foodLDNreview
Tombo: Pokē & Matcha Bar, Soho
14.7.16
Finally sampling { P o k ē } at Tombo, Soho.
I must admit, I no idea what Pokē was until my friend Hannah shared her visit to Tombo over on her blog. A niggling part of me was convinced she’d finally found us a Pokemon bar! Alas, it is not, but what it really is almost makes up for that.
28 D'Arblay St, W1F 8EW, London.
Kim and I met up on Tuesday evening for another infamously overdue catch-up, in that particular way that always occurs for us. There’s little better than plenty of life news, travel chatter and general girly gossip shared over good food and good drinks, right?
We were kindly invited by Tombo to sample some of their menu, a ridiculously ideal selection of raw eats for the odd summer weather we’ve had in London.
Put quite simply, Pokē is a Hawaiian dish, a raw fish salad/undone sushi bowl from Hawaii that’s made to be light and refreshing. Tombo’s take on it adds courgetti or sushi rice for a more filling, well-rounded ‘meal’. There’s also a heavy emphasis on matcha throughout the drinks menu which I was more than excited about! Matcha is pretty much the most potent form of green tea, a Chinese ingredient packed full of antioxidants.
I opted for the Spicy Mayo Prawn Pokē, a delectable dish of black and white sushi rice topped with prawns, sirracha mayo, edamame, crispy shallots and chilli. (As a full disclaimer, I’m currently dabbling in a pescatarian diet in a bid to introduce more oil back to my eating regime!)
And let me tell you, it was incredible. The prawns are cool and chunky and add a brilliant texture to the dish, whilst the sirracha mayo packed a punch (just enough of one) and amped up the heat. I I really loved the flavours combining from the shallots and edamame, too! Certainly one I’ll be recommending over and over.
Kim went for the Chicken Teriyaki Pokē, chunks of chicken - cold! - atop black and white rice with classic teriyaki sauce, which was equally as good, albeit super filling.
We also decided to order Matcha Lattes, in a bid to warm up against the brisk July chill (thanks London), which were gratefully received and lovingly sipped from. Delish! Possibly the best matcha latte I’ve tasted to date!
Tombo also offers a mix-and-match menu which looks incredible and that I can’t wait to sample next time I’m in the area. Your Pokē bowl will also come with an extra pot of sauce so don’t be shy in lapping up all the flavours! I can confirm everything tastes just as good as it looks and is satisfyingly filling; one for sashimi lovers, for sure.
And, last but not least :: DESSERT. Tombo offers a selection of sweet treats if you have room for it. And, my oh my, are they good! I opted for the Matcha Monako, a mix of matcha soft serve housed in wafer with matcha brownies (incredible) and red bean paste (my favourite). Kim opted for a simple Matcha Cone and so we walked back through Soho, clutching desserts, musing about all things great (food) and celebrating new milestones.
