Much-anticipated Gopoké, the latest in the wave of poke restaurants opening around Seattle, marked its first official day in business yesterday in the International District.
Eater stopped by the restaurant to scope out the space and the food, which includes pre-assembled poke bowls, build-your-own options, and a slew of Hawaiian desserts you'd be hard-pressed to find outside of the islands, like Bubbie's mochi ice cream and shave ice.
The restaurant is owned by brothers Bayley, Michael, and Trinh Le, who grew up in Hawaii. There's a touching testimonial story in the restaurant that tells of the brothers' childhood memories: their father's Ahi tuna fishing career, helping their parents sell fish door-to-door, and later, selling their mother's tuna poke, the raw fish salad at the restaurant's heart. "How better to appreciate my parents than to maximize the skills I've been taught? Success isn't about business so much as it is about spreading love, which, in my case, is through poke."
625 S King St, (206) 799-9650, website.