Abunai

Everything was so good. Spam musubi, chicken bowl and California hand roll were so good. We will definitely order from here again

I ordered via Uber eats. The presentations of all the dishes were amazing. Their poke was filled and tasted great. I also got to spam musubi which was wrapped nicely. And I got a spicy salmon roll, it was very spicy like no joke, but it comes with wasabi and ginger as well. Very good presentation overall will order again.

Fantastic place for Hawaiian food, not only poké, which I love, but also kahlua pork, taro, and a few other Hawaiian specialties. Great value, friendly service, delicious food. I’d be thrilled with a bit more non-poké variety, but I suppose that’s the main thing for most people.

I got a bowl with three proteins: salmon, tuna, and chicken. I feel like even with those three it wasn’t enough food/ protein. Getting the chicken was also a mistake very dry and brittle. I did like all of the topping choices though especially the dry ones. The aioli is also a great sauce.

It's alright. Some of the dishes were good, others the quality was sus; atmosphere was meh. Had a sticker in with the raw salmon so returned it. They didn't seem surprised. Also I don't know if poi is bad, or if the poi they had here is bad. But ended out tossing it. The rolls tasted good though. No customers when I went, but the tables were all dirty. Lighting was pretty dim and the music was uninspired (some sort of Spanish music I think). Wasn't bad per se, but it wasn't great.

We’ve tried the spicy salmon poke bowl. It was ok. The portion is big. However, the protein amount is very small compared to the size of the bowl. For the price ($18), I would say it could be way better.

This will probably now be my go-to lunch place in the area whenever I’m feeling poke or something similar. There’s plenty of variety of food choices, even the tofu was tasty, the serving sizes are solid and the price is fair for the area and food. The service was kind too. I only wish that they had allergen warnings for the sauces for gluten.

A solid poke shop with all the classic fixings (plus, as a bonus, a smattering of traditional Hawaiian snacks and sides that you usually can't find at most mainland poke shops) and super cute decor. I've been slowly making my way through all of DC's poke restaurants, and Abunai immediately stood out with its adorable storefront -- I'm honestly in love with the little vines and fairy lights that line the shop's floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing you to peek inside and get a sense of the amazingness happening within while also giving Abunai a really cute, homey vibe. Once you're inside, the decor serves a similar purpose, allowing you to enjoy the sunshine (or the...car headlights, I guess?) streaming through the windows while maintaining some sense of privacy. The other decor is admittedly pretty utilitarian, but it's cute, functional, and fun. Beyond the aesthetics, Abunai serves up a lovely selection of poke bowls, allowing you to either select from their pre-made favorites (for which they also have daily specials if you're looking to save a few bucks) or build your own. I opted to make my own -- Abunai has most of the classic fixings, but also includes a few extra fun menu items if you're in the mood to switch things up a bit. For your base, you can get one of the classic options -- sushi rice, brown rice / quinoa, mixed greens / kale, or, if you're feeling adventurous, try out their wonton chips. They have most of the classic proteins but also include tako (octopus) and lobster, two amazing poke choices that I've struggled to find in DC. If you're not in the mood for something raw / for seafood, you can always opt for their tofu or chicken. Abunai is a touch stingy with its proteins compared to most other spots, so you'll most likely need to get two proteins (either double of the same one or try out two options) to build a satisfying meal. They also hold back a bit on the sauces (which I honestly appreciate), so if you're ordering a salad base, especially if you opt for kale, your bowl will likely feel a bit dry. If I'm taking it home, I'll usually just toss on a little bit of rice vinegar and/or coconut aminos and am pretty satisfied. As far as mix-ins and toppings go, Abunai has an abundance of classic and unique options available, and you can load up your bowl with as many as you'd like! Being the weirdo that I am, I had to try everything (except, of course, the peanuts and other items that would send me to the hospital). A few stand-out and unique choices included the ogo (Hawaiian seaweed, which added a wonderful level of umami to the proteins), lemon zest (which, despite not being that rare, added the perfect little zing to freshen up the meal above and beyond the lemon juice), and wasabi peas (personally, I won't be getting these again next time, but if you're a fan of the nasal-clearing shock of wasabi and want a little extra crunch, they're pretty fun). And for my friends with dietary restrictions, the staff is amazing -- they were super helpful in supporting me as I navigated dietary restrictions, especially with sauces, and were very knowledgeable. If you're ordering online or from a delivery app, they also have a section for allergy modifications at the top of the order that includes nut, gluten, soy, and dairy allergies. There's obviously some fear of cross-contamination if you're really sensitive, as everything is arranged on the same counter, but they definitely make a good effort to keep their customers safe and healthy. If you still want some lovely Hawaiian food but aren't in the mood for a whole poke bowl, you can always go for a hand roll, spam musubi, or one of their other traditional Hawaiian plates. I've rarely seen a poke spot that tries to feature other aspects of Hawaiian cuisine, from classic desserts like poi or kulolo, or fun takes on island favorites like the spam mac sundae. All in all, Abunai has super fresh and delicious food topped off with amazing service from their super friendly owner and staff, plus adorable decor -- perfect for a casual meal.

