Following this, the siblings opened a Round Rock location in 2019 and then their latest location in West Lake Hills in July. The two discovered a love for poke after traveling to Hawaii, where the dish originated.
“We both love sushi and hadn’t had poke prior to that vacation,” Edin said. “We thought, ‘wow, this is a great combination.’ It’s really simple, plus you get the sushi flavor and the soy flavor, which I love as well.”
Being sushi-loving foodies, the siblings said they saw serving poke as an opportunity to open the restaurant they have always wanted.
In Hawaiian, poke, pronounced poh-kay, is a verb meaning “to cut or slice.” A traditional poke bowl is similar to a deconstructed sushi roll with rice, marinated fish and other ingredients mixed in, they said. Customers can build their own poke bowls or even a Flamin’ Hot Cheetos-wrapped poke burrito.
The restaurant also has weekly specials with different seafood, such as octopus and yellow tail. The siblings enjoy experimenting with different poke styles, including Korean-inspired poke with kimchi salmon or a Peruvian-inspired citrus shrimp dish.
“We are definitely a build-your-own bowl place, but we also really want to bring back the traditional sense of poke,“ Aida said. “For people who don’t want to have to build their own bowl with their own sauces, we also have something that’s more traditional but also using new cuisines to create a new poke.”
Poke House sources their fish sustainably, and almost all of it comes from Houston ports, Edin said. As is the case for many restaurants, the pandemic has made some of their key ingredients hard to come by, but Edin said they have tried their best to work around these obstacles to serve the community.
“West Lake is a tight-knit community and I feel like they definitely welcomed us with open arms,” Edin said. “The support has been awesome.”
Poke House
3652 Bee Caves Road, Ste. 4, West Lake Hills
512-291-7644
www.pokehousetx.com
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
Menu offerings
Diners can customize their own poke meals as well as try other menu items.
- Poke bowls (regular, $11.99) allow customers to choose from a range of ingredients on top of white or brown rice, salad or a mix of both.
- Pokerrito (regular, $11.99) is a burrito with poke that includes a seaweed or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos wrap. Customers can add two proteins, such as ahi tuna, spicy tuna, classic ahi poke, tofu, salmon, shrimp or the weekly special.
