Town & Country in Palo Alto is a hub of deliciously ethnic and unique restaurants. PokéLove, a Hawaiian poké bowl place, is no different. Its exceptional flavors and the freshness of the fish it serves is out of this world. Photo by Eliza Crowder.

By Eliza Crowder

I never thought I was a big raw fish person. Then I tried Poké Love.

Poké Love in Palo Alto is one of multiple new poké restaurants that seem to be popping up all over the place – and it is quickly becoming one my very favorites. There is good reason why this food trend is becoming so popular – the food itself and the concept of the dishes so unique and inventive. If you’re confused what I mean when I refer to a “Poké Bowl,” think of something like a deconstructed sushi roll placed into a bowl, but all the ingredients are mixed together. Poké bowls traditionally contain ahi poke (which is made of yellowfin tuna, rice, sesame oil, cabbage, soy sauce, green onions, and a few more ingredients. However, the options for what you can put in your bowl at PokéLove are much more plentiful than the traditional poké bowl. The toppings bar at PokéLove is jam-packed with fresh ingredients that you wouldn’t expect to taste good with raw fish but that compliment the flavors nicely.

When ordering your bowl, you have two options: either “Build your own bowl” or order from a menu of their recommended combinations.

Build your own bowl:

Your first task is to pick a base layer. The options include sushi rice, brown rice, organic quinoa, mixed greens, soba noodles, or rice noodles. Next you select your proteins. For a small bowl ($10.95), you can choose up two three protein options and for a large bowl ($13.95), you can choose up to five different protein options. Pretty much any type of seafood you can imagine is at your fingertips – ahi tuna, yellowfin tuna, salmon, scallops, shrimp, and occasionally octopus are all protein options. For those less inclined to eating raw fish, don’t fret! There is also chicken, tofu, and you can even request to have your salmon baked if you’d like. Step 3 is to choose your mix-ins. One of my favorite aspects of PokéLove is that you can choose as little or as many mix-ins as you want and the cost is the same! The mix-in options are very diverse, ranging from their famous pokéLove Slaw to jalapeños to avocado to bean sprouts to corn to edamame, and so many more.

In case you were wondering, here’s my go-to bowl: I start off with a base layer of steamy warm brown rice. Then comes my protein selection, usually consisting of salmon, ahi-tuna, and the “Poké Love Tuna Poké.” Next up is the mix-ins station. Because I’m never able to decide, I typically have them put just about every topping on – there is everything from edamame to tomatoes to bean sprouts to green onions and more. I top off my bowl with a douse of pineapple sesame miso dressing and the crab mix (similar to a cole-slaw but with crab in it). You can see my bowl in the image below on the bottom right hand corner.

The second way to order at Poké Love is choosing a bowl straight from their menu of recommended combinations. Some of my favorites include the “PLove Classic,” the “Soba Love,” and the “Sweet and Spicy.” For more details, check out their website (http://pokelove.com/menu/). 

PokéLove is an order-at-the-counter and bring your food to your table type of restaurant, but it can often take some time to get through the line due to the popularity of the restaurant and the carefulness of the employees constructing your dish. But don’t turn your back if there’s a small line – the wait is worth it I promise. So if you’re an adventurous eater and looking for something new and unique to try, PokéLove is perfect for you. You won’t be able to stop going after your first bowl!