Poke Eats Restaurant - Hawaiian Inspired Food & Take Out - North York — Restaurant in Toronto

I knew I would be in the area today so I was searching for some good eats! I came across Poke Eats which has good ratings all around on Yelp and Google so I decided to check it out since I personally LOVE poke bowls!

Poke Eats has a bunch of preset bowls for $12.99 (regular size only) which are nice since it's a dollar cheaper than a Build Your Own yet includes a premium topping alteady. For BYOB, it's $8.99 for a snack size and $13.99 for a regular. How many of each protein/sauce/topping is included is nicely laid out on their minimalistic menu board on the wall, making it a easy order process.

My favorite sushi roll is spicy salmon maki so I almost always opt for a bowl that has salmon and spicy mayo. I ended up getting the IT'S LIT preset bowl and includes black sushi rice, salmon, spicy mayo, avocado (a premium topping), spicy cucumber (which I swapped out for edamame), cherry tomatoes, and sweet corn. I also got all the garnishes, free of charge (e.g. sesame seeds, ginger, fried onions) which I recommend since these small things elevate the overall experience and make the flavors and textures more complex. The bowl was quite heavy to hold (yay, good portion!) And the rice was warm-to-hot to touch. I absolutely LOVED the black rice! I really appreciate when places like these allow for more base options, as white rice is so basic + I'm not really a lover of kale... Brown rice also doesn't really taste right either. Black rice really adds to the overall texture of the food IMO. Toppings were quite generous so there was something to go with every bite of rice. The spicy mayo was of the perfect heat level and really added flavor to the whole dish. All in all, such a good poke bowl.

Service was quite friendly as well and the person at the register was very helpful in walking you through the steps if you get a BYOB.

At a glance, the shop looks clean. All staff members were wearing masks.

Bonus: they usually have a rewards program as well, but this is being paused for the time being due to COVID as they want to reduce contact (I'm guessing it's a stamp card).

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I don't really leave reviews for businesses. But I feel even out of principle I should share the experience I had at Poke Eats today to shed some light on how customer un-friendly and deceitful they are. I've been going to Poke Eats since they first opened. I had one of their loyalty cards where 8 stamps get you a free poke bowl. Today I placed an order for pick up. When I got there I remembered my card and presented it to the cashier. Her immediate response was that due to covid they could not stamp the card for me. I told her that was ok but the card had all 8 stamps and I wanted to redeem it. She said ok and stepped back to speak to someone behind her, presumably the manager. The manager, who clearly doesn't know the first thing about being discreet, told her (loudly) to tell me they had scrapped the stamp-card loyalty program and so my card was no longer valid. Allegedly they now have an electronic program. Funny enough, she didn't ask me to enrol in their make-believe new loyalty program. If they had truly scrapped it, then how come at first I was told they couldn't stamp my card due to covid? Shouldn't the cashier have just said they didn't do the physical cards anymore and had a new program? To lie about such a cornerstone of your customer service program is appalling and really goes to show your poor business practices. I get it, the bowl costs $16, but you put out the program, did you think no one was ever going to redeem it? Or is it a race issue? I didn't look like your typical clientele?

I won't be coming back here. I usually do business at the building across the street and frequently come over with family and colleagues. I also always recommended this place to my colleagues and clients. You can be sure I'll be letting everyone know how unprincipled and decietful this business is. There was a time when they were one of the few poke places in town, maybe that made them confident in maintaining their customer base. But now Poke places are a dime a dozen, I'll be taking my business elsewhere and will make sure others do too.

And by the way, as usual you forgot the spicy mayo. What...

Poke Eats is the first specialty Poke eatery opened in North York, north of the 401. While it is away from all the other usual Poke places in Toronto located in downtown, we must say we are extremely impressed by the high quality fish and freshness offered. The restaurant is located at the bottom of the newly built condo building at Yonge and Sheppard, right across from Whole Foods. The restaurant has simple yet elegent décor. It is brightly lit as it is located on the corner. This place is mainly for takeout as there is only a small bench for eating.

What makes Poke Eats stand out from all the other Poke restaurants is probably the quality and the freshness of the fishes. Chef Raymond Choo has been in the industry for a long time and is committed to only using he highest-quality sourced fish. The chef buys tuna and salmon in bulk and freshly cut them right inside the store, so that all Poke Bowl are served with delicious fishes.

The menu is simple, with 4 preset Poke menu, or the BYOB (Build-your-own-bowl) option. Each of the Poke comes in either the regular size or snack size.

We have tasted their signature Poke Eats bowl, which is made of White Sushi Rice, Tuna, Maple Sesame Shoyu, Cucumber, Sweet Corn, Crab Salad. We must say this is probably the most declious poke bowl we have tasted, the tuna is very fresh and delicious and all the ingredients mixed well to made for a good medley. The portion of fish is also very generous and for the regular bowl, you will get a full and satisfying meal. Also, all the bowls already include garnishes and soy sauce, so you don’t risk adding too much soy sauce to the bowl and make the bowl too salty.

We have also tried the build-you-own-bowl, where you can choose the base (rice), meat (fish), sauce, 3 toppings, and garnishes. The spicy mayo is very refreshing is very fresh blends in well, unlike other spicy mayo we have tasted which usually overpower other ingredients.

Overall we are very impressed with Poke Eats and will definite come back to satifisfied with the...