Sabur Restaurant

07/12/09

Appetizer Mezze a great deal!

by lsarao at Citysearch

Tried this place hoping for some authentic Turkish food, but according to the website and sign outside, it is Mediterranean food with exotic flavors and aromas of regions ranging from Italy, Greece, Southern France, and the Balkans to North Africa and beyond. Also, I'm not sure where people got the idea that it's Bosnian. The website says the tables are handcrafted Bosnian tables, but that's about the extent of it.

We started with the appetizer mezze for 2 people and it was enough food for an entire meal. It had cucumber yogurt salad, grape leaves, crosini with roasted red pepper spread and a heaping serving of vegetable hummus and pita bread. It was exactly what I had been hoping for! Had we known it would be so big, we would've just got another appetizer to split, but alas, we had already ordered an entree.

I had the sea scallops, which were served over polenta crab cakes an spinach. The scallops were small but very flavorful. My boyfriend had the salmon, which was fresh and light, served over cous cous with green beans.

While everything was good, it was a bit pricey. I'd recommend getting the mezze and a couple of appetizers. It's plenty of food and it will save you a few bucks!

• Pros: Free parking, appetizer mezze
• Cons: Pricey

04/28/08

Great ambiance

by bostonfoodcritic at Citysearch

Not a great service!

The staff in there are horrible and rude. The menu was really dirty and the place can get really loud too.

It's a worth to try place but not a most-go-to.

• Pros: Parking lot
• Cons: Horrible service

03/07/08

Eh

by bettygurl2008 at Citysearch

My boyfriend and I were really excited to try this restaurant. However the excitement slowly fizzled away. Our food was sub-par and way overpriced. Apparently I had received an 'old' menu and what I had wanted to order was no longer served, so I ordered the Lamb moussaka. When our food arrived the hummus was good, but a little garlicky for my taste. His spinach and ricotta gnocchi was very light and while I liked it, he thought it to be bland. My lamb moussaka was more like a lamb pot-pie and was thick with a fatty substance. We were not impressed and I would not recommend Sabur to anyone.

• Pros: Ambience
• Cons: Food

05/10/07

Terrible Weeknight Experience

by msiw80 at Citysearch

We tried Sabur on recommendation of City Search and were rather disappointed. I am not sure if it was because it was a weeknight and the place was understaffed or if it was a general lack of enthusiasm and effort on the part of the staff that is always present. After standing by the door for several minutes, on a quiet night, a waitress across the room told us to sit wherever. Ten minutes later we received menus, another ten minutes drinks were ordered and ten minutes later they arrived. My pomegranate margarita was great, my boyfriend's martini was practically warmed...obvious it had been made and waited on the bar until served. The appetizers were mediocre: chickpea cakes good, potato & celery root cakes very greasey. After waiting a long time for our meals (20+ minutes) one arrived as ordered (slow cooked lamb, excellent) and the other was not what was requested. By the time the correct item was brought my partner was done eating and what I was served was cold in the middle. I sent it back and asked for the bill immediately. The entire time the staff was less than apologetic about everything, actually had an attitude, never filled our waters or served bread. On the way out the door the owner extended his regrets and offered a free meal on him in the future...finally somone who cared. I doubt we will ever take him up on the offer.

• Cons: Rude Staff, Cold food, Warm Martinis

02/11/07

Rude, rude, and more rude

by goodeats8478 at Citysearch

Reservations were made for 6 people at 8pm this past Saturday to celebrate a friend's birthday. Upon our prompt arrival we were told our table was located in the lounge. Our table was knee height, and the chairs were backless. Although the seating arrangement was severely uncomfortable, we chose to attempt to make the best of the situation. Our party waited 20 minutes to order drinks, and another 20 minutes to receive them. Our first round of drinks appeared on the table at 8:40pm. When we politely reminded our waitress about the fact that we had been waiting quite a long time for our first round, her response was, "have you seen how busy this place is?" Upon the arrival of our drinks, we asked the waitress for a basket of bread. Her response - "only patrons seated in the dining room receive bread, not patrons in the lounge."

