Malibu Poke has quickly become one of Dallas’ most buzzed about poke shops, and it’s pretty clear why. Simple. High Quality. Good food, that is honestly really good for you.
Recently opened in the Seaholm Powerplant complex downtown Austin sits Malibu Poke. (Right across from Merit Coffee and near Trader Joes.) It’s got bright light colored furniture, live plants on every table, and just makes you feel light and airy. Kind of like their bowls. Filling but never weighed down.
And as if I didn’t love poke enough already, Malibu Poke has blown my expectations out of the water.
First off, you place your order on this electronic kiosk. It’s simple, straightforward, and I appreciate it because it allows me to customize my bowl and see all the different options in images right in front of me while I’m building my bowl.
But even more incredible than that is the diet and allergy list they conveniently have handy while you’re ordering. Yall know I practice the paleo diet and the fact that Malibu Poke lists every single ingredient and sauce with an indication of if it qualifies as Dairy Free, Gluten Free, etc and yes even has a column for Paleo AND Whole 30! This seriously put a huge smile on my face because I find I am always second guessing what I can or can’t have when I go out.
Most poke bowls *Are* paleo friendly for the most part. Avoid the pickled things, rice, and added sauces, etc. But those are some of the best parts of the bowl. So the fact that Malibu Poke has massaged kale and cauliflower rice as base options was the money shot for me. Hell yes, slam dunk, these people get me. But on top of that they also offer two sauces that are Paleo/Whole 30 friendly, the chimichurri which was my favorite, and a yellow curry (which is more indian curry than thai curry, FWIW). It just goes a long way when restaurants are starting to recognize these dietary preferences. And not because ya girl doesn’t like added sugar. BUT WHY DOES MY BODY NEED IT.
Fulfilling a paleo menu to me is like saying, hey we make really good food with WHOLE INGREDIENTS, nothing processed, artificial, or refined. Just good food. And so whether you eat the paleo friendly stuff or not, their whole menu is from scratch. They make everything in house (besides the fish :b) but it just goes to show the care they put into this menu, and this restaurant.
So for Malibu Poke to start the experience off by highlighting that they take those new diets and eating preferences into consideration is gold. Seriously, call me a customer for life now because TBH there are really only a handful of places in town who claim to offer Paleo friendly modifications.
Hope you’ll give this Dallas transplant a warm welcome to the Capital city, and feel free to cop my bowl 🙂
Cauliflower base, two scoops of tuna, tropical chimichurri, avocado, micro basil, micro radish, carrots, red onions, daikon and serrano peppers. Yummy! I’m hungry NOW, will someone please bring me a bowl?
