16 places with poke bowls to try – from Ballantyne to South End
Looking to branch out from your normal sushi order? Try poke, instead.
Poke is a raw fish salad served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine, and sometimes as a main course. If you still don’t know how to pronounce this term by now, it’s “POH-keh.”
And if you haven’t heard by now it’s one of Charlotte’s latest food trends.
Here are 16 places with poke bowls you HAVE to try – from Ballantyne to South End.
HI Tide Poke & Raw Bar
919 South McDowell St.
Price: Regular bowl for $8.95 (3-oz protein), large bowl for $12.95 (5-oz protein)
Must-try menu items: The Poke Rainbow (salmon, hamachi, ahi tuna, scallions, pickled red onion, red cabbage, sweet corn, cucumber, limu/ogo, carrots, mandarin orange, jalapeno/serrano salad, shuyu sesame oil, seasoned milky queen rice) and Spicy Ahi Tuna (pickled red onion, wasabi peas, carrots, mango, tomato, limu/ogo, sweet corn, creamy togarashi sauce and unagi sauce, seasoned milky queen rice)
Hours: Monday – Thursday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. and closed on Sunday
Related: New poke restaurant and raw bar to open in Dilworth next month
Poke Cafe Charlotte
11318 N Community House Rd., Suite 203
Price: Regular bowl for $10.95 (two proteins), large bowl for $13.95 (three proteins)
Must-try menu items: The Hawaiian Classic (ahi tuna, red onion, scallion, cucumber, avocado, shredded nori, sesame seeds, house poke sauce), Salmon Classic (salmon, sweet onion, scallion, cucumber, edamame, sesame seeds, kaiware, house poke sauce) and Spicy Ahi Tuna (ahi tuna, sweet onion, scallion, masago, cucumber, shichimi crunch, pickled ginger, spicy mayo)
Hours: Monday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Seoul Poke Bowl
3609 South Blvd., Suite D
Price: Regular bowl for $10.95 (two proteins) and large bowl for $13.59 (three proteins)
Must-try menu items: Classic bimbimbap (bulgogi beef, bean sprouts, carrots, cucumber, daikon, fried egg, served with homemade gochujang chili sauce and sesame oil), Ohana Sake (salmon, spicy crab, scallions, masago, dried onion, kim chi, avocado, cucumber, served with homemade sweet wasabi aioli sauce) and Super Soy Bowl (tofu, edamame, avocado, cucumber, carrots, scallions, masago, seaweed salad, wasabi peas, served with homemade soyu sauce)
Hours: Monday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.
CO
4201 Park Road and 7416 Waverly Walk Avenue
Signature Bowl Prices: $9.50 – $12
Must-try menu items: Cambodian (tempura shrimp, spicy crab, avocado, cucumber, pickled carrots, spicy aioli, served over maze gohan rice), Spicy Salmon Crunch (spicy salmon mixed with avocado, cucumber, masago topped with tempura flakes over spring mix, edamame, pickled carrots, seaweed salad, served over maze gohan rice) and Korean (marinated wok steak, sunny side egg, kimchi, edamame, cucumber, pickled carrots, bean sprouts, sweet and spicy gochujang sauce, served over jasmine rice)
Hours: Sunday – Thursday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Umami Pokerito
7510 Pineville-Matthews Rd, 5A
Signature Bowl Prices: $10 – $15.25
Must-try menu items: Umami (spicy crab, tuna, salmon, hamachi, mix green, masago, furikake, avocado, yum yum sauce), Spicy Miso Chicken (chicken, mix green, red cabbage, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, kimchee, togarashi pepper) and Spicy Mexican Sushi (salmon, grilled shrimp, cilantro, cucumber, mango, avocado, pico de gallo, chipotle aioli)
Hours: Monday – Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Bonsai Fusion
225 East 6th St. (inside 7th St. Public Market) and 505 East 6th St. (dinner service only)
Price: Small bowl for $8, large bowl for $14
Must-try menu items: Tuna Poke (diced tuna, avocado, edamame, tossed in a ginger soy sauce with masago, green peppers, shallots, scallions)
Hours: Monday – Tuesday 11:30 a.m. – 6 p.m., Wednesday – Saturday 11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. and opening soon on Sunday
Yama Asian Fusion
720 Governor Morrison St., #E130
Price: $16
Must-try menu items: Yama Sushi Bowl (bluefin, tuna, salmon, avocado, soy bean, cucumber, oshinko, seaweed, masago, scallion with homemade specialty sauce on top) and California Sushi Bowl (avocado, soybean, kani, carrot, cucumber, oshinko, seaweed, scallion and house made specialty sauce)
Hours: Lunch: Closed on Monday, Tuesday – Saturday 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Dinner: Closed on Monday, Sunday – Thursday 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. – 11 p.m.
