlights of the plate. The çoban salata was very good, but the portion was way too small for my liking. Overall, if I had to describe the meal in one word it would be bland. The dining experience touted by this place would overrated, much like the Ted Drewes across the street. If you're looking for an authentic ME meal, I'd recommend The Vine, over on South Grand. Tastier food and much better prices. Needless to say, this will be my one and only meal at Aya Sofia. read more

We had a wonderful evening!! We all shared lots of dishes and every one of them was incredible. It's a little noisy in the middle of the restaurant, but everything else was so wonderful that it really didn't matter. read more

The absolute best food. The absolute best people!!! Cannot recommend this place enough. Everyone should stop by

Upon moving to St Louis, my wife and I were curious as to whether there were any reasonable Turkish restaurants in town. Lo and behold this gem was hidden only three blocks away from us in St.Louis Hills! Despite looming small and unassuming from the outside, there are three great spaces within, bar, dining room, and patio. The happy hour is from 5-7 and features some excellent specials on their unique selection of European beers and wines. The Bohemian Regent Czech beer is my absolute favorite! Food specials include most of their delicious cold "meze" like babaganoush and ezme, as well as amazing doner sandwich and ottoman burger, with some of the freshest ground beef you've ever had. There is a wonderful rotating cast of entrees as well for dinner, but I keep coming back to the kofte - little turkish meatballs of seasoned lamb that will make you seriously consider ordering some to go. Top it off with an evil eye martini, a string turkish coffee, some delectable middle eastern desserts, and Thursday night belly dancing, and it's easy to see why this place has so many dedicated regulars. Do yourself a favor and go. NOW! read more

I was so looking forward to this place! I had heard so many wonderful things and I thought it was overpriced and overly spiced (I'm not afraid of flavor!) read more

Aya Sofia has unique food that is beautifully prepared and presented. Coupled with excellent service and a sophisticated but comfortable atmosphere, it is a worthy consideration for almost any occasion. The staff is great, and the owner was present on both occasions that we visited. I highly recommend Aya Sofia. read more

After many years in the neighborhood, I finally tried Aya Sofia and loved it. Have been back several times, never disappointed. Great food and service read more

I would love to give this place a negative star but that option is not available. We went to have dinner and was told to 'enjoy our visit' but it was anything but enjoyable. Each server pranced around us like show horses serving everyone and ignoring our table. We sat and watched as others came in and got seated and received services. We got up and left and the server told us that she was sorry and wanted us to come and sit after we waited for 30 minutes. While her apology seemed sincere I couldn't imagine going and sitting to wait for the same. I should have asked someone at one of the other tables to sample their food since we clearly was not going to be served. Word of advice, If you are going to eat here, find out who your server is before being seated because you will not be eating or drinking anything. read more

We had been to this restaurant once previous to this visit and had really enjoyed the quite and romantic atmosphere and two vegetarian options. We suggested it as the location of a family gathering, but I believe our out-of-town guests left with regret. Unfortunately, the dining hall was anything but enjoyable, as the music and conversation in the dining hall prevented anyone from being heard. The loud and obnoxious atmosphere, combined with the mistakes that followed have drastically affected our perception of this restaurant. The bartender refused to transfer our bar tab to the table, causing confusion and frustration with our party. Then, the waitress brought the beef moussaka rather than the vegetarian, refusing to apologize or rectify the mistake with the correct entree. Rather than argue with the customer about what was ordered, this mistake could have been prevented by simply ASKING which moussaka dish was preferred upon ordering (or just offering an apology). A place we truly enjoyed in our neighborhood has become a place we will certainly avoid. read more

We were visiting St Louis and went there after seeing the reviews. We went there for Sunday brunch but had to wait for 35 minutes to get the food even though it was not crowded ( may be 10 people). I ordered the gyro with fries. The waiter came in with rice with the gyro. I told him I may have ordered the fries and he told and I am quoting "I am pretty sure I wrote that right". I did not tell him anything else after that. Food was good but not great. Come to Louisville and bloomington people and see how Turkish food is cooked and served. read more

I recently went here on a date for the first time. I loved the warm, inviting atmosphere from the moment you walk in the door. My date ordered me the Kuzu Incik (lamb shank). It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious! I found the service to be prompt and courteous. Overall I have no complaints and will be back. read more

the vegetarian Moussaka is one of the best dishes i've ever had in my life, anywhere in the world. i'm serious. i need to get the recipe somehow! the ultimate comfort food. even better, the other half of the plate is filled with Israeli couscous and several types of very fresh, perfectly grilled vegetables. they also have nice red wines and great appetizers. cozy seating. love this place! read more

We were looking for a place to go to have a special dinner that would meet the needs of my vegetarian father, as well as my two small children, and of course the rest of us omnivorous adults. We arrived at opening and were treated very warmly by the server. There was plenty on the menu for the vegetarian and enough things that we could feed the kids as well (there is not a kids menu). We ordered falafel and hummus for an appetizer as well as the Shepherd salad. It was all excellent. For entrees we ordered Stuffed Bell Peppers, both vegetarian and meat Musakka, the Chicken Mediterranean, and the chicken Kabobs (the server threw in french fries) as well as filo cigars for the kids. In short, every single person raved about how good the food was. The server was extremely attentive and accommodating to boot. We have all been to many Greek, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean restaurants before and this was the best any of us had experienced. In addition, the portions were so plentiful that 5 of six of us had food to take home - it was just as good the next day. With my father's pickiness this was an incredible accomplishment. On top of it all, for the quality of the food and service, the bill was very reasonable. My parents (who live in St. Louis) are already planning their next visit to Aya Sophia. read more

My wife and I went to Aya Sofia about a month ago. I had heard great things and this was my first visit. The food we ordered was very tasty. However, the service was one of the worst I have had. My wife asked for a dirty martini with blue cheese olives. The martini was straight up vodka, regular olives. We ordered an app which came out in good time. We then order a trio dip app and an entree. The app came out in about 15 minutes. After about 45 minutes the server returns an asks if we wanted dessert. Of course my wife and I are wondering where the entree was that we had ordered nearly an hour ago. Needless to say, we decided to leave without the entree and move on from this frustrating service. This was not an issue of not hearing our order, as it was repeated back to us. This was a slip up. The worst part about this is that I sent an email to the restaurant about our experience and received no response. read more

This was the worst restaurant experience ever. I gave it one star only because I wanted everyone to know that I was rating it--but it does not even deserve one star. We had a reservation but waited over 20 minutes anyway. Once we was seated, the service was horrible! The waiter ignored our table completely for 15 minutes. He even passed the table several times without saying anything to us. The restaurant has a nice, cozy atmosphere but is a little loud. We received our salads after 40 minutes. The vegetables were crisp and fresh but the dressing was bland. Since the waiter was still ignoring us, I had to flag down a busboy to get a different salad dressing. The food arrived after 60 or 70 minutes. I ordered a baked entree with grilled vegetables; my date ordered a steak. The food was cold and flavorless. I flagged down the waiter again. My date was so disgusted at that point that he didn't want to eat anything there. The waiter took away our plates and, at my request, heated mine. I think he stuck it in the microwave. When he returned, the food was burning hot and still had no flavor. I gave up, flagged down the waiter again, and eventually talked to the manager. No one apologized for the terrible service, the wait, or the horrible and cold food. No one apologized at all. In the entire time we were there, the waiter came to the table maybe five times. After two hours, we left, still hungry. That was my first time at Aya Sofia and my last! read more

been there twice really enjoyed the food, service was excellent. had the lamb shank both times would have again