According to Beli, the best restaurant in the Boston area is Sarma. Technically Sarma is located in Somerville, but regardless, the beaming reviews would get anyone to take the T, cross the pond or kayak the river to enjoy their delectable menu.
You might already have been to Sarma, or one of its sister restaurants also from Sarma co-owner Ana Sortun, such as Oleana or Sofra. More lately than usual it’s been incredibly hard to snag a reservation at this popular Somerville restaurant that first opened in fall of 2013 with the help from now Donut Stand co-owner, Hannah Lombardi. Luckily there are always 20 seats available on high tops or at the bar for walk-in availability.
Cassie Puma pioneered the opening of this women-led restaurant in 2013 and is still the head chef to this day.
The name, Sarma, stems from the Turkish word for “wrapped; enveloped; rolled up; a bundle of food that is bite sized and served as a meze. An embrace.” You’ll find many Middle Eastern flavors drawn from the co-owners’ time spent shadowing restauranters around Turkey, Morocco, and other countries.
“The number 1 rated restaurant in Boston (technically Somerville), based on 25 million ratings on Beli. The menu is extensive, with a lot of interesting fusions between Mediterranean, Spanish, Southern US, and a bunch of other influences,” notes Beli.
Sarma’s menu changes frequently due to its commitment to using locally sourced in-season produce, mainly from Sienna Farms- the 75-acre Sudbury farm owned by Ana Sortun’s husband, Chris Kurth. Incredible options currently on the menu are the Harissa BBQ Duck with carrot brown butter, orange blossom, almonds, Cheese Saganaki Grits with swiss chard, okra, brown butter pickles, and Crab Melt Katayif with red pepper sugo, fennel, orange, tzatziki tartar! But you can’t go wrong with anything here.
Find Sarma at:
249 Pearl Street, Somerville, MA
Open daily from 5 PM