Ono Poke - Edmonton

I ordered the spicy salmon bowl and found it to have some strange flavors. I didn't care for the combination of pineapple and red onion as it made the dish taste bitter. I would have preferred a different dish.

I recently had one of the worst meals in a long time at this restaurant. I ended up throwing away 90% of it. The salmon cut left a chewy outer part that was not enjoyable. I have had a lot of Poke in Hawaii and other places, and it has never been like this. Even at sushi restaurants, it is never like this. The seasoning was average at best, especially compared to what you can buy at a supermarket in Hawaii. The kimchi tasted strange, even though I usually love kimchi. The spam in the spam musubi also tasted off, despite having had great spam musubi at Da Kitchen in Maui. I will not be returning to this restaurant.

The poke bowls at this restaurant were extremely fresh. I tried the following: 1. OGG Atlantic Salmon with 'Ono's Ginger Green Onion Marinade, Edamame Beans, Spicy Seaweed Salad, Cucumber, Rice Cracker Chip, Green Onion, OGG Dressing for $15.95. It had a slightly fishy taste, but I didn't mind it at all! 2. Orange Masago Scallop Poke with Bay Scallops in Orange Masago Soy Aioli Marinade, Green Seaweed, Green Onion, Black Seaweed, Fried Onions for $15.95. This was only available at the Edmonton location, and I really enjoyed the texture of the scallop! The worker at the counter seemed to have a sarcastic attitude when taking the order, which I found quite amusing. The portions were on the smaller side, but I appreciate quality over quantity when it comes to sashimi, so it didn't bother me too much. Overall, I would love to return to try more poke options at this restaurant.

Poke blew up in our country sometime in the late 2010s and I 'm pretty sure that it 's here to stay. If you 're someone who loves sushi, poke manages to take that love and shoots it up into the stratosphere. Poke and sushi are not the same thing, one is from Hawaii and the other is from Japan, but there are some definite similarities. Namely, the raw fish. Gaining popularity in the 1970s, the main ingredient in poke is diced raw fish. The traditional version is a lot simpler than the modern bowls that we mainly see today I don 't even think that a rice base is a part of it, it 's just a pile of marinated fish . However, traditional poke seasonings have been heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine which is where lots of the same flavour profiles come from. At this point, poke has quickly become one of my favourite foods of all time and when I saw that VUE Weekly voted 'Ono Poke as the #1 Best Poke 2018 in Edmonton, I had to visit. Located Downtown on the very desirable 4th Street Promenade, 'Ono Poke sets itself apart from other poke shops by keeping things more traditional than most. Chef Lawrence Hui 's goal is to bring authentic Hawaiian poke to our city and it really shows in the dishes. 'Ono means delicious. The restaurant is a fast casual establishment, as most poke shops are, with the atmosphere of the space capturing the Hawaiian vibe quite successfully. Their logo outside is clear and unmistakable, while inside you 'll find funky light fixtures, paintings of Hawaiian islands, and a high airy ceiling in the dining area. Distressed wood with accents of turquoise easily channel the feeling of a surf shack. The restaurant feels laid back and comfortable, which is what you would imagine a Hawaiian poke shop preferably on the beach to be. Approaching the counter, you are met with several choices; Traditional Poke, Specialty Poke, and Hawaiian. I found the last section especially interesting because they are serving up Hawaiian dishes that aren 't poke as well, something that you 'll rarely see at other shops. Another interesting thing that I noticed is the fact that they don 't offer a build your own poke option like most other shops do. 'Ono Poke sticks to their own chef crafted recipes and they don 't want you messing with that. Respect. However, you are allowed to pick your base; furikake rice, brown rice, quinoa, or spring mix. Since this was my first official visit, I wanted to keep things as traditional and authentic as possible and chose the 'Ono Poke Ahi tuna in poke marinade, green seaweed, white onion, green onion, Asian slaw red cabbage, daikon radish, carrot , macadamia nuts, shoyu dressing $15.95 for regular size on Furikake white Rice. The restaurant 's namesake poke bowl has gotta be a solid choice. Bright and fresh, I was eager to dig in! I immediately noticed that my tuna was very cold. Not frozen, but only a few steps away. I 'm used to the fish in my poke being a lot closer to room temperature, so this caught me off guard. However, once the fish had a chance to shake off the chill I could really enjoy the flavourful marinate and nice quality of the tuna. The rice base was very good, with a nice stickiness to it. All of the vegetables were alive with colour and I especially loved the macadamia nuts a true Hawaiian ingredient. Everything tasted quite good, however I was looking for bigger, saucier flavours. While this poke bowl didn 't seem to have the same wow factor as I 've become accustomed to in other shops, I do feel that this version was likely a lot closer to what traditional Hawaiian poke is actually like. It 's more about the marinated raw fish and less about all of the extra bells and whistles. I really want to try the Uncle Thom 's Surf Poke, which looks a lot saucier, marinating ahi tuna in a spicy tobiko aioli. Maybe that 's what I was missing? Some spice? Their new California Poke which includes ahi tuna and pollock in a spicy aioli marinade sounds great t

We have travelled across town just to come here, as I really enjoy the experience. Fresh and tasty!