Red bowl — Restaurant in Jacksonville

It takes a lot for me and my spouse to take the time out of our day to negatively review a business. We do not like it. I struggle with it, since reviews might take away from another family’s bread and make somebody’s life harder. So typically, I posture my review to serve as a recommendation for the owners (who should ultimately look out for their employees and bottom line), instead of a simple negative and bashful review that aims to deter prospective shoppers from future income.

Expectation: As the name and the advertisements suggest we expected a Poke oriented restaurant. We were wrong. In the 45 minutes we were there, they had 6 customers, all bought Hibachi. We sat near the cash register, so I could hear what was being ordered. We bought 2x Poke bowls and was immediately disappointed as they didn’t build the bowls in front of you. After leaving the restaurant, I can confidently say they are NOT capable of providing a fresh, presentable and delicious Poke experience. It would serve the restaurant better if it markets itself as a Hibachi or just oriental take-out spot vice a Poke spot.

Poke: Ratio of rice to vegetables, meat and toppings were unfathomable. It was more like rice bowl with a little part of toppings. Requested Jalapeños as a step 2, received literally 3 tiny rings of green Jalapeño. Added 0 flavor or value to my bowl. Spicy tuna was not fresh, and it didn’t even taste like tuna. Sriracha sauce is not even spicy. What? You get the rest! I think they can do better if they get a Chef consultant to come out, train their team on menu and delivery of the meals being offered. $32 is a lot of money for a risky food like uncooked fish. Restaurant needs to immediately take action.

Costumer service and communication are more atrocious than the Poke quality. I do not intend to go back to this restaurant, but as I mentioned in the beginning this review is meant more for the owners than prospective shoppers. Thank you...

Wednesday August 23, 2023 - 1:45 pm

Selection of Food - Build A Bowl Size - Regular Base - Kelp Noodles - Paid additional price of $1.50 Protein Selected - Steamed Shrimp & Spicy Tuna Mix In - Avocado - Paid additional $1.00 Mix In - Cucumber, Red Onion Mix In Seaweed Salad - Paid additional $1.00 Pick Sauce - none selected Requested Chili Oil - Paid Additional $0.50 Toppings - Tempura Flakes, Crispy Onion Japanese Egg - Tomago - Paid additional $3.00

Bowl Presentation - Beautiful Spicy Tuna - Tasted did not like Japanese Egg - Tasted did not like Over all - Bowl was not worth what I paid for it.

Then during my order I asked could I purchase and pay for 1 of the larger cups at the register because even though we were dining inside, I said I would like to take the rest of my Ginger ale Beverage to go, it is HOTT outside.

The young lady at the Register said the Owner told her that as a Customer I can't even pay for the cup, I can only drink out of the little small cup, because their Large Cups are discontinued.

So my co-worker and I spent about $65.00 total for both of our lunches, but could not pay for a Large cup for our drinks to go.

Unfortunately, I won't be going back, I understand now why during lunch time people were only getting to go orders and the restaurant was completely empty.

When a customer pays $65.00 combined for a work lunch and you won't Sell them a Large to go cup for a Beverage.

This...

The sign outside simply says "RED BOWL" with no real explanation as to what it means. Well, tonight, I decided to see what it was. For those who dont know, its a Japanese cuisine similar to Panda Express. Like Panda, you walk in and look up above at the menu, decide what you want, and order. UNLIKE Panda, you take a number and wait for your food to arrive at your table. Tonight, I ordered a "make your own 'poke' bowl" It was $10. You get to choose your own meats, grain, veggies, and sauce. It arrived without much wait and the presentation was excellent! The food was very cleanly arranged and cooked to perfection. The sauce was great, not overdone. I loved the accenting banana leaf that was rolled up to garnish my bowl. The meal was delicious and the price was right. This would have been 5 stars except that their music was HORRIBLE. It was too loud, it was obnoxious, and one of the rap songs that played dropped the F_Bomb a few times...I glanced over at my nephews in elementary school to see if they were listening to the lyrics...luckily, it didnt look like they noticed. Anyways, good food, good price point, good presentation, BAD music. Play some traditional Japanese music at a slightly lower volume and I'll give you your...