Pokehouse

If you try to eat healthy, salads tend to become boring after a while. Luckily, the concept of the poké bowl has finally come to Brussels, thereby providing a more exciting yet still healthy alternative. It is a traditional Hawaiian dish that is usually served in a bowl containing rice, vegetables and diced raw fish. Never having tried a poké bowl before, we were initiated to Hawaiian cuisine at Poké House Louise.

Pokehouse is also one of the restaurants in Brussels that remain open on Monday.

Straight from a magazine

With three different Pokehouse restaurants in Brussels, chances are there’s always one nearby. We visited the one at Louise which features a modern design with plants, adorable vintage tiles and furry chair covers that make the entire place feel homely. It’s almost as if a design magazine had come to life.

The different poke bowls

It is possible to create your own poke bowl by selecting the ingredients, or pick one of their signatures bowls that have already been tried and approved. We went for the safe option by ordering the ‘spicy salmon’ and the ‘crispy chicken’. Although both were super tasty, I especially liked the original selection of ingredients of the latter. By adding pomegranate, the overall dish had a very surprising, fresh taste.

If you decide to create your own bowl, this is how it goes: you pick the base (rice, quinoa, salad, zucchini pasta, or a cabbage salad), the sauce, the vegetables (you can select up to six different vegetables without extra cost) and a protein. Traditionally, a poké bowl always contains raw fish, but at Pokéhouse they’ve broadened the selection with chicken, beef, shrimp and tofu. Finally, you can add a finishing touch with a special topping like the wasabi mix, fried onions or sesame.

(Don’t worry if all these options sound a bit overwhelming. You can grab a form and tick off your preferred ingredients at your own peace.) The main differences with a regular salad are that the bowl contains much more flavor, and secondly, that you won’t leave the place feeling hungry. You can choose between a small and a large portion, but be warned as the small one is already relatively large!

Still hungry for dessert?

For dessert we had an iced mochi, a Japanese rice cake that is available in various flavors for 2 EUR per piece. Our sweet tooth urged us to pick one with chocolate flavor, one of the more typical ones. For the second mochi, we opted for sakura flavor that isn’t very common and refers to the traditional Japanese cherry tree with pink flowers. Both were very tasty and less sugary than we’d expected. Also, the surrounding dough was very soft and chewy.

Practical information

• A poke bowl generally costs between 10 and 15 EUR.
• The Pokehouse Ixelles is situated on Rue Jourdan 1, 1060 Saint-Gilles & Pokehouse Louise is sitting on Chaussée de Boondael 418, 1050 Ixelles. Check the respective websites as the opening times differ.
• It is also possible to order with Uber Eats.
• More information on the Pokehouse website

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