History of Present Indulgence: Not too many places serve real Hawaiian food like a plate lunch and poke without all the extras, so I was ecstatic to learn about Abunai. I go to PT nearby and have stopped by here for lunch a few times now. Physical Exam: Food - The poke bowls are fantastic, with fresh, well-seasoned tuna that stands out. I love their Abunai Poke. Their mac salad is delicious, though a bit on the sweeter side. A standout for me is the mac salad spam sundae--pan-fried spam on a bed of mac salad served in a plastic cup. It's simple and perfect. I still need to go back to try some of their plate lunches, but I love everything I've had so far. Service - Quick and efficient, perfect for a fast-casual spot. Ambiance - No-frills and straightforward, with a counter for ordering and nothing extra. It's all about the food here, and I love that. Assessment/Plan: Abunai is a gem for Hawaiian food lovers. If you're craving authentic poke bowls, a plate lunch, or a place that knows how to cook Spam properly, this is the spot. I'm just so glad Abunai exists here and I would highly recommend trying it out!

Stopped for a fast and early lunch before beginning our tourist death march of the DC sites. This is pretty much a take-out place with a few seats. The number of food delivery guys that were there picking up lunches confirmed the take-out status. My wife ordered the shrimp poke bowl which was loaded with shrimp and avocado. She gave it a thumbs up. I opted for the spam musubi which took a long time to prepare (so much for a relatively fast lunch). Despite the wait the spam was quite solid and tasty. I like spam so that helps. The prices were OK - it is a big city after all.

Quick service, tasty food! Like most poke places, you can build your own platter. Choose a grain (or veggies), protein, and toppings. If you don't like your meal, kinda feels like it's on you? I also had their lime snow cone and it was just what one might expect! Very sweet, very artificially flavored, bright green, but quite good. There isn't much seating, so if you're visiting during lunch time, you might not have great luck, but in the afternoon/evening on the weekday when I went, it was very empty.

Im pretty confident that they forgot my sauce so this was the most bland and dry poke bowl I ever had. The staff also made us wait several minutes when I came to pick up while my bag was sitting on the counter. Unfortunately I don't recommend.

I recently tried Abunai and customized my own spicy salmon poke rice-and-salad bowl for lunch. The option for double meat wasn't as generous as I hoped, which was a bit disappointing. However, they offered a wide variety of toppings, and you could add as many as you liked, which was a definite plus. Overall, the poke bowl itself was good. The spicy salmon was fresh, and the flavorfulness toppings stood out. I opted for mobile ordering, which was convenient, but there was a significant issue with the estimated pick-up time. It was off by quite a bit, and I ended up waiting an additional 20 minutes at the shop for my food. There weren't too many tables available but many people came in for take out while I was waiting for my food. It's pretty simple inside but clean and convenient if you want a place to sit and chill. Overall, Abuni offers a tasty poke bowl with excellent customization options, but expect to wait for your lunch.

Overall, no major complaints for a standard poke establishment. Fish was pretty fresh and standard, but nothing to write home about. Only thing I wanted was bigger protein size since I paid extra for extra proteins but still got a pretty skimp amount of fish. Other than that, 3.5 stars for a decent poke place that I got from food delivery app.

It's a quick service type of spot. Very casual but when I see the food was HITTIN'?! Best musubi i'be tried in the DMV and I assumed the mac salad was going to be a bit sweet but it was very savory. It was the perfect side to the spam katsu. I definitely recommend getting both on your visit here. My only thing is I wish they had a sweet sauce to drizzle on the musubi. That would've balanced out the savory taste but besides that, I'll be coming here again and again.

