Poke-Poke

Let me just say: I love sushi and poke. Rice, tuna..mmmmmm. I've been wanting to try this place for a hot minute, but don't come into San Antonio all that often these days, but I was meeting someone at Bass Pro and decided today was the day. When I walked in, I was greeted by...no one. The lone employee didn't acknowledge my existence at all. When he finished making the previous order (for the only occupied table in the place), he walked up to the register and said nothing. I initiated conversation asking how his day was going. This guy should have a talk show for the deaf. He's got the personality of a cardboard box. I asked how the menu worked and he just said "well, you just kind of pick what you want down the menu". Helpful. Once I landed on my choices, he rang me up and walked away, without even telling me the price. I took a seat and the wet rag of a worker brought me my "Big Ahi" bowl in a small paper boat. I was shocked at how small my serving was, especially given the $23 price tag!The poke was good, which is what earned the couple of stars I could muster, but I probably won't be back. Oh, and the place needs some music. Without any music, the "ambiance" (if you can call it that), was drowned out by the roar of the drink dispensers (which, by the way, had nothing but water in them). I don't see this place making it very long.

I don't see this place staying in business past it's first lease renewal.... Sad state because it could.We've needed a good Poke place around this area for a while. I had hoped our prayers had been answered but alas, such is not the case.Here's a quick rundown of my experience. The location is the old Which Wich space at the corner end of the Rim. It's narrow but clean. The counter top was high enough that you cannot watch your food being prepared. Staff looked like high-school /college age and appeared disinterested. They were in the back when my wife and I arrived, came out, all business to take order, no explanation of menu or ordering. Cook came out from back, made food in silence quickly, and disappeared back into the back.Menu: Very different from other poke places I've experienced... As was value for the money. There were somewhere around 8-10 "recipe" choices with no option for designing my own. Small ran 11-13 while Large ran 15-17. This isn't too far off from other Poke places I've visited around the state. Here's where things change from other places. ALL of the additional items were 0.50-2 dollar charges for each. Want some sliced mango? 50cents. Want a little avacado? 2 bucks... Pineapple, Seaweed Salad? We'll add it... For a charge. The food... My wife and I each ordered the mix (Ahi/Salmon) large "Aloha" recipe. What were received for our 16 each was a 4x6,brown cardboard french fry tray with a scoop of sushi rice and a some insanely spicy (I usually like spicy but this was pushing it) tuna and salmon (see picture for disappointment). Maybe 5 ounces total fish. The fish was definitely fresh.. That was the one redeeming factor. We sat and ate... My wife had to quit half way through as the spice level was too much... I managed but was chugging water. (NOTE: When taking pictures after eating, I did notice a cutting board full of Habanero peppers being prepped. It makes me wonder) During our meal, neither the counter girl or the cook made any appearance from the back. Nobody checked on us. Pretty sure we could have died or robbed the place and they would not have known. (I feel sorry for the owner /investors who are going to lose their shirts on this place.) Comparisons: I use Hana Poke in Corpus Christi as a good, solid measuring stick. ( https://www.hanapokecc.com/ ) They aren't the super duper best, they are a solid shop run by people who seem to care. Counter staff is always engaging, food is prepared where you can see it being made, you are consulted every step of the way, most extras are just part of the experience. (some items are extra but not many) and your order, around a similar price point, will feed you two meals. This experience was a definite disappointment. The food was alright but the sense of value for the money lacked a lot (I can do better at the HEB SUSHI section) ... as did, what they passed off for service. I had really high hopes to have a local poke place but it looks like I'm still going to be waiting.

The poke is decent here but seriously overpriced. The pricing on the menu is misleading and does not include the price of any fish, which you have to pay an additional $3 to $8 more for. In addition they barely include any rice and attempt to stuff it all into a tiny container so any premium add-ons are scimpy and take away from rice. (See pics of my $17 poke order)Other poke places in the NW area have bigger and better packaging for their poke and priced a tad lower. Also I want to point out I've had poke in Hawaii and in California, and there was much more rice than this and more protein options like scoops of spicy tuna or imitation crab. In fact you can get more value from HEB poke.

