Review: Burlington 3rd Ave's "Okipoke" More Than Okay

BURLINGTON, MA — The house sauce is the cherry on top of a poke bowl from the new(-ish) poke spot by the Burlington Mall, Okipoke. The mayo and citrus juice combination provides an unexpected additional layer of sweetness that works amazingly well atop the savory base. The restaurant, next to the Twist Bakery and Cafe, is well worth a visit, if you live or work nearby.

Okipoke's format is the now-familiar build-your-own style popularized by Chipotle. At Okipoke, you pick a style of meal, a bowl, burrito or salad, a base rice, brown or sushi, then proteins, toppings, and sauces/condiments. The proteins include the classic poke raw tuna, as well as raw salmon, spicy tuna and salmon, cooked shellfish, and two non-fish options, chicken and tofu. The toppings selection is vast, including mainstays like sweet onions, edamame, avocado and cucumber. A few options provide some needed crunch for textural variation, like wonton crisps. Finally, there's a variety of sauces, including ponzu sauce, wasabi aioli, and the Okipoke Classic mentioned above.

After a couple of years in Westford, the owners opened a second location in Burlington this September. Patch visited for lunch twice, and got two bowls, to try the core components. This reporter first ordered a bowl with sushi rice, both tuna and spicy tuna, and mango, jalapeno, cilantro, seaweed, and wanton crisps, finished with the Okipoke Classic. For a second round, I got a bowl with brown rice, salmon, chicken, corn, cucumber, edamame, sweet onion, wasabi tobiko, cilantro, scallions, pickled ginger, wonton crisps, and wasabi aioili.

For the salad, you get a base of romaine and spring greens. The burrito has sushi rice and a roasted seaweed wrap; this reporter confesses to thinking the ratio of contents to wrap in sushi/poke burritos doesn't work, but if you're a fan, we're sure the Okipoke burrito is good, given the rest of their ingredients.

The only missed note was the chicken, which was dry and bland. But I'll give them a pass: the fault lies with me for ordering chicken at a poke place. Its place on the menu is probably for someone who doesn't like fish, dining with a group.

But other pieces more than make up for the chicken. The tuna and salmon are both rich in flavor. The wsabai tobiko (flying fish roe spiced with wasabi) was delicious, though you have to use it sparingly or it will overpower the rest of your meal. The mango was surprisingly sweet and juicy, for November in New England. Cilantro and scallions are a must, basically wherever they're available, in this reporter's opinion.

Otherwise, Okipoke's components are good and fresh, though not mindblowing. The jalapeno is sliced admirably thin. The spicy tuna is not terribly spicy, although if that's what you're looking for there's sriracha and a Korean gochujang sauce. Both rices are structured enough to hold the toppings, soft and flavorful.

The atmosphere of the Burlington location is typical of a fast casual place, clean and unexceptional. There's plenty of seating. The price is quite good for a place serving raw fish; a two-protein meal is $11.95, a three-protein for $13.95. Some toppings, like avocado, are a small upcharge.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at chris.huffaker@patch.com and 412-265-8353