Can't really recommend. Service is incredibly slow and the mixed up me order with another person with the same first name. I hope that other person enjoyed my meal that cost 50% more. Good was good but a poor experience

We ordered through ubereats. We got a pound of ahi with garlic aioli, onions and cilantro. Which was good. Then an half pound of salmon with abunai sauce, lomi tomato and onions, and green onions. The abunai sauce was a little too sweet for me and there wasn't really a good description for it when I ordered. I usually love lomi salmon so I got a side of it, this one was a little mushy. The tomatoes didn't really hold their form as good and it was a small portion for the price. Last item was the kalua pig nachos. The chips were good, we liked that the chips were thin and crispy. The kalua pig was a little too salty.

I ordered a Poke Bowl from here today and it was ok. With tip it came to $40 which is a lot to spend for a Poke Bowl and Coconut Water. The sauces I picked were good and the bowl was ok. It definitely wasn't the best I have ever had but it was ok. The Fried Egg on top wasn't what I was expecting when I added Egg (was thinking more like Tamago). They don't appear to have as many veggies as other places but they have a lot of toppings.

During February, Abunai had a Be My Elite Deal for BOGO Miso soup, Furikake Mac Salad, or Li Hing Fruit (Pineapple or Apple). My friend had the Hawaiian Sun Pass-O-Guava Nectar, Ahi Hand Roll, and Li Hing Fruit (Apple and Pineapple). The Ahi Hand Roll was messy as it fell apart in your hand. The Li Hing Fruit consisted of fruit (pineapple or apple) sprinkled with li hing powder. It wasn't covered in it. Between the pineapple and apple, she liked the pineapple more. I had the Hawaiian Sun Luah Punch, Musubi: Spam Abunail, Furikake Mac Salad, Miso Soup, and Li Hing Fruit (Pineapple). The spam musubi was tasty. The Furikake Mac Salad was disappointing. It was purely macaroni pasta drenched in mayo and sprinkled with Furikake. There were no dice veggies (e.g., carrots, onion, celery) in it. I liked how the Miso Soup had seaweed and fresh firm tofu. I didn't like how it came scorching hot in a to-go container or how it was saltier than usual.

I wanna preface this by saying I do enjoy the food. With that being said, I give this place three stars for the following reasons. I ordered a BYO salmon poke bowl over nachos, the Kalua Pork Nachos, and the gyoza through UberEats. For the bowl and nachos, I specified chips on the side since the sauce and everything would make the wonton chips soggy. Not only were the chips in the bowl but nothing was mixed. It's like they just threw everything in the bowl to get the order out quick. For the nachos, the pineapples weren't even diced. Just huge triangle chunks of pineapple and dry shredded pork over soggy wonton chips for $10. I definitely think if you're going to eat here, going in person is the best bet because online ordering isn't the same quality. As for the freshness of the fish, until today I've never had an issue but my salmon had a fishy smell and taste. This hasn't happened before so I stand by my 3 stars and hope to see improvements in the future.

I used to work around the corner and would get Abunai regularly. They used to mix ahi in sauce before pouring over the rice. Now they pour sauce directly into the bowl so it's not evenly spread. They also give much less than they used to. The musubi was very bland. I'm disappointed and a little embarrassed because I brought a colleague and raved about it for it to be sub par.

Great spot to pick up a quick lunch. Arrived on Wednesday at lunchtime and the line went out the door. I ordered the Wednesday poke bowl special which was the spicy salmon, $12 what a good deal. I also ordered spam musubi to try. Everything was fresh and the sauce was spicy which I loved. Portion size was really good, I have white rice in my bowl and couldn't finish it. I believe you can also get the bowl with greens or half rice and half greens. Enjoyed it and definitely on my list for lunch next time I'm in the area.

The portions for protein are soooooo disappointing :( They were ok freshness wise, but 3$ for that tiny scoop each is kind of foul. Also crab mix is extra

Ordered via uber eats! That said, my order was packed very well! Yummy! I love Hawaiian Mac Salad! So freaking delicious, and the one from Abunai reminds me so much of Hawaii! It's hard to find Hawaiian food in dc that isn't Poke, at least for me. So finding this place was a gem! I got the Soy Chicken lunch plate which comes with rice & two sides! I should've gotten double mac salad but opted for a green salad. The salad was nicely dressed with a bit of spice. The chicken was fall off the bone tender! I hope they add some more Hawaiian staples like Garlic shrimp! Though they do offer a Shrimp roll that's tossed in a garlic aioli!

