Take heed, sashimi fiends — there’s a new source of raw fish in town. Moi Poki Grill on Broadway offers poke bowls and burritos, as well as Hawaiian plates and Asian cuisine.

The Broadway location, which opened in December, is Moi Poki’s third, having started as a food truck in 2015 at Beergarden on West 6th Avenue and later expanding to Springfield’s PublicHouse.

Moi Poki Broadway seems designed with students in mind. At 490 E Broadway, the former site of the Asian restaurant The Jail, Moi Poki is a short walk from student housing complexes such as Union on Broadway and The 515. The bowls and plates on the restaurant’s menu are offered in two sizes: regular, served in a 32-ounce bowl or on a 10-inch plate, ranging from $14 to $17; and a more affordable student option, a 24-ounce bowl, from $8 to $11. So, is it worth it?

The Asian and Hawaiian options include staples from a variety of nations: bulgogi beef, orange chicken, teriyaki chicken and pork katsu, among others. They’re served with a veggie stir fry and your choice of yakisoba noodles or rice. The stir fry mix contains red cabbage, julienned carrots and leeks. It would benefit from more flavor and a snap rather than its mushy feel.

The yakisoba, unfortunately, can hardly be called yakisoba. The noodles are too thin for a good chew, and as for its flavor — well, there is none. The noodles, dry and without sauce or seasoning, are disappointing.

That’s not to say the plates at Moi Poki are a failure. The mac salad is creamy and tasty, as one expects mac salad to be. The pork katsu is well cooked with a thin brown breading, drizzled with katsu sauce and garnished with green onions. The breading could be crispier, the meat more tender, but it’s enough to satisfy on a Tuesday night.
Of course the real star of the joint is the poke, which patrons can order as a bowl or as a handheld poke burrito, wrapped in nori. The poke menu is covered with options for customization. You pick the base — rice, spring mix or both — and the style — classic yellowfin tuna, spicy tuna, Cali (tuna with imitation crab), Menehune (seared yellowfin with garlic aioli and unagi sauce) or ono fried tofu. You also get a choice of two of their eight sauces — including soy wasabi, pineapple shoyu, chili ponzu and miso ginger — and a choice of four toppings such as green onions, cilantro, nori flakes, furikake, tempura crumbs and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. You can add additional sides — avocado slices, egg rolls, tempura shrimp and more — for an extra buck or two.

Thankfully, a spicy tuna poke bowl delivers on its promise. Marinated in chili sauce, shoyu and sesame oil, the diced yellowfin is truly tangy and explosively flavorful. 

Lord knows it can’t be called authentic Hawaiian cuisine, but for $10? It’s not bad for good old Eugene.