Take a look inside Mainland Poké, yet another in a growing series of dish-specific snack shacks popping up around town. In particular, the Hawaiian raw fish mainstay poke is having more than a moment — it’s in the middle of an outright explosion.
After a pretty intensive build-out along West Third Street last month, Mainland has been ramping up to begin service starting this Saturday. The overall raw bar feel of the compact shop is perfect for quick daytime takeaway service; dishes are prepared behind a tall pane of glass, and diners can snack on stools along the opposite wall. Early renderings showed a small outdoor seating area, which could be in the works for the future.
Otherwise, Mainland Poké is doing exactly what it’s meant to: providing reasonably inexpensive poké to the surrounding neighborhood and tourists who walk the boulevard, without fuss or a big production. Just like poké is meant to be eaten. Even Santa Monica’s newest poké darling Sweetfin is essentially just a takeaway specialist, somewhere between a Chipotle and a Chego.
There’s not denying the permanence of L.A.’s poké craze, though. Mainland Poké opens on Saturday, with daily hours from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Mainland Poké
8318 W. Third St.
Los Angeles, CA