Poke Tiki - Tarzana — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I have been coming to this place since the day they opened. Yesterday was the last straw. I shouldn’t buy a large bowl and be left completely hungry. I shouldn’t spend $20+ and be left hungry. This place has turned into a scam. What they call 4 scoops of fish is realistically maybe two scoops. The portion sizes are to small. They are not even smart enough to load the bowl with more rice which is the cheapest thing to at least fill people’s stomachs so they are not hungry. They upcharge on avocado mango. The staff and owner are absolutely not welcoming the energy in the place seems almost like a slave camp. No smiles no conversations no how are yous. The employees fear the owner because he instills in them this fear so they don’t actually give an appropriate amount of food. There’s no eye contact because they are really scamming you and they know it. Try asking for extra anything like some red onions. They will give you reluctantly an extra 3 strands of red onion while side eyeing making sure the owner doesn’t see. All of these things have just gotten worse over the years.

The owner has been this way since the day they opened he lacks knowledge about customer service and making sure the customer leaves happy. In the first few months this place opened I bit into a hard piece of plastic I knew they were new and didn’t want to hurt the business so instead of posting a negative review I talked to the owner and he said sorry and offered me 25% of my next meal when realistically the appropriate thing to do was comp my meal seeing as I hurt my tooth and could have sued.

Their only saving grace is that the quality and freshness is decent and it’s the closest place to my house which is why this is not a one star review.

Today I have decided I will not return. There’s no way this place lasts at this rate. Instead of working to make sure customers are happy he’s worried about his margins not realizing that if he took just slightly better care of the customer that he would have a more successful business.

I might revisit this place in the future and see if anything has changed and remove my review but like I said yesterday was...

I’ve been eating here at Poke Tiki consistently since it opened years ago. Mainly due to how close and convenient it is when visiting my parents.

The portions here are reasonable and will likely leave you sated. Ordering a large bowl let’s you choose 4 generous scoops of protein, medium 3, small 2 etc. I usually go with the large.

The quality of fish is decent, but I can think of an array of poke/sushi restaurants in the Valley with much better fish. My two favorites here are the tuna and albacore.

Poke Tiki has just the right amount of variety when it comes to their toppings. They’ve even been adding new ones over time. My hope is that they eventually add more sauces as they are quite limited and rather one-note.

Regarding pricing. A large bowl used to cost $16.95 and now costs $19.50. All other bowls has seen this $2.55 increase. Other Poke Tiki locations give you an extra scoop of protein (large - 5 scoops instead of 4), so I don’t see why the price has increased here yet you don’t get more protein?

The restaurant itself is small and a similar set up to a Chipotle or Subway. Due to Covid, there is is still no indoor dinning, only outdoor. Keep that in mind if you choose to eat there.

I’m still a huge fan of Poke Tiki and will continue to go here. The restaurants near it in this strip mall usually go out of business after 1 year, but Poke Tiki has managed to remain there for years, which is a testament to its consistency. I only wish they would add some more variety in sauces, more quality in fish and stop increasing prices, but that seems like...

We just tried our new neighbourhood poke spot and are happy to have a source of fresh and saucy fish bowls nearby! Keep in mind, this poke is not the classic, marinated, and simply sauced fish over rice. Instead, they scoop naked fish chunks that are all really tender and fresh tasting, drizzle on sauces, and then pile on toppings. Sometimes you do want a ton of choices and autonomy over your bowls, and that's exactly what you get at Poke Tiki. You choose from 4 bases, with the option of 1/2 and 1/2. You choose from 7 or 8 fish/seafood types, with the option of as many different types as scoops you get (3 or 5). You choose some or all their sauces, poured on top or on the side. You choose from over a dozen toppings, and one of each is totally fair game. And then you end with yet more sauce options--the bonus spicy volcano sauces! (I think you can skip the volcanoes--they don't add a lot if you already have sesame oil and spicy mayo in the mix)

Go crazy if you want a hyper-flavourful, texture-rich bowl of fish + STUFF... Or exercise some restraint if you want a more focused bowl. It's totally your call. A nice addition to Tarzana/the Valley, especially if you don't want to trek all the way to a beach...