The Baton Rouge poke frenzy has been felt all over the area, and Bluebonnet Boulevard has received its own slice of fresh flavor with the recent opening of Poké City.
Though poke is becoming more popular by the day, the staff of Poké City wants to make sure that they provide a dining experience unlike any other establishment in Baton Rouge.
“This is a Hawaiian-inspired restaurant, and it’s the only one in Baton Rouge, so we just wanted to have something different, bring something different to the table,” said cashier Brianna Spears.
And even though it is in its early stages of life, Poké City seems prepared for a spike in business down the line. The restaurant, which stands on 9837 Bluebonnet Blvd. and sits directly adjacent to the intersection between Bluebonnet and Burbank, has ample opportunity to become the mainstay poke option in the southern reaches of the city.
“We’re going to do good because business gets busier and busier every day, and every time people come more people come … with Bluebonnet I feel like it’s the best road it could’ve been built on,” Spears said.
Location isn’t the restaurant’s only calling card. Poké City offers traditional Hawaiian-style poke in a convenient and simple fashion, but there are strokes of creativity that come to light when the average consumer craves more than the normal bowl of poke. Enter the crown jewel of Poké City and what is sure to draw customers who crave an exciting alternative — the sushi burrito.
Sushi burritos can be custom-made to the customer’s liking, but the premiere menu item, the LSU Sushi Burrito, brings a special Louisiana flair to the already-unique concept. According to Spears, the ingredients are as eclectic as they are an homage to Cajun culture: snow crab, crawfish, green onions and cream cheese all fried into one.
Even though Poké City is off-campus, reasons to visit the restaurant are numerous, namely the amount of food that comes with a purchase.
“Yeah, [the prices are] fair. Imagine all those ingredients in one thing, that’s like a lot of food,” Spears said.
Another reason Poké City and the oncoming wave of poke-serving restaurants continue to find service in Baton Rouge is the health benefits in the dish itself. In fact, that may be Poke City’s best advantage in the tense market: the service of fast food with the advantage of well-priced well-being.
“It’s healthy. There’s a lot of unhealthy stuff, but it’s good for our younger people to eat this, because, you know, everybody wants to eat healthier, right?” Spears said. “And poke is healthy. All of this stuff is organic. The only fried thing is the burrito and it’s not even bread.”
To anyone considering trying Bluebonnet’s new, healthy alternative to fast food, Spears has a brief-yet-enticing reply: “Come to Poké City! Try our food!”

Gallery • 4 Photos

Salvatore Camarda

Poke city serves Hawaiian bowls on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019 on Bluebonnet Blvd.