Pokenoya

Pros: reasonable price, fresh, more choices than spin fish poke house, no charges for choosing multiple sauces
Cons: not that i can think of

Came here at lunch time even with a long wait they were still pretty quick. Pretty standard poke bowl and i would be back if i was in the area again.

The only reason I did not give 5 stars to Pokenoya is the consistency of their service. Most of the time I have small-​talk with the staff & leave happy with a large poke bowl, but there have been a couple times that my bowls have been lacking in the main reason people get poke. The raw proteins. I do agree that some staff do have a tendency to drown bowls in sauce, but as long as you stay on top of your order & transparent about what you want, I would say that Pokenoya is still a great choice for poke in Pasadena.

Okay okay so I ended up here again a few weeks ago.
I say the service for the day was satisfactory or that they definitely did improve.
As for the food, I guess I am in love with the fried garlic topping option that makes these bowls extra tasty compared to other Poke places.
My rice was nice and cool… i guess depends when you go?
Would I come back? Yes.

These poke places are popping up all over Pasadena.
This one was near the office and I needed a quick lunch before an afternoon of meetings.
I liked that there are healthy options but I was so disappointed with my bowl.
I had the regular build my own with tuna and salmon. Not much fish. Maybe it was drowning in sauce and got lost.
I have tons of toppings with brown rice and salad. What killed my order was the excess amount of sauce the server poured on. I had to tell her that was enough and it was still too much. The bottom of my bowl was soggy and not appetizing and super salty.
I like that is was quick and service so friendly.
But not sure I would give them another shot.

So tasty, and stellar service!
The menu was a bit daunting at first (like any slow-​food, fast assembly joint) but we got the hang of it pretty quickly. The staff was patient, the portions were generous, and the fresh ingredients really made a difference. I will DEFINITELY return to Pokenoya the next time I’m in the area.
Great place to eat!

Had to remove a star today from my original review. The food is still yummy and fresh. The service is still cheerful and professional. But today I noted a very distinct difference in that they changed the plastic bowls they are using and the new ones (transparent versus opaque) are considerably SMALLER than the previous ones. Portion size has gone down. When they opened they were pretty generous and this was one of the things I really liked about it; value for my money.
I’ll still eat here, but probably not as often.

So much cheaper than the other options in old town Pasadena and way closer to me!
I usually come and get the regular build your own bowl, which is $ 9.26 after taxes. I get a white rice base (they were pretty generous with this), avocado, crab meat, onion and cucumbers.
After that, you pick your two types of meats. I usually get the spicy tuna with spicy salmon or scallops. However, they do have tofu, regular tuna, octopus, tamago and shrimp.
After that, you get to choose from a list of sauces — ranging from sweet to spicy. You can mix and match as you’d like.
After that, you get to pick the toppings you want. I usually go with seaweed salad, masago, garlic or onion chips, green onions and furikake. They have a lot of other options as well, but my «regular» bowl is more than enough to fill me up for lunch.
Definitely would recommend. Only drawback is that the lines seem to move really slowly during peak lunch rush hours. However, I usually try to drop in around 11:45am and I’m the only person in line and I’m in and out in less than 5 minutes. But when I came in at a 12:30pm one day, it took about 15 minutes for me to get out the door.

A good place for Poke, high-​quality ingredients and a good cost to amount ratio. The issue here for me is they don’t make it easy with the sauces and flavor options. You have to think and mix in your head, which is counterproductive.

A solid poke restaurant.
The set up of the restaurant as well as the system of ordering is just like a Chipotle. Small space and not much seating. There is street parking, and a parking lot nearby!
You can order a preset poke bowl or make your own. Prices range from $ 10 – 12 for a reasonably sized bowl. I got the red button signature bowl, and they are pretty generous on the toping and the proteins. Not much to hate, and not much to love about the food quality I think.

I really hate giving new businesses such a low rating. but man this place is complicated and unorganized. Especially the menu… they really need to write out what’s in their sauces. It’s hard to remember all the different sauces and the ingredients that they contain. I had to ask the worker to repeat like 5 times lol. Sauces weren’t flavorful nor did it go well with the poke bowl, but the fish was very fresh (spicy tuna and tuna). Pokenoya didn’t have a wide variety of toppings neither. Everything was a little organized and all over the place (service, to explaining sauces, steps, putting ingredients). I’m glad I got to try this place out, but I still prefer Spinfish as my go to!