O-Ku
2000 South Blvd., Suite 510
Price: $16
The only poke bowl: Poke Bowl (tuna, wasabi soy, mango, ika sansai, masago, wakame salad)
Hours: Monday – Wednesday 5 p.m. – 10:30 p.m., Thursday – Saturday 5 p.m. – 11 p.m., Sunday 5 p.m. – 10 p.m
Wu’s Cajun Seafood
1714 South Blvd.
Price: $10 – $11
Must-try menu items: Tuna Noodle Poke (cold – miso-ginger noodles, marinated tuna, ginger, lime, cilantro, jalapeño) and Sushi Rice Tuna Poke (cold – marinated raw tuna, ginger, lime, cilantro, jalapeño, fried wontons)
Hours: Monday – Thursday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., Friday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 12 a.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Love Sushi
8662-5 J.W. Clay Blvd.
Price: $10.45
The only poke item: Ahi Poke appetizer (sub shrimp chips for fried or regular rice)
Hours: Monday – Friday 11:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m., Saturday 12 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Sushi Guru
6601 Morrison Blvd.
Price: $15
The only poke bowl: Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl (diced ahi tuna, cucumber, mango, shallots, scallions, cilantro, macadamia nuts, tossed in sesame soy with kimchee dressing)
Hours: Monday – Thursday 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 10 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 11 p.m., Saturday noon to 11 p.m. and closed on Sunday
Related: Sushi pizza, a poke bar and an herb garden are coming to Plaza Midwood next month
Cowfish
4310 Sharon Rd
Price: $12 – $27
Must-try menu items: Spicy Poke Dip (spicy tuna poke with salmon and yellowtail, seaweed salad, served with wonton chips) and Premium Combo Platter (7 piece mix of seasonal shashimi, 4 pieces of seasonal nigiri, 4 piece Mrs. Woodbury’s Fresh Find and spicy tuna poke with salmon and yellowtail)
Hours: Sunday – Thursday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. and Friday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
RuSans
2440 Park Rd
Price: Poke ($11) plus adding a side of sushi rice ($2). Total: $13
Poke menu items: Poke with a side of rice
Hours: Monday – Thursday 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – 11 p.m., Friday 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – midnight, Saturday 12 – 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – midnight and Sunday 3 – 11 p.m
Coming Soon
Sushi Guru’s second location in Plaza Midwood
1217 The Plaza
Opening Date: The week of March 12
Must-try menu items: This modern Japanese sushi restaurant will have lunch specials, bento boxes, rice bowls, noodles, fried rice and specialty sushi.
Hours: TBD
Related: Sushi pizza, a poke bar and an herb garden are coming to Plaza Midwood next month
Sukoshi
101 S. Tryon St.
Opening Date: Spring 2018
Must-try menu items: A grab-and-go concept specializing in fresh sashimi, nigiri, specialty rolls, small plates, customizable salads and poke-esque bowls along with sake, canned wine and local beers.
Hours: Monday – Friday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday noon – 6 p.m.
Related: The team behind O-Ku will open grab-and-go sushi spot Uptown this spring
King Fish Poke
350 E. McCullough Dr., Suite 110
Opening Date: Spring 2018
Must-try menu items: At King Fish Poke, they’ll be offering 35 ingredients with main courses, homemade signature drinks and desserts like mango sticky rice.
Hours: Sunday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Related: Chipotle-style poke restaurant to open mid-November in the University City area
Photos: Hi Tide Poke & Raw Bar, Poke Cafe Charlotte, @BallantyneBabe, @hellomynameisdespair, @sophiamlai, @atl._.noms, Yama Asian Fusion, O-Ku, Wu’s Cajun Seafood, Love Sushi, Sushi Guru, Cowfish, @jaybrabbs, Sukoshi, King Fish Poke
This story was originally published February 14, 2018 at 1:00 AM with the headline "16 places with poke bowls to try – from Ballantyne to South End."