Poké Box fresh food sensation arrives in Whitby

What do smoked duck, ahi tuna, tempura shrimp, roasted nori, seaweed salad and ginger honey all have in common?

They are all ingredients you can find in your ‘box’ meals at Whitby’s newest fast food sensation, Poké Box.

Poké, diced raw fish served with a variety of toppings as an appetizer or a main course, originated in Hawaii and started taking off in popularity in mainland North America about ten years ago. The Poké Box began serving poke in Toronto in 2016 and now has four locations downtown as well as restaurants in Waterloo, Markham and now Whitby, which opened in the Tanton Gardens plaza on Taunton Road on Boxing Day.

“The Poké Box was founded from a genuine urge to share a meal that is guilt-free and exciting to eat. We believe you should always look forward to a meal and feel great about what you eat,” said company co-founder Jeremy Lai. “We are excited to be Durham Region’s first Poke joint, we hope you guys are as excited as we are!”

The Poké Box secret starts with super fresh and nutritious ingredients, homemade and small batch marinades and sauces and vegetables fresh-cut daily.

Those seasonal ingredients come from Hawaii, Japan and Canada and the company also prides itself on sustainability and environmental responsibility, with the supply and pricing of tuna reflecting the constraints of the eco-system.

Where else can you find  dishes like the Big Umami (salmon, ahi tuna, avocado, seaweed salad, sweet onion, green onion, cabbage, tempura bits, furikake, house shogu, Waikiki mayo) or Ruffled Up (smoked duck, tempura shrimp, tamago, sweet onion, cabbage, cucumber, mandarin, crispy onion, furikake, cucumber dill, tamari glaze) or veggie options like Little Island (tofu medley, seaweed salad, umami shitake, kale, togarash, red pepper, endamame, green onion, sesame, sweet ginger)?

There is also a gluten-free option called The GFP (Salmon, Gluten-Free Shoyu w/ Sesame oil, Kale, Edamame, Gluten-free Spicy Mayo, Avocado, Mandarin, Pickled Ginger, Sesame Seeds) or you can build your box with the proteins, vegetable and sauces at hand.

The early reviews have all been positive with comments such as “Absolutely epic” (Michael), “Service and food just amazing” (Jennifer), “So fresh. So good” (Shirley), “Unbelievably fresh” (Jessica) and “Delicious” (Graham).

“The Poke Box is super glad to be serving this welcoming community,” enthused Lai. “We have never had so many excited and supportive customers in our first week. We’ve lost count but I think almost one thousand members have visited us already!”

The Poké Box is located at 304 Taunton Rd. E at Garden Street.