I had dined at Shuka years ago and loved it, so when the more casual Shukette opened, I had wanted…read moreto check it out as well. However, even after being open for several years at this point, it has remained near impossible to secure an advanced reservation. We recently decided to hedge our bets and see if we could secure a table, and since it was a warmer evening, the outdoor seating availability increased our chances. Thankfully, that thought process worked, and we were able to get one of their patio seats.
While the inside of the place was mainly filled by a large counter in front of an open kitchen, with only minimal tables, the outside offered loads of individual tables either facing 9th Avenue or 24th Street, both of which had coverings to protect diners from any poor weather. Thankfully, we were on the quieter side, facing 24th and the surrounding Penn South apartment complex. Despite being a distance from the kitchen, we enjoyed timely and friendly service.
We were both not drinking that night and focused our efforts on the food instead. We decided to share a variety of small and large plates in order to try a little bit of everything. First, we started with two of the dips. The Matbucha was made from stewed roasted eggplant, charred tomato, and red peppers, which was then topped with fresh mint and cilantro. The Smoked Artic Char dip included chunks of pink fish, tossed in a smoked onion-garlic aioli and seasoned with dill, red onion, and lemon. While the deep red eggplant spread was hearty and robust, the char was more like a light, flavorful fish salad you might put on a bagel. Both were delicious, but neither came with bread, which had to be purchased separately. We were initially going to go with the more affordable whole wheat pita option, but our server let us know that theirs were the balloon-like bread rounds that were hollow in the center. Instead, she convinced us to pay double the amount and order their Moroccan Frena Bread, which was a bit more dense and similar to a focaccia. It was topped with oregano and fresh garlic cloves.
We then dove into a few small plates, starting with the Roasted Beets from The Shuk section of the menu. The red and gold beet chunks had been sweetened with honey, spiced with a harissa vinaigrette, and tossed with candied hazelnuts, orange wedges, sesame, and mint. The dish offered bright colors and flavors. The Scallops a la Plancha were from the same section of the menu, but were essentially double the cost at an insane $30. The four small, grilled scallops were served in a watery sungold tomato broth that had been infused with shallots and cilantro. While the dish was well-seasoned, it was too expensive to be so messy and watery.
We then proceeded to the Lamb Kebab, which was served on a giant metal skewer, which the server removed for us. The remainder of the plate had been reserved for Baharat-spiced potatoes, mounds of whipped goat cheese, sliced chili peppers, and scallions. Unfortunately, some of the meat chunks were chewy, but the seasoned potatoes were delightful. Lastly, we simply had to order their renowned soft-serve, which was available in their best-selling tahini flavor or as blueberry sorbet. We decided to do a swirl of the two to get the best of both worlds. The sorbet was a bit too sweet and slightly overpowered the nutty tahini, but the contrast was smart in theory. The high-rising mountain of frozen dessert was topped with a spiced almond granola that included chunks of candied ginger, a welcome ingredient to help settle our full stomachs.
All in all, we liked the bulk of our meal at Shukette, but would I say it would be worth the hassle of waiting a long time for a table, probably not.