Poly Ave Polynesian Store

Quite neighborhood pantry, hidden plus Polynesian tresure.The food gives you an idea of how Polynesian food culture is built. Taro for me is a flavor in desert treats. And sweet drinks, as part of the Polynesian peoples menu. Its like the casavas big brother, and it makes a potato feel like eating lettuce. Its starchy chewy and dense. Served with a savory salty coconut sauce i can see how it became the staple of the islands. Turkey tail, nice meaty bites roasted in good flavor tangy sweet a and savoey. I equally enjoyed it. I ordered the chop sui as a secondary choice. And its amazing to see how that siah changes between groups. Thus ibe is prepared with stir-fried glass noodles so its a treat to the normally wheat based egg noodle in chinese food. I got a side of palusami, and it was the best greens i ever had!. My wife had the curry, and the chow main. Polynesian curry it was good. Had a warm spce and it had a lot of that good coconut flavor. All in all it was a good dinner extremely filling when paired to the taro root. Im gonna go back later to try their other dishes.

If Poly Ave didn't exist we would have to drive an hour and a half in traffic to Carson to get any Samoan food. God Bless this store! We visited the other day looking for a Samoan bible for my nephew. They had Mormon ones in stock and Pulotu said they were getting Catholic bibles soon. Couldn't leave without picking up some taro and noticed they had Samoan and Fijian taro. Went with the Fijian taro and face-timed my mom to pick the ones she wanted cause if we show up with bad taro we're going to be cursed out! They sell hot food items, the regular Samoan food supplies and some necklaces, shirts/ofus, etc. but it's mostly a food store. If you're looking to try Samoan food you can try it here, but I'd recommend going in and asking what they have for the day and what each dish is. I love oka, palusami and chop suey but not sure if they always have it available. Thank you Pulotu and crew for always showing love and making us laugh when we visit!

Fun Adventure! Hidden in an older, quiet neighborhood near historic downtown Riverside is a mom and pop gem. This is where the joyful Polynesian heart and soul resides: Poly Market, located on tiny Park Ave. Do not be intimidated to venture in. This unremarkable, rather cluttered, but very friendly, ethnic market drew us in because we had heard about its unique, small, hot food deli. Not to confuse you, but at one point it was known as Park Ave Polynesian Market. It is the same place, renamed and refocused. Disregard any reference to Mexican food that may appear on Yelp. That part of the menu has been discontinued.The owner, Lilo, brought to you directly from Samoa, made some changes a few years ago and is focusing only on his beloved foods from the South Pacific. His wife does the cooking/baking. They have been in business for about 8 years now.Not unlike Filipino turo-turo style food service, he offers a small selection of hot food items in steam trays. You point, he dishes it up into styrofoam to-go containers and provides plastic ware. There are only two small tables set up inside the market, so don't plan on fancy dining and bringing big parties. This is mostly take out.I am not sure exactly how he determines what to charge, because he simply asked, "How much do you want?" Uh...one serving, I guess. Whatever that is. He dished out some food, then said, "Is this enough?"I came for the Turkey Tails. I ended up with 5 plump ones in a its own juices. If you are unfamiliar with this elusive delicacy, also cleverly known as The Pope's Nose, these are the little triangular stumps of tailbone, with fat and meat attached, from the turkey's hiney. Yes! And when cooked right, they are gems of flavor. This was a braised version and very tender. Add to that what was called "Chop Suey" (aka Sapa Sui). This is unlike the Chinese version with egg noodle, more similar to a Filipino pancit bihon, made with a clear, glass noodle and stir fried meat and vegetables. Delicious.Braised lamb ribs. They are not easy to find. His are meaty, simple and tender. These were slow cooked in their own juices and seasoned simply to let the lamb flavor shine. His lamb products are from New Zealand.Curry. This is a very delicate, creamy, curry gravy with meat (lamb) chunks and a few vegetables. Very tasty, not at all hot/spicy. Meat pie. This was my absolute favorite! They are big, round, 4" diameter hand pies filled with meat filling. Today's were filled with beef and vegetable. The outer pastry was incredibly delicate and flaky; it simply melted in my mouth. I do not need to look elsewhere for better. This is it! They make them in-house and bake daily. They are served warm.Pineapple pie. This is another hand pie, bigger than your hand, shaped like a huge half moon, but with a thickened, crushed pineapple filling. Freshly baked and served warm, the pastry crust tastes more cookie-like. They are not overly sweet. We were not as excited by these, too much dough, very little pineapple.Sodas and other beverages are retrieved by you, the customer, from commercial refrigerators. If you look closely, you will find one shelf containing cold bottles of Guava sparkling beverage and Ginger Beer (both are Bundaberg brand imported from Australia). A must try!And if we get lucky, Lilo mentioned that he sometimes cooks outside in front. He was referring to bbq'ing Huli huli chicken and roast pig... but not until the weather cools down. It's a lot of work, but he said, when he has done that in the past, the lines of people ran down the street. We can only hope he considers doing that again! His future plans also include adding a few more tables inside so he can start serving an American-style breakfast.For now, the remainder of the store is full of metal racks. The shelves are filled with canned meats, dry noodles, and other imported ingredients that are typical for Polynesian cuisine. You will also discover small racks of Polynesian jewelry, plumeria and hibiscus hair ornaments, and other trinkets. In a small, back room slightly larger than a closet, there is more. Colorful Polynesian style clothing, more imported products, and two large freezers filled with bulk bags of frozen meats and fish. Yes, even bulky bags full of those elusive turkey tails! I really enjoyed listening to his background music, such as Hawaiian favorites sung by Iz and Don Ho. Very nostalgic.I look forward to returning!Note: Days open on their Yelp page are incorrect at the time of this writing. They are closed on Sunday and Monday.

