A new spot for fresh poke, sushi, boba, and more is coming soon to Brookline.
O’Poké is preparing to take over the former OneZo Bubble Tea location at 1376A Beacon Street, the owners recently confirmed with What Now Boston. The new restaurant will introduce an entirely different food concept to the space, while keeping some of the boba tea options OneZo customers already know and love.
The concept comes from two women entrepreneurs who share a longtime love of food, restaurants, and travel. After repeatedly finding themselves underwhelmed by the poke options available around Boston compared with the fresh, high-quality bowls they had enjoyed in California and Hawaii, they decided to create their own take on the dish.
O’Poké will focus on fresh ingredients, seafood, creative flavor combinations, and a menu that goes beyond the standard poke bowl. Alongside traditional build-your-own bowls, the restaurant will offer chef-designed combinations, hot dishes, poke toasts, sushi push pops, Taiwanese-inspired snacks, and a wide range of drinks.
Ingredient quality is a main focus for the owners, who said they have spent considerable time researching suppliers, particularly for seafood. For salmon, they plan to source premium options such as New Zealand- or Scotland-origin varieties whenever possible. The owners have also been experimenting with house sauces, aiming to offer flavor combinations that stand apart from the basic dressings often found at poke restaurants.
The poke menu will feature 11 signature bowls, including the Rainbow, Salmon Lover, Hawaii, Fire, Volcano, Shrimp Tropical Mango, Vegetarian, Teriyaki Salmon, Fried Chicken, Grilled Chicken, and Eel bowls. Guests can also build their own bowls, choosing a base, two proteins, up to five toppings, a house sauce, and a finishing crunch. Base options will include white rice, purple rice, spring mix, and quinoa for an additional charge.
Additionally, O’Poké will offer warm rice bowls for Boston’s colder months, poke toasts, appetizers, and soups, with options ranging from Curry Chicken Rice and Teriyaki Tofu Rice bowls to Hawaii Tuna and Spicy Salmon Crunch toasts. Appetizers will include gyoza, tempura shrimp, seaweed salad, and popcorn chicken, the latter taking inspiration from Taiwanese night-market fare, where crispy, seasoned chicken is commonly served alongside a mix of fried snacks, vegetables, and other small bites.
And while OneZo will be leaving the space, boba isn’t going anywhere. O’Poké plans to retain several popular boba tea flavors while expanding the beverage menu with a variety of teas, milk teas, lattes, slushes, lemonades, and sparkling refreshers.
While O’Poké will operate as a fast-casual restaurant, the space will have about 12 to 14 seats for dine-in customers. Renovations at the space are currently wrapping up, and the team is targeting an opening in about one month. The owners said the concept is ultimately meant to reflect what they themselves look for when dining out: “fresh ingredients, high-quality food, interesting flavors, variety, value, and a sense of fun.”
Dining and Cooking