Shukette Menu & Prices: What to Order in Chelsea, NYC

Last updated: October 28, 2026

If you’re searching for the Shukette menu, you’re about to eat the way the Levant eats: hands first, forks optional. Shukette, chef Ayesha Nurdjaja’s Chelsea restaurant on 9th Avenue, is built around warm house-made breads, vivid dips and vegetables, and proteins grilled over natural hardwood charcoal in an open kitchen. There is no appetizer-then-entrée script — the menu is a set of shared plates that arrive as they’re ready, and the table builds the meal together.

Shukette opened in 2021 and landed on The New York Times’ list of the best new restaurants of that year; Nurdjaja has since been named a James Beard Foundation semifinalist for Best Chef: New York State. It is the younger sibling of Shuka, her SoHo restaurant (opened 2017), and part of The Bowery Group. The room is deliberately high-energy: a 23-seat concrete counter wraps the open kitchen, the grill is visible from most seats, and the noise is part of the design — lively and market-like, not a quiet traditional sit-down.

Menu note: Shukette’s menu does not list prices online and dishes change with the seasons, so check the restaurant’s current menu or ask your server for today’s prices. Seasonal plates rotate — confirm a specific dish when you book.

Shukette Menu at a Glance

The Full Shukette Menu

House-Made Breads

Bread is not a side dish at Shukette — it is the tool the whole meal is eaten with.

Dips & Spreads

The Shuk — Small Plates & Vegetable Dishes

“The Shuk” takes its name from the word for market, and this section is the menu’s seasonal, vegetable-forward core — though not exclusively vegetarian.

Al Ha’esh — From the Fire

Al Ha’esh translates roughly to “from the fire”: everything here is cooked directly over natural hardwood charcoal, which gives the food a smoke a gas flame cannot replicate.

Drinks & Gazoz

Gazoz is the Hebrew word for soda; at Shukette it becomes a spritz-style drink built from fresh produce, acidity, something aromatic, and bubbles — often with aperitif wines layered in. Four versions anchor the list:

• Cyprus — cucumber, dill, lemon, riesling, fino sherry and Dolin Blanc. The most savory of the four; the partner for the opening dips.
• Tangier — grapefruit, lemon, pilsner, Cocchi Americano and fino sherry. Closest to a classic spritz, but less sweet.
• Raspberry — sumac, lemon, brut sparkling wine and blanc vermouth. The most fruity.
• Garden — sugar snap pea, cucumber, lemon, soda and fino sherry. The lightest and most vegetal.

Non-alcoholic Gazoz are also available, without the aperitif wines — but they are not always printed on the menu, so ask directly. Beyond Gazoz, expect a small rotating beer selection from Brooklyn breweries.

Wine by the Glass

The wine list skips the usual Napa-and-Bordeaux script and draws on the Mediterranean and Adriatic, with detours into Georgia and Lebanon. By the glass you will typically find a Taittinger Champagne or Cava Reserva; whites like Verdicchio, Chenin Blanc and Moschofilero; orange pours such as a Portuguese Bojo de Luar or a Georgian Teleda Orgo; and reds including Piquepoul Noir, Sangiovese and Château Musar “Jeune.”

If the list feels unfamiliar, order by analogy: Sauvignon Blanc drinkers will likely enjoy the Verdicchio or Moschofilero; Cabernet drinkers have a bridge in the Sangiovese or the Musar. The orange wines are the most distinctive pours — white wines made with red-wine technique, left in contact with their skins for an amber color and a more savory texture. Château Musar “Jeune,” from one of Lebanon’s most recognized wineries, is the red built to stand up to charcoal-grilled lamb and steak.

Dessert

• The Mic Drop — the signature. Tahini soft serve topped with halva floss, chopped hazelnut and pomegranate seeds. Tahini gives the base a nutty, slightly savory depth; the floss adds crunch, the pomegranate cuts the richness. It is generous — most tables split one between two or three people.
• Pomegranate Crasher — pomegranate sorbet with dark chocolate and lime. Lighter, fruitier, and the alternative if tahini is not for you.

What to Order First at Shukette

The menu offers no obvious appetizer-entrée-dessert path, but there is a natural order: bread down the middle of the table first, then build outward.