Came here to try the newest of the Pasadena Poke places. Parking was a little tough since there is only street parking, however you could always park at Target across the street.
The prices and size are good– only similar to Poke Salad Bar. What stood out was the delicious sauces– especially the sweet teriyaki. The fish was fresh, the toppings were good (included some interesting things like cream cheese and bacon, among the expected additions that I like such as seaweed salad and crab). They even have some combo bowls in case you don’t want to «build your own bowl».
Love this place. Very comparable to my prior favorite Poke place (Poke Salad Bar). I think it gets a slight edge for its sauces but a slight con for its slightly smaller size.

I think I just found my new favorite poke place!!!
Came here for lunch last Sunday and I came back right after work today because I had a major cravings for poke bowl! Today’s craving was something else. Left work early just so I can come here to order Togo for dinner. To avoid traffic and lines which there was none: D
I ordered the same exact thing today as Sunday. A large bowl: 4 mini scoops of salmon (yes all salmons!!), half brown rice and half salad, avocado, imitated crab meat, seaweed salad, with poke sauce & spicy mayo sauce (best combo), furikake spice and sesame. Yes i know that’s a lot of stuff in one poke bowl! That’s the way I like it! I like the whole shabang!
The side dishes are free. You can get as many side add-​ons as you wish. Large bowl (4 mini scoops of fish of your choice) is only $ 11.95 and regular bowl (2 mini scoops of fish) for $ 8.50. This is such a great deal! The fishes and sides were super fresh. They opened this store less than 2 months ago so not many people know about it. If you’re in Pasadena, I would recommend to come here instead of Spinfish. The quality seems better here and no line! They have tables and chairs inside too! Very spacious for hangout or just a quick dine-​in. Services are great as well.
I don’t mind eating poke once a week but I will try to pace myself though, don’t want to get sick of it. :) Must visit when you’re around the area!

Poke places have been popping up all over the place and this was my first one to try. I can totally understand the appeal since you get a lot of fish for pretty cheap. I had one of their signature bowls which was their spicier one called The Red Button. At first I thought the bowl was a little small for the $ 11.50 (that included tax) for what I got but with all the toppings, that should be plenty for most people. I’ll definitely be coming back here when I get a craving for a rice bowl with different fish.
Oh, and service was nice. They were patient explaining how everything worked since its a little like chipotle where you have to pick and choose items.

I visited this place a week ago about 30 minutes before closing time. The restaurant was pretty empty and so i got served right away. I ordered a medium size bowl: half white rice and half salad, salmon, spicy tuna, and all the toppings they had available! They’re really nice if you ask them nicely to put extra toppings. Please and Thank you goes a long way. There’s free avocado and cream cheese! yum! Also, ask for extra sauce on the side.
I felt like they were very very generous with their portions. I had tons of leftover and was able to eat the rest for a midnight snack. :) The people working there were all very nice and kind.
I believe it’s only street parking, but it isn’t too bad. If you can’t find street parking, then go to Target parking lot that’s across the street. :)
I think you can get 10% off with a flyer that be can be found in the front of the store. I didn’t use it because I felt bad because they gave me so much food…
I will definitely be back whenever I crave for poke!

Pokenoya is legitness!
I’m from Hawaii and I’ve seriously never had better poke on the continental US before coming here.
–Generous portion size.
–Freshest fish you can get on the mainland.
–The friendliest and most helpful staff. They help you understand the menu and allow you to sample the sauces (because there are soo many)
I got a half white rice and salad. For my base toppings I got all 4 (crab meat, avocado, cucumber, white onion). Tuna and tako for my protein. My sauce mix was on point!!! I got ginger teriyaki, Kpop, sesame dressing, and a little bit of spicy mayo. It was PERFECT! And then I put a bunch of my favorite toppings from Hawaii. Oh and don’t forget to add cream cheese, it seriously adds a great flavor!
Price is great. Similar to Poke prices in Hawaii. This place is at the same level with my favorite poke place in Hawaii! But what’s even better is that it’s customizable.
We’ll definitely be regulars here!

