Pokito : Toronto, Ontario

Name: Pokito
Address: 420 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON L6G 1B3, Toronto, ON M5V 2A7, Canada
Website: Website
Wifi: Yes
Tender: Debit, Credit, Cash
Neighbourhood: Queen West, Toronto
Type: Poké/Sushi Burrito

Pokito is located in Toronto’s Queen West neighborhood just at the intersection of Queen Street West and Spadina. Focusing on two of the hottest food trends to hit Toronto right now Pokito serves up both poké bowls and sushi burritos.

The interior is clean and minimalistic. White subway tiles, natural woods, concrete, and pops of teal fill the interior of the space which seats around 25-35 people.

The menu consists of option to either order one of their signature dishes or to create your own dish. Both options can be ordered as either a poké bowl or a sushi burrito.

There are six signature choices to choose from. Three of the signature dishes use raw sashimi as the feature protein while the remaining three consist of cooked proteins for those who prefer to not have it raw. Each poké bowl has the option of using either white Japanese rice, brown rice, mixed salad, or soba noodles as their base. Sushi burritos are constructed with white rice and seaweed with fillings only. Signature dish options include:

The 420: Consists of chopped pieces of sashimi grade salmon and tuna, ponzu line sauce, sweet onions, cucumbers, and Hawaiian Guacamole.  This was my favorite of the signature dishes and we tried ours with a base of white Japanese rice. The sashimi pieces were diced into thick, fleshy cubes and mix of ponzu, sweet onions, cucumbers, and Hawaiin guacamole blended well together.

Spicy Salmon: Chopped salmon sashimi is mixed with spicy mayo sauce, sweet onions, edamame, and seaweed salad. Another hit for me, we tried this one as a sushi burrito, which was expertly rolled and filled generously. The spicy mayo sauce had just the right amount of kick without overpowering the entire burrito and the sweet onions, edamame, and seaweed salad provided the perfect complement to the spicy mayo salmon sashimi.

Classic Tuna: Chopped tuna sashimi mixed with Pokito classic sauce, sweet onions, cucumbers, and kikarage. Again, we tried this one as a sushi burrito. It was fresh tasting, like the perfect Japanese bento box that had been rolled up into a convenient portable sized burrito.

Thai Coconut Shrimp: Cooked shrimp is tossed in a Thai coconut sauce with green papaya, jicama, and lemongrass garlic corn. This one we tried as a burrito, or rather my friends sampled this one since I’m allergic to coconut. The consensus seemed to be that it was nice cooked protein option with the perfect fusion of exotic Asian flavors.

SSSScallops: Scallops are mixed with SSS sauce, a clever name play on a house made sauce which contains notes sweet, spicy, and savory flavors. In addition sweet onions, edamame, pineapple chow are added to this dish. We tried with one as a poké bowl but with soba noodles as the base. The soba noodles made a nice alternative to those that aren’t so keen on rice although I did find that it was a little more challenging to mix all the flavors as the ingredients tended to slide off the noodles easily.

Umeboshi Tofu: Thick pieces of tofu are tossed in Japanese umeboshi sauce and mixed with green papaya, cucumber, and Thai mandarin oranges. We sampled this one as a poké bowl using brown rice as the base. A nice vegetarian option, although you should be sure that you mix this one thoroughly as it tastes great when completely mixed, but not so great otherwise as the umeboshi sauce can be overpowering and with harsh vinegar notes when eaten alone.

 

Each signature dish comes with 2 topping choices with the option of adding additional toppings at extra cost. Complimentary toppings include charred peppers, tobiko, taro chips,
nori, crispy onions, and avocado wasabi cream.

Lastly, we finish off with their Dole Whip dessert. Typically served as a mix of pineapple and coconut flavors to give you a piña colada feel we opt to try ours with pineapple only. It’s topped with a maraschino cherry and a bright paper umbrella. It’s tall, cold, and perfectly sweet. It tastes like a Hawaiian vacation.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at Pokito, especially after testing out several poké bowl restaurants in Toronto prior most with lack lustre experiences. The signature dishes were well thought out and plenty of base options, toppings, and protein choices make it easy for anyone to find their own combination to enjoy. Personally, I preferred the poké bowls over the sushi burritos as I found it easier to mix the flavors together, although the sushi burritos were expertly rolled and definitely make it easier to take your meal on the go. While poké bowls and sushi burritos are currently  the latest trend in Toronto, Pokito makes it easy for this to become mainstay staples on the Toronto food scene.

 

Disclaimer: This post was not sponsored, however the meal/items were complimentary. All opinions expressed are my own. All menu offerings and prices are accurate as of time of posting. Please refer to restaurant/shop for most up to date information.

*All images are copyrighted Allons.Y Styling & Photography. Please do not use or re-post without written consent and provide credit where applicable