I am always on the hunt for great Middle-Eastern food, it is one of my favourite cuisines. So, I was very excited to try out Shakshuka. Located in the city centre of The Hague, this family owned restaurant specializes in Middle-Eastern cuisine.

Find out below if this hunt was successful!

At a glance

• Type of cuisine: Middle-Eastern
• Location: The Hague (Netherlands)
• Price: from 7-9 euro for a mezze/appetizer and approx. 15-19 euro for a main course.
• Rating: 9/10

Background

A bit of background – Long-time Palestinian friends Issam Ghneim and Johnny Zreneh decided to merge their love for good Middle-Eastern food and opened Shakshuka in the summer of 2021. The restaurant is named after the delicious dish Shakshuka – a Middle-Eastern (and North-African) breakfast/lunch dish with fresh vegetables simmered in a rich tomato sauce and finished off with eggs in this sauce.

The review

We had a nice table on their terrace overlooking the Prinsestraat. It was warm outside, love those summer night dinners outside. And of course – people watching.

The food

Shakshuka serves a selection of mazza (hummus, baba ganoush etc.), falafel, kebab and salads.

I was delighted that there were so MANY vegetarian and vegan options to choose from! Everything looked delicious and I wanted to taste them all. In the end I choose:

• Spicy Shakshuka (of course have to try that);
• Falafel platter with hummus and tabbouleh; and
• Makdous on the side (pickled eggplant filled with walnuts, sundried tomatoes and garlic).

The Shakshuka arribiata (spicy) was full of flavourful and rich tomatoes flavours and vegetables – topped off by a couple of eggs and finished in the oven. Served with some fluffy pita bread to dip, perfect combination. I thought it was not that spicy, but hey – I have been trained to eat spicy food since I was a little girl (hi dad!). 🙂

Oh-my-god – I cannot rave enough about the falafel platter. The falafels were exactly how falafels are supposed to be, crunchy on the outside and super soft on the inside with the right balance of spices. It is difficult to achieve a true great falafel, so chapeau to the chef!

Also, the hummus, damn, it was one of the best hummus I have tasted in The Netherlands. It was the perfect creamy combination of chickpeas, rich amount of garlic and just the right amount of tang of lemons. Chapeau times two to the chef.

The tabbouleh was fresh, but I prefer it with more lemon juice.

This is first time I tried makdous. The combination of pickled eggplant (one of my fav vegetables), sundried tomatoes, walnuts and garlic intrigued me. It was delicious. The textures were crunchy and soft at the same time. This would have been even nicer with some hot rice.

Staff

The staff was friendly, but not very pro-active, we have waited a long time before they took our order, but the food came rather quick.

Final verdict

9/10. The food was very good, full of flavours, rich and well balanced. The prices were average, but compared to the quality it was great. There were so many options for vegetarian and vegans. I especially recommend the falafel and the hummus, delicious. I will def go back and try the order dishes. A new gem in The Hague!

Information

Address: Prinsestraat 73 A, 2513CB The Hague

Website: https://www.shakshuka-denhaag.nl/

Instagram: @shakshukadenhaag

Check my Instagram for the reel of Shakshuka and more foodspots reviews and recipes!