Shukah to bring a taste of Armenia to Windsor

After a wave of new-school Asian restaurants, is Windsor's compass shifting to the Middle East?

Weeks after Shane Delia announced he would open a second Biggie Smalls kebab house in Windsor in August, Garen Maskal, of CBD restaurant Sezar and Glen Waverley's Black Toro, has started work on Shukah, a casual Armenian 40-seater at 104 Chapel Street.

Armenian food shares similarities with the cuisines of Turkey, Georgia and the Levant. Shukah's menu will be built around drinks-friendly mezze, Armenian pizzas, and entrees and mains for sharing.

Pride of the kitchen, says Maskal, will be a Mibrasa charcoal oven, which will add smoke and char to heftier dishes such as a lamb shoulder with sides, designed to feed up to six. Sean Thomas (ex Gingerboy) will head the kitchen.

Bucking the trend, Shukah will take bookings, initially for dinner seven nights, with plans to add lunches later. Maskal hopes to open by April.