Hoke Poke — Restaurant in Virginia

Visited on opening weekend, so maybe it was that, but the complaints I have with the place aren’t all the sort that will be solved with time.

Food was ok. Fiancé had a few gristly pieces in his poke, but I had a different fish and mine was cut fine. The rice texture could be better, and I had a couple uncooked kernels in mine that really turned me off of that part of the bowl.

selection for toppings was wide and the options were fresh. Portion size for the bowl was reasonable for the price, but portions for the toppings were not great. I received very little mango, the avocado tasted like it was cut with something else, and the wasabi paste was—no other way to say it—just a little off.

My main qualms with the place have to do with staff. A little training on ingredients for the line and customer service for management could go a long way. I’m not one to take a lot of time in a fast casual line asking questions, but no one could tell me what “bamboo rice,” was, and my question about trying 2 different poke meats went un answered. However, one guy toward the end of the line really seemed to know what he was doing, and we were served with speed and friendliness by most everyone.

A woman who seemed like the manager/franchisee (she was the only one working the floor, talking to a big group of her friends, and clearing tables/monitoring the line) somehow managed to leave half the tables in the place dirty when she went back behind the line and spoke to none of her customers (except the one party that she clearly already knew). This was the biggest disappointment, as I could have shared many of my issues with this place with her if she had seemed the slightest bit approachable or or she, like any other restauranteur on opening weekend had approached any of her customers for feedback.

Overall, there are a few other options for poke in Richmond, and even more on the horizon; I’ll gladly...

This was possibly one of the most awkward experiences I've had in a restaurant. We showed up at 7:30 and we're told they only had Tuna, Hawaiian Tuna, and shrimp because they close at 8. (The closing time was missing from the door.) Okay I got there with 30 minutes to close and assured the girl working I would be speedy. She looked annoyed that we dare bother her with our business. We go our food and she told us to leave our trash on the table because she had already changed the trashcan Liners. The food was fine but then she started talking to another employee who was I guess off and sitting in the corner playing with her hair and talking to the one still on duty from across the room so we could hear everything they said. They we're very negative about their employment. Then we get ready to leave at 7:48 and we're leaving our trash behind when the off duty girlg get clearly annoyed and asks us if we are going to leave our trash. Then we started gathering our trash and of course there are no trash cans. So the one duty girl told us to leave them while off duty girl just rolled her eyes at us. Needless to say we won't be back and I hope they fine better employees because this is a doomed endeavor. I'll call the store Monday and be sure and share my experience with the manager and I'll send a note. This really let me down because...

Hoke Poke is a must go for all poke bowl enthusiasts in Central VA. The restaurant chain originated in Los Angeles and Richmond is their first east coast location (go RVA!). The space is well lit with cool LED light fixtures and has an overall industrial chic vibe.

Upon first entering the space, they have menus displayed on the wall but are also happy to give you a print out of the menu upon request (check out my pic!). They have a variety of chef signature bowls with preselected ingredients or you can build your own bowl. Sizes offered are small or large. My recommendation would be to go with one of the signature chef bowls on your first visit as it can be a bit tricky to make sure you get the flavors just right with the different sauces as there are lots of options.

So far, I've tried both the Cali Classic and the Salmon Mango Tango bowl. I have always gotten the small size as I think it provides more than enough food for a meal so I'm a bit surprised to see some feedback on the portion sizes being too small. The Salmon Mango Tango is my new go to and I absolutely love the balance of sweet and spicy. The fish is super fresh and all of the flavors are delicious. I can't wait to go back!! I also love the boba tea options and the lavender lemonade.

I only wish we had a location closer to near west end or downtown...