North Shore Poke

THIS IS HONESTLY THE BEST POKE SPOT IN LA! I WENT HERE TODAY ON 8/8/19 AND ORDERED THE PIPELINE WAVE BOWL. I ASKED FOR IT TO BE A LITTLE SPICY AND IT WAS PERFECT.

PROS:
-Good amount of meat (not skimpy like other poke places)
-Flavor was amazing (savory, fresh, and the macadamia nuts gave a good crunch)
-Service was great (cashier and cook were very friendly and gave good recommendations)

If you're in the area you have to come here! You won't be disappointed

We love coming here! Hands down, this place serves the best poke in SoCal. It's the next best thing to getting it as fresh as you can in Hawaii. And they really stand by their motto.

The thing I love most about this place is they serve poke bowls the way they were meant to be served: with poke and rice. Other poke bowl places get all fancy and try to cheat out of getting fish by putting all these extra add-ons, that's it's not just a poke bowl anymore. North Shore Poke lets you choose if you want add-ons or premium add-ons, but they're really good at giving you a generous amount of rice with your fish.

Since I've been coming here, I've notice they serve less fish with the bowls, but they do give you the option to add more ounces. Kinda wish it was just straight 1/2 lb per bowl, but nonetheless, YOU CAN'T BEAT ITS FRESHNESS. That's one thing that other competitors don't have. I'm telling you, closest thing to getting poke Hawaii-fresh.

I came to eat poke not just a bowl of rice. This is probably one of the worst poke places I've ever encountered in my life. Sadly, a waste of stomach space.

The menu was extremely limited to 4 pre-set fixed signature dish options or you can build your own. I decided to build-my-own - medium bowl with salmon.

You're given the option of sizing from small (4oz for $9.99), medium (5oz for $10.99) or large (6oz for $11.99). Let's start off with the sizing issue. I'm use to poke places that gives you a variety of fish to choose from based on the size of the order, for instance, a medium would give you 3 fish and a large is probably like 5 fish. Here's the big difference as you're only allowed to pick just 1 FISH (Ahi Tuna, Salmon or Yellowtail (limited)). Granted you would expect more fish but that was not the case here. More than half my bowl was filled with rice and the sauce mixed in was barely enough and so the flavor was tasteless. I ended up adding additional soy sauce and hot sauce so I can enjoy my "RICE" bowl.

I definitely won't be back here. The salmon was distasteful and rice was proportionally ridiculous, almost 3/4 of the bowl! Where was the fish at?

With the growing number of poke places in Los Angeles, North Shore Poke Co lies near the bottom of the pack for me in terms of overall quality and taste.

My friend and I were in the area craving some poke so we found North Shore Poke Co because of the decent reviews. The set up is very similar to most other poke places. First you choose your size: small (3 scoops), regular (5 scoops), large (7 scoops). Next you choose a flavor which are all Hawaiian themed. Then you choose your fish (only salmon or tuna) or veggie. Finally you choose a base of white rice, brown rice, or cucumber. To top it all off they have a list of standard toppings.

I had ordered a large Off the Wall (ginger shoyu) on top of cucumbers with all of the toppings. The flavoring was okay if not a little heavy handed. My friend ordered their Kalihi Kine (spicy chili shoyu) and the workers warned that it was spicy. They did let us try it, but for whatever reason when it was made, it was a little bit too much. Personally, my biggest problem was that the cucumber base was practically non-existent with a very thin layer of cucumbers that barely holds up against the weight of the fish in their sauce. For customers who want a non-rice option or more of a salad, this is not the ideal spot to go.

There is plenty of parking in front of the restaurant. Although the food was just okay, the customer service was pretty good. The people at the register were very eager to help you out to get the right combination. Unfortunately, some of those taste tests did not translate.

Overall, North Shore Poke Co. has great customer service that is unfortunately left to a subpar poke place especially compared with the number of them that are now open.

Poke nachos are the best! I live in orange but we always come here just for the nachos

It's a yes for me!

The guy who typically works the cashier is so nice, helpful and patient. I always walk in and drool at the pictures on the menu for 10 minutes before I order.

I never know what to order because literally everything looks good so he talks me through the options like a therapist because I treat picking the right poke bowl like it's the most important decision in my life lol!

Fish is fresh but the salmon is the freshest of all options. Sauce on the Pipeline Wave Bowl has amazing flavor especially combined with the sweet onions and the crunch of the macadamia nut! I drove from Hollywood and I'll be back :)

It's acceptable, but not very interesting. Nothing wrong, but nothing really great either. Ingredients aren't laid out in front so you can't visually assemble things and have to imagine it instead. Relative to the price, the portions are on the smaller side.

Final product was alright, tasted fine and there wasn't anything wrong with it.

Frankly in this day and age of poke shops all over California, it doesn't meet the cut and you can do better.

North Shore Poke Co. is one of the original Poke restaurants in SoCal, with the original location in Huntington Beach. I haven't gotten the chance to try them, until now!

PARKING + AMBIENCE
Located in a big plaza, they're right next to 85 Bakery. The place isn't that big, but theres a good amount of tables including a bar style seating area. I came around 12 pm and waited in a smal line, it wasn't too busy.

FOOD
There are three size options, I got a medium poke bowl. They only have salmon and ahi tuna for fish, so I got a mix of both. They're based on the traditional style of poke, so there isn't a plethora of toppings here such as imitation crab. Original Hawaiian Poke is rice, fish, sauce, and a few toppings added.

I got the Spicy Teri sauce which is a mix of the spicy mayo and teriyaki sauce. I could definitely taste the two sauces in the mixture, it added an interesting flavor to the bowl. Avocado is one of their premium toppings ($1), but I got it free with the yelp check-in. The portions are good and they don't skim, I got a hefty amount of fish, cucumbers, and avocado in my bowl.

SERVICE
The cashier was friendly. The bowls are made in the back, with the cashier taking your customized bowl order at the front.

CONCLUSION
It was nice to finally try North Shore Poke. Although there wasn't a lot of toppings included, it was still a good meal at a reasonable price. It isn't my favorite poke place that I have tried, but it is certainly an authentic Poke experience with quality salmon and ahi tuna. If you're looking for some Poke in the Cerritos area, this is a good spot to pick.

I really liked this poke place due to the fact that the fish tasted fresh (no fishy odor or taste). I like the idea of customizing your own poke bowl. I will definitely be visiting this place sometime soon.

First time in a North Shore Poke Co. store.
The food/poke was good, tasty, acceptable, and I would go back for another try. Only reason it does not get the 5th Star is it did not WOW me as I have eaten at many places that make Poke bowls. I need to go a few times more before I can give it the 5th Star.

The staff was very helpful with their extensive knowledge of what and how of the Poke Bowl.

I definitely will return to a North Shore Poke Co.