Achhina's Digital Garden

Shuka

4 min read

Shuka

Modern Mediterranean in Soho — shukanewyork.com, 38 MacDougal St (at Prince), (212) 475-7500. Chefs Ayesha Nurdjaja and Carlha Azcona; same owners as the old Hundred Acres, which occupied the space until 2017. Dark, courtyard-feel room with fairy lights — good for photos. Reserve; Saturday walk-ins are hard. $$$ — roughly $80–100/head with drinks. Full entry in NYC Recs under Soho.

What kind of Middle Eastern

Not one country’s kitchen. It’s a Levantine / North African mashup through a New York lens — the same lane as Ilili or the casual Israeli-style places, not a traditional single-tradition restaurant. Shorthand: Israeli-Moroccan-leaning modern Mediterranean, mezze and kebabs.

  • Levantine (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Israel): hummus, labne, falafel, fattoush, tahini, shawarma
  • North African (Morocco): merguez, charmoula, ras el hanout, harissa
  • Cypriot / Greek: halloumi, taramasalata
  • Yemeni: zhoug
  • NYC halal-cart: the “white sauce”

How the menu works

Order for the table. Two or three dips (come with pita), a few mezze (small shared plates), then one kebab per person — each skewer comes with pita, mixed lettuce, parsley, sumac onions, spiced yogurt, and zhoug, so it eats like a main. Portions run small for the price; an extra mezze is normal. The Shuka Feast ($65/person, whole table) is built around the hummus / babaganoush / falafel lineup — skip it, order à la carte.

Menu — Aug 2026

Dips — Labne 13 (roasted blueberry, pink peppercorn, lemon, thyme) · Whipped Feta + Pistachio 13 (cilantro) · Babaganoush 12 (roasted eggplant, caraway, honey, olive oil, cilantro, chili) · Taramasalata 14 (smoked arctic char, trout roe) · Hummus 12 (peach, cucumber, chives) · Whipped Tahini 12 (honey, crispy chickpea, urfa)

Mezze and more — Fried Halloumi 15 (spiced yogurt, za’atar) · Grilled Zucchini 18 (roasted pepper charmoula, castelvetrano olive, parsley, sesame) · Heirloom Tomato Salad 19 · Crispy Squash Blossoms 20 (herb ricotta, spicy honey, lemon) · Spit Roasted Chicken Shawarma 27 · Falafel 14 (spicy carrots, tahini, fresno hot sauce) · Charred Romano Beans 18 (sungold tomato, spring onion, serrano, goat cheese) · Grilled Peach 18 (arugula, whipped goat cheese, hazelnut — seasonal) · Fattoush Salad 19 · Summer Corn Rice 13 · Za’atar Fries 10

Kebabs — Beef + Lamb Merguez 26 · Niman Ranch Sirloin Steak 29 · Grilled Shrimp 27 · Grilled Lamb 29 · Ras el Hanout Chicken 27 · Grilled Arctic Char 28

Sauces 2 — harissa, white sauce, zhoug, tahini, Shuka hot sauce, “Grande” sauce

My verdicts

  • Whipped Feta + Pistachio — the standout by a wide margin. I’d go back almost purely for this. Reorder every time.
  • Fried Halloumi — really good; one of the things they’re known for.
  • Grilled Lamb kebab — good.
  • Grilled Arctic Char kebab — good. (I’d misremembered this as “fish achar.“)
  • Babaganoush — flat, little flavour. Skip.
  • Crispy Squash Blossoms — no memory either way. Infatuation warns they’re tempura-level fried.

Still to try: Sirloin Steak (Infatuation’s favourite skewer), Merguez, Whipped Tahini, Grilled Peach, Charred Romano Beans. Older reviews mention a breaded chicken and a cauliflower dish — both gone from the current menu.

Terms

  • Mezze — small shared plates before or instead of a main; the menu is built around them.
  • Halloumi — Cypriot sheep/goat cheese, brined, doesn’t melt; salty, firm, squeaky, fries to a crust. Paneer is the Indian cousin: cow’s milk, unsalted, milder and spongier. Tofu is the same “block that takes flavour” idea but soy, not dairy.
  • Labne — strained yogurt, thick as cream cheese.
  • Zhoug — Yemeni green chili-cilantro hot sauce.
  • Merguez — North African lamb sausage, red from harissa.
  • Ras el hanout — Moroccan spice blend (“top of the shop”).
  • Charmoula — Moroccan herb-garlic-lemon marinade.
  • Fattoush — Levantine salad with fried pita chips in it.
  • Sumac — sour red berry powder, sprinkled on onions here.
  • Urfa — smoky, mild Turkish chili flake.
  • Taramasalata — Greek dip of cured fish roe.

Visits

Graph View

Backlinks