Chikarashi

"In New York right now, poke places are kind of like yoga studios. There’s always some new one around the corner, and most of them are… fine. Some of them smell like feet and farts. And a rare few are actually great. What we’re trying to say here is that in a city full of places serving kind of average bowls of raw fish and rice, Chikarashi stands out above the rest. The fish is freshly sliced, and the toppings are quality as well. This is mostly a takeout spot, but there’s a bit of counter seating. It’s worth going slightly out of your way for this option." - hillary reinsberg

"Chikarashi does some of the city’s better takeout poké. At other poke spots, you might find yourself wondering how many days ago the fish was actually sliced, or why that piece of skin is still on your salmon. But that’s not the case at Chikarashi - everything’s actually fresh here. Just know that there’s fairly limited seating." - hillary reinsberg

"Offers refreshing bowls like the goma shoyu tuna bowl with fresh bluefin tuna, wakame, and avocado." - Eater Staff

"Unless you have a deluxe knife set and a personal fish guy named Sam who delivers you sushi-grade tuna and texts you memes, we’re going to guess you’re not making poke bowls at home. You can place your delivery order directly through Chikarashi’s website." - Hannah Albertine, Nikko Duren

"Remember when the first couple poke spots opened in New York, and then a hundred more seemed to pop up overnight? Either you answered yes, or we owe a belated congratulations to you and the rest of the Class of 2017. Now it seems like there are poke spots on every corner, but Chikarashi is our favorite. Unlike places where you build-your-own bowl and often end up with a lot of rice and some mashed spicy tuna, Chikarashi serves set bowls with fair portions of fresh fish. There are some seats along the walls, but the small space gets packed on weekdays, so plan on taking it to go." - Matt Tervooren