Hot on the heels of the 2016 raw fish trend comes Cape Town’s second business to serve poké and first stand-alone restaurant to specialise in the Hawaiian dish. Hokey Poké opened its doors last week in the Mother City’s Church Street and is bringing a fresh wave of bowl food to the Mother City.

Max worked with Hoick Design Studio to create the stylish interior. Photo supplied.

Hokey Poke owner Max Botha came across the poké trend when travelling in Singapore. “It immediately struck me as the most amazing food – so fresh, so clean and abundant with new and exciting ingredients and flavours from all over the world,” he says.

A bowl, ready to go. Photo supplied.

While Max is not a qualified chef, his love for cooking, experimenting and creating new dishes is a source of inspiration for his maiden food venture. Max explains, “The option of a build-your-own bowl lends itself to all food preferences and intolerances. I was positive that poké would be the perfect for the Cape Town market and its pursuit of healthy food options, as well as for greater South Africa.”

Pink neon lighting announces the Church St store. Photo supplied.

The menu features the classic Hawaiian-style poké with raw tuna, shredded kombu and sticky rice, but customers can look forward to non-traditional bowls with global flavours, too. Think dressed salmon with salmon crackling, pomegranate and ponzu; salmon with toasted almonds and sweet onions; and even hot tuna with jalapeños, pineapple and nacho dust. There will also be healthy acai and chia seed breakfast bowls and, in the future, the team offer a Downtown Saturday Brunch, which is code for customers to come on down with a bottle of bubbles and have some fresh, shucked oysters.

While Hokey Poke doesn’t have a liquor licence yet, customers are encouraged to bring their own, or enjoy the likes of kombucha, cold-pressed juices, matcha, Taiwanese strawberry milk tea, and The Duchess Virgin G&T for now. A qualified barista is also on hand to serve Deluxe Coffee.

A build-your-own-bowl system allows the restaurant to cater for all sorts of preferences and intolerances. Photo supplied.

As for the venue and design of the new space, Max worked with Hoick Design Studio to get the downtown Tokyo-meets-Miami feel. He explains, “From the get go I wanted the brand to be tongue-in-cheek. The food, art, décor, music, branding and identity all had to live together but play off each other in a quirky way.”

Hokey Poke on Church Street is open from 10am until 9pm, Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays until 4pm. The team has committed to launching a second, smaller Hokey Poke bar in the soon-to-be-opened Mojo Market in Main Road Sea Point, and is actively seeking premises in the Southern Suburbs.

Stay tuned to Eat Out for further developments.

Neon lights create a downtown Tokyo-meets-Miami feel. Photo supplied.