Poke, a traditional Hawaiian dish that highlights the island’s fresh fish by serving it raw on top of a bowl of rice is similar to Japanese sushi. Poke, which means “cut piece” or “sliced” in Polynesian is most commonly made to feature small pieced of raw tuna. Last year the poke trend made its way to Ottawa. The newest poke restaurant, Paradise Poke on Bank Street offers the option to build your own poke bowls for a healthy lunch.
Open Monday to Saturday 11am – 5pm this lunch spot is perfect for vegans, or health-conscious dinners looking for a quick lunch or to eat solo. The small restaurant is just a long hallway, with a single long bench on one side of the restaurant with small tables and the counter directly across where you order your food.
Poke bowls are $13.95, and you can either select a signature bowl or make your own bowl for the same price. I opted for a bowl of salmon, spicy mayo, cucumber, crispy shallots, sesame seeds, edamame, pickled ginger, pickled daikon, and purple cabbage.
The fresh, raw bowl was packed with flavor due to the spicy mayo and pickled vegetables. I found the portion size to be massive and certainly would be plenty to keep you full until dinner.
Related: Enjoy A Smoothie Bowl At Raw Pulp And Grind
If you enjoy sushi or are looking for sushi flavours without the seaweed, poke is a dish you need to try.