naïm

the dishes at this paddingtoncafeall have a touch of middle eastern flair about them, which makes for both interesting and delicious eating. i love anywhere that has smashed baklava as a regular meal accompaniment.
so what autumn/winter delights are on offer at shouk? let's find out.

amazing experience at shouk. all the staff were extraordinarily friendly and polite - they were literally smiling all the time.

the wait for the food wasn't too long (despite thecafebeing packed to the brim), and everything was spot on. i loved every bit of my dish, consisting of pumpkin, halloumi and poached eggs on toast. the pesto was a tad chili which was a pleasant surprise.
two of my friends ordered milkshakes which they thought were amazing.

one of my favourite cafes yet. middle eastern style food in acafesetting blew my expectations away, and their large vegan selection is something you must not miss. the food is beautifully presented and is a festival of funk in the mouth. a very open setting provides you with breathtaking views of the paddington suburbia if you ever get bored of gazing upon your partner. 45/50 would recommendo.

great breakfast. first thing i noticed about shoukcafewas the light refreshing space they have created there. the service was very excellent, we were greeted by one of the owners and seated out the back with a lovely view of paddington. we ordered the avocado feta toast and the baked eggs (shakshuka). both delicious, full of flavour and looked amazing. one poached egg was very overcooked and when i told the waitress, she was extremely friendly and offered us replacement eggs. she also came back to check if everything was okay which we appreciated very much. overall we were very impressed with the service, ambiance and food. i will be recommending this place to my friends and family.

i discover that my last and first review on this renownedcafehas been erased??!
while i was walking along the latrobe tce this morning, i saw thiscafebeing tucked away from the main road that recalled my memory of the first visit. although i just had my brekkie, the memorial episode tempted me to go for a take-away coffee.
when i walked in, the grand vibe made me very comfortable. approached the bar and ordered a take-away flat white. despite the fact that the charge is higher than its competitor, but the service and the quality of my take-away coffee really compensate any discrepancy.
will return for brekkie one day👍
rating: 4.5/5

overall score: 20/25 or ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
in 5 words: pleasant middle eastern brunch option
*
✅ recommended: shakshuka, brekky pita
*
💬 review: we ventured to paddington to this middle eastern cafe. upon entering, we loved the relaxedcafevibes and navy blur decor. ample sunlight here - we enjoyed the view of paddington suburbs and beyond from your table.

our middle eastern brunch spread was visually beautiful and oh so delicious. could tell the bread was homemade because it was so flaky. shakshuka came with spicy sausages and tasted more spicy than tomato-ey if that makes sense. it really puts all the other shakshuka i’ve had in melbourne to shame!

as for the brekky pita, i really enjoyed putting the pita bread together - the scrambled eggs were simple but really buttery. lamb was delicious! coffee was not too shabby either. all in all, naïm is certainly a brunch institution with unique brunch offerings - certainly not just avo toasts!
*
taste: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
ambience: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
presentation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
service: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

i have never rated a place at below a 3 - but really!? - i have been going to thiscafefor years as it serves a delightful range of food for breakfast that is varied and wonderfully tasty - but now, during the week, not only do they not open until 7:30am but they don’t serve any food until 9:30 - the coffee is not that good that i will bother going back. the seats are uncomfortable at best and do you really need to be mopping at 8am around our feet - what the bloody! the view is nice but the presentation of the premises is old and tired. i have given it a 2 as the food on weekends - assuming same menu - will be good.

have not been over to paddington in many years, seems like so many interesting places have popped up. my friend stumbled onto thiscafeand raved about it post their visit, so we catch up there while i was in town. interesting cuisine mix with a middle eastern spin through a classic brunch menu. the space out the back of a spacious half open room, letting the sunlight in, and over a nice view over the suburb. service was friendly and accommodating. the food were a bit mix. my latke was rubbery & the haloumi was bit dry, also need a bit more flavour through the latke. my friend's lamb dish though was smashing! really wish i ordered that instead. overall i would still a good place to catch up.

naim has by far the most unique blend of flavours of anycafei've been to, its never disappointed and every thing i've tried is full of flavour and unlike anycafei've visited! so fresh and creative :)

a cutecafeperched on a hill. staff were attentive and offered us seats out the back, where you can enjoy uninterrupted views of brisbane from inside.

we ordered the shakshuka (baked eggs) and the pumpkin and haloumi sourdough toast.

the shakshuka was quite thin and watery, almost like soup. i would have liked more solids (e.g. beans?), or otherwise have more bread on the side to soak up the baked eggs. the baked eggs came with two small slices of turkish bread. i ended up 'drinking' the baked eggs with a spoon once the bread was gone. i like soup so i don't mind personally but it definitely wasn't a hearty or filling dish. the pumpkin and haloumi toast was really nice though.

i ordered the shakshuka and it was delicious. the service here is absolutely great, location is beautiful and the design of thecafeis gorgeous. this is a must go if you are starting your breakfast/brunch adventures or you love middle eastern food! will definitely come back here again.

i live in the next street so gave it two attempts. not sure what the line ups are about. the food on both occasions was average. and i quite like middle eastern food. i am saying that every other near bycafeis better for breaky. maybe i'll try lunch.

one of the firstcafei visited when i moved into the area and i've been back many times since then. i remembered ordering the panna cotta on my first visit and thought that it was the most beautiful dish and the best panna cotta i've tasted. the staff were and always very friendly and attentive. in my opinion this is one of the bestcafein paddington!

shoukcafeis located on top of a hill which affords a nice view when you sit at the back.  they serve some excellent breakfast items and some nice middle eastern fare like the latke stack which i enjoyed. i also highly recommend the lamb salad. the mint and lemon limonana is also quite refreshing.
i didn't enjoy their hummus kawarma, the mince was just too salty and the spices were not really incorporated in well.
overall a pretty good experience, but i'm not sure i'd be heading back in much of a hurry considering that it is nestled a bit out of the way for me.

according to their website, owners guy frawley and adi shabtay opened shoukcafein march, 2014. we tried the following dishes. citrus and saffron waffles ($18) - belgian waffles with ruby grapefruit segments, lemon curd, saffron ice cream, orange powder and shredded coriander jelly. this was a well put-together dish with many textures. the waffles were very sweet so the sour elements complemented perfectly.