At the end of the evening - we commented to the waitress that we didn't think it was fair that a) despite having reservations, we were seated in the lounge, and b) we were unable to get bread due to the area we were seated in. Her response, "you should have made reservations further ahead of time." At no time in the evening was my dissatisfied party EVER rude to the staff. The staff, however, was rude to us on two occasions.

Overall, food was decent and reasonably priced - however would never go back due to the poor, poor service we received and the obvious lack of customer service skills the staff displayed.

• Pros: Great Mediterranean Food, Great Drinks
• Cons: Rude Staff

01/01/07

Delicious, Hip, Unique

by vorenus at Citysearch

Sabur is unlike any restuarant in the Boston area, The service is great, the food is delicious and the atmosphere is casual yet hip. The food at Sabur will make you notice taste buds that you never knew you had. I highly reccomend their steak with walnuts and all of their appetizers and desserts. Their lounge is great too, cozy and hip. The location is not great but it's definetely finding

12/16/06

Locals and in-the-know foodies flock to Teele Square for affordable, eclectic and enticing Mediterranean cuisine.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
While technically a Balkan restaurant, Sabur incorporates Italian, Greek, Turkish and North African elements in both its decor and cuisine. Upon entering the exotic dining room, with its circular, handcrafted Bosnian copper tables and open-hearth grill, diners may feel as if they've taken a wrong turn and ended up in a cozy European hideaway. Patrons can also dine in the smoky lounge (which features live entertainment on certain weekends) or on the seasonal outdoor patio. Service in all corners is friendly and attentive.

The Food
The lengthy menu features large portions of high-quality, multiethnic fare at surprisingly reasonable prices. Start with an order of crunchy zucchini-feta fritters or stellar potato and celery-root cakes (which benefit from a delicious spiced-pear salsa). Succulent, slow-roasted lamb should win over those diners not usually enamored of this misunderstood dish. Standout desserts include glazed stuffed apricots and homemade baklava.

04/29/06

Great place

by great_food at Citysearch

Great overall!!!.. the atmosphere, late night dining, the menu.... you have to try Grilled Balkan Sausages with Yogurt Sauce & Thick Pita...great, great... been going there for a while and feel like there is always something interesting to try from the menu...

• Pros: parking
• Cons: none

04/24/06

Wanted to love it...

by muppetdiner at Citysearch

Great decor, convenient location with parking. We're always looking for brunch without a line in Somerville. The menu was small, but interesting. I got the scrambled eggs with potato pancakes and yogurt, he got the eggs with lamb potato hash. It took forever despite the fact that it wasn't crowded. My potato pancakes were really overcooked and there was just a tiny drizzle of yogurt sauce on the top. His lamb and potato hash turned out to be a huge pile of relatively tasty lamb , but literally 2 teeny potato cubes. Sat with our empty plates before us for 30 minutes before anyone came to check on us. Had to beg for the check. There were at least 3 servers for 4 groups of diners. Willing to give it another try, but wouldn't be comfortable recommending it to anyone else

• Pros: decor
• Cons: mediocre to poor food, horrible service

10/14/05

Good experience, but not rushing back

by msambito at Citysearch

We had a very nice dinner at Sabur last weekend. The parking lot is a big bonus. The dining is nicely decorated, but certainly nothing special. The copper-top tables and lanterns are a nice touch, but the untouched ceiling panels are barren and take away from the atmosphere. The bar/lounge is quaint. The service was great with an attentive waitress. The pear and gorgonzola salad was huge and didn't have enough taste. I had the duck, which was a bit dry. The accompanying risotta was wonderful. My fiance ordered the sirloin medium rare and thought it was cooked past medium. The desserts were wonderful-pumpkin mousse with gingerbread cookies, and we also had a fruit struedal with vanilla gelatto.

We enjoyed our time at Sabur, and the price was right, but we won't go rushing back.

• Pros: Parking lot, Same-day reservation, Quiet
• Cons: Decor