The latest addition to the growing list of new restaurants in the Old Town area. Was sad to see d’odici close down as they had tasty desserts.
We ended up coming to give Pokenoya a try and was greeted by familiar faces. Alex briefly gave us an overview of the menu and since I was starving, opted for the large bowl. As others have stated it came with 4 scoops of protein along with some generous «bases» (choice of rice or salad, avocado, imitation crab, white onion, and cucumbers). Think the other 3 poke places charge extra for avocado which is a bonus. We did come towards closing and being a Friday night, they did run out of a few proteins. Pick your sauces and add your toppings to create a poke bowl to your liking. I ended up with a huge bowl which was tough to finish. The fish was fresh (no hint of any fishiness) and was decently priced.
Will definitely be back since this location is closer to our condo and love the fun and modern décor which was also present at the old d’odici.

Pokinoya took over a bakery I really liked, but I can now forgive them since it is good. I miss the bakery (Rip D’ocini) but I am not really complaining though because I love poke. I am happy to report IMO it is better than some in the area.
I got a regular bowl for $ 8.50 that has 2 proteins. They aren’t skimpy with the proteins which is good! Large is $ 11.96 with 4 proteins which is a lot for a decent price.
I had the spicy salmon and for my other protein (also salmon) I requested the wasabi cream for the sauce with the onions and cucumber and they don’t usually do it but they did for me! It was wonderfully tasty!
Toppings I added were seaweed salad, masago, cream cheese, krab salad, scoop of avocado, shredded seaweed, and crunchy garlic. They have other toppings I’m too lazy to list.
The décor is spacious and clean, service is very friendly and I witnessed them helping a few first timers which is nice and helping with special dietary requests.

Yet another poke place in Pasadena and just a few blocks away from my apartment!
+ Street parking and located right across the street from Target
+ We came in 10 minutes before closing and everything was still out on display
+ No additional charges for avocado or any other sides (unlike other poke places in Pas.)
+ $ 8.50 for regular (2 proteins) and $ 11.95 for large (4 proteins) — comparable prices to the other poke places
+ The fish is fresh and there’s a huuuge variety of protein /​toppings /​etc
+ The rice was the perfect temperature and texture. At other places, it’s too hot and warms the protein real fast
+ They offer tamago as a protein and cream cheese as a topping! Very unique
The only downfall is that they close at 7pm since they probably cater to the 9 – 5 crowd :(so I hope they get enough business to be able to extend their hours!

Since the closing of dodici, my co-​workers and I had been eagerly awaiting what would take its place and we were thrilled to find out it was a poke place. Many of them had been turned off by the rudeness of the owner at Flour and Tea, especially because he tried to upsell like crazy. So as soon as we the doors of Pokenoya open, we wanted to check it out.
They only had their soft opening 2 days ago, so there’s hardly any customers and the service is fairly slow as the workers try to figure out their menu, but based on the taste, I have hopes for this place. You can pick a base of sushi rice, brown rice, or mixed greens with crab, avocado (can I get an AMEN for no extra charge for avocado?), cucumber, and/​or white onion. For $ 9.26 (including tax), you can pick 2 proteins and as many sauces and toppings you want.
Some interesting notes:
— The brown rice was pretty hard. It was probably a few minutes from being undercooked, but that’s the way I like it. If you don’t like harder rice, then I’d suggest getting the sushi rice.
— KPop Sauce is a Korean chili paste (probably gochujang) combined with a sweet sauce
— Poke sauce is simply ponzu sauce
— They recommend at least getting Poke sauce and Sesame dressing then adding other sauces mixed in with that
— They have cream cheese as a topping. Strange, but I liked it
— The most prominently tasting topping I had was the crispy onion. The crunch was still there even after mixing everything together.
— The masago scoop is VERY small. They seem nice so I think if I wanted more, I think I could’ve asked, but it’s just something to be aware of.
I’m really excited about this place and I think I might quickly become a regular here.