The name is a bit misleading. I didn't see Mexican food in here, just Samoan food. Located off Park Ave right beside Tillman Riverside Mortuary. Parking is along the street amd I had to park 5 cars away.The prices are pretty good. I got the tilapia w Taro and banana, and a 3 item w Sapa Sui (noodles), corned beef, and the sausage w Taro and banana. And I also got the oka and palu sami on the side.The noodles were good, very nicely seasoned and they use muli pipi in it. Corned beef was a wee bit fatty. Tilapia fish was very fresh and seasoned nicely. Pairs well w the Taro and banana. Palu Sami was good, nicely seasoned w coconut creamOverall food was good. Location inside is a bit small and there is nowhere to sit but they sell Polynesian flags, bracelets, hair accessories, misc souvenirs, and kukui necklaces. Try them out if you're craving samoan food!!

What a hidden gem in a nondescript suburban neighborhood! Super friendly service, wonderful variety of dishes to try and some fun grocery store gems. There is only a small table with two chairs inside so food is best taken to-go, but worth the stop. I loved the lamb bun, lamb curry, pineapple pie (not too sweet and HUGE), turkey tail, coconut cream taro and lamb that was cooked like a pork belly which gave it such a good crisp.

This is my second time here and I like the way they've changed the inside, there's a couple tables to sit down and eat and it looks nicer than it was. The food is good like really good!! Everything that I've ordered has been tasty- just right. The only things that I forgot about was to order the meat pies that I heard are really good there. So I'll have to go back in try that..

Great place if you need a quick fix of Samoan food. They even have Hawaiian Sun fruit juice! Great service from the couple that was there, Very friendly and helpful. We're not from the area but it is a great find.

Food here is so good!!!!!I live near by and the people there are so nice.Very polite all the time

The food needs work. The oak literally is may and fish. Half moon pies are deflated; I had to ask the girl what those were. The people are nice just their food really needs work, nice try though.

Terrible customer service!!! In February I put in an order for May, and was notified the day before my event that they ran out! Very inconvenient!!!