Cheeky Poké Bar brings a fresh and fun spin on seafood to Newstead
We’ve been eagerly following Newstead’s Haven development as it drip-feeds us new hotspots to check out. One of the latest (and sassiest) openings is delivering a new Japanese-inspired spin on poke bowls. Cheeky Poke Bar is slowing things down when it comes to stacked seafood bowls, lovingly crafting each dish with a plethora of nourishing ingredients and pairing it with some creative culinary inventions such as seafood tacos, bone broths, shaved milk ice desserts and more. If this sounds good to you, get in line to try Cheeky Poke Bar when it opens this Friday December 15.
When we first cried for the poke craze to sweep through town last year, we never thought the uptake would be this swift. Poke is well and truly here to stay, but until now we’d never seen a poke joint with a bar attached. Cheeky Poké Bar is an appropriately named spot from the team behind Portside Fresh N Wild Fish, which is putting a luxe Japanese-inspired spin on its poke offering (alongside some exciting food fusions) and has paired it perfectly with a selection of drinks to suit. The chic space is nestled underneath the Haven development across the road from the Gasworks plaza, and boasts a brilliant sunny location, booth seating, a blue colour palette and bright neon signage proclaiming that it’s ‘poke to be a little bit cheeky’. A mantra we agree on, whole-heartedly.
One quick glance at the menu is all it should take to sell you on the fare – especially if you love variety. The signature poke bowls are stuffed with goodness, with choices including salmon, tuna, kingfish, prawn, tofu, chicken and scallop sitting pretty atop other nourishing fillings. If you like to take matters into your own hands, you can toconstruct your own poke bowl – complete with various proteins, bases (coconut and turmeric rice for us, please) fillings (enoki mushrooms and dried ogo, anyone?), sauces, and some crunch (we’re talking wasabi peas, taro crisps or kimchi furikake). Sounds divine, right? If you can tear your eyes away from the poke, you’ll see some tacos and broths that take food fusion to a new level. First select either a nori or wonton taco and then fill it with the likes of salmon and wasabi mayo, prawns marinated in lemon and oil or chicken with creamy Asian sauce. The bone broths serve up pork gyoza, poached salmon or sautéed mushrooms and tofu in a hearty liquid, with rice noodles, bok choy, togarashi and more. Finally, cool off with a shaved milk ice in mango, blueberry, green tea and strawberry, or passionfruit and lychee flavours, or something stronger – there’s a bar here too!
Cheeky Poké Bar will officially open to the public on Friday December 15. For opening hours and contact details, pop on over to the Stumble Guide.
The Stumble Guide is our comprehensive Brisbane dining guide with more than 2400 places to eat, drink, shop and play.
