The newly opened ONO Poké Bowl Bar brings Hawaii's namesake national dish to bustling Bartók Béla út in a variety of exciting flavour combinations. Behind the venture are four young entrepreneurs with backgrounds in marketing, PR, IT and communications. One of them was passing through Australia when the idea came about.
Finding the right venue on Budapest’s most suitable street for new ventures, ever-busier Bartók Béla út, Orsi Szládovics, Béla Moravcsik, Sándor Semsei and Mátyás Brunda have thrown caution to the wind with a completely new dining concept.
So, what is poké? Hawaii's signature dish, meaning ‘slice’ in the local language, was originally diced raw tuna chunks served with sea salt, seaweed, algae and chopped nuts. In the 1970s, with a little Japanese influence, the salt was replaced by soy sauce, sesame oil and citrus juice, but the point was the raw fish concept.
A few years ago, thanks to the superfood movement, poké was once again in the spotlight and started selling in major cities around the world – this time in bowl form, complete with vegetables, pulses, rice and seeds.
This is the version that Orsi’s team began to sell: “At first we were a little worried about how it would be received, because fish consumption is very low in Hungary, and here we are talking about raw fish. But as it’s good quality, it makes for a very healthy, light yet invigorating lunch or dinner. Not to mention that you can skip or replace any item in each bowl”.
There are plenty of variations of the ONO poké bowl. Six are standard, in regular or smaller portions, or you can create your own mix. “With this dish, it’s not the spices, but the variety of textures that provides the colour,” says Sándor. Sure enough, the salmon, ahi tuna, sautéed chicken breast may vary, and the vegetables, seeds and basic carbohydrates as well.
The chef, co-founder Béla, took the trouble to think up six entirely different combinations, so you shouldn’t have to worry about the rice, cucumber or sesame seeds to go with your chicken or raw fish. The basics of each bowl are always up to you: chickpeas, rice, rice noodles, quinoa-courgette pasta or cabbage.
On the menu are two types of chicken (wasabi-mayonnaise and peanut-sauce), two kinds of salmon (natural and with spicy sriracha sauce), one ahi tuna and one vegan option. Our favourite was the peanut chicken (standard portions 1,960 HUF/smaller 1,630 HUF) because of the peanut sauce – we asked for a chickpea base – and the vegan bowl (2,090 HUF/1,760 HUF) with rice, in which the excellent smoked tofu was a pleasant surprise. And, of course, ahi tuna (2,570 HUF/1,970 HUF), the base for all poké, not to mention that this bowl also contains edamame and mango.
Following our instincts, first we thought out the carb and protein types, then opted for five of the 16 different vegetables, before adding the sauce and selected seeds to create our own bowl. This wasn’t easy, because among the greens, there are novelties such as wakame, edamame and enoki mushroom, perhaps sprinkled with cashews, wasabi nuts or tamari almonds.
As the ONO Poké Bowl Bar has healthy lunches and dinners pretty much covered, breakfast options are being planned. There will be three different toasts, a couple of seasonal fruits and grains, smoothie bowls, granola and porridge – you could be in California. Smoothies (830 HUF-1,150 HUF) are available in four flavours, not only for breakfast but as an excellent accompaniment to your poké bowl.
To add a little kick to your visit, there are eight to ten cool cocktails and a variety of long drinks to choose from, the gins including Japanese Roku and Italian Malfy Rosa, accompanied by any number of tonics.
ONO Poké Bowl Bar District XI. Bartók Béla út 34
Open: Mon-Sat 11am-11pm
