PokeShop: An adventurous meal for fish-loving Israelis - review

The first Poke Bowl restaurant in Israel was opened at the end of 2016 in Tel Aviv – so Israelis have had eight years to get used to this highly original way of getting their nourishment.

For a people raised on gefilte fish and chopped liver, poke (which originated in Hawaii) is a very different kettle of fish. For starters, the fish is raw so it has to be extremely fresh. Accompanied by a variety of vegetables and salads, the dish is topped with a choice of sauces.

We visited the Netanya Poke restaurant recently and can report that it offers an authentic version of this somewhat revolutionary style of eating. It’s situated in the Soho Mall which is full of more conventional eating places, not all of them kosher.

Nothing fishy here: Going to PokeShop

Sasha, who was dishing up from behind the counter, is multi-lingual and charming. He expertly filled our bowls with small chunks of raw salmon and tuna, some plain and some marinated, and added whatever took our fancy.

The steps for building up your poke bowl are listed on the wall. Step one is to choose your base, either white or brown rice, quinoa or vermicelli. Apart from the fish, you can add a whole string of salad vegetables. We chose avocado, bean sprouts, tomato and cucumber, soy beans and red onions. The fish addition is step two (tofu is also available), step three is the toppings, and four is the sauce.

My companion decided to use the chopsticks provided as he is quite proficient with them – until some of the food landed inadvertently on the floor, that is. I used the fork provided and felt safer. Basically, as I have written before, poke is like a large amount of sushi divided into its parts. And if you douse it in soy sauce, everything tastes good.

Benjamin Van Gelder, who made aliyah from Amsterdam in 2011, left hi-tech to open a chain of poke restaurants in Israel, which have had their ups and downs.

“It was completely unknown so we had to prepare and educate the public about it,” says the young father of three. “We also had to adapt the idea to Israeli taste and kashrut.”

Starting in November, he began visiting army bases and bringing poke bowls with him for the soldiers.

“We would supply 250-300 bowls at a time and they were always so happy to see us,” Van Gelder says. “We asked the public to donate and the rest we sponsored ourselves. Next week we are doing another run to a base in the North.”

That’s a good reason to support this restaurant, besides the excellent food. There’s no alcohol unfortunately, but you get a high just knowing that by eating here, you are also supporting our wonderful soldiers.

• PokeShop
• Mefi 5, Netanya
• Tel. – 074-744-9044
• Open – Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Kashrut – Netanya Rabbinate
• Wheelchair accessible

The writer was a guest of the restaurant.