John L.
Yelp
I don't like raw fish! So, why am I here? My wife and I planned to be in Bethesda, and she loves poke bowls. So, she's the reason. :) I looked for a highly rated poke bowl restaurant and found that this place is directly linked to Kusshi Sushi. We love the dishes at Kusshi Sushi. I assumed that the quality of food here would be similar, and it was! We got 2 "Build Your Own" bowls. That way, we get what we like, and I avoid raw fish. If you don't want to build your own bowl, then you can pick from a list of signature bowls. Those bowls have preselected ingredients.
Build your own bowl starts with a choice of bowl size. Each size comes with a certain number of scoops of protein. They have regular, large, extra large, and no protein. We picked large. That came with 3 scoops. You can get more scoops for an extra charge.
The build order continues as follows: proteins, toppings, sprinkles, and sauces. You can pick more than one type of everything. Some choices have an extra charge. Those are zucchini noodles, avocado, and masago (fish roe).
My wife's bowl had brown rice, marinated tuna, spicy tuna, spicy salmon, cucumbers, carrots, edamame, red onions, cilantro, crispy onion, sesame seeds, furikake, wasabi aioli, and sesame dressing. It was SPICY! Less wasabi aioli next time. There were more than enough chunks of fish. The quality was good. They were soft, not mushy. There was no bad smell or taste. The bowl was flavorful, but the fish flavors were prominent. Everything looked and tasted fresh. It was a raw fish lover's paradise. My wife loved it! It was good enough that I could eat it. And I really dislike raw fish!
My bowl had spring mix, garlic shrimp, carrots, cucumbers, edamame, pickled ginger, red onions, scallions, cilantro, crispy onion, crispy garlic, tempura flakes, sesame seeds, rice puffs, furikake, wasabi aioli, eel sauce, and sesame dressing. The garlic shrimp was tender and delicious. The bowl was bursting with flavor. Every taste sensation was there - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, savory, spicy, and fatty. I removed the pickled ginger because it was very strong in ginger flavor which was somewhat bitter. This bowl was incredibly well-rounded. Thanks to Poke Dojo for all the great ingredients! FYI, eel sauce contains soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake. It was sweet, salty, and savory with a touch of smokiness from caramelization. I'm glad they have it! It's called eel sauce because it is commonly used in Japanese cooking to glaze eel.
The service was knowledgeable, helpful, patient, and polite. We were guided through the process smoothly. All questions were answered well. A great service experience! The dining room and restroom were clean. They have one restroom for customers. There were only 13 seats in a small dining room. Parking is available at Colonial Parking garage or Bethesda Elm Street garage. Both have hourly rates. Bethesda Elm Street garage is free on Sunday. Colonial Parking has the closest access with an elevator. If you're looking for poke bowls with quality ingredients, then this place should be on your list.