This is a good place for the lunchtime crowd. After hours, it gets really quiet. The price is around $15 for a bowl pretax. Every day of the week, one of their bowls is discounted to $12 so if you like a particular, make sure to come in that day. The seafood is good. However, I'm not the biggest fan of the sides in the bowl. The portions were a bit too small for my liking.

For simple, fast-casual poke, pretty darn good! I'm always a bit saddened as a vegetarian to frequent poke places and get what is essentially a flavored tofu bowl. (The name of the restaurant means "danger!" or "look out!" which is a pretty good description of my general expectation in these situations.) But we had come to this bit of the concrete jungle of downtown to satisfy my mother's fish craving. She enjoyed her tuna a lot. Sure the sashimi may not be the freshest in the world but plenty good enough for the location and price. The five stars comes for my tofu bowl: Abunai made even that dish worth it by allowing generous toppings and sauces (poke for me is not poke without some mayo-based dressing, fight me) without any up charge, allowing me to create a really delicious and maybe at least somewhat healthy (who am I kidding) meal. I'll definitely be patronizing this place again for a work lunch, the prices are really quite reasonable for downtown DC, where you could easily pay well over $15 for sad Asian-inspired protein over over-cooked rice, much less for a pretty nice hit of poke.

A solid poke shop with all the classic fixings (plus, as a bonus, a smattering of traditional Hawaiian snacks and sides that you usually can't find at most mainland poke shops) and super cute decor. I've been slowly making my way through all of DC's poke restaurants, and Abunai immediately stood out with its adorable storefront -- I'm honestly in love with the little vines and fairy lights that line the shop's floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing you to peek inside and get a sense of the amazingness happening within while also giving Abunai a really cute, homey vibe. Once you're inside, the decor serves a similar purpose, allowing you to enjoy the sunshine (or the...car headlights, I guess?) streaming through the windows while maintaining some sense of privacy. The other decor is admittedly pretty utilitarian, but it's cute, functional, and fun. Beyond the aesthetics, Abunai serves up a lovely selection of poke bowls, allowing you to either select from their pre-made favorites (for which they also have daily specials if you're looking to save a few bucks) or build your own. I opted to make my own -- Abunai has most of the classic fixings, but also includes a few extra fun menu items if you're in the mood to switch things up a bit. For your base, you can get one of the classic options -- sushi rice, brown rice / quinoa, mixed greens / kale, or, if you're feeling adventurous, try out their wonton chips. They have most of the classic proteins but also include tako (octopus) and lobster, two amazing poke choices that I've struggled to find in DC. If you're not in the mood for something raw / for seafood, you can always opt for their tofu or chicken. Abunai is a touch stingy with its proteins compared to most other spots, so you'll most likely need to get two proteins (either double of the same one or try out two options) to build a satisfying meal. They also hold back a bit on the sauces (which I honestly appreciate), so if you're ordering a salad base, especially if you opt for kale, your bowl will likely feel a bit dry. If I'm taking it home, I'll usually just toss on a little bit of rice vinegar and/or coconut aminos and am pretty satisfied. As far as mix-ins and toppings go, Abunai has an abundance of classic and unique options available, and you can load up your bowl with as many as you'd like! Being the weirdo that I am, I had to try everything (except, of course, the peanuts and other items that would send me to the hospital). A few stand-out and unique choices included the ogo (Hawaiian seaweed, which added a wonderful level of umami to the proteins), lemon zest (which, despite not being that rare, added the perfect little zing to freshen up the meal above and beyond the lemon juice), and wasabi peas (personally, I won't be getting these again next time, but if you're a fan of the nasal-clearing shock of wasabi and want a little extra crunch, they're pretty fun). And for my friends with dietary restrictions, the staff is amazing -- they were super helpful in supporting me as I navigated dietary restrictions, especially with sauces, and were very knowledgeable. If you're ordering online or from a delivery app, they also have a section for allergy modifications at the top of the order that includes nut, gluten, soy, and dairy allergies. There's obviously some fear of cross-contamination if you're really sensitive, as everything is arranged on the same counter, but they definitely make a good effort to keep their customers safe and healthy. If you still want some lovely Hawaiian food but aren't in the mood for a whole poke bowl, you can always go for a hand roll, spam musubi, or one of their other traditional Hawaiian plates. I've rarely seen a poke spot that tries to feature other aspects of Hawaiian cuisine, from classic desserts like poi or kulolo, or fun takes on island favorites like the spam mac sundae. All in all, Abunai is a great spot for fresh, tasty poke, but also has plenty of options if you're feeling Hawaiian but want something a bit different. Top it off with amazing service from their super friendly owner and staff, plus adorable decor, and you've got yourself an outstanding dining experience.

