Review Poki Time - Hawthorn

i had high hopes for Poki. the photos looks great, and the ingredients even better. It's a good sized bowl (small size) with healthy ingredients and the sauce was yummy. However, the tofu is not good. it's really slimey and cold, which doesn't suit the dish at all as the rice is warm. what a shame.

I absolutely love the food at poki bowl and I order it most days of the work week, however the system put in place to prepare the meals is absolutely terrible. You have to wait longer to receive your meal than in a sit down restaurant.

Tried both Poki Time and Poke Me which is about 20 metres away on Glenferrie Road. Found Poki Time to be vastly superior in terms of taste and variety of toppings. Service was very good and price is reasonable.

great food! I have always been a huge fan, but the last few times I have been in they have only had one staff on. You have to wait for 15 mins and the staff has to keep filling up the toppings half way though. They have no time to breath..... Store need's at least 2 staff per shift. Not good enough.

A good place for a healthy lunch

The portions are all off. The imitation crab in the California completely overwhelmed the flavours of the rest of the dish. Pretty pricey for what I got too.

Good food but idk how they keep f****ing up orders when you write down exactly what you want. Is adding cucumber really that hard to remember when it's right in front of you?

Decided to try out Poke Time, and got a bowl with salmon. Tasted OK but the fish gave me food poisoning, I suspect from being left out all day. Not impressed.

The spicy mayo dressing and salmon was the bomb! Fresh, reasonably priced, generous serving and endless topings to choose from. My favourite was vinaigrette dressed kale...delicious and healthy, would definitely come back for more!!

Excellent food and awesome staff! I would definitely recommend it

Much needed addition to the Glenferrie area. Healthy, filling, fresh and reasonably priced. Would definitely recommend trying this place out!!

Very nice good food!

so yummie and super good service! The girl helped us to choose all

Perfect for a quick lunch in between classes. More affordable than poke me but price reflects quality. Can ask for less dressing, their bowls are usually soggy and over seasoned.<br/>For more foodie goodness follow my ig: emptystomach

Great value for money compared to other Poke places in the area. I normally build my own. I’ve never had an issue with the freshness of the fish or portion size.

Great poke bowls! Very yummy and good value for money! Very filling. Very small place, but good set up, where you fill in a form with what you want

Small shop quietly located behind McDonald with very attentive staff (not the kind of loud-as-friendly) and great food. You can build your own bowl but this was our first time so we opted to pick from the fixed menu. My Hawaiian bowl on brown rice with an addition of spicy mayo was very filling, the salmon was fresh and creamy. My friend had the Spicy Up and was not very keen on the spicy tuna, so I happily had hers. Will be back. There is good matcha soft serve sold next door so that would make a great dessert to your lunch or dinner ;)

TL;DR: Fantastic little Poke store offering delicious and healthy meals at a rather steep price. Highly recommend the salmon. <br/><br/> Poki time was fairly quiet when we walked in and immediately made us doubt our restaurant choice with there being another Poke joint just across the road. After ordering and sitting down though we realised that Poki time was hustling Uber orders quicker than the delivery drivers could keep up. This put some reassurance into our minds as we sat patiently waiting for our bowls. <br/><br/>We both created our own Poke bowls on a bed of salad which featured tuna and salmon. We recommend this hidden restaurant in Hawthorn if you’re looking for a healthy and delicious meal but be weary that the prices are high.

Popped in here while shopping on Glenferrie road! I love the concept, the staff were lovely and very helpful as it was my first time and seeing as I was able trying to be on the healthier side, this was p perfect! Only criticism is that I’d like the place itself to have a better vibe - it’s a little sad walking in but definitely would return!

Really yummy and cheap, filling if you get rice instead of the salad or half rice half salad. Kingfish wasn't the best but the spicy tuna was great, highly recommend you build your own with brown rice, kale, spicy tuna and the condiments

Hawaiian salad - Poki. I had mine with mix greens at the bottom. But you can choose brown rice, white rice or kale. I ordered California which has crab meat mayo and seasoned salmon. Pretty good. Price is a little steep for salad but salmon does not come cheap. A good change from the usual salad. It's light though so if you want it to be more filling, choose the rice.

Great fresh food. Ordered off deliveroo. Very fast. The veggie bowl and the fish bowl tasted great and a large serving size for price also. Would reccomend!

The salad was drenched in the salad dressing and the salad was pricey for the size they served. Not much options to choose from to create your own salad bowl.

Loved my lunch today - great place for a quick and healthy lunch and I like the ability to choose what you want in your bowl.  Service was great and they suggested things which I was willing to try.  This will become a frequent lunch place for a quick lunch.

