- December 21, 2024
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Poke bowls have been rising in popularity across the United States over recent years, with several options now found in Sarasota.
However, a restaurant focused on the dish hadn’t made its way to Siesta Key, until the Aug. 30 opening of Siesta Pokè, a restaurant by Above the Bar Hospitality Group, in Siesta Key Village.
The Hawaiian dish, which is rooted in Japanese cuisine, ties in with the island environment, as the bowls are known for featuring tropical produce, sashimi and seaweed.
Restaurant manager Katie Spelman said the establishment, which also offers acai bowls, was seeking a bright and fun atmosphere with its branding.
The surfaces of its tables, all of which are outdoors, come from Zap Skimboards in Venice.
Spelman visited the warehouse of the business to pick out 10 different skimboards, with restaurant staff drilling holes in the boards and attaching table stands.
“The theming behind the concept is surf, skate, swim; very beachy, because we are so close to the beach, and it plays well off the idea of custom poke bowls,” Spelman said.
Advertising healthy and fresh offerings, Siesta Pokè features the ingredients the public has come to expect from poke bowls, with some unique features as well.
“I think we're filling a niche for fresh items, where people can customize things however they want to,” Spelman said.
Guests can choose from bases including white rice, brown rice, quinoa, or spring mix; proteins including tuna, salmon, shrimp, chicken, red beans and tofu, and additions such as avocado, wakame and kimchi.
Spelman said the island does not have many restaurants that stray outside the traditional, sit-down format.
The restaurant also differentiates itself with its 10 sauces, all of which are made in-house.
Options range from a traditional sweet poke sauce, to a volcano poke sauce which Spelman said has a "nice little kick to it, but still a sweetness,” to a jalapeño cream sauce with a bright green color.
"You could get the protein, you could get all of these things anywhere, but the sauce is what really kicks it up a notch, so I definitely think that is an edge that we have, for sure,” Spelman said.
Opening at 10 a.m for breakfast, the restaurant also has another major offering: acai bowls.
Spelman calls acai bowls “a great healthy option for breakfast." The restaurant offers ingredients, some of which include fresh fruits, artisanal granola, peanut butter, Nutella, organic honey and fresh coconut.
At the counter, visitors can also find chips, snack bars and other assorted items.
Spelman said so far, the favorite items of the public appear to be the acai bowls, as well as the tuna poke bowls.
The company which owns the restaurant, Above the Bar Hospitality Group, tries to differentiate each new restaurant it establishes, Spelman said.
Some other restaurants the company owns in Siesta Key are The Hub Baja Grill; a Latin American restaurant, The Cottage Siesta Key, an eclectic restaurant themed around Old Florida; and The Beach Club nightclub.
Most ingredients are prepared each day in the other restaurants, then brought over to Siesta Poke.
“None of our restaurants are the same concept,” Spelman said. “They're all individual, so we love experimenting with new concepts. We’ve been in the Siesta Key for so long, over 20 years, since the Beach Club was the first one, so we know what works out here and what doesn't, and we thought that this would be a great addition to it.”