1. Start with one bread and one or two dips. Frena or Lafa, torn by hand. Not Your Average Hummus is the most requested dip; Beet Tzatziki is the brighter second. For two, one bread and two dips is plenty — do not order all five at once.
2. Pick two or three plates from the Shuk. Pea Party in spring and early summer; Glazed Sweet Potatoes almost any time. The wings or Shrimp à la Plancha add something more substantial.
3. Choose one dish from Al Ha’esh. Joojeh Chicken is the most approachable grilled main and feeds two comfortably; the steak shish kebab is the strong second choice, with Jeweled Rice alongside.
4. Leave room for dessert. Skipping the Mic Drop is the mistake most first-timers say they regret.

Sample order for two: Frena or Lafa → Not Your Average Hummus → Glazed Sweet Potatoes → Joojeh Chicken (split) → The Mic Drop. On a later visit, branch out to Fish in a Cage, the Lamb Kebab, and whatever seasonal plates have rotated in.

Rip and Dip: How Shukette Wants You to Eat

“Rip and dip” is printed near the bread section of the menu, and it is close to a mission statement — but it is also literal. Across the Levant, warm, pillowy bread is used as the utensil: torn by hand, folded, and pulled through a dip in one motion. Nurdjaja built that habit into the menu’s structure, which is why bread and dips sit at the very top.

Three habits make it work. Order bread first and keep a piece on the table for the whole meal — it is your tool for finishing the harissa butter left by the Shrimp à la Plancha or the charmoula from the Fish in a Cage. Skip the fork for dips entirely; the bread is the intended utensil. And rotate: pull one piece through two different dips rather than reaching for a fresh piece each time. Since everything is shared from the start, nobody has to negotiate what gets split.

Vegetarian, Vegan & Gluten-Free at Shukette

Vegetarian diners are not an afterthought here — the Shuk section was designed around seasonal, vegetable-forward cooking, and a full vegetarian meal is easy to build without touching the grill: Frena or Lafa, Not Your Average Hummus and the Spring Pea Dip, then Pea Party and Baby Artichokes à la Plancha, with Jeweled Rice on the side.

Vegan diners need one extra step. Labneh and Beet Tzatziki are yogurt-based, and the Glazed Sweet Potatoes carry crème fraîche. The Spring Pea Dip — spring garlic, preserved lemon and mint, no dairy base — is the most dependable vegan dip. Preparations shift with the seasons, so confirm with your server that a dish is being prepared vegan that day.

For gluten-free diners, the Chickpea Flaxseed Cracker is the menu’s bread alternative. Because the kitchen bakes bread in house, mention celiac disease or a serious allergy directly to your server — sesame (tahini), dairy, nuts and shellfish all feature across the menu.

Group Dining: How Much to Order

The shared-plate format makes Shukette a natural fit for birthdays and group dinners — but group ordering has two classic failure modes: only bread and dips (everyone stays hungry) and one of everything (the table drowns). The working rule is roughly two to three dishes per person, spread across the whole menu, including at least one or two from the grill.

• For 4 people: 1 bread, 2 dips, 2 Shuk plates, 1 grilled main, 1 dessert to split.
• For 6 people: 2 breads, 3 dips, 3–4 Shuk plates, 2 grilled mains, 2 desserts.
• For 8 or more: 3 breads, 4–5 dips, 5–6 Shuk plates, 3 grilled mains, 2–3 desserts.

Order in rounds rather than committing everything at once — dishes arrive as they are ready, so the table can pace itself. Flag dietary restrictions when you book, not at the table, and for larger parties reserve well ahead and state the group size clearly.

Reservations, Walk-Ins & the Best Time to Visit

Reservations run through Resy, and booking is the reliable route for most nights — Friday and Saturday evenings and the prime 7–9pm window are the hardest to get, so book a week or more ahead, and earlier still for groups of more than four.

Walk-ins are genuinely possible: part of the 23-seat counter is held back for guests without reservations. The best windows are right at the 5pm weekday opening, and again after 9:30pm once earlier seatings turn over. Sunday is the most forgiving night. None of it is guaranteed — availability shifts nightly.

Know what a walk-in seat means: seating is generally at the concrete counter wrapping the open kitchen, not at a standard table. Many regulars specifically request it — you sit closest to the Al Ha’esh grill and the cooks. If a traditional table matters, reserve instead; walk-in seating is not realistic for bigger tables.

