Between trying out the Knafeh bakery yesterday and returning to Cafe Shenkin a few days ago for lunch, the theme of the first week in July of 2015 seems to be Israel. And why not? I’ve never visited the country, nor am I familiar with its cuisine. The menu at Cafe Shenkin doesn’t just have a twist of what’s different, or is ‘influenced’ by a cuisine. It’s authentic, and it means that there’s a lot on the menu that I simply don’t recognise.
I’m making my way through though… Shakshuka, Ziva, Sabih, Angelita. And each one I’ve tried is delicious. Usually with a flaky and tasty pastry, and some nice sauce, and either vegetables or meat. I went for lunch this time with a vegetarian and unlike many restaurants, he didn’t have to search for what he could eat; at least half of the menu was vegetarian.
Weirdly, we both decided independently to get the same thing: a bureka with potato, onion and mushroom. As you can see above, it was dee-licious. Add to this good coffee and very friendly service, and I’m glad Cafe Shenkin has opened a branch in Surry Hills of its mothership in Enmore.
(July 2016: Boy, this place has taken off. On a Sunday morning, it was packed out, with a little line outside waiting for a table. My friend, who had conservative tastes, just had poached eggs and toast, and really, that’s not the reason to go to Shenkin. I had the Angelita special, which were two fried eggs with a spicy sauce inside a folded circle of puff pastry. Very nice.)