Okipoki

This place was surprisingly good! If you’re like me and don’t eat poki on the regular, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. I came here with my girlfriend for the first time. My first thought when i sat down and looked at the menu, «Let’s get out of here! This isn’t my type of food and I’ starving.» But, I’m glad we stayed! I just want to say that the service was amazing. The lady that helped us, Hannah, was easy to talk to and super patient with us. After browsing the menu, we shared the Shrimp Ain’t easy appetizer and I ordered the Okipoki 101. My girlfriend had the Bang Bang. I wasn’t expecting much out of this place, but the flavors were surprisingly tasteful. The shrimp on hawaiian bread, just yummy! The tuna perfectly marinated in just the right amount of soy sauce. The seaweed didn’t look appetizing, in my opinion, but it was delicious. All the flavors blended perfectly with each other and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. So happy we stayed and tried it out. My only problem was, i like big portions, and this was not even medium sized for me. Still, it was a decent portion. Truly impressed.

Okipoki was a pretty dope place.
The music was on point. There was backstreet boys, some other fun songs. It was pretty cool to hear and really any place that plays «Ignition (remix)» by R. Kelly is pretty fire in my book. The look itself is very minimalistic and the staff is friendly. I came in on a very slow, Wednesday afternoon (around 3:30). The manager, Hannah, was nice and we talked for a bit. She was very helpful when I had questions about the menu.
I started with the Nani moana shooter which was tasty. The uni was fresh and it was a nice opening dish.
I could not decide between the Hama time, Lomi Lomi, or the bang bang. I ended up with the Lomi Lomi after Hannah’s suggestion. She said it was a clean spice and I definitely agree. It had a nice spice to it, the kimchi made it refreshing and light while still giving me the kick I wanted. I added avocados to my meal to kind of balance out the whole thing. My only complaint on the food was that I wish there was more salmon roe, but thats just personal preference.
Overall, I will be back and okipoki, you are oki-​doki to me! Thank you~! (Sorry for the bad joke)

Was good poke. I liked the fusion of Hawaiian style in the menu. I would recommend giving this place a try if you haven’t yet. It wasn’t very busy when we were in there on a Saturday night like we expected. The owner /​waiter was very nice and attentive.

Love this place! Apparently they just opened in Oct 2015. We tried okipoki 101 and Hama time. Hama time was really good if you’re in the mood for something light and citrusy. Owners were super nice too!
Parking can be a bit hard to find. Metered or lot parking

I had the Shrimpin aint easy and the Bang Bang, really delicious! I will be back to try the Ay Papi and the plantation iced tea, staff super cool!

Today I saw a foodiegram (don’t know the proper nomenclature) ig: noleftovers while visiting and it inspired me to leave a review on here. I have been to various poke places before and this one looked promising with it’s bar style and catchy name… But it fell short.
Problems:
1. The place is overpriced for the portion, types of fish and quality of fish you get.
2. The service was not particularly good, the people behind the bar seemed very unfriendly and not engaged in providing a good eating experience. One of the chef was wearing sunglasses while she was prepping the food… I like to see what I eat let alone prepare food for other people to put into their bodies.
3. The plates you get are paper, feel cheap, I can’t remember but I think there were plastic utensils to accompany them. Give me a real bowl.
4. Rice was sub par… and a little too cold
5. I have a strong stomach and no IBS, but got the runs.
Good things:
1. Bar style was convenient and matches the quick bowl style of food served there.
2. Catchy name
That’s my experience and 2¢.

Food was good, quality of fish is better than most poki places I’ve been to. However, portions are tiny. We went to guisados next door after to get full.
Biggest problem with this place is its SOOO expensive. I couldn’t believe lunch for my bf and me was $ 60!!! Keep in mind, our food was served on a paper plate with no service. My ice tea was $ 3.50?! Uhhhhh?
A lot of Poki spots are popping up everywhere and for the price you’re better off going somewhere else. I would not come back here.

That was absolutely delicious! My husband and I walked out of here just now and I had to jot down a quick review of how yummy this was.
It’s friggin yummy!!!
If you’re looking for something quick, healthy and absolutely delicious, this is the place.
Super clean restaurant with great service.
Fresh, filling, flavorful, fantastic, fat, fish!!! F*ck ya!!!

This place is set up bar style– which I personally didn’t like. The man making the poke was really nice and friendly, but when I go out to eat, I want to face the person I’m eating with and have a conversation with them not the «bartender».
I’m a big poke fiend and I’ve tried lots. At okipoki, we were confused by a lot of the names of ingredients in the different menu items, but the staff unfortunately wasn’t too helpful. This is fancy poke so we just decided on ay papi, hoping it would be good. They combine a lot of ingredients together in an interesting fashion, has a really nice presentation. It’s good but it is a little too complicated &too much for me. I’d rather take my poke with a good sauce and served with rice and avocado, but maybe that’s just me.

