LemonShark Poké: Bowled and Bold

by RaeAnne Marsh

Colors. Flavors. Textures. Poké offers an amazing variety in all these aspects. And LemonShark Poké offers that amazing variety in its fresh, build-to-suit selection.

Ahi tuna, spicy salmon, shrimp, tofu, ginger, edamame, red cabbage, corn, mango: These are just a few of the array of ingredients patrons can mix in their poké bowl atop a base that does not need to be the traditional sushi rice, before then being faced with a sauce choice from among 11, which includes a gluten-free soy sauce, with spicy mayo and eel ranking as the most popular. One more choice before the bowl is complete: the option to add a little crunch on top with crispy fried onion, Macadamia nut, or another of more than a half-dozen toppings. For those who are feeling either adventurous or too overwhelmed to choose for themselves, the menu offers a “Trust Me Bowl” — putting all the choices at the whim of whoever owns the smiling face serving that customer at that time.

Augmenting the poké selections is a short menu of small bites that includes perennial favorite tempura shrimp and Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, bite-sized rise crisps with a dollop of spicy tuna drizzled with spicy mayo and ponzu sauces and topped with a deceptively decorative, thin slice of fiery serrano chile.

The self-serve soft drinks are sugar-sweetened; no high-fructose corn syrup. There’s also a selection of self-serve beers on tap, sold by the ounce.

Owners Bethanie and Paul Mercer “always wanted to own a restaurant” and, coming out of Corporate America, saw franchise as their best option, explains Bethanie Mercer. They opened LemonShark Poké in Scottsdale last year. “We love sushi,” Bethanie says, “and we wanted somewhere where we would go.” It’s a fast-casual concept, but, Bethanie shares, she and her husband intend the beers and free Wi-Fi to help encourage people to “sit and stay” rather than eat and run.   

LemonShark Poké
7325 E. Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd., Scottsdale
(480) 219-9233

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