Bay Poke — Restaurant in Pasadena

Bay Poke is one of the newer poke shops to hit Pasadena, but I can see it staying for quite some time if they keep doing what they're doing. My friends and I wanted to grab something healthy for lunch on a weekday, but we didn't want to go to the poke places we normally frequent. We decided to give Bay Poke a try - and we were all pretty happy that we did.

Bay Poke is located in the same plaza as Vons - parking can get super hectic if you come during the busy lunch rush, but luckily you can park at Vons if you plan to do some shopping afterwards. There are a good number of tables inside the restaurant, but there's also some tables outside if you want some fresh air.

So what makes Bay Poke stand out among other poke places is their variety of toppings and the fact that they offer pineapple dole whip as a dessert.

There's only 2 sizes: regular ($9.95 with three scoops of protein) and large ($12.95 with five scoops). The portions are pretty big, so if you're not a big eater - a regular should be more than enough. Base is the normal white or brown rice or a spring mix. You can also choose to do half and half if you wish. They have a variety of raw and cooked protein (which you can then choose to mix with sweet onion and cucumber). Then add the sauces (they definitely have more sauces than other poke places), sides (extra for avocado), wet and dry toppings, before topping it off with a drizzle.

Of course my poke bowl always looks crazy full compared to my friends' after we're done ordering. I like to max out on toppings, so I almost always try everything.

I concocted my poke bowl to be quite unique - salmon and octopus, scoops of pineapple, corn, cilantro, etc. I do think that since the food is served in a bowl, you don't get as much compared to it being served in a box. Having it in a bowl also makes it harder to eat since you can't really mix everything up if you're eating it at the store; however, I did enjoy the bowl, especially with the ponzu sauce - tangy and not too salty, which went well with the fish. Salmon was super fresh and cut in fairly big chunks. Octopus was not too chewy either, which I appreciated. I like that they have pineapple and mandarin orange as choices for toppings - both are quite interesting, although I stayed away from the orange. Sometimes bowls are not sauced enough, so the drizzle at the end definitely helped with flavor.

Wish I had enough appetite for the pineapple dole whip, but I was pretty full. Workers were fairly efficient and friendly, but I felt like they rushed us in picking our toppings because of the line.

tl;dr - I would come back to Bay Poke if I ever get a craving for poke in the near future. I probably wouldn't eat the food in-store though, and opt for taking it home where I can shake up the ingredients instead of eating it out of that compact paper bowl. Prices are a bit higher than other poke places, but overall - you do get your...

Bay Poke is one my favorite poke places in LA. The quality and portion sides do not disappoint. The poke bowls are customizable and you can make it unique. There are also a variety of toppings you can add to your bowl. The one topping that they have here that other places might not have are mandarin oranges. I personally love mandarin oranges and I get it in my bowl to get some extra sweetness. The only con for this poke place is that they recently increased their prices and made adjustments to their bowl...

Bowls have gone down hill since then pandemic. Also, I used to order online for pick up even before covid on their website, but they took it down. Bummer. Now their prices go up, plates are small. And aren't well organized in terms of food portion and now its not as delectable to eat , it may be due to how small their bowls are.. Food is still fresh. They added a few new items like kimchi and some kind of potatoes? Its all good but I do go less now. Still, the service is good and it's nice and clean...