Poke Guru — Restaurant in Indianapolis

Review: Poke Guru - My New BFF!

As a new vegetarian (six months strong!), I'm committed to making better food choices. I'm about 90-100% vegetarian, but the day I ordered from Poke Guru, I was 100% in. I craved fresh veggies because I was under the weather and not in the mood to cook. This was my first time trying Poke Guru, and it definitely won't be my last—this place and I are now BFFs (shhh, they don’t know yet!).

First off, I have to mention the adorable bag my food arrived in. I don’t know why, but I still have it folded like a prized souvenir, LOL.

I was excited to try their Yum Yum Potatoes and opted for the Build Your Own Bowl (BYOB). I'm so glad I did! I loaded it with everything I love and even some ingredients I wanted to try for the first time. The best part? I chose nine sauces—yes, nine! They arrived in separate little containers, and I couldn’t have been happier. These folks really are gurus!

The potato appetizer was absolutely delish—10/10 on taste, 10/10 on quantity (although I wish I had six more potatoes because I devoured them so quickly, haha!). On price, I'd give it a 7/10. I ordered through DoorDash, so I understand the cost was a bit higher, but I’d expect to pay around $6 for the appetizer if I ordered directly.

Now, onto the bowl. This is where the gurus truly worked their magic. The ingredients were FRESHAAHH(yes, I said freshaahh to emphasize just how fresh everything was). I saved my bowl to eat later since I wasn’t feeling my best, and I was thrilled to find that even after 5-6 hours, the crispy wontons were still crispy-ish. That was a pleasant surprise.

I didn’t realize that everything was layered on specific sides, so I discovered the wasabi peas and fruit when I returned for my third small serving. The tofu—well, it didn’t stand out too much. I chose fried and basic tofu for my proteins, but they didn’t add much to the bowl. Still, they were a decent protein choice.

I appreciate Poke Guru's commitment to sustainability, including its eco-friendly packaging and cutlery. It's great to support a place mindful of its environmental impact.

In the end, I may or may not have licked the potato box, and I’m definitely adding non-hot wasabi peas to more of my vegetarian dishes. I’ll be back at Poke Guru for sure! Now that I know what I want (and don’t want) in my BYOB, I’ll stick with my top 4-6 sauces next time.

Y’all need to go check out my new friends...

The Sauce-kipade

Picture this: you’re sent to the store to gather the ingredients for a delicious salad. You come back with everything except the dressing. Is it still a salad? Technically, yes. Is it one you want to eat? Not unless you’re into damp disappointment and dry leaves.

That’s how my experience at Poke Guru felt—dry, underwhelming, and missing the magic: the sauce.

After a solid 5K run and feeling virtuous, I treated myself to a poke bowl loaded with all the fixings and even threw in a tip—despite it being a carryout order—because I believe in good karma. But once I met up with my friends and opened my bowl, it became clear: the sauce I’d ordered (and paid for) was missing.

No big deal—I politely went back to ask for it. What followed, however, was a case study in how not to handle customer service. One employee literally turned away mid-conversation, and the other (a young guy who seemed more focused on asserting dominance than helping) flatly told me I’d have to pay for it. No, “Oh shoot, did we forget that?” or “Let me check your order.” Just a cold, blunt response. I explained that I had indeed ordered sauce—and had tipped—and that I wasn’t trying to make a fuss, just wanted what I paid for.

Then came the cherry on top: he muttered under his breath, informed me they were out of the sauce I ordered (which explained the missing sauce), and with a smirk, turned away to work for on other orders for a few minutes, then, noticing I was still there, slapped a ladle of mayo-based something into a cup and slid it across the counter like I was asking for scraps.

At that point, I just wanted to leave with some semblance of dignity (and moisture for my arugula-fish-rice bowl), so I didn’t press further.

Mistakes happen. But the attitude, the lack of basic courtesy, and the general vibe? That’s what made this bowl hard to swallow. I rarely post negative reviews, but this one felt earned. If you roll the dice on this place, I hope they’re fully stocked and staffed by someone who at least pretends to...

Ordered through Uber eats and I am from out of town so my tastes may not apply to the local population. I may have ordered a weird flavor profile based off assumptions made on the context of California poke shops hence the 2 stars instead of 1. With that said, the biggest issue was that the salmon was so fishy I couldn't finish it. I ordered two bowls with their BOGO deal on uber so I order 4 different sauces (2 for each bowl) I thought they'd be on the bowl already but they were on the side so I'm not 100% sure which was which. I ordered ponzu paradise and seoulful kick for the salmon bowl I ordered and miso sesame with Sichuan mayo for the fried tofu bowl. I was only able to discern the miso sesame sauce, which all the sauces were thicker than I'm used to for poke but this sauce was pretty tasty. The rest were so similar in flavor profile I really couldn't say. I think I was given a wrong sauce instead of the ponzu paradise cause none of them were giving ponzu. If the sauces are made in house theyre made similar to American mayo or aoli cause they're more tangy\ sour than the mildly sweet and umami flavor you find in Japanese mayo which threw me off but like I said could be that it caters more to local taste buds. Sushi rice was mushy and just white rice no rice seasoning. Enjoyed the wasabi peas though it's not a common option for poke...