Shouk

Shouk is a wonderful restaurant for vegans. My family & I found this place via HappyCow, and we ended up going back there for nearly every meal because it was close by our hotel, and Shouk's food was so much better than the hotel's! The staff were extremely friendly & remembered us when we returned the next day. There is variety in the menu. Shouk is a place that you should definitely check out!

Shouk is doing everything right: awesome unique food, friendly staff, modern space, and it's all vegan. The owner (who is hanging around the shop almost all the time) is super friendly and helpful. They call their food "plant-based," which is probably smart since "vegan" can scare people off. The food is interesting, creative, and tasty. My husband especially loves how it's all plants and there's no faux-cheese or faux-meat patties just to cater to Western-diets. Shouk doesn't shy away from spicy. It's maybe a bit on the pricey side, but I really want Shouk to succeed (their location is odd), so we try to visit often. We need more proud 100% vegan restaurants in the world!

Shouk has consistently excellent Moroccan vegan food. The cauliflower pita has homemade creamy tahini, tomato, scallion, and parsley. The way the flavors come together is amazing, and it is one of my favorites.

The mushroom pita is a close runner up, with big slices of portobello mushroom, cauliflower, asparagus, arugula, tahini, and za'atar. I am a serious mushroom lover and can't wait to get this as a bowl next time. (All pitas can be made into a bowl of rice and lentils.)

My third favorite is the fennel pita, which includes potato, red pepper, and pistachio pesto. This has a unique taste, very refreshing. I loved this more than expected.

The most popular selling item at Shouk is now the Shouk burger, voted the best DC veggie burger. I found the Shouk burger to be a bit too spicy and missed the flavor combinations of the cauliflower or mushroom pitas. It is definitely a tasty veggie burger that draws long lines of customers, but I would rather have a pita.

The polenta fries with tomato sauce were good, but I found that ordering the cauliflower pita was enough for me. The sweet potato fries with cashew labneh are said to be good, but I haven't tried them yet.

I also was told the beet tahini is excellent and will try it one day, along with the ratatouille pita and other pitas I have yet to try. I also haven't tried the Shouk salad yet but read it is good.

Shouk just came out with a new breakfast burrito that includes chickpeas and avocado. I haven't tried it yet as i am so in love with the pitas.

The price tag for a pita is nearly $10 and for fries nearly $5. That can seem very pricey, but these are pitas made from the freshest ingredients, including tahini and veggie burgers made in house.

During lunch hour, the lines can be longer and seats hard to find. The atmosphere is meant to be like a Moroccan shouk, with long tables and somewhat uncomfortable stools. Sometimes it can be hard to find a seat during the busiest times.

Shouk has consistently great food and is definitely worth the trip!

Came to this area for a conference. Delicious food and very friendly service. Definitely going back this week before going home. The burger is to die for.

It's nice that it's vegan but I can't believe how many people rated this place 5 starts. The food is mediocre at best. Very strange and conflicting flavors. The pita bread was nice as was the spicy harissa bust that's about it. Is was pricy but we are in DC so it's expected. I had the burger and my hubby had a pita. It was just ok. There are many much better places in the area. Overall I would NOT recommend.

Went here after the Women's March (on the advice of the reviewer below!). Slightly out of the main drag so the queue wasn't too big and I was glad I wasn't put off by the small seating area. The food was stunningly good and even though I had to eat perched on the sidewalk I was really impressed. The black bean pitta was jam packed with flavour and food and fantastically spicy. Sweet potato fries and dip were also done to perfection, if only they had a Shouk near me in the UK!

Stopped in during historic Women's March and they insisted on giving free lunch to all marchers! What a place! The burger was rich and dense and so tasty. Love these people, love this food!

To start with, as a tourist, it's a bit tricky to find.
But this place definitely deserves 5 stars. To begin with, the staff are friendly and know what they're doing. The food is superb. Must try the Shouk Burger and Mushroom Pita Pocket. Also the bathroom is clean. Yay.

I was at the convention center for a conference and had the burger bowl one night (the bowl option has rice and lentils instead of a pita, and I thought it would be better to go since the pita might get soggy). I was astonished with how good it was! I went back for lunch another day (cauliflower pita) which was also good but I had to get the burger bowl for my plane ride. Amazing!

The place was busy on a weeknight, doing a brisk take-out business. Small seating area, several communal tables and a few smaller ones. The Shouk Burger and Polenta Fries are very good, can't go wrong!

As of mid December 2016 the map marker is slightly off. The true location is on the K Street side (south east corner) of the building, not the New York Ave NW side as shown. Reported, hopefully they fix it, I don't want you to miss this restaurant!

The place is nice! The personal was excellent! And for the food it was so tasty ! I'll be there a million times again 👍

Shouk offers fast, fresh, flavorful food. They have a lot of nice pita sandwich options, and I ended up opting for the fennel one. The pita was pillowy soft, and all of the fillings were tasty and well-seasoned. I also ordered a side of polenta fries, which were quite nice.

Even so, I'm not sure that I'd go out of my way to make a second trip there, given that the meals are so pricey. The pita sandwich was nearly $10, and it's not particularly large or filling. To be fair, their quality is quite good, but even so, I've had just as good or better (e.g., Taim in NYC) for less.

Delicious vegan food. Spicy to the right level. Great atmosphere. Soup and a large rice bowl for 15 dollars. Went there twice and will be back.

The staff were very friendly and warm as I walked in and helped me decide what to get. I had the fennel bowl with sweet potato fries and a lavender lemonade. I really enjoyed the food and the music.

Had the cauliflower pita because I love cauliflower but it was so hard to choose -- everything on the menu looks good. I had just the pita and really enjoyed my dinner. The sauce made it extra memorable and it was just the right amount of food. You can ask for light sauce or extra sauce! My dining buddies had the ratatouille pita and the lentil soup and they oohed and ahhed over those, too. Lots of seating-- we ate outdoors. Everyone working there looks like he/she is having a blast. Good music. Going back soon.

Updated from previous review on 2016-09-28

The vibe of Shouk is fresh and clean, with an open food assembly area and small section for dry goods. The focused menu consists of pita sandwich options, salads and sides. My sister ordered the cauliflower pita with tahini and jalapeno oil and I got the fennel pita with potato, red pepper and pistachio pesto. The pita was soft and chewy and was filled generously with the veggies. We also shared a side of sweet potato fries that was served with cashew labneh. Shouk's offerings surpass most other Middle Eastern food I have had, and it is an absolute must for vegans in DC!

Creative flavorful food - great freshly made whole wheat pita, roasted fennel and cauliflower tasty. Seaweed seemed out of place in cucumber chickpea combo. Harissa was somewhat bitter. The acoustics are terrible - maybe some rugs on wall or something is needed. Rap harsher than usual and poor fit. The furniture is hard and uncomfortable. The rosemary lemonade had too much rosemary flavor. But i believe this place has lots of potential and would go back again as the menu has lots of interesting choices.

I went there for dinner and was quite disappointed since I expected too much from previous reviews. The place looks nice but there is little choice and the food is not fantastic whereas prices are quite high in comparison to other vegan restaurants in DC. First, the staff made a mistake for a side and they were quite upset when we signalled it to them. Their sweet potatoe fries contain too much cumin and were not very hot. My friend ordered a hummus sandwich that had almost no hummus... Very disappointing for the price you paid (around 10$ for a pita bread with some vegetables and a little hummus). The only positive thing was their cashew labne. It was excellent!

On the whole, I would not recommend this place but I hope they will improve their offer!

Updated from previous review on 2016-07-29