Location and Vibe
Kahuna poke restaurant is near the edge of Shadyside on Highland Ave., you’ll find a hip spot serving up Hawaiian style poke bowls and fresh juices. Kahuna Poke and Juice Bar is not the usual fare for this city, but that’s what makes it exciting to try. I wanted to review Kahuna Poke Bowl Restaurant in Pittsburgh for fellow poke lovers.
As soon as you walk in, you’re greeted with fun decor. #HEALTHYAF they say. Okay, sounds great to me! The vibrant colors and instant pitch for my own health quickly sent me on a mental vacation, even if it’s just for the quick Hawaiian themed lunch I’ve opted for.
Testing the Poke Menu
There’s a mix of menu bowls or build your own from a mix of classic poke bowl ingredients. I choose to build my own poke bowl from the base, protein, and mix-in offerings. I try to branch out occasionally, but for me it tends to stay close to the same everywhere and everytime.
White rice base, make that a large (3 scoops of Scottish salmon, please), add-ins of masago, cucumber and edamame, finish it off with some Kahuna sauce. For toppings, I went with some crispy onions and I splurge here for avocado and crab salad. Here’s how that shaped up:
In Summary…Restaurant Review
This was a great poke bowl. The only unexpected part was the Scottish salmon. It was a little different than salmon I’ve had at other poke restaurants in other cities, but I appreciated that they called it out on their menu. My mental dialogue went like this, “Scottish salmon is that different? Probably not. Well, turns out it probably is.” The vibe and quality of the ingredients made up for my salmon confusion.
Next time I’m back in the burgh, I’ll be stopping by Kahuna to try some of their other Poke Bowl variations and the fresh juice options!