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    Poke Theory SB

    4.5 (85 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Shoshana M.

    This is my favorite poke place ever! I visit all the time and am always happy with the great portion sizes and the delicious fish options. I got to know the staff there and they're all absolute angels who are always happy to help. The location and ambiance is perfect and there are places to sit and wait for a bit as you get ready for the perfect bowl. Though it is pricy, it's worth it - they're super big and you can easily get lunch and dinner out of one bowl! Love this place a lot!

    Create your own   Regular Bowl

    The (I'm assuming) owners were awesome. I love spicy and they let me taste a few. Although, I can handle spice and nothing was that spicy lol. They give a healthy dose of food, the quality was great. I was visiting from out of town and was skeptical on poke on a college campus but it was great. The place is a small cozy restaurant. You're not going anywhere fancy! If you're in a rush, go online for a quick pick up. Because the crafting is a process. They take their time to make it perfect. Will be back!

    Large Bowl. 4 stars. IG: @amei.eats
    Alex M.

    (Overall: 84% | B) - I found the service to be very nice in that the staff there are very friendly and helpful; the atmosphere is also clean and peaceful. The food is acceptable, with room for improvement. (Large Poke Bowl: 85% | B) - This bowl runs for about $20 and is quite filling as I can fit two reasonably sized meals in. I like the variety of toppings, as well as the fact that there is a good amount of items to add freshness now. The fish is decently fresh, but I found the spicy tuna to not be spicy. In fact, I added a lot of sauce to my bowl, yet somehow found it to be a bit bland overall which was shocking. (Passionfruit Tea: 77.5% | C) - Unfortunately, this tea does not taste good when mixed with lemonade. I the lemonade works better with the other drinks that add a better balance in flavor. Here, since the lemonade is light, it is unable to balance the tea's natural strongness.

    Regular Bowl with Salmon and Crab salad

    Soo I would give this place higher rating but I did not like their spicy mayo. It's more just mayo... not spicy whatsoever and I am someone who can barely handle spicy things. They did put a lot of crab salad on mine if you are a fan of that, personally it's a little too much for me. Again I didn't really enjoy the bowl at all, I am probably not even going to finish it :/ the spicy mayo kinda grosses me out with the full taste of mayo. They do have a great customer service and very friendly. I can't give it anything more than a 3 because the taste just is not quite there for me. *update I couldn't finish the bowl it's that spicy mayo that just tastes awful and I'm not trying to exaggerate either

    Inside
    Hannah W.

    Best poke in IV. I do have a bone to pick with the way Poke Theory is run. Dining here feels more like a stressful cafeteria... I wish it matched the chiller vibe of Isla Vista. When you walk in, you have to write your order on a tiny paper using a pencil that has a plastic spoon attached to it. I then sit down and notice that directions for EVERYTHING are printed laminated and taped on the wall (like "write order here with sanitized pencils", and "throw away trash here"). But in all fairness, I'm still rewarding four stars because, again, the poke itself is good. Just thought I could provide some constructive feedback to make it a more enjoyable dining experience for customers.

    Custom bowl
    Paula F.

    Great for fast takeout! This restaurant is located in the heart of IV. Parking on the street nearby can be tough but if you live close, it's a nice walk. Poke Theory is a somewhat small restaurant with simple yet modern decor. There was no outdoor seating. Indoor dining was closed due to Covid-19. I called in my order for 2 custom regular size bowls and was told it would be ready in 5-10 minutes. When I arrived, I was glad to see that good Covid-19 safety measures were in place. Pick up was easy and my food was nicely packaged up and ready to go. Portion size was good and the food was tasty. As a vegetarian, I chose both the tofu and soy shreds for my protein. Next time I visit, I'll opt for just tofu. For the other bowl, an opt out of scallops next time was noted. Pricing was standard for a poke bowl place. Customer service was outstanding. The female who assisted over the phone and in person was super sweet and helpful. I would visit again.

    The food was really good and the portions were generous. Everything tasted fresh and seasoning well done. The service was great also, the staff was very helpful as we were here for the first time. They made us feel very comfortable. Will come back next time we are here

    a bowl of food on a table
    Emily W.

    First time trying poke again in years because I don't like raw fish, and it was delicious! You can get up to 10 sides which is really filling. There wasn't as much fish as I expected, but there was a huge scoop of imitation crab which was delicious. Would come back again and also try other poke places, which is really saying something!

    Build your own bowl (large with 5 scoops of proteins, 10 toppings, 3 sauces, and half rice/half salad base).
    Rochelle T.