I have tried Poki DC (which is delicious by the way), but I wanted to try Abunai today. The prices I would say are extremely reasonable. I placed a To-Go order for lunch. Speed of service alone gets 5/5 for me because not only were they friendly, but even during a semi-busy lunch rush my order was timely. Now I'm a huge fan of a good poke bowl and they did NOT disappoint! I got a Regular Poke Bowl with shrimp. They have your typical offerings, including signature bowls, but I will certainly be back to try their other menu items!

Abunai is always our go to stop before going to a show at the Kennedy Center. I love their Max salad, especially as the max sundae cup. Their katsu is also very good. They are known for their poke and offer a special bowl each day of the week. I wish they had more Hawaiian options but everything I've had here has been delicious. I'll see them for my next show!

I'm done with this place. So done. They're curbside pickup didn't exist when I went to the physical store. I sat in my car and eventually called even though I was notified that someone was coming out to me. Wasted so much time. Then today. They're out of chicken that I ordered so I was okay with musubi. But they dropped my Mac salad side. I had two sides on my order. That was honestly what I was looking forward to most. 2 stars for the taste. If you like to gamble, have fun with your takeout/delivery order. Why offer a service you don't have or can't accommodate? Why would sides change when the meat is what was wrong?

Had to try this place for the spam mac sundae! I also ordered the fried spam musubi and a create your own poke bowl. I'd loved the spam mac sundae! It incorporated three of my favorite things; spam, macaroni salad, and rice. The mac salad was not that salty so it balanced out with the spam. The musubi was pretty standard; I hate to say it, but there was a little bit too much rice for my liking in musubi. The poke was pretty good! I mean, you're not gonna get the freshest fish being in DC right? It was decently fresh. There were a bunch of toppings you can choose from and mix and match with the sauces!

I got a chance to try Abunai as a neighborhood drop off. I don't think I would ever have the opportunity to have tasted their poke bowls since they are in DC and quite a distance from me. I ordered the regular poke bowl with salmon and fresh greens. As much as I thought the entire bowl was good, I was quite disappointed in the meager portion. It was barely half a bowl. More of the fresh greens would have been fine since I'm not asking for more of the proteins that would have cost extra. Also, the salmon could have been cut better. It was one long string of small pieces of salmon. The husband ordered the regular poke bowl as well and got the brown rice with chicken. His portion was at least half the size of the bowl even though he selected almost every item that was not an extra charge. We both had to share one tiny sauce container of garlic aioli sauce. We both ordered garlic aioli with our bowls but got only one container. When you halve a small sauce container, that came out to be about a teaspoon of sauce. Definitely not enough. Would it have hurt to give us two sauce containers since we ordered two separate bowls? The garlic fries were great. Even though it was a food drop off from DC (close to an hour's drive away) and the fries were definitely cold by the time we got them home, they were still good. They were not soggy at all. I am glad the bowls are compostable and they followed my notes for not including any plastic utensils and napkins. As many restaurants are adding the option not to include utensils and napkins with their online orders, Abunai should consider this.

Disappointing. If you are going to sell poke, sushi, musubi, your rice needs to be excellent. There are not a lot of sauces to mix with cheap, old rice, so your rice game must be strong. Abunai's rice game is very weak. Ordered the Musubi lunch platter, which featured yesterday's cheap rice. Thank goodness for the furikake on top and the nori wrapped around it, else there would have been little flavor and nothing to hold that rice in place. Rice was dry, hard, low quality, and the four pieces of musubi were as if they'd been sitting on a griddle for a while (hard on one side). The mac salad with furikake was okay, and the edamame were also serviceable, but overall I give this a strong MEH.

