Pokito

420 Queen St W,
Toronto, ON M5V 2A7

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About the Restaurant

Torontoโ€™s poke craze is in full swing, with over half a dozen shops specializing in the Hawaiian style seafood bowls surfacing in the past several months. Pokito on Queen West has joined the mix, but with a spin meant to differentiate their product from the crowd. They offer a diversity of regional flavour profiles, as well as cooked and raw proteins for their rice bowls and sushi burritos.

In the most traditional sense, Hawaiian poke is a mixture of marinated seafood, often served out of Dixie cups and Tupperware containers at everything from gas stations to bodegas throughout the central pacific islands. Sam Choy and Alan Wong, the venerable godfathers of poke globalized the dish, bringing it to California where it became more of a deconstructed sushi bowl, with rice as the base.

 

(IMAGE: JASON โ€‹FINESTONE)

Now, as the poke wave spreads it has diversified both in where and how itโ€™s served. Pokito owners Roxanne Tsui (of SenSu Communications, the multicultural communications firm that helped ChaTime grow from one to 20 locations across the GTA), alongside Brian Siu-Chong and Allen Tan (Me.n.u Food Truck), and their other three partners, are incorporating Hawaiian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Mexican, Indonesian flavours and more into their creations.

โ€œWe donโ€™t want to be Hawaiian poke, or be in the shadows of California,โ€ Tsui contends. โ€œPoke is all about balance โ€“ balance of textures, flavours, even colours.โ€

 

Pokito
(IMAGE: JASON โ€‹FINESTONE)

Pokito features six signature bowls, served over a choice of seasoned sushi rice, toothsome brown rice, mixed greens or soba noodles. There are classics like The 420 ($14.95 bowl, $15.95 burrito) with Ocean Wise approved yellowfin tuna and BC salmon, ponzu lime sauce, sweet onion cucumber and Hawaiian guacamole with mango and pineapple. From the same category: The Classic Tuna ($13.95/$14.95) features pokito classic sauce made with shoyu and sesame oil, sweet onion cucumber and kikurage.

 

Pokito
(IMAGE: JASON โ€‹FINESTONE)

More unusual takes like the SSSScallops ($12.95/$13.95) feature small, sweet, cooked bay scallops, a sweet, sour and spicy sauce with hints of Mexican flavours, edamame, sweet onion and pineapple chow, a Guyanese specialty mixed with hot peppers, cilantro and garlic.

Thai Coconut Shrimp ($12.95/$13.95) see curry cooked shrimp with a Thai coconut sauce, green papaya and jicama for acidity and crunch, and lemongrass garlic shrimp. When rolled into a burrito, green lettuce, purple cabbage, crab salad, tamago and white & black sesame seeds are added automatically.

Each base can be combined with two additional toppings like seaweed or crab salad, Indonesian acar (pickled cucumber), tamago (sweet Japanaese egg), mandarin oranges and lemongrass garlic corn. Freebies like taro chips, crispy onions, tobiko and avocado wasabi cream can add texture, depth and punch to your Pokito creation.

โ€œI think it shows Torontoโ€™s acceptance of diverse flavours,โ€ says Tsui.

Snacks like poke balls with seaweed salad ($7.99), are inspired by Me.n.uโ€™s Taiwanese rice balls, but take on more of an onigiri element. Theyโ€™re working on developing some Filipino snacks as well.

Desserts are designed around the popular Disney World snack, Dole Whip โ€“ a pineapple flavoured soft serve ($3.50), which can also take the form of a float ($4.99), for added nostalgia.

Published: Nov 15, 2016