Dress Code

There is no formal or posted dress code, and nobody is turned away for wearing jeans. The working standard is smart casual — dark jeans or trousers with a nicer top rather than a suit, and not gym or beach clothes. Two practical notes: the counter faces the charcoal grill, so lighter layers are the comfortable choice there (tables sit farther from the heat), and rip-and-dip eating is hands-on, so leave sleeves you care about at home. The patio is heated in cooler months, though a light jacket is still worth bringing outside.

Shukette vs Shuka

The names confuse people, so here is the short version. Shuka came first: SoHo, 2017, where Nurdjaja — executive chef and partner at both — cooks a broad Eastern Mediterranean menu drawing on Italian, Moroccan and Tunisian influences. Shukette (“little Shuka”) followed in Chelsea in 2021, and it is not the same menu in a second location: it narrows the focus east, to Levantine cooking — Israeli, Syrian and Lebanese — built around the charcoal grill and rip-and-dip bread service.

What overlaps: shared plates, bread at the center of the meal, and flavors that cross the Mediterranean and Middle East. What differs most is atmosphere — Shukette is the newer, louder sibling, designed around the open kitchen and its counter. Choose Shukette for a livelier night out or a seat at the grill; Shuka for the broader Mediterranean menu in SoHo.

Practical Information

Address: 230 9th Ave, New York, NY 10001 — Chelsea, near the Meatpacking District and the High Line. Phone: (212) 242-1803. Instagram: @shukettenyc.

Hours: Dinner only — Monday to Saturday 5–11pm, Sunday 4–10pm.

Reservations: Through Resy. Tables are worth reserving; walk-ins are seated mainly at the counter, best right at opening or after 9:30pm.

Good to know: The room is loud by design, and dishes arrive as they are ready rather than in courses. The menu rotates with the seasons, so a favorite plate may be swapped between visits.

If you’re building a New York list, pair this guide with two very different New York rooms from our archive: the old-school downtown steakhouse energy of Minetta Tavern and the French café cooking at La Mercerie.

FAQs

What type of food does Shukette serve?

Levantine-inspired food — Israeli, Syrian and Lebanese influences — built around shared plates: house-made breads and dips, seasonal vegetable dishes, and proteins grilled over charcoal.

What should I order at Shukette for the first time?

Frena or Lafa with Not Your Average Hummus, two or three plates from the Shuk, one dish from the grill (Joojeh Chicken feeds two), and the Mic Drop to finish.

Does Shukette take reservations?

Yes, through Resy. Book a week or more ahead for Friday and Saturday nights and the 7–9pm window. Part of the 23-seat counter is held for walk-ins — best at the 5pm opening or after 9:30pm.

Is Shukette good for vegetarians and vegans?

Vegetarians can build a full meal from the breads, dips and the Shuk section. Vegans should confirm preparations with the server — Labneh and Beet Tzatziki are yogurt-based; the Spring Pea Dip is the most dependable vegan dip.

What is the dress code at Shukette?

No formal dress code. Smart casual — dark jeans or trousers with a nicer top. At the counter, which faces the grill, lighter layers are more comfortable.

What is Al Ha’esh?

Roughly “from the fire” — the menu section cooked directly over natural hardwood charcoal: Joojeh Chicken, Fish in a Cage, steak shish kebab and lamb kebab.

Does Shukette serve alcohol?

Yes — Gazoz spritz-style drinks (non-alcoholic versions too), a small rotating beer selection, and a Mediterranean- and Adriatic-focused wine list by the glass.

Is Shukette the same as Shuka?

No. Shuka (SoHo, 2017) is the older sibling with a broader Mediterranean menu; Shukette (Chelsea, 2021) is Levantine-focused and noticeably louder.

Before You Go

• Book the table, gamble on the counter. Reserve through Resy for tables — a week or more ahead for weekends and the 7–9pm rush. Walking in? Aim for the 5pm opening or after 9:30pm, and expect the counter.
• Order like the menu wants. One bread, one or two dips, two or three Shuk plates, one dish from the fire, the Mic Drop to finish — roughly two to three dishes per person.
• Keep bread on the table. Rip-and-dip is the format, not a starter — you’ll want it for the harissa butter and charmoula long after the dips are gone.
• Check prices at the source. Shukette’s menu does not list prices online and dishes change with the seasons, so check the restaurant’s current menu or ask your server.
• Dress for the grill. No formal code, but smart casual — at the counter facing the charcoal, lighter layers beat a heavy jacket.

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