Highlands Poke

My family stopped by Highlands Poke for an early dinner one weekday evening. I don't frequent poke shops too often, but that night, we were seeking something quick, healthy and wholesome. While I could have customized my own poke bowl, I was overwhelmed by the endless combinations, so I turned straight to their five specials. This included their Salmon Lover, All About Tuna and Garden Bowl, but I went for their Aloha Crunch which included three different proteins with a spicy kick. Their Alice's Special also sounded like a good combination that would be ideal for someone who prefers no spice. ALOHA CRUNCH ($16.99): A base of half brown rice and half spring mix came with tuna, salmon and octopus as the main proteins. Toppings included cucumber, onion, seaweed, small scoop of spicy crab salad, corn, masago, furikake and crispy onion. As a final touch, the bowl was drizzled with medium spicy sauce and Gochujang. I really enjoyed all the ingredients and everything tasted fresh. I rarely eat octopus, so while I preferred the tuna and salmon, it was nice to try something different. Between the creamy crab salad, crunch of the fried onions, pop of the sweet corn and crisp cucumbers, there was a variety of textures in the bowl and the combination of all the flavors complemented each other. The spicy sauces on top added just the right amount of heat for me. Also, other than the Garden Bowl, this was the only one without pickled ginger, so I really appreciated that. As for the portion size, I personally didn't have any complaints about mine. I felt there was a fair amount of fish and the split between greens and rice was perfect. Had the base been all rice, it would have been too heavy for my liking. However, my sister assembled a custom bowl (regular size for $13.99), and she felt that the scoops of fish were skimpy. We were the only customers around 4:30 PM on a Friday and a single employee manned the entire shop. While he was really efficient in creating our bowls, he pretty much just went through the motions with minimal conversation and expression. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here as maybe he was just feeling under the weather that day. Regardless, I could see myself returning again for another Aloha Crunch!

I actually really enjoy what seems to be a family establishment's poke- it's fresh and much more flavorful than the other chains. However the portion sizes do seem smaller, and they close at 8pm which I know is not unusual in a suburb, but the other poke places are open later. They're also now charging extra for additional items such as spicy vs regular crab salad which they did not do a few months ago- I understand needing to make a profit so I can't entirely fault them. I just wish the portions especially with the fish were slightly larger.

Good serving size with fresh fish! The 2 most important category for a poke shop, and this place has it :) I'm coming back again :)The seating area is limited but it's kept clean. Only 2 bigger tables and tall along window bar seating.

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. The good: lots of topping options with no markup (except avocado $1), fast and friendly service, ample parking. The not so good: the poke scoops are small and even the large with 3 scoops was on the lighter side. The fish is defrosted and sitting in liquid - it doesn't taste the freshest. The sauce was not very flavorful. I ordered half salad and it did not come with dressing. Too much focus on the imitation crab salad. Pricy for what you get at $17. One of the more underwhelming poke bowls I've had.

One of the better poke places in the area (and there are quite a few still). Prices are still reasonable for poke although inflation has hit them just as hard as all of the other restaurants. I really like the options at this place.

This is the best poke I've ever had. The fish is so fresh and they have a lot of options for protein and toppings. I rarely write a review for anything, but I had to today. I wish they were on Uber eats.

I unfortunately have to agree with another Yelper in the reviews - this was a miss for me. My husband and I have been to multiple poke places in this area and this was not on par with the other shops. The portion sizes did not justify the price (you could get a lot more and of the same quality at other shops, AND for cheaper) and the taste was just okay. My husband got brown rice and I got white rice for our bowls and both were dry and undercooked. As nice as it is to have a poke place in Issaquah, let alone the Highlands, we will not be returning.

Terrible service. Employees are rude & unwelcoming. This place is overpriced. They'll charge an extra dollar on top of the already high price for an extra scoop of crab salad. You can typically get as many scoops as you want everywhere else.

Great custom poke bowl. Protein amounts are pretty small but I'm seeing this more and more at poke restaurants. Ingredients were fresh.

Very good service, a little on the expensive side but the food was delicious. Would definitely recommend to friends or family!