If you follow San Francisco’s restaurant scene, you’ll know that poke, the classic Hawaiian appetizer that consists of marinated raw fish and a variety of accoutrements, is having a moment. In 2016, over nine poke joints opened in the city and today the craze is still holding strong. To get a taste of the fresh fish phenomena, we recommend heading to one of the following places.
The Ramen Bar
A few years ago, Michael Mina joined forces with Japanese chef Ken Tomonaga to open Pabu and its more casual sister spot, The Ramen Bar. It’s a fast casual take-out joint in the Financial District that offers three different kinds of poke—salmon, bigeye tuna, and Japanese octopus.
What to order: Why pick one type of fish when you can have all three? We love the poke trio bowl with salmon, tuna, octopus, avocado, cucumber, poke sauce, and spicy mayo.
Limu & Shoyu
The authentic flavors of Hawaii can be found at poke hot spot, Limu & Shoyu, on California and Divisadero. The owners of one of our favorite sustainable sushi spots, Tataki, jumped on the poke bandwagon when they opened it in Spring of 2016. Bowls come in small or large sizes and there are five poke options including a house marinated tofu for vegans. You can also build your own poke bowl by choosing a base, fish, sauce, and extras like scallions, Hawaiian seaweed, smelt fish roe, and cucumbers.
What to order: We’re partial for the tombo bowl. It has pole-caught albacore tuna, spicy miso aioli, white onions, scallions, limu, kukui nuts, and shredded nori.
Liholiho Yacht Club
Liholiho Yacht Club isn’t a restaurant devoted to poke—it’s an eatery where acclaimed and beloved chef Ravi Kapur cooks the food of his native Hawaii. One of the appetizers is a sensational poke that’s a must order when dining at the Tenderloin restaurant. Kapur’s entire menu is filled with scrumptious seafood dishes, so go for the poke, but stay for the manila clams in coconut curry, roasted octopus with castelvetrano olives and butterball potatoes, and the soft-shell crab and iceberg wedge salad.
What to order: the nori cracker with tuna poke, sesame oil, and radish.
‘Aina
‘Aina is another modern Hawaiian restaurant that’s located in the Dogpatch. Chef Jordan Keao started ‘Aina as a pop-up because he couldn’t find the cuisine of his childhood on the islands in SF. It developed a huge following and the team was able to open a brick and mortar that serves up well-known Hawaiian favorites like loco moco and spam musubi.
What to order: the poke is on the dinner menu and it consists of limu, inamona, ahi tuna, fresh heart of palm, smoked sesame oil, shies, and sea lettuce.