    This place gets 5 stars for several reasons: size (for the bowl size, it was filling), taste (the sauces enhanced and didn't overpower the food), freshness, and service. I'm visiting the area and chose this place bc of it's photos, protein choices, toppings, and pricing that aligns with poke places in LA. I ordered online from my hotel just under 3 miles away, and I forgot to choose sauces. Poke sauces are one characteristic of eating poke that makes each place and bowl unique. I got there, and the chef came out and asked if it was intentional that I left out the sauces. Service is what gave this place the fifth star. They were warm, friendly, and excited for me hoping I enjoyed my food. Because I forgot to add sauce, they gave me some to try on the side. The spicy mayo was nice bc it added creaminess and a little heat to the dish. Both the sweet shoyu and orangy garlic enhanced the flavors and freshness of the proteins and veggie toppings while being a great accompaniment to my salad and rice base. Toppings really help the over-all experience. No soy sauce needed at all. Finally, the five proteins that go into a large bowl were the bigger winner. Poke is hard to commit to sometimes for the price, but once you find a spot like this, it deserves to be "the place". If I lived here or when I visit again, I will absolutely come here again and wish them the best. Good luck not eating the large bowl at once bc the flavors are so good. Best wishes for continued success for this place. I enjoyed the bowl a bunch.

    vegan bowl (minus the masago which got accidentally placed)
    Sofia Z.

    Unfortunately, my order got messed up (I'm vegan), and there was the masago (fish egg) added, but I called them, and they gave me a full refund! Great customer service in general. They're very friendly. As for the food I got to try, I was amazed by the appearance of the soy beef (I mean, look at it! Looks so real). As for the taste of the soy beef & shreds (chicken), I would suggest for them to dry them out and perhaps marinate them because the texture was really spongy, but it lacked any sense of flavor. Not mention, everything that was in my food was SUPER fresh... the veggies, radish, rice, beets, jalapeño, cucumber, literally EVERY thing. I just wish the vegan meats had more flavor. This was a regular $13.95 bowl, and the portion was great. It's perfect for sharing with another person! I also highly recommend the sweet shoyu sauce as well.

    Regular Poke bowl, Rose lychee
    Corrine M.

    For IV, this place is pretty good!! The have larger bowls than PokeCeviche for the same price (although it is filled with a lot of rice) as well as a variety of noodle soup options, making this a pretty good place to eat! They also have a large size for poke bowls if you'd like. Their customer service was super nice and they gave a good portion of food too. The fish was tasty and they had a large variety of really tasty toppings and sauces, however, my only complaint was that the sauces weren't salty enough. My bowl was kind of bland so I needed a lot of soy sauce to add taste, but I really liked the flavor of their sauces!! The rose lychee was also a very unique addition to the menu! Although it tastes just like pure syrup, it was really pretty (and free with a check in)! I prefer PokeCeviche's lychee slushy because the ice dilutes the syrup a bit more. I also had a sip of the galaxy lemonade, but I didn't enjoy it because it just tasted like a sugary Minute Maid lemonade. I probably would not spend money on their drinks but I'd definitely come back for their bowls, and to try more of their sauces!!

    Dana D.

    Fresh ingredients and really friendly service!! I got the poke bowl and I was really happy with the fish. Their sauces are also super tasty, and they let you sample the sauces. The only thing is that although the ingredients were all high quality, altogether it felt a little underseasoned. Maybe the sauces need a little more salt? They do give the option of adding salt and pepper at the end so I think I'll do that next time. I'll definitely be back though, and I'm so glad this place opened!

    Mixed Crunchy Bowl

    I've been wanting poke for a while, and this place hit the spot! It was so flavorful, fresh, and delicious. I got the crunchy bowl ($19) and the textures were very nice. Staff were very friendly. Parking is difficult. Definitely would come back!

    Poke Theory Bowl

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    1 year ago

    Its the perfect place, great service, awesome food, really clean, nice people all the time.. its just Perfect

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    2 years ago

    I love this place so much. Easily the best poke in IV and even though it's pretty pricey I come all the time

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    4 years ago

    Ok this is my dinning hall. I have it every week and the proteins are fresh. Like the sauce as well. Only cons: quite a long wait.

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    6 years ago

    Amazing place, amazing people! Delicious lychee rose water (Must Try), very fresh ingredients for your poke bowl!!

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    The food is always amazing! Great, friendly service, great portions and speed, great vibes. Love coming here.

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    Ask the Community - Poke Theory SB

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    Poke Theory SB - poke - Updated June 2026

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