Sofra is the bakery and café of Ana Sortun, the chef of the popular Cambridge restaurant Oleana, which is well-loved for its Turkish and Turkish-inspired cuisine. Sortun takes a similar approach with her bakery: she serves traditional Turkish/Middle Eastern pastries and small plates alongside Western European and American pastries, reinterpreted with Middle Eastern spices and techniques.When I first heard about this place, I couldn't believe it existed. I had to get down there-pastry-obsessed as I am-to see what new world of flavors and possibilities had suddenly opened up for me. Unfortunately, I was terribly disappointed, at least at first.

Their simit, a sesame scone, was dry and nearly tasteless except for the outer layer of white sesame seeds. The pearl sugar brioche, both topped and filled with chocolate, was similarly dry and bland, and the chocolate was flat and slightly bitter (in a sharp and bad way-not the way that very dark chocolate is). This might have been the first pastry in a long time that I've been unable to finish. The Persian spiced doughnut was completely and unbelievably devoid of the spices mentioned: rose petal, black pepper, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon. I think there may have been a small pinch of cinnamon in a thin layer coating the outside. And the morning bun with orange blossom glaze was fine but nothing special.

Luckily, I returned for more visits after this, unable to keep myself away from the idea that some of these pastries might be good. The Moroccan almond babka was the happiest exception to the flavorless pastries: a brioche rolled with cinnamon and brown sugar topped with icing, demarara (a large grain), sugar and cinnamon almonds. It was moist and buttery with a satisfying texture and the right amount of firmness and bite and as simply delicious, as fresh pastry always is. The Maureo-pastry chef Maura Kilpatrick's interpretation of an Oreo-was also satisfying: two thick, crisp chocolate cookie squares with milk jam (a milk caramel similar to dulce de leche) instead of vanilla frosting. It could have used much more of that delicious milk jam but was otherwise a great cookie.

The best experiences, though, came when I finally tried the hot plates. The $3 lamejuns were a great deal: a decent portion of flatbread topped with spinach, mint, garlic and olive oil. What was most surprising was that the olive oil was of good-enough quality to be tasted above the other spices, coming through clear and strong. The lamb shawarma, with pickled cabbage and tahini yogurt, was truly enjoyable. Along with the hot stuffed flatbreads, the shawarma are cooked on a large Lebanese griddle, or a sat. The lamb and the cabbage were rolled up in thin, crisp flatbread, griddled to perfection and then halved and topped with a large dab of yogurt. The lamb was tender and in large pieces, yet it still had bite and plenty of flavor; it seems so common to have slow-cooked lamb cooked practically to mush. The cabbage was the perfect accompaniment, and the yogurt was great and fresh.

I'll definitely be back for their mezze bar-a variety of vegetarian small plates, which come as a platter of five served with their soft fingerbread-and I'll need to try the rest of the flatbreads well.

Sofra has some work to do in the pastry department, but if it can start to execute them as well as the hot plates, it will have a great shot at being one of the best bakeries in the area.