This review is similar to my Yelp experience. I bought an additional poke bowl.
I was hesitant dropping by this new store in Vaughan. This past July, I had a horrible experience at Poke Guys in Markham. I had been a regular customer and vowed to not return to this location.
Would management and staff at Poke Guys apply those lessons learned at their new location in Vaughan? I had to check it out.
The reduction of a star is for the lack of clear signage. I am all for usability and I am a good candidate to determine whether I can find anything, including a business.
On Saturday, I headed westbound on Highway 7 and turned right into the plaza. Poke Guys was on the left. Due to a lack of signage, no unit number displayed on their door or window, along with a frosted logo on the window that blended with the nondescript store, I missed this store until I did an entire car tour of this plaza and saw the logo when parked.
It's not good making any end user's experience start off with a scavenger hunt. A simple, visible sign with Poke Guys on it would have made it easier to spot.
After my little car excursion, I parked. There was plenty of parking. There were pay stations scattered around the lot. I didn't bother paying, as I was worn out from finding this place already.
The main entrance faces east. It helped that a staff member was leaving the store, which helped me out.
Once inside, I was happy. The interior looked so nice and modern. Their Toronto and Markham locations look shabby now in comparison! Washrooms were on the right with wooden doors. The poke prep area looked enticing.
I was greeted by a lovely male staffer who stepped me through the process to build my own bowl. I also took advantage of the 15% off an additional bowl thanks to Yelp and Poke Guys. Yay!
I got the following regular-sized bowls:
- Spicy shoyu salmon, and sweet and spicy shrimp, with corn, edamame, crab meat slaw, watermelon radishes, miso sesame, nori, and green onions on kale greens
- Cali bowl (classic shoyu tuna and salmon, crab meat slaw, avocado, green onions, watermelon radishes, green onion, sesame seeds, classic shoyu yuzu, nori, and corn on kale greens)
This man was so helpful assembling my bowls with care and detail, and answering my questions as we went along. I got cutlery because I needed to have a late lunch at 3 pm.
I paid with a credit card. I added a tip. Everything was seamless.
I was the only person in the eatery on a rainy afternoon. I felt safe. There were two hand sanitizer dispensers. It was a decent change from my Markham experience.
I thanked the man and left with my food. I ate my lunch in my car, as I had a drink there and I'm used to dining in my vehicle!
I had the Cali bowl first because I didn't want the avocado to brown. It was night and day between my experience at the Markham location and Vaughan. The ingredients were fresh. The flavours blended so well. The crab slaw was yummy and how I remembered it to be. I thoroughly enjoyed having what was go-to poke bowl.
I had my build-your-own bowl for dinner. I loved the sweet and spicy shrimp. I've never had it before. Each shrimp was perfect. Not rubbery at all. I got the spicy shoyu salmon, which had the perfect amount of heat. I love corn and edamame. I was so happy with this bowl creation.
I had an excellent experience, despite conducting a search to find this place. I now know where it is! When I'm in the area and am craving poke, I'd be fine dropping by here for more good eats.
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