Excellent place for Hawaiian food! I LOVE THE SPAM KATSU!!! Also definitely the best (furikake) mac salad in town! Highly recommend the Spam Mac Sundae to try both with the wonton chips! The Chicken Long Rice was not bad. The chicken had good flavor, but was quite dry. I enjoyed the vermicelli noodles with the chicken. We decided to try the Cucumber/Carrot Namasu and Lomi Salmon as our sides. The salmon was too salty, but cucumbers were refreshing and nice! The Li Hing Fruit (pineapple) is a nice dessert! The red powder makes is so sweet and tasty :-)

I seriously had doubts about this place, but I love being proved wrong when it comes to food. Abunai's poke bowl method is different than other businesses' in the DMV and I think it makes all the difference. When you build your own bowl in-store, you'll see that they add the proteins and mixings into a large bowl first, then add sauce and mix it up in there. This helps ensure that all of the toppings are engulfed in a sea of sauce, making for a much more flavorable bowl. Other businesses will build on top of the base and add the sauce as a last step, leaving to some unevenness. Even without my usual fruit toppings (they don't have this as a choice) and avocado, the bowl was super delicious. Surprisingly, the brown rice and quinoa mix is what I'm ringing home about - they got it as soft as white sticky sushi rice.

We had two tuna bowls yesterday and both of us felt sick after eating them. Which is really too bad because I love to support women owned businesses. I would not recommend going here.

Probably the most decent poke in the area! The portions were fair and the fish was fresh. My husband got the garlic poke and I got the spicy salmon(both about $13): The spicy salmon was a little ... bland? But I liked that because I could adjust the saltiness with soy sauce. Their garlic tuna was good for sure- I had a couple bites of my husband's dish. Service was great, food was fresh, and I would definitely return!

It was good. Definitely hit the spot on way back to my hotel from work. Ordered pickup and it was ready and waiting by time I got there. The spicy salmon roll was a bit smaller than I was expecting based on the photo on grubhub but it was still tasty. Also had the musubi which was very tasty. I'll def hit this place again before I leave town

Came here for takeout in late February, 2021 - COVID pandemic continues. I liked the shop itself - menu is up on a board and you make the order at the counter. Tried a few things: Abunai Poke (their namesake) - it was a Friday special and the guy behind the counter said it's his favorite! (There is a discount with the special!) Tako Poke - this is spicy with chili flakes, cucumbers Spam Musubi roll (4 pieces) Took this home and tried them out. My disclosures are I am an inherently pickier person, I will own this. I also have had poke in many different places (just never in Hawaii itself). This comes to about middle of the pack. I thought the Abunai was more soy-saucy than I liked. I do think it's more catered to non-Asian palates though, which may be why most people in the area enjoy it? I ended up adding kewpie mayo and sriracha to I enjoyed the Tako poke more - the spice level was good (I prefer more spice in general). The flavor blended more cohesively together and I think better for an Asian palate. Spam Musubi - the spam could have been crispier, so it was okay. Portions were on the smaller side - I can understand this with COVID and all going on though. I would return to check the other bowls out some time down the line. According to yelp, it is a woman/minority-owned business and gotta support.

Always fresh and delicious food. In addition to the poke, I love the nachos with pulled pork. The daily poke special is at an affordable price.

Poke tasted bad and not fresh at all. The service was good and the restaurant seems like a nice little spot for a quick lunch. I had a to go order

Consistently good. I always get the spicy salmon bowl with the suggested fixings. Good flavor and they don't skimp on the amount of avocado you get. The fried dumplings are also really solid.

More like Abu-No. weird sweet flavor, definitely not authentic poke. The rice was cooked too starchy. Idk just Abu-No.

Fantastic staff and food. I love in Hawaii for 10 years and this is very legit food. The staff was attentive and friendly and the food sooooo ONo!! (Good) Met the owner who was very fun, insightful and seemed to really enjoy the business.

I got a regular bowl with two scoops of protein and found the price to be a little high considering the amount given. The selection of toppings is also more limited than other places and the rice was a bit hard as if it had been sitting out for a while even though I ate there early. The taste itself was good, but if I did go back I would probably try something else.

Cool on a hot day! Delicious & refreshing poké! Friendly service. Hawaii in the middle of DC.

Ventured out to Farragut West on a Thursday evening to try Abunai Poke. Kind of bummed that this place isn't open on weekends, but with covid and this being a small business, I understand the restriction. Ordering was quick and seamless, and we tried the Spicy Salmon bowl and Spam Katsu Musubis. There was ton of fresh salmon in the Spicy Salmon bowl, and it does have a kick! Loved the Spam Katsu Musubis!! They were crispy, filling and had a pretty unique taste. I've made spam musubi at home before and these taste SO much better! I'll definitely be back to try the other musubi flavors! The poke was pretty standard. A little spicer than I had originally thought and I enjoyed the extra flavor. There was only one employee working on the night that I came and I felt a bit bad because there was a sizable line. It took about 30 minutes for me to get my food but she was very professional and friendly. I'm interested in coming back to try their other Hawaiian cuisine and musubis over their other poke bowls.

