Decided to try Shook last night. Their patio is on Portland, some of which is right alongside the building and separated from the sidewalk. We were seated in the other portion, right beside the neverending flow of cars on a Saturday night. If you get a chance, pick a table away from the street. We had a friendly server who didn’t know Middle Eastern foods in-depth, but was willing to go get answers when uncertain. He also comped us a small dish when we pointed out it had never made it to our bill. The food is all vegetarian, with vegan options/adaptations possible with many dishes. The food was excellent overall - great flavours, presentation. This is a great place to take vegetarian friends and family.
They have some nice cocktails, but the fun thing to do is order one of their smoothies and either enjoy it as is, or add some rum:
- Cocktail - Far From Home: Dillons melon liqueur, Cointreau, lemon juice, spiced honey raspberry syrup, Prosecco - citrus, berries, and cloves (not mentioned) which added some lovely spice.
- Smoothie - Berries and Roses: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, rosewater, coconut water, pomegranate molasses, mint, blue agave, with the shot of spiced rum - so many berry flavours, with the rose and mint adding complexity.
- Mushroom Kibbeh: labneh, truffle honey, pickled mushrooms beside - nicely smoky, with chunks of mushroom inside, though the truffle and honey were barely present.
- Halloumi with preserved rhubarb, Amba sauce (blended mango pickle), and sumac lavash - lovely charred cheese with tangy accompaniments.
- Shakshuka: a really great version with smoky tomato, grilled peppers, harissa, poached eggs, toum, and fresh pillow-y pita covered in sesame dukkah. Best dish of the lot.
- Kreplach Dumplings: Hawaij cream (egg, cream, coriander, cumin), snow peas, ricotta (inside), barberries - supple dumplings with curry-ish spice notes, plus sweetnees from the peas, sour from the barberries.
- Kataifi Nest: phyllo nest, lemon cream underneath, green fig slices, pistachio, labneh ice cream and rose petals - great balance of sours from the lemon cream and labneh with sweet, plus floral and nutty.
- Coconut Basbousa: semolina cake with coconut bits, Persian lime, coconut ice cream, pineapple (marinated in something delicious) - the ice cream and pineapple were outstanding, the cake only OK
Interestingly, their specialty “coffees” don’t actually contain any coffee. We tried the butterfly pea flower latte, with vanilla - beautiful blue purple colour, but tasted mainly of sweetened whipped milk:
