Omaha is filled with various types of restaurants that line the streets throughout the entire city. Seafood, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos and chicken are just some of the options Omaha serves to its residents. For years, Omaha has been introduced to restaurants that serve food from around the world: Indian, Chinese, Thai, Greek and Italian. One of the items Omaha has had a shortage of is European crepes, and Sofra Creperie is here to help. 

Sofra Creperie, meaning warm, welcoming table, describes the restaurant inside and out.  Sofra is filled with welcoming, smiling employees that are ready to take your order and answer any questions you may have about their items. It is located in the Inner Rail in Aksarben off of 67th street. 

The Chef, Kris, is from Europe. After hearing about the lack of competition with crepe restaurants, the owners from Europe decided to partner up and open in Omaha. Kris wants to offer a unique alternative to what many Omaha residents eat. Instead of eating tacos, burgers and sandwiches every day, they can try a crepe made with fresh ingredients and recipes that go back more than a decade that is used in Europe. 

Crepes are made with a batter of milk, eggs and flour {actual recipe undisclosed} and are placed on a hot surface. As it heats up, a T tool is used to spread the batter in a circular shape. It is then flipped, cooked, folded in half and stuffed with delicious fresh ingredients. 

Sofra serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and sweet crepes. Each is made with fresh ingredients. The owners and Kris try to go grocery shopping daily, making sure their customers get the best quality of food. 

Some of their most popular crepes are Mediterranean for $8 and Lox for $10. The Mediterranean crepe is stuffed with spinach, tomatoes, kalamata, olives, bell peppers, cucumbers, Sofra sauce and Feta cheese. Lox includes smoked salmon, chives, cream cheese and white cheddar folded inside it. The Nutella crepe is the most popular sweet crepe and is filled with a thick spread of Hazelnut chocolate and filled with the choice of strawberries or bananas. 

After hearing about a crepe place opening that sells crepes with real ingredients and recipes used in Europe, I knew I needed to try it and see how appetizing it was. I love having alternatives choices for what I eat, and I was getting tired of the same food every day. 

With a couple of friends, I was able to drive down to Askarben. The location had easy access, and parking wasn’t a struggle as it was located directly next to a parking garage. Walking in, I was met by the smells of different ethnic food. The Inner Rail is filled with cuisines from around the world, and everyone inside was welcoming. It was like one big family. 

We walked to Sofra Creperie, and immediately we were helped by the employees on what crepes we wanted. I wanted to get two crepes, a meal-like one and a sweet one. After much decision, I decided on the Italian crepe for $9 and a Strawberry Shortcake crepe at the price of $8. Along with my crepes, I ordered tater tots with a side of Aioli sauce. In total, it cost me $23.

I was able to watch them cook my crepes on the pan, and was intrigued by how well and how fast it was made. The batter instantly turned into a pancake-like food, and when flipped, it was a golden brown. Unlike pancakes, crepes are thinner and bigger. They usually have a small crunch and have fabulous flavors within the batter. 

After cooking, they were filled with my ingredients and brought to my table. We were told that the best way to eat the crepes was not to use a fork or a knife, but eat it like a sandwich. We were given forks if we needed them, but we decided to try and eat it with our hands first. 

Each crepe was wrapped in a tan paper to keep it warm and to keep it from spilling out on our hands. I first tried the Italian crepe. It was filled with three different types of meat: salami, ham and pepperoni. Besides meat, it was filled with delicious vegetables that included lettuce, bell peppers and tomatoes. Finally, the insides were covered in Sofra sauce and white cheddar cheese. 

Biting into it, I was struck by the various flavors that entered my mouth. The crepe had a crunch to it, not hard and stale, but delicious and enjoyable. The meat was warmed up and had a smoky flavor to it, giving the crepe a fabulous flavor. The sauce was delicious and was somewhat like a ranch sauce. I opted for no tomatoes as I am not a fan of them. Even without them, the crepe tasted of heaven, and I kept wanting more and more. 

The strawberry crepe was next, filled with juicy strawberries cut into thin strips, cheesecake filling and graham cracker crumbs. I love cheesecake because of the rich flavors and the way it melts on my tongue, so when I saw they had a cheesecake crepe, I was very excited. I was expecting a great flavor to my crepe, but I wasn’t expecting the same flavors that I get from regular cheesecake. I was wrong. Biting into it, I was met by the precise flavors I get when I eat cheesecake. It was an exact match, and I felt as if I was on a cloud of crepe heaven. The strawberries were the sweetest I have ever had, and the cheesecake filling was creamy and smooth, tasting of vanilla yogurt and sugar. The graham crackers gave it a crumble and crunchy texture. It was my favorite crepe out of the two and, in my opinion, tasted better than any cheesecake I have ever had. 

Lastly, I tried the tater tots and Aioli sauce. Aioli sauce is made with garlic, oil and spice. I love Aioli, and I am always willing to try different restaurant sauces to see their take on it.

The tater tots were crunchy and golden brown. They were seasoned with salt and were hot, but not too hot that I couldn’t eat them right away. The Aioli sauce was delicious; it had a flavor to it I hadn’t had before, and I was left dunking my tater tots in over and over again until it was gone. 

With all the food I got, I was unable to finish my crepes, and I took both of them home with about half of each left. They saved, and I was able to eat them later that night. 

Sofra Creperie has been busy since opening, and multiple people love their crepes and healthy alternatives. I loved the restaurant, and I plan on going back as soon as I can to try more options for the crepes and bring my family with me so they can try it. I recommend this place to anyone who loves crepes, wants to have an alternative to their everyday food or loves trying food from around the world.