Worthy of being the top 10 best urban places to eat! Fish is absolutely fresh and the flavours are very authentic to Poke in Hawaii. Price is in par with other Poke places.

Poke bowls are definitely a trend worth biting into, and poki time serves them up pretty well! Although, the store itself isn't so inviting to stay and eat your bowl as there's not much seating, and the ventilation of the store mustn't be so good as me and all my friends' eyes were left watering from the cut onions on display, which was a bit unbearable after awhile. Nonetheless, the bowl itself was delicious, you can choose from an array of toppings and build your own bowl. The price point is pretty normal for poke bowls, but sometimes I wish they were more generous with the fish! It is the starring feature of the bowl after all. Poki time is worth giving a try

Good quality food and quick service. The pens used to write down the order didn't really work. We got the salmon and spicy tuna which were both good. Overall would recommend. <br/><br/>All the ingredients were fresh and I liked ordering of cards as I was able to take my time in picking and choosing.

We absolutely loved Poki Time!!! Went here for dinner tonight for the first time and it was beyond our expectations. The Poki Bowls, are very generously served, all the ingredients are soo fresh and tasty. Perfect, healthy dinner and fairly, cheaply priced! However, the ordering system could definitely be improved... filling out little white board cards for your order, bit time consuming... should be more of a build-your-bowl ordering system where you point/pick what you want, they make it whilst you order (like subway) and pay at the end instead of picking, paying and then they make it... super inefficient. The staff member on tonight was alone and seemed very inexperienced... 3 customers waiting, and she chose to answer the phone, mid taking someone's order... no greeting, just ignored everyone who came into the shop... Had plenty of spare white board order menu cards but chose to clean and use the same one for each person, so it took 20minutes to order and make something that didn't need to be cooked, should really only take 5minutes. The slow service and process is the only thing letting Poki Time down. <br/><br/>TIP: Do order your Poki Bowl with original sauce- you won't be disappointed! No matter what combo you mix, it will be tasty, fresh and amazing! Don't come here if your in a rush, sit down, relax cause you will be waiting a while...

Reasonably priced and hits the spot. I had the spicy tuna bowl and although the rice was a little dry (I would've preferred it to be seasoned with a little sushi vinegar. Just personal preference), the tuna and salmon was delicious. If you like spicy, this is the bowl for you with its slices of chilies sprinkled over top. Would love to come here again.

The food here is OK. It's healthy, reasonably fresh, and the staff are friendly. <br/><br/>I find that the sauces aren't strong enough - the wasabi and spicy sauces barely pack a punch. The prices are also excessively expensive when compared to poke restaurants in neighbouring suburbs and the city.<br/><br/>It's decent if you need something quick and healthy, but I personally don't think it's great value when compared to other poke restaurants.

First visit to Poki Time was a great experience. This second time however was not. Firstly, their phone kept dropping out every time someone picked up. The price of a small bowl has increased to nearly $15. They didn't have the protein I requested and forgot to add two of my chosen ingredients. Service has been slow both times. Not worth the cost.

Loved the freshness of the food!! Top quality ingredients. It's a very simple concept of... well... deconstructed sushi plus a little extra. But this is a great idea, I love having something healthy to take away too. Pricing is reasonable. Only criticisms are that it was hard to find (external sign required!). And, if the place was jamming, the ordering process could be time consuming especially if you had any questions. l know I did for my first time, however, it was quiet and customer service was excellent. Can't wait to return! Keep up the great work

Love love love poki time! What an amazing concept and so happy that I can get it delivered straight to my door with uber eats ;) love that I can create my own bowl. The spicy miso tuna is my favourite with ponzo sauce and crab mix. SO good.

Love it! Got it via UberEATS. Great for distance travel as it's not hot food. The prawn and the spicy tuna was fab! I love the whole Hawaiian themed Japanese. Reminds me of Hawaii. I will be back. A great, affordable addition to Glenferrie Rd's selection.

Love the concept and food is prepared quickly in front of you, it's really good! The bowls are fresh and healthy. It's my favourite lunch place

Awesome healthy food which is worth paying for if you want a quick salad for lunch thats not to heavy. Will definitely be going back. Perfect size if you get the bigger one

Great idea, good ingredients, and a reasonable price for the quality, size, and freshness. They need to sort out their ordering/paying/pick up system though. Great idea with the little cards to create your poki bowl but they haven't managed to implement it very efficiently. A one way system from ordering to paying would work better (like subway). Just a bit of an inefficient mess to be honest resulting in longer wait times than necessary. They've also lost my order card more than once and the one time I got it via Uber eats they took 20 minutes longer than the wait time specified when ordering (60inutes total). I wish they'd sort all this out because I really like it but every time I get it something goes wrong and it's really frustrating. They've been open awhile now too so can't just be attributed to teething issues anymore. <br/>

Absolutely love poki time! The freshest of ingredients we've had in a while! With options of kale, lettuce, brown rice and white rice as the bases, toppings include fresh tuna, salmon, prawns, spicy tuna and tofu. The bowls are nutritious and delicious and a great option when wanting something healthy, quick and tasty!!

