IT’S RAW POKE SHOP
ADDRESS: 4991 Newport Avenue, Suite A, San Diego, CA 92107
WEBSITE: https://itsrawpokeshop.com/
There was a poke shop over in Point Loma that I had heard good things about from both my friend Sandy as well as TikTok, so when I was looking for a lunch that leaned more on the lighter side, poke was the first thing that came to mind. Grabbing poke fit pretty well for my schedule before I was planning to head over to the San Diego Zoo in the early afternoon, so I ventured out from my hotel to take a stop at the shop.
The shop itself is located in the downtown area of the Ocean Beach neighborhood, so parking was pretty much exclusively either on the street or in one of the nearby paid parking lots. I must have hit the place at their peak lunchtime, since there was already a line that was out the door and starting to go down to the next storefront by the time I got there.
You really get a sense of how tiny the space is once you make it far enough in line to step inside. There is a counter to place your order, with a glass case displaying the various options of poke that you could choose from. It seemed like the staff were able to keep the orders flowing to the point where it never got super crowded inside with both people waiting to order and waiting for their food.
Their primary poke options revolved around either salmon or ahi tuna, with also tako (octopus) and crawfish on the menu as well. They also had ahi handrolls, inari handrolls topped with spicy tuna, and also some pork or chicken plates from the kitchen. But the line out the door was definitely for the poke, so that’s what I was going to stick with.
I surveyed the options and had a good feeling that I was going to want one flavor of salmon and one flavor of ahi. I was set on getting spicy salmon for one option, and was in between the furikake ahi, ahi with ginger sauce, or kimchi ahi for the other. But at the very last second, I saw they replenished the spicy ahi and decided to double down on the spicy flavor for the two fish. It was super quick that the staff were able to give me my food and send me on my way. With no seating available, I took the food back to my hotel room.
The poke combo plate comes with two scoops of rice and the two choices of poke flavors. I thought that the ratio of the rice to the poke scoops was pretty spot-on, along with little packets of furikake seasoning to sprinkle over the rice as well. Both the salmon and ahi tuna tasted really fresh, with the spicy sauce coating the cubes of fish also containing both tobiko as well as scallions. The one aspect, however, that I thought could have been improved is that the heat level of the sauce could have probably been dialed up a little bit, since I didn’t really get much spiciness.
I will admit that as I started to eat my lunch plate, I did have a bit of eater’s remorse with my selections and probably should have gone in with a better plan. Getting two of the same flavor type didn’t really give me the opportunity to sample their flavor range to see how another offering might have also stacked up. In addition, I also should have grabbed some of the mac salad as well to give that a try too. Seems like a quintessential Hawaiian item to sample at a Hawaiian shop that I overlooked.
In any event, I can use those considerations on a return visit to the shop in the future. The fish was certainly flavorful and the variety of the options can make it hard to choose from, so it could be good to go with others so you can sample more items. Is the poke worth the wait in line down the street? I’d say so. Give this place a try if you’re in the area and poke is what you’re in the mood for.
Let’s now take a look at the It’s Raw Poke Shop Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Poke Combo Plate, with Spicy Salmon and Spicy Ahi **
Cubes of salmon and ahi tuna mixed with spicy sauce, tobiko, and scallions. Served with two scoops of white rice.
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And finally, here are my rankings for It’s Raw Poke Shop:
Food: 4.75 / 5
There are a good variety of different poke flavors to choose from, with salmon and ahi tuna being the main stars of the show. The fish certainly tastes fresh and the combo plate is a good amount of food as well.
Atmosphere: N/A
The shop is small enough that there is standing room only just to order and wait for your food when you’re inside.
Service: 4 / 5
Given the constant crowd that lined out the door for food, the woman taking orders at the counter was very straight to the point and keeping the crowd moving. My food was ready in a very quick amount of time as well, probably no more than 30 seconds after I ordered.
Price: 4.75 / 5
At just under $18, the poke combo plate definitely has a good amount of value, given the freshness and quality of the fish as well as the portions of poke that they give you with the two scoops.
Overall:
13.5 / 15
(90%)
Categories: California, Restaurants
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