Hashuka

January 2020
Hashuka is a vegetarian restaurant in the heart of Tel Aviv's wholesale district. Like so many other places in the world, wholesale districts are becoming popular entertainment areas. Since the merchants in this area close their shops in the late afternoon, Hashuka currently closes at 7pm. You can enjoy the restaurant from 9am till 7pm and use the eLuna coupons and vouchers on the full menu. Note that eLuna coupons and vouchers do not apply to the business lunch.

Shuk Levinsky is the newest market in Tel Aviv. Just a short distance from upscale Neve Tzedek, it is easy to see the natural expansion into Levinsky. A growing number of trendy clothing shops and restaurants are encroaching on the old-time wholesale dealers. Several streets have been closed off to create a pedestrian mall (midrachov) with the spice shops, that made the Levinsky market famous, coffee shops, delicatessen and take away food shops. This is an interesting area to visit, and fascinating to see the change in the neighborhood.

Hashuka restaurant is in the right place at the right time. Just a few meters from the Levinsky Midrachov, this vegetarian restaurant services the neighborhood businesses and the many visitors who have started to seek out this neighborhood.

Our Visit to Hashuka Restaurant

Hashuka is a vegetarian restaurant. Owner Zion has been preparing vegetarian dishes in different locations for many years. Originally conceived as a shakshuka restaurant, Hashuka has graduated to the next level, and now offers many more dishes. Top of the list is their non-meaty shawarma and chraime fish dishes, vegan burger, couscous and other parve versions of meat dishes. But my favorite is the salads with grains and techina sauce.

The kitchen is the hub of Hashuka Restaurant. The seating is built around the large open kitchen. The food preparation and the cooking area is completely open to diners. There is bar seating at the counter that surrounds the kitchen, and conventional seating at tables facing outdoors.

The one-page menu offers a list of specialty dishes followed by a list of shakshuka dishes and salads. In the specialty section called "Hashuka Pans," there are dishes made with tofu, vegan burgers and shawarma made with vegan meat and vegetable dishes, couscous, oven roasted potatoes, and more. We tried the Vegan Shawarma, a portion of the pseudo-shawarma meat served with hot chickpeas, tahina and parsley on an oven baked potato. It was warm comfort dish for a cold day, and the imitation meat looked real

How many types of shakshuka can you think of?
The section in the menu entitled "Shakshuka Pans" offers 5 types of shakshuka:
Classic authentic Libyan Shakshuka, green shakshuka made of mangold, spinach and chickpeas, Primavera Italian style shakshuka with eggplant, Curry Indian style shakshuka and Hamshuka classic shakshuka served on their home made humus. We enjoyed the Green Shakshuka, which came in a bowl of creamy mangold-spinach blend topped with chickpeas, parsley and chopped scallions

Salads are equally creative with the Levinski fresh vegetable salad, citrus salad, sabich with roasted eggplant and hard-boiled eggs, and super spicy salad.

Spicy food warning! It is best to tell your server your preference for spicy or non-spicy food. The restaurant has a heavy hand on the spice rack but they are very sensitive to customers’ wishes

There is a nice selection of drinks including soft drinks, cider, and the nostalgic 7up and root beer. Some stronger drinks are also available including Granite, Arak, beer, and wine. A cup of coffee tops off every meal, and Hashuka offers a good selection of coffees. For dessert the restaurant offers malabi.

Take away: Hashuka will prepare foods for you to pick up or you can order delivery through 10Bis.

From the menu: Hashuka Pans specials: NIS 35. Shakshuka pans: NIS 38 - 45. Salads 35 - 40. Malabi NIS 25.