Woman-owned! Woo hoo! I wish this place was closer to me. You can walk in and order, as you can see in my photos, they have plenty of options to choose from. You can order a pre-selected bowl or customize your own. They don't skimp on their ingredients. They aldo have different musubi options along with lunch specials! I got the katsu musubi, the crunchy katsu spam was so good. I wish I had several more packed (hah)! The poke is fresh here and the workers here was super nice, Hi Akina! (Shes so friendly and chill). Also got the strawbery guava nectar drink which taste so .. like I was on an Island. This place makes me miss Hawaii a lot. Will be back when I'm in the area!

I had just moved to the DMV a few months ago from Hawai'i and tried Abunai because I was dying for a taste of home. I was born and raised in Kalihi, the home of Elena's Hawaiian Food so needless to say my expectations were high. I ordered the Kalua Pork and Cabbage plate with furikake mac salad and the lomi lomi (tomatoes and onions) with li hing pineapple. I really was rooting for this place but I was largely unimpressed. The kalua pig and cabbage was a disappointment. It hardly tasted remotely close to kālua. A more accurate description would be BBQ pulled pork with the BBQ sauce somewhat washed off. The mac salad just tasted like mayo and furikake. I have to say the best part of the plate was the lomi lomi WITHOUT the salmon. The pineapple was okay but with very minimal li hing powder. I want to give this place another try since I do see that it is own by a kānaka maoli wahine but hopefully this time I'll have a taste of the poké. I really hope that they can bring a taste of home that I have been craving so bad.

I was very excited to try this place. Being a Chef in DC I am skeptical to try overpriced, redundant, and service lacking restaurants in general. So when I do choose a place I like to order more than my fill and support new food businesses. What I ordered: Spam Mac Sundae with sushi rice and wonton chips: Clever name. Great portion and presentation. Bland mac. I chose ​wonton chips. Nope. Too bad though​ because texture would have been wonderful Kalua Pig and Cabbage side 1: furikake mac​ side 2: mixed green with pineapple vinaigrette​ An ABSOLUTE disaster. The braised pork was overly salty. It was supposed to come with pineapples and bbq sauce. Nope. The Mac was bland and the greens didnt have the any pineapple dressing as described on the menu. The portion was great and the rice was cooked well. Not enough to salvage the numerous errors of this plate. Spicy Salmon Handroll Great snack! Well seasoned. It was off putting that they gave ONE SLICE OF PICKLED GINGER and a very old wad of wasabi paste (colorwise). If this is their normal service...just dont bother and save the plastic it came in. Since this was an online order and live 35min away from DC, I didnt see this mess until I got home (1hr.in traffic) I tried to call (twice) in fear I might have gotten someones order by error but after 10 rings each time​​​ with no answer I accepted that this place is what it is.

3.5 stars. Good serving of proteins, but definitely on the pricier side ($13). With so many poke places popping up in DC, Abunai Poke was nice but not as satisfying as other poke stops. I'd rate Abunai Poke as better than Honeyfish Poke, but Poki DC and Poke Papa still get my votes. I ordered the build your own - brown rice as my base, two scoops of the ahi tuna (the scoops are generous - I actually could've done with one scoop). With the build your own option, there's the standard price for the size of your bowl, and then additional charges for the type of protein that you choose. Initially I wanted to get one scoop of salmon and one scoop of tuna, but they only had marinated salmon in their abunai sauce. I was able to sample the abunai sauce, which was on the spicy side for me, so I opted for two scoops of tuna instead. I considered getting the tako (octopus), but I was able to sample that and it was chewy. The counter was high and I am short, so it was difficult for me to see what the toppings were. Fortunately, they have paper menus taped to the counter so that you can easily pick and choose which ingredients you want added in. Upcharges are clearly noted. My bowl ended up being light on the sauces, so I found myself eating some very bland brown rice towards the end of my meal. The ahi tuna was also stringy and chewy, which was off-putting. They have a good happy hour deal: Monday - Friday from 5-8pm, you can get the ahi poke (ahi, mix-ins, and sauce) for $6 - which is all about the poke. Beware that the "mix-ins" are not "toppings," so it's essentially just a cup of poke in sauce and perhaps a garnish like green onions. Overall, it's not a bad way to get your sashimi fix, if that's what you're feeling. They had a water pitcher at the front counter for self-service, though the pitcher ran out quickly and wasn't being monitored by staff for refills when we were there. They have a rewards program if you type in your phone number at the register, and you can get 10% off your first bowl. I've also received random deals via text, so it's worth signing up. While this brick and mortar focuses exclusively on poke, I've also tried out Abunai's food truck, and their spam musubi is the best I've ever had!

