Poke Cafe

Poke Café is a new restaurant located in the Bartram Park area. I work a few blocks over so I have been eyeballing them for months waiting for opening day. Well that day finally arrived so I grabbed a friend and headed over for lunch. The restaurant is located in a newly built strip mall along Old St Augustine Rd near Phillips Hwy. We walked inside and were immediately in awe with how gorgeous the place was. It was bright and open with wood tables and chalk menu boards along the walls. You can order items from the menu or choose to build your own. 

My friend and I ordered a few side items as appetizers, the Steamed Pork Dumplings and Veggie Spring Rolls. We were very pleased with these. The dumplings were extremely flavorful and we savored every bite. The spring rolls were also a great choice. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. The veggies on the inside were julienned and were not too chunky. You didn’t have to fight with it at all.

I had planned on getting a Poke Bowl on my first trip….until I saw ramen on the menu. I love ramen more than I like most people, so I went with the Shoyu Ramen. The presentation was beautiful but the ramen lacked any spectacular flavor. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a solid ramen, but more in the basic category rather than inventive. With that being said, I took it back to the office to finish (since I ran out of time on my break) and it was significantly better after sitting on my desk for an hour. I guess the flavors had more time to combine and develop. As for the ingredients, the ramen was loaded with pork and came with 2 eggs. Definitely not a skimpy ramen.




My friend did end up getting a poke bowl, the Supreme (Spicy tuna, crabstick, shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, fried onion, eel sauce, spicy may). This is like the mother of all poke bowls as it had everything except the kitchen sink. She was really impressed with this bowl. “The tempura was ridiculous!” The bowl was so good that when I asked for her impression of it, she thought about it so much that we just decided to visit again for lunch today.

I ended up going back the following day (after the ramen) to get the Tuna Poke (Tuna, onion, diced tomato, cucumber, avocado, cilantro, edamame, house poke, spicy mayo). My first impression upon opening the container was WOW that’s a lot of tuna! I was expecting a way smaller portion that what I received. I was also happy to see that there was a lot of rice and edamame as well. I ate at least one piece of tuna with each rice bite and it lasted all the way until the end. I really loved the addition of edamame to the dish. To me it really contributed so much to the bowl; it enhanced the flavor palate greatly. If you are new to poke bowls and are unsure about what to order, this is a great introductory dish.





I am not at all ashamed to say that I went again a few days ago and built my own bowl. Check out this beauty!

 

Verdict: Loved it!

I am so in love with this place it’s not even funny. I can’t wait to go back and try everything on the menu. I love everything about it from the beautiful interior to the super nice owners to the delicious food. This place is definitely a must try for anyone in the area. Even if you wanted to make a special trip, it’s worth the drive. Just go. Do it now. Don’t wait.