The first Poke Bowl restaurant in Israel opened at the end of 2016 in Tel Aviv – so Israelis have had eight years to get used to this very original way of getting their food.
For people raised on gefilte fish and chopped liver, poke (originating in Hawaii) is a very different kettle of fish. For starters, the fish is raw so it must be fresh. Accompanied by a variety of vegetables and salad, the dish is topped with a choice of sauces.
We visited the Netanya Poke restaurant recently and can report that it offers an authentic version of this rather revolutionary style of food. It’s located in Soho Mall which is full of more average food places, not all of them right.
Nothing fishy here: Going to the PokeShop
Whoever dreamed up the decoration did the place a disservice. It looks like a public lavatory with white tile walls, and a row of bare light bulbs above the counter. The crazy concrete floor did something to alleviate the darkness.
Sasha, who cooks from behind the counter, is multi-lingual and charming. He expertly filled our bowls with small chunks of raw salmon and tuna, some plain and some pickled, and added whatever we wanted.
The steps for building your poke bowl are listed on the wall. The first step is to choose your base, white or brown rice, quinoa or vermicelli. Besides fish, you can add a whole string of salad vegetables. We chose avocado, bean sprouts, tomato and cucumber, soy beans and red onion. Adding fish is step two (tofu can also be used), step three is the toppings, and step four is the sauce.
My companion decided to use the chopsticks provided as he was used to them – until he accidentally ended up with some of the food on the floor, that is. I used the provided fork and felt safer. Basically, as I wrote before, poke is like a large amount of sushi divided into its parts. And if you pour it in soy sauce, everything is delicious.
Benjamin Van Gelder, who made aliyah from Amsterdam in 2011, left hi-tech to open a chain of poke restaurants in Israel, which has had its ups and downs.
“It’s completely unknown so we have to prepare and educate the public about it,” said the young father of three. “We also had to adapt the idea to Israeli tastes and kashrut.”
Starting in November, he began visiting army bases and brought poke bowls for the soldiers.
“We’ll give out 250-300 bowls at a time and they’re always happy to see us,” Van Gelder said. “We asked the public to donate and the rest we sponsored ourselves. Next week we will do another run to a base in the North.
That’s a good reason to support this restaurant, apart from the excellent food. No alcohol unfortunately, but you get a high knowing that by eating here, you’re also supporting our awesome soldiers.
- PokeShop
- I am from 5, Netanya
- Tel. – 074-744-9044
- Tomorrow – Sunday.-Thursday. 11 am-10 pm
- Kashrut – Netanya Rabbinate
- Wheelchair accessible
The writer is a guest of the restaurant.