Yum!!! Fresh, fun and healthy food that's quick to order. Was very excited to try out this new place, and it was not a regrettable experience. I especially appreciate the option to choose as many toppings as desired, and the ability to customise your own dish.

Best tasting poke I have had in Melbourne. <br/>Place itself needs air conditioning, too hot when eating in. And the ordering process is convoluted, but probably a symptom of a new business. I'll be back.

Great place to grab a bite to eat on the run. Healthy nutritions and filling. Gawain meets Japanese with raw fish 🐟 or tofu. Plenty of options for all food types. It's a little hidden off glenferrie road. Service was great and speedy. Hawthorn is quickly becoming filled with plenty of good eating spots and this is a go to for me if I'm ever in this neck of the woods. Really resonable price $12.95 for a regular bowl which gives you 2 choices of protein and as many salad options as you like!!! You really get your money's worth and not worth trying to make on your own! Thanks team at poki for a yummy nutritious lunch 👍🏼

For $9.95 you get a hand sized potion of food.<br/>I ordered the mixed salad, corn, carrot, cucumber, seaweed and nori. All fresh. Seaweed was delicious.<br/><br/>However I could have bought all of that as well as the measley portion of shrimp from Coles for less.<br/><br/>I got the Original dressing... Soy sauce that was put at the bottom of my tiny paper bowl and was incredibly difficult to wrangle onto my dry salad leaves without checking my ingredients everywhere.<br/><br/>Fresh and fast, yes. <br/>Value for money, no.

Always delicious and healthy! Friendly service and Ty is always great to chat to! Definitely a return customer will recommend to all my friends and family!

Refreshing and packed with flavour. Quick service, can see myself being a regular customer to try out all the different combination and sauces.

Delicious marinate (original) for the tuna with a nice touch of sesame oil, rice was perfectly cooked. Plenty of salad choices to choose from. It was fast and tasty. Friendly staff. Would come back again.

Highly recommended. Friendly service and really tasty really healthy food! Super fresh ingredients, the tuna/salmon/kingfish seemed high sashimi quality cuts. Will be back for sure! (:

I loved my kale, spicy mayo, kingfish, salmon bowl with tofu, ginger, furikake, masago. wow!  would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes yummy, healthy food.

Delicious and healthy. The salad option provides a great low carb option. The location is convenient- close to both Swinburne and Glenferrie Road.

The food was very fresh and filling. I will be returning often for lunch! The staff and the owner of the store was very friendly and helpful.

Was awesome to find this newly-opened gem tucked away near Glenferrie Station. Service was friendly, welcoming and happy for a chat (which will probably change once others discover it as their regular lunch destination!). The takeaway bowls are perfect for a Swinburne student study snack, quick healthy alternative for workers and photogenic for social media enthusiasts to the area!

This is the closest thing to chirashizushi outside of Japan! I've been looking for fresh sashimi-like dish in Australia and this is the place. Love the taste of raw salmon and tuna - so fresh and delicious! I wish I lived in Hawthorn but I'd definitely come back here whenever I'm in town.

So healthy and tasty! Was delighted to find this little taste of Hawaii locally. I can see this becoming my regular go-to place for lunch. I had the salmon and spicy tuna, soy and sesame dressing, mixed salad, carrot, avocado, fried shallots, all with a bit of brown rice at the bottom of the bowl.

Very crisp and fresh ingredients. Prawns were delicious and you know you're eating a healthy meal for a great price. This new concept is definitely going to take Melbourne by storm. Great find!!!

Healthy! Fresh! Delicious! Worth! Been studying at Swinburne for the past 4 years, and I've finally found my go to lunch place if I'm looking for something tasty and healthy. The serving size is huge, and definitely worth it's price. The service is great, and the guys working there are friendly to talk to. A must try when in Hawthorn, you will not be disappointed!

Delicious poki bowl!! The spicy mayo dressing and salmon was the bomb! Fresh, reasonably priced, generous serving and endless topings to choose from. My favourite was vinaigrette dressed kale...delicious and healthy, would definitely come back for more!!