Honi Poke Fenchurch — Restaurant in London

First of all, I'm stokéd that I can get my poké (see what I did there!!) This stuff really seems to have become popular very quickly. It's like there's this new 'wave' of Hawaiian cuisine and I want to [insert surfing pun here]. I've tried it from a couple of other places but today was my first visit to Honi Poké.

The selection is quite wide; they offer pre-set menu options or you can build your own which offers a lot of scope for customisation. I went for the Ahi house bowl and then pimped that with a generous scoop of mushed avocado for an extra pound, and some Sriracha mayo. It tasted very fresh, and the flavours were oké(!) but I was expecting bigger / bolder from some of the components (the pickled cucumber, for example, was very watery and there was only a mere suggestion that it had ever been anywhere near vinegar). Had I not added the avocado, the whole dish would have been a bit on the bland side. The portion size, however, was decent... but gotta say one thing though, my main hang-up. Not a fan of warm rice with raw fish. Maybe it's just me, but it seems a bit suspish. It would be nice to have an option...

Portions are actually comical and the extra £2 for things like seaweed salad that are a standard side at other poki places is a bit much. That being said, inflation is real and portions for lunch places have shrunk across the City. However, what puzzled me today was the fact that the build your own selection comes at a £1 surcharge - unclear what benefits you get with build your own but in any event after building my own and skimming the menu I realized that I had inadvertently just created one of their existing options. When I queried if this was the case it was confirmed. However, when I requested to just be rung up at the existing option rate given, in their own words this is what I had made, they said that as I selected “build my own, it was my fault and I should pay the higher rate.” It’s not really about the £1, it’s more the principal of it and the extreme rudeness of the staff. In any event when pushed they did ring it up at the lower rate. Poor attitude of staff combined with a lunch that left me needing to snack later, means that I doubt I’ll return. A shame as it used to be a decent option a...

I was surprised to see a poki chain in London that seems to be highly rated. I didn't have high expectations going in, as I wasn't sure what to think about how poki in London would be. I was pleasantly surprised that this place was actually pretty good. When I was looking at the salmon and tuna while in line, I became more skeptic because they looked a bit dry behind the glass, but the sauces really brought the moisture back. The only thing is that I wish I didn't get soy sauce on my rice since I got other sauces on the fish, so my bowl turned out a bit saltier than I like.

Your opinion on Honi Poke is going to be dependent on your previous experiences with poki. If you've had plenty of good and fresh poki, Honi Poke is gonna be average. But I still think it's worth checking out if you're craving poki...