Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will not have missed the Hawaiian craze that has invaded London. Poke is a raw fish salad that conveniently fills the void in the marketplace for those who like the healthy eating lifestyle of a salad bar, but also something that is more flavoursome and substantial in terms of offering vital proteins and omega oils.
There has been a considerable number of poke bars launching throughout the capital in the last year. The latest is Honi Poke which has conveniently opened in central Soho, right opposite Soho Theatre on Dean Street.
The decor is simple bar the odd surfboard and is geared towards fast, casual dining or for people wishing to take away back to their offices. You can choose either their signature options such as the ahi poke or the honi poke or build your own poke based on picking your own protein, base, sauce, toppings and garnish.
The toppings are all freshly presented on the counter and their staff constructs the poke in front of you taking careful attention to explain the whole procedure to you and on hand to make helpful recommendations.
For beverages, they have an extensive selection of matching healthy options on offer. Taking pride of place are premium, cold-pressed, raw, unpasturised juices from Press. I tried their Greenhouse 1 option, which contained kale, spinach, celery, romaine, cucumber, apple and lemon. No doubt the ingredients were top-rated, but it did come across pricey at almost half the price of the poke.
We tried both of their main signature pokes. Whilst the portions of fish did seem marginally lower than rival poke bars, the salmon and tuna both came across as fatty, succulent and of a high quality. Also, they had to make way for a variety of other ingredients in the bowl. The ahi poke had melt-in-your-mouth avocado along with the classic ahi sauce which is soy sauce with sesame oil. Although the honi poke was the winner in our eyes (or mouths). It had exceptionally vibrant flavours, thanks to the exotic combination of salty mango, sunomono cucumber, nori seaweed, kimchi and chilli garlic sauce.
For those seeking a quick, healthy option during lunch or a speedy offering pre or post theatre, Honi Poke is the ideal choice to consider.
baldwin@townfish.com