On our arrival in Victoria, we decided to go to Island Poke for dinner as we wanted something quick…read moreand easy. Staff were very welcoming and friendly. We built our own and they added lots of extras for us. Highly recommend in downtown Victoria!

Probably the best Poke I've had so far! I built my own bowl and was really happy with how it turned…read moreout. The fish tasted really fresh and I loved the variety of topping options. It was a great value for the price too. Highly recommend!

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE One of the co-owners described it…read morebest: you come here for the experience which embodies the spirit of aloha found in Hawaii. You're not coming here for an authentic food experience (coming from Hawaii, I can certainly attest to that), but they do offer some of the dishes that speak to the spirit of Hawaiian fare and so "mahalo" to Kahuna for honouring the Hawaiian culture and ways in Victoria - thousands of miles away from its inspiration! === 2. FOOD The dishes may not necessarily cater to those from Hawaii (things have been adapted for the mainland - like all other ethnic foods brought to North America) but the creative dish names do provide some reminders of home. Of note, they have a few standard desserts including a lillikoi cheesecake and a haupia pie that they make in-house. Today, I tried the Loco Moco and it's perhaps a healthier (?) but very different interpretation of a typical loco moco one gets in Hawaii. Perhaps it's a local adaptation of the dish (for Hawaiians: note that there is a lot more vegetables on this, much less gravy and portion size, and different macaroni used and no brown/fried rice available) - but overall the dish is tasty. === 3. SERVICE Soft-spoken, well-mannered, it's like the Canadian version of Hawaiian service: caring but without any of the fun sarcasm and localisms one finds in a local Hawaiian joint. I noticed they were attentive to dine-in patrons and everyone wears a brighter-coloured shirt that speaks to the aloha shirts found in Hawaii. === 4. ENVIRONMENT Good, bright, modern, and clean, the Hawaiian motifs are visible throughout be it in colour palette, light fixtures, decorations, and even the t-shirts on sale. While it's not ginormous, you could bring a sizeable party of perhaps up to 12 here. Groups of 4 or less would be best served on a daily basis. Those with wheelchairs and baby strollers would find get in and out easily. Parking appears to just be up to your luck with a street spot or in one of the private paid lots nearby.

it wasn't edible. kauai burger - vegan. House made. was The…read moreparty cooked from frozen? Popped in a plastic bag, and warmed under someone's arm? it was so bad. The green mango slaw was nice. Cleansed the palate. It wasn't fresh. Had old fridge smell. Our dole whip did not arrive. Alas. Unfortunately consistency isn't a priority. Second and last order.

The best popcorn chicken here! The Cheri's choice sashimi is fresh and tasty. def recommend here…read morewhen you are craving with sashimi with kids!

It was a cute, small setting with a bright atmosphere reflecting Chinatown vibes. We ordered the…read morebento box and a shared platter of 5 different rolls. The fish was super fresh and tasty! There was only 1 server who took care of all tables and DoorDash patrons, but she was efficient and very friendly...always making sure that we had everything that we needed!

Fantastic poke with always fresh ingredients and great service. You get 10 toppings for your bowl…read morewhich makes a lovely variety. Friendly and knowledgeable crew as well. Thank you!

From the owner: Poke bowls are inspired by traditional Hawaiian cuisine and will satisfy your need for healthy and…read moredelicious fuel all day long. Poke is not your typical fast food. Every bowl we offer is packed with flavour and you are in the driver’s seat. Choose your own adventure, build your bowl! Poke Fresh is thrilled to bring these soulful bowls to the village!