I came here for lunch many times. I had the okipoki, lomi lomi, hama time and coco bae. I had the shrimpin’ ain’t easy as a starter.
My favorite ones are okipoki with the traditional sauce and lomi lomi with the kimchi mixture. Coca bae and hama time were also good with their citrus dressings. The shrimpin’ ain’t easy comes in one or two pieces of Hawaiian sweet roll with cooked shrimp mixture. Very tasty.
Everything is freshly made in front of you. Made quickly too.
The price is good for the bowls of poki. It doesn’t seem filling but it is. The fish quality is fresh. The quality of great fish is worth spending extra $$. Any sushi/​sashimi or seafood place is not cheap. If you want a poki bowl for $ 9 or less it won’t taste as yummy! ;)
I would definitely come back here to get my poki fix. :)

This is not your typical build it yourself poke shop like all the rest — it’s a poke BAR. There’s a menu and you order from it. They make it infront of you like they would at a sushi bar and it’s all so fresh, new and exciting. A place you can sit down and enjoy your poke over a few laughs with friends or get to know someone new. That’s what it’s alll about — OKI POKI!

The poke craze has made its mark in Southern California, with Okipoki as one of the newest contenders in the poke battle for LA.
Located in an already bustling food-​heavy part of DTLA, between favorites like Syrup Desserts, Guisados and others, Okipoki is a trendy sit-​down restaurant with an interior resembling that of another DTLA hot spot, Kazunori.
We came for a late lunch — around 2 pm on a Saturday — and had no trouble at all getting three seats. The menu is pretty standard — choose from different variations of poke depending on fish and toppings.
I decided to go with the Hama Time — yellowtail with watermelon radish, edamame, cucumbers and shredded carrots. It was a lighter dish, and probably a good choice for people that aren’t a huge fan of «fishier» fish like salmon or tuna.
Okipoki is definitely good… but let me tell you that there’s a little bit of hype here. It’s good, but debatable at $ 15 or more. If you like poke and are willing to splurge, go for it. Otherwise it might be good to look into more wallet-​friendly places…

This year, DTLA and Ktown finally picked up on the poke craze that has been going on, and out of the places that have been popping up lately, I would say Okipoki has gotta be the best.
When Wikipoki (Ktown) and Snociety (Jtown) opened, I was so excited and had high expectations – however, I found myself pretty disappointed. The fish itself was not fresh so the poke had that «fishy» taste I couldn’t get past. I had to force myself to mask the taste by drenching the poke with soy sauce or the other sauces they provided. I only went to each place once, and actually never went back for seconds.
When I saw that Okipoki first opened, I didn’t even think to try it because I thought I would be faced with the same disappointment. However, today, I was in the area running errands and craving something light for lunch, so I dropped by. To my surprise, the food was pretty frickin great and the service on point! The wait staff was very friendly and attentive, were knowledgeable about the menu and kept my water glass full the whole time I was there!
I ordered the «shrimpin’ ain’t easy» and the «bang bang» (w/​brown rice + side of avocado), which were both recommendations made by the workers there. I loved the shrimp rolls – it’s a lightly toasted sweet Hawaiian roll with a creamy mixture of shrimp, masago, nori and togarashi inside, garnished with pickled onions. There was a good amount of shrimp in it and the flavors all worked well together.
The bang bang poke bowl had tuna, pineapples, caramelized onions, basil and garlic chips w/​a slightly spicy marinade. Lo and behold! THE FISH WAS FRESH, the marinade wasn’t overbearing, and overall, it was a pretty sizable dish. If I got it again though, I would probably ask for extra garlic chips though – might not be everyone’s cup of tea but I LOVEEEE garlic and it added texture to the dish, which I liked.
Overall, I had a great experience and I am def coming back to try the other poke bowls. If there was one thing I wish the restaurant added on the menu though, it would be a poke sampler – i think it would be a nice way for people to try the different pokes and figure out what they like/​dislike.

Okay, I will give it up for you guys.
I don’t think DTLA has a poke restaurant. Kudos to you guys for bringing Oki Poki in!
The place is chic, modern. Reminds me of KAZUNORI. I placed a to-​go of the #1 item on the Poke section. I forget the name. It was pretty good. I am from OC, and we have many bomb dot com poke spots. I enjoyed it. Tuna was fresh. Rice was good with their sauce. The seaweed salad was fresh too, which it should be.
$ 15 for one poke bowl? A tad bit pricy, but hey, good food requires $$$.
I will be back!