If you don't want to read my whole review: In short, this is as close to authentic, quality poke that you're going to get in San Antonio. Staff is kind and knowledgeable, the vibe is welcoming, and the extras (drinks/snacks) are unique and fun. If you've never had "real" poke, give it a try! Onto my big review:I feel so bad that I forgot to write this review after my husband and I visited! We came like two days after they opened so they didn't have everything set up, but these photos are what they had at the time along with some delicious poke. If you've been to Hawaii, you know that they do poke different than the inland states. Poke-Poke is the closest you're going to get to that authentic Hawaiian poke flavor and quality. We have been to the location in Austin many times so stuck with what we know and got the "O.G." -- it impresses every time. For me the sesame oil is strong by nature, so I personally add some soy sauce to even it out a tad (this is personal preference, NOT an issue with their recipe because my husband loves it as is!). It's straight up delicious. I remember the first time we came to the location in Austin I was looking for all those sauces you can get on the side (you know, all the sweet mayo-based things)... trust me when I say, this poke DOES NOT NEED any of that. Like I said, this is as close to authentic as you're going to get, so they don't need all the overwhelming extras. They're not trying to hide the flavor of the fish, they're using ingredients that let it shine and do its thing. The quality of fish they use is well above any random poke spot sprinkled around San Antonio. This isn't the type of spot where you go and get suspicious, dry looking tuna and salmon... this isn't your standard HEB quality bowl... it's above that, so it's a buck or two more than other places but we don't mind since it's a treat to eat out anyway. The employees working behind the counter were extremely kind and knowledgeable about the menu. Walking in they greeted us and talked us through the menu. After ordering we chatted with them for a bit and we got to hear about how their training focused on ensuring everything was consistent with the Austin location. They clearly took pride in their work as it represents the owner and the standard of the original spot. I always think it's awesome when a company AND its employees care that much about providing a consistent, quality experience. Great job on the hiring front as the employees made the atmosphere welcoming and enjoyable to talk to while our food was being prepared. Overall, if you're in the area (or seriously craving good poke in San Antonio), I highly suggest at least trying one time. As for me and my husband... we'll for sure be back.

Took forever to get my order, it was only one person working everything - the register and the orders, then when I received it, it was soo small. For the price, it was more of a snack size. Won't be going back.

Poke-poke-SA is Nextdoor to my Chiro. Been talking about going since it opened and we knew of the Austin location and have been to Hawaii multiple times so was looking for that Big Cahuna vibe. Also we use to frequent the former Which wich. Upon entering, establishment I find it is a bit sterile, no tangible greeting, staff member that took my order was cordial but that's as far as he went, looked like some corporate folk were there talking about types of food. Not friendly at all. I ordered 1 order of Big Jim with a double protein portion to go, no chips and tea. My bill with 15% tip (which I did out of habit), No table service other than handing me food over the counter, was $24. When I got home food was in a plastic quart contain with food all squish dumped. Not very presentable even for Togo food. I added garlic chili paste from home. The food was good. But not $24 good.I could have made the same with HEB ingredients and spent about $12-$15 total and had two to three portions.I will probably take the wife just to give it a second round but that'll be it.

Giving two stars because the fish tasted fresh and the texture was great, and you get larger chunks of fish in a portion than I thought, but both of ours had WAY too much salt and WAY too much sesame oil. Sesame oil is such a powerful flavor, it's really important for it to be in balance with the other ingredients and the lingering flavor you walk away with is sesame oil. I ordered the Big Jim recipe with two scoops of 50/50 tuna and salmon with cucumber, chili flakes, and kale. My wife ordered the Yowza Yuzu with two scoops of 50/50 tuna and salmon with cucumber. Despite ordering the "big" size, you can tell in the photo that the overall portion size is not great. Even so, the intensity of the saltiness made it hard to finish even though the portion was pretty small. We got combos as well, where each portion came with a small bag of chips and a drink, and the total came out to $50 before tip. Overall, I think it's not something I would try again, because $50 is a lot to pay for something that's hard to finish. The service was good though, and the cashiers were attentive.

the poke was good but would probably not go again simply because it's overpriced for what it is.The "big" portion is actually quite small.It was good but there's definitely better poke places in the area with a more reasonable price

Too over priced for little food. Canned iced tea also had plenty of dirt on rim. Tables were dirty

Take me to the island!! This poke was made to order fresh! So good! The vibes were great and the customer service even better! Will be back!