This place is a no brainer. Like you have to expend zero mind tricks to eat here. Value. Flavors. Service. Seriously. My go to is the spam mac salad lunch cup thing. I got i once with an , it didn't need it. So good. You can get it with a side seaweed salad, but that'll bump up a you $$ to like $12-15. No bueno. It's all good though. Can't remember if they serve Hawaiian Sun drinks though.

Abunai is one of my favorite poke places in D.C. The ingredients are always super fresh and tasty. It's popular, so the lines are long. I usually order through Ritual because I'm not a patient person. Abunai is the priciest of poke options, especially if you want an extra scoop. They also have the least amount of toppings, and the staff is not friendly or knowledgeable, hence the four stars. But my bowl always hits the spot, so I can't complain too much.

My family and I love Hawaiian food as my wife grew up on Maui. We came here just a few days after visiting family on Maui and dining here tasted like we never left! The food was just as good as the 808 state and highly recommended for those of us yearning for a taste of Hawaii in the DMV area! We'll definitely be back here again when we're in the city!

After seeing this place on social media, we decided to make a quick trip to DC for errands and stop by this place. Walking in, we were immediately welcomed by the staff and they were very kind and helpful. Everything is there on the menu and they even have a daily (weekdays) poke special. We ordered the special poke of the day, the mac and cheese sundae, and a spicy tuna hand roll. Our favorite was the sundae and the biggest reason why we wanted to come here in the first place. The portions are good, it tastes great and priced fairly for what you get. The poke we did wish had a bit more ingredients, but overall was good. The hand roll tasted great! But the portion was a bit unexpected, while the sundae exceeded what we thought. Overall a very nice poke place, priced well, and tastes great! If you get the chance to stop by I recommend it! For us if we are in the area we will most likely stop by, but wouldn't be worth having to drive far to try it.

This is definitely a 4.5 star review!!! I love being pleasantly surprised with a good deal and good food, and that's what I got when stumbling upon Abunai earlier today before my doctor's appointment at Medstar Lafayette, which is right around the corner. I arrived early so I decided to get lunch to pass the time and hopped on yelp to see what was around, I saw that this place offered 13% cash back (plus) had 4 stars (big plus) and had a 92 health score (big big big plus!) so I chose to dine here and what a great choice. There was a long line because it was smack in the middle of the lunch rush and they only had two people working, but the wait was worth it. They do a special everyday and I luckily came in on Friday where all the specialty bowls are only $10! Normally these joints are between $12-$17, so I really came up. I decided on the Abunai which was rocking and I added the pineapple vinaigrette dressing which was the perfect compliment. I loved their ahi tuna, it was so flavorful and all the seasonings they used in the bowl were bomb! The portion size was moderate although I could go for something else and I got the largest bowl. I will definitely be back to try other things. The inside of the restaurant is cute and clean, I wouldn't mind dining in. The service was friendly, although the line was jumping the customer service person didn't mind offering their recommendation on the best bowl etc. I think it's really awesome that they offer such a big discount on their bowls on fridays, considering the price of ahi tuna and poke in general. They've definitely got a new customer in me!

To quote the famous words of the great MC Hammer: Can't Touch This In the great battle of poke shops that are popping up across the District, I would say that Abunai is the clear winner. At this shop, they make the fish the real star. You have your choice between salmon or ahi tuna but no matter what you choose you can be guaranteed you'll receive a hearty helping of super fresh, super fly fish. I'm tired of buying poke bowls that are 90% rice and 10% fish -- at Abunai there is a perfect fish to rice ratio in every single bite. The other add ins (you can customize or go with their suggested bowls) are high quality as well. I went with the classic Abunai and was seriously impressed by how the simple, traditional ingredients made for a killer meal. To wash it all down they have my favorite Hawaiian Sun passion fruit juice! If I have not sold you yet they also offer a 10% off check in offer. The only way they can improve is by bringing in a beach! Five happy stars from me.