What does a new, hip entertainment district in East Downtown need to complete its transformation? Well, if you’re following the city’s culinary trends, the answer should be obvious: a poke shop. And SeaSide Poke has stepped in to fill the void.
SeaSide Poke’s art wall
The 1700-square-foot poke restaurant is a part of East Village, a two-block “redevelopment project in the rapidly gentrifying arts and entertainment district of East Downtown.” The decor here is fresh and simple, with white subway tile, white counters and tabletops, wooden butcher block surrounding the ordering counter and a handsome navy-colored feature wall. Across from the counter is the restaurant’s art wall, which displays Houston-centric images shaped as the SeaSide logo, certainly adding to the restaurant’s “cool” vibe.
A look at the team behind SeaSide: Business partners Vu Bui and Juan Cao had plans to open a poke shop in Houston. Before putting that plan into action, however, the duo crossed paths with Kristy Nguyen and Alex Boquiren, the team behind the pop-up concept SeaSide Poke that launched in 2015. Both groups wanted to move forward with opening a brick-and-mortar poke shop, so they decided to team up.
The SeaSide team: Vu Bui, Juan Cao, Kristy Nguyen, Alex Boquiren, Tai Nguyen, Tee Srey
At the kitchen’s helm is chef Tai Nguyen (who was with SeaSide Poke during their pop-up years) and chef Vuthy “Tee” Srey. Nguyen was born and raised in Houston and has worked his way through several Asian kitchens including Fish & Knife, Soma Sushi and Uchi. Srey’s 10 years of sushi and Japanese cuisine experience started in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, and then he moved to Houston and has worked as a sushi chef at Aka Sushi House and MF Sushi (under master sushi chef Chris Kinjo).
We stopped into SeaSide last night for a media tasting and sampled a few of the shop’s signature bowls.
Spicy tuna signature bowl
A look at the menu: Protein options include tuna, yellowtail and salmon, and the bowl bases are rice, mixed greens and/or yucca chips. Like most poke shops, SeaSide has created eight signature bowls. You can add to or subtract from each bowl, and they are a great starting place for a newcomer or those easily overwhelmed by choices. Bowls are available as medium ($10) or large ($13). The spicy tuna bowl ($13, photo above) features a house-made Korean-style gochujang sauce with a nutty hint of sesame, radish and cucumber. The fish servings are equal to some of the larger scoops we’ve received around town – a big score for SeaSide.
Truffle yellowtail signature bowl
For a bowl with more robust flavor, try the truffle yellowtail ($13, photo above), which features soy sauce, just the right amount of truffle, puff rice and ito togarashi (shredded Japanese chile pepper). We’re all about the crunchy puff rice, and we’ll have to ask for extra next time. It’s easy to go wild with toppings like avocado, corn, masago or orange segments, but sometimes these carefully created, simple bowls are the best way to enjoy the flavors of the fish. Diners can also expect seasonal signature bowls featuring market vegetables with sustainable sushi-grade fish.
Seaside’s Rice Krispie treats: pandan, ube and matcha
Puffy rice makes another appearance on the menu, but this time in SeaSide’s desserts. They offer (as of now) three Rice Krispie flavors ($3, photo above) – matcha, ube (purple yam common in the Philippines) and pandan (a tropical plant that is sometimes compared to coconut in flavor). If you’re looking for a flavor close to a regular good ol’ American Rice Krispie treat, choose the ube-flavored treat. However, the pandan, which is topped with shredded coconut, was our favorite.
Poke enthusiasts, be on the lookout for SeaSide’s second location opening later this year. The location hasn’t been announced, but the team hopes to be up and running by the end of the year. God speed, SeaSide.
SeaSide Poke, 2118 Lamar, Ste. 101, 346-319-4915, seasidepoke.com
Hours: Mon. to Sat. 11 am-9 pm, Sun. noon-9 pm