Oleana Ana Sortun Oleana
134 Hampshire St. (Prospect St.)
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-661-0505
Map
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Chef Ana Sortun's singular brand of Eastern Mediterranean cooking reconciles the cuisines of Turkey, Spain, Morocco, Italy and Armenia.
Openings: Dinner nightly

Features

Oleana, Cambridge, MA


Oleana Restaurant Review:


Chef/owner Ana Sortun made a name for herself at this handsomely decorated Inman Square eatery that showcases exotic flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean. Her signature dishes include Tunisian-style farm egg brik (a thin, crispy, stuffed pancake), spinach falafel, and a lamb and grape leaf tart. Bright, lush vegetables come straight from Siena Farms, which is run by Sortun's family. Meanwhile, the wine list is more traditionally European (and Californian), though speckled with bottles from Greece, Lebanon and Slovenia. Fanciful desserts de-familiarize their local ingredients in tantalizing ways, like a take on almond cremolata with chocolate panino and cocoa nib granola, and a revival of baked Alaska, sweetened with coconut ice cream and spiced with passion fruit caramel. Turkish-style profiteroles pair with brown butter crème, sesame caramel and cashews. Exotic Near Eastern accents spark the Zen-garden serenity of the cozy two-room space and cool outdoor patio, always crowded with Cantabrigian intelligentsia, whose smarts are, after all, evident in their choice of restaurant.