goPoke
Recommended by: We discovered that the owner of Dochi is the brother of the owner of goPoke down a few blocks. We really enjoy the poke there, so it’s time for a revisit and review.
Description on the goPoke’s website: Authentic Hawaiian Poke and Desserts.
Neighborhood/Type: ID (International District)
Address:625 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
What we ate/drank: 12th Man Bowl – Salmon, spicy aioli ahi, spicy aioli salmon, fried garlic, edamame, ocean saled, ginger, krab salad, cucumber. Aloha Bowl – Sweet sirracheeahi, shoyu shaka ahi, mango salmon. Classic Salmon, spicy ahi bowl
Comments: goPoke opened in late 2016 right in the middle of the Seattle poke craze where poke places were popping up like mushrooms. We briefly mentioned the saturation of poke places in our Stop N Shop Poke post. Many poke places have since closed up shop. We also predicted that the only poke places that would survive will be the ones who emphasize quality and customer service and goPoke has both.
Poke in Hawaiian means “to cut/to slice” and is a Hawaiian dish of raw fish cut into cubes and typically marinated in soy sauce, green onion and sesame oil. At goPoke they have pre-designed bowls or you can create your own bowl. Like most poke places they have a Subway/Chipoltle model of picking your ingredients until your bowl is completed with your choices of rice, poke and toppings.
They make a concerted effort to keep line moving fast, but will allow you to sample the poke if you can’t make up your mind. That’s a nice touch.
Depending on how many choices of poke you choose for your bowl – 1, 2 or 3 are priced at $11, $13, $15 respectively. You might be thinking this is a little on the high side for poke. We agree, but the generous portions, various poke choices and quality fish definitely make the few extra bucks justified in our mind.
There’s also something comforting knowing that the owners originated from Hawaii and that they pretty much survived as a family selling poke there. So they must know what they’re doing. I encourage you to read this Seattle Met article that provides some background into the family history of the owners. Their father was a Ahi tuna fisherman and the children sold fish door to door. Their mother created and refined a poke recipe and they sold it at flea markets and small local shops.
A lot of poke places seem like they were opened as an afterthought. Like “Poke seems easy enough. I’ll open a poke place!” goPoke seems like a real sustainable business. It feels like real thought was put into goPoke. The ingredients are quality(that’s obvious), it’s always clean, there’s a Hawaiian theme(shaved ice w/li hing mui powder, Dole whip, keiki menu, Hawaiian Sun, span musubi), their assembly line process is efficient, the space is big, updated and airy for being in the ID(International District).
A true indication of a good business is the mood of the employees. They seem to be hard working, but genuinely happy to be working there and friendly.
We’re pretty certain that you won’t see anymore poke places reviewed here. Unless some new outlier brings something totally fresh to the poke Seattle landscape, goPoke, Stop N Shop Poke and Seattle Fish Guys are our defacto poke places in Seattle.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.50
Overall: 4.65
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
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- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
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