Poke? Meh.

Pros: it’s BYOB (or sake), and the service is crazy fast.

Cons: the food is just fine, and the service is crazy fast.

Look, if I’m just running out for a speedy bite to eat, I think it’s great when the food arrives lightning-quick, but when I’m trying to have a romantic meal with my husband (which we politely indicated by asking our server several times to please give us a little more time to enjoy our drinks and check out the menu), I’d really love to finish chewing before my plate is whisked away and the bill is deposited on my table. Even including all our pleas to let us take our time and enjoy each others’ company, the entire meal was 40 minutes start-to-finish, tops.

A sign on the door advertises “CASH ONLY, $18/per person minimum,” so Kendrick and I ordered with the minimum in mind. We had an avocado salad (passable, but I wished there had been more avocado), a spicy miso soup (nothing special), a Sunny Roll (salmon outside, salmon tempura inside, and a little too one-note for me), and a Manhattan roll (tuna and salmon outside, crab, avocado and cucumber inside, and very delicious).

Total? $35.93 including tax (almost the exact minimum – yay!). That plus the $8.99 we paid for the sake recommended to us at the liquor store (which the restaurant generously heated up for us) made for a relatively inexpensive (if not especially tastebud-exploding) date night. I don’t know that I would go back again if my intention was romance, but I imagine Poke would make for a good lunch spot or a nice, quick dinner with a friend.