=== 1. VERDICT/VALUE Calling Hawaiian ex-pats and visitors…read more- the ahi poke is decent (better than some of the competition in town) and the service is good - just ask for the bowl to be made the way we make it back in Hawaii :) === 2. FOOD Review based solely on the poke bowls: it's good - the best value seems to be building your own bowl ($14 for a single scoop of poke, $17 for two scoops, etc.) where you get five sides to go with it. So it's not super authentic (I haven't come across any on the continental mainland), and the ahi serving is a little small compared to back home, but the flavour of the fish is good :) Rice: you can't get hapa here, but you can ask for white rice on one half of the bowl and brown rice in the other half. If you're a fan of or just miss the taste of furikake, be sure to ask the server to put the furikake on the rice BEFORE they put anything on it :) Fish: the standards (shoyu / spicy ahi) are good. They have some different flavours (not ever seen at Foodland or otherwise in the 808 :) ) ...but that seems to be normal on the mainland. Some of them (like the salmon) taste alright. Toppings: there are a lot, many of which we don't get back home and they are good I suppose for the uninitiated. You get five of them when building your own bowl - from egg to seaweed, to edamame, and more. === 3. SERVICE Overall, it's good - a fellow named 'T' seems to run this place; he's the best at service and can reveal the origin story of the joint (memorable culinary experiences in Hawaii). The ladies working here are nice, but need closer direction - and sometimes we find they give less fish/toppings that 'T'. Overall - they have all been great. === 4. ENVIRONMENT It's the Hillside Centre food court - so you have a lot of space for groups of any size, with or without baby strollers or wheelchairs to dine in a bright, open, relatively-modern decor. Parking is a breeze too, given the spacious parking lot outside for the mall.

Stopped at the food court for lunch and this looked the most appealing. Initially decided on the 1…read moreprotein poké bowl but changed my mind to get a Hawaiian Plate instead for an additional $3, since I'd get more variety and slightly more food. The person helping me behind the counter was great--patiently explained all the options I had before each part of the meal! You get a choice of different rices or salad, one hot protein, one poké, one side, and unlimited sauces and toppings. Lots of options to choose from, which is nice. I opted for white rice (along with the furikake that was offered), Maui ribs, shoyu salmon poké, and marinated cucumber for my side. I also got offered a choice of drink for an additional $2 only, so I got the Hawaiian iced tea. Food tastes decent--not the best poké or ribs I've ever had, but it's fine. To be honest, this was some of the better mall food court food I've had! The poké portion was a bit smaller than I expected, but the ribs were a larger portion than I expected (3 big long pieces!), so it all evens out. There was a lot of rice, so I ended up having about 1/4 of it left over. The drink was okay--a bit on the sweet side, but I tasted some of the tea. Think it was passion fruit mango flavor. I ate around 1 PM on a weekday, so while the food court was busy, getting a seat was pretty easy. Ambiance here is like any other mall food court. Definitely will come back if I need a quick meal in the mall.

I really enjoyed their marinated salmon and tuna poke. Prices are typical and they had a wide…read moreselection of choices and pre-determined bowls. I was a little thrown back a bit by the attitude of the employee there when I was confused about the add ons. I enjoyed my poke with their wasabi aioli which matched very well with the marinated fish. Overall, it was the only poke we tried on the Island and it was great! Parking is a bit of a doozy though, street parking or park next door at Timmy's.

I found this place to be great. I have multiple allergies and follow a diet similar to AIP or…read morePaleo. You can definitely find something here to eat if you follow a restrictive diet. This is a huge plus. The fish and produce is fresh, although the "toppings" mostly come from cans. I have never had Poké so I can't compare it to anything other than sushi and it's a great variation of that for me. Can't wait to have this more often! My only tip to the restaurant would be to carry coconut aminos (even for an extra charge) for those with soy and seed allergies to have an option of sauce.

The bowls are huge and you can put any number of toppings. Fresh and healthy! My new favourite…read moreplace.

our poke bowl was so delicious and fresh!!!!! on the island for a few days, will definitely be…read moreback!!! i had a build your own, and my husband had the island dynamite( spicy tuna, baby shrimp, crabmeat, cucumber, avocado, corn, masago, green onion, nori flake, crunch, spicy chojang, garlic umami, miso aioli) both were so good!!!! highly recommend!!!