At this point, we’ve all been to a dozen build-​it-​yourself poke shops that have sprouted up literally everywhere. Okipoki deviates from the trend a bit in that it’s a sit-​down restaurant with a set menu that ranges from appetizers to unique poke dishes created with a discerning eye.
To start, I got the Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy, which is essentially a shrimp roll. Shrimp bits mixed with mayo, topped with pickled onions and nori, all nestled into a Hawaiian roll. The shrimp is fresh and the dish has good flavor, but the roll is tiny — this is a truly mini-​mini roll. I thought I was getting a good bargain at $ 4.50, but when it came out, it was hardly the good deal I had expected. $ 4.50 for a two-​biter? Maybe for you, but not for me.
My friend and I shared the Hama Time and the Bang Bang and while both were good, I would probably go with the Bang Bang on a return visit. The Hama Time is hamachi poke dressed with citrus soy, edamame, and watermelon radish. The presentation of the poke is gorgeous, with the fresh radish and edamame adding vibrant color — it’s truly a feast for the eyes. The yuzu-​esque sauce tastes clean and the poke is well dressed aka not over-​dressed.
While the Hama Time is clean and refreshing, the Bang Bang is a bit heartier fare. Tuna is served alongside charred pineapple, caramelized onions, Thai basil, and fried garlic chips. I loved tasting sweet bursts of pineapple with the savory onions and appreciated the nice crisp lent from the garlic chips. What’s more, the Bang Bang packs a subtle heat which is always a plus in my book — that plus the the winning flavor/​textural contrasts make this dish a winner! If you’ll allow me this metaphor, Hama Time is summer and Bang Bang is autumn. Look to Hama Time for a light, refreshing lunch and to Bang Bang for a heartier dinner.
Okipoki is relatively new, having been open for just under 2 months now. Even still, I find it a bit odd that they are still serving food on paper plates and water in disposable plastic cups. Even the silverware is plastic. I’ll give Okipoki the benefit of the doubt and assume that they’re working on getting actual plates and cutlery, but 2 months seems like ample time to get these base items. In all honesty, the presentation brings down the dining experience and makes it a bit difficult to qualify the ~$ 14 price tag attached to the poke dishes.
I can appreciate Okipoki for its efforts in elevating the poke experience, but it’s a bit overpriced per the portions and presentation. Still, the beautifully crafted poke speaks to the chef’s passion for his craft and I’m excited to see how this new shop on the block shapes up in the future.

Great new poke shop in LA! Everything is very yummy:
Kio (Oyster) — ⁴⁄₅ Very fresh and tasty! $ 7
Shrimpin’ Aint Easy — ⁵⁄₅ Must get $ 4.50 for one
Okipoki 101 (can choose white rice or brown rice) — ⁴⁄₅ Very flavorful $ 14
Lomi Lomi — (can choose white rice or brown rice) ⁵⁄₅ love salmon with kimchi in this dish $ 12
I like the design concept of the space with everyone looking into the chefs. Great service and nice peeps. Will definitely come back here.

Gourmet Poke at its finest! Coco Bae is incredible with fresh tender baby scallops and creamy melt in your mouth uni. Addition of Kafir oil delivers a bright, vibrant, refreshing taste. An absolutely delicious upscale version of poke found in the heart of DTLA.
Their Shrimpin Ain’t Easy roll tastes better than any lobster/​seafood roll I’ve ever had. No lie. Get one slider for $ 4.50 or two for $ 8. I would suggest sticking to two. You’ll be surprised at those incredible flavors.
As far as refreshments go they offer Lychee Matcha Tea which was again off the hook! Not surprised though. Everything was awesome!

Finally a POKE place in DTLA!!! I’m so so excited about this place and Yes! their dishes are absolutely delish, fresh, and super creative!
Sooooooo, I started with lovely oysters as an appetizer (very clean), followed with the #101 (tuna with a little spicy hint) which I really enjoyed, and ended with the mango shaved ice! Overall I loved all the food. The green tea was just ok.

Refreshing flavors, creative twist! I’m not a huge poke fan, but I really enjoyed this take. The place is clean, the fish is fresh, and the flavors are really well thought-​out and implemented. The people are also cheerful *thumbs up!!*
I tried the Coco Bae (scallop), the Bang Bang (tuna), and the OkiPoki (tuna). The coconut taste in the Coco Bae was yum! There was a bit of heat to the Bang Bang that I liked. The OkiPoki was my favorite, and proof that they can make a traditional style very well.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ Definitely will return to try other flavors.

This place just opened and it’s down the street from my apt! Really good food and service was quick. The interior is really clean and modern. Would definitely recommend!
I had the Lomi Lomi and my gf had the Hama time. Both dishes were delicious and a good size. The Lomi Lomi was sweet with a little spice from the kimchi. The Hama time was also sweet and had little watermelon radishes. I really liked that the flavoring didn’t overpower the flavor of the fish. I washed it down with a cup of the iced lychee matcha green tea.
I would definitely recommend checking this place out!