SOFRA CREPERIE

Hoppen Hierarchy:★★⭑

District: Aksarben

Sweet & Savory Crepes

Perfect For: Breakfast/Brunch; Casual Dining; Lunch

Standout Dishes: California Crepe; Lox Crepe; S’mores Crepe

If you ask the majority of Omahans to define a crepe, you’re likely to be met with either a bewildered shrug or the shoulders of something along the lines of “a thin pancake.” While that definition isn’t wrong, it doesn’t fully grasp what makes this French delicacy so beloved.

Thankfully, we have Sofra Creperie to show us the light.

But before we dive into the restaurant, it’s important to make a few distinctions about crepes, the basis of Sofra’s menu:

The main difference between crepes and pancakes is that the latter’s batter contains baking soda to make the pancakes rise and become fluffy. Crepes, on the other hand, are thin and delicate.
On their own, crepes contain little or no sugar, so they don’t have the inherent sweetness pancakes do.
Crepes are often folded and filled with ingredients and toppings, both sweet and savory.
Crepes are typically larger than pancakes, typically about 10 inches in diameter.

Which brings us back to Sofra. Cousins Nils Gjoca and Kris Lamlika established several successful fast-casual creperies in Europe before introducing their signature product to America. The pair opened Sofra in the Inner Rail Food Hall in 2019 and they’ve been one of its most popular vendors ever since.

Once one understands what crepes are, it’s not hard to see why they’ve become such a hit. After the batter is poured onto the griddle, smoothed out with a wooden T-shape utensil, and flipped (a fascinating process you can watch Chef Kris execute), the crepes are folded into triangles and stuffed with various ingredients to be eaten with the hands like a sandwich. It’s really just a fun, more delicious play on a wrap.

Sofra’s crepes fall into one of three categories: breakfast, savory, and sweet. It might seem odd to serve all three in the same delivery device, but the crepe’s mild flavor allows it to carry both sweet and savory ingredients. Imagine if a flour tortilla and a pancake had a baby; plus, these soft, pliable delights get a bit of a crisp from their time on the griddle, adding texture.

While we’ve established that crepes, unlike pancakes, aren’t solely eaten at breakfast, they’re a brilliant option for your first meal of the day. Served until 5 PM, Sofra’s breakfast offerings all start with a base of buttery eggs.

The California accents them with crispy, salty bacon, creamy avocados, sharp white cheddar cheese, and healthy cuts of tomato. If you’ve had the Breakfast Crunchwrap from Taco Bell, picture that, but prepared by a professional chef and with local ingredients; so, roughly 800 times better.

And with several varieties, including a sausage, egg, and cheese version and a veggie option, I’m convinced Sofra could thrive on breakfast crepes alone.

But that’s only a small portion of the menu. Next come the lunch and dinner options, which take flavors and ingredients traditionally associated with sandwiches (Ham & Cheese, Classic Club), salads (Chicken Caesar), and bagels (Lox) and shoves them inside crepes.

Take, for instance, the So Cal Crepe (seen in the header photo), which cranks up the classic flavors of a chicken, bacon, ranch sandwich by adding avocado, white cheddar, and cream cheese to the mix. These elements add a creamy, gooey element, and because the crepes are much thinner than traditional bread, they allow the flavors to shine far brighter than a typical sandwich would.

The Lox takes what makes bagels and lox great and improves upon it. With less starch, the salty smoked salmon, punchy chives, and tangy, mild cream cheese are allowed to star. The Mediterranean performs a similar trick, only this time on the gyro: chicken, kalamata olives, feta, tomatoes, cucumbers, and Sofra sauce (similar to tzatziki) come together to meld Greek and French cuisine in a perfect manner.

Much as Sofra’s savory crepes stand out, it can be argued the restaurant saves its finest work for dessert. With flavors like Nutella, Strawberry Cheesecake, and PB&J, these crepes have the power to transport you back to childhood, but in a way you’ve never experienced.

Take, for instance, the Chocolate PB, a crepe that immediately brings to mind a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup, only on a higher level. Sofra adds bananas for texture and an extra touch of fresh sweetness that accents the bitterness of the chocolate.

And if biting into the S’mores doesn’t conjure memories of sitting around a campfire, there’s something wrong with you. The melty chocolate, toasted marshmallows, and crunchy graham cracker are all present; only now they’re encased in a cleaner form that distributes the flavors more evenly.

All in all, Sofra Creperie provides something you won’t find anywhere else in Omaha. There’s a reason crepes are beloved in Europe, and they should be here, too. Imagine a sandwich with less bread, allowing the flavor of the ingredients (not the carb) to play the starring role.

That’s what Sofra brings to Omaha, and why it’s a restaurant you have to check out.