Fish & Things Poke Bar Brings Phenomenally Fresh Fish To Elk Grove

Crispy Taco Trio with ahi tuna, salmon, and grilled salmon with cabbage, cilantro, green onions, sesame seeds, and spicy mayo topped with sliced avocado

About Fish & Things Poke Bar

Fish & Things Poke Bar recently opened in Elk Grove and I have visited several times. The fish and seafood are extremely fresh and high grade. I highly recommend you give this place a shot. As an Elk Grove blogger, I gotta say, this place sets a very high bar for poke and for raw fish.

It is located in the same shopping center as Journey To the Dumpling, DSW, and Pinkberry (off of Laguna & Bruceville). Fish & Things is across the parking lot from Target, Buy Buy Baby, Carters, and Petco. In short, this poke bar gets a lot of foot traffic.

Fish & Things is owned by Be Ngo and her husband Nam Huynh. Be and Nam are originally from Stockton. They have lived in the Sacramento area since 1999 and have been residents of Elk Grove since 2003 . Be has a background as a recipe blogger with a passion for food and photography. Nam and Be currently own two other businesses, including an ambulance company and a wheelchair medical transportation company in San Joaquin County. Together they share a love of good food and they have traveled the country tasting incredible food. The mission of Fish & Things Poke Bar is to produce the best and the freshest, high quality fish and seafood for the people of Elk Grove to enjoy.

Seared Ahi Tuna Burger with sushi grade ahi tuna seared and served with carmelized onions, cabbage, tomatoes, and wasabi aioli, on a toasted bun

What You Need To Know

Now it should be emphasized that Fish & Things Poke Bar is NOT your typical poke place. By this I mean that it’s not just poke and poke bowls that you’re eating here. Their strength lies in the fact that they have the freshest fish and seafood around. Seriously, I’ve had poke all over, and the only place I’ve seen fish this fresh is in Hawaii. It’s like triple AAA+ fresh. They have the freshest fish in town. I’m not joking!

Signature Bowls

The menu of Fish & Things can be divided into three different parts. First, they have Signature Bowls. These are poke bowl combinations that allow you to try different fish, seafood, toppings, and sauce flavors. For example, the Classic Hawaii has ahi tuna, house shoyu sauce, green onions, white onions, crispy onions and sesame seeds.

Ahi Poke Crispy Tacos with ahi tuna, salmon, and seared salmon with cabbage, cilantro, green onions, sesame seeds, and spicy mayo topped with sliced avocado

Chef’s Specials

The next part of the menu has Chef’s Specials. Most noteworthy, the Ahi Poke Crispy Tacos with sushi grade ahi tuna, cabbage, cilantro, green onions, sesame seeds, and spicy mayo topped with sliced avocado are arguably the most popular item on the Chef’s Special menu. Unlike a lot of other poke places, Fish & Things includes items on their menu for people who don’t eat raw fish. So they have Chicken Teriyaki, Unagi Bowl, and Pan Seared Salmon. The last time I went, I went with a friend who does not eat raw fish. They requested the Crispy Tacos to be made with seared salmon. Fish & Things fulfilled their request without missing a beat. Consequently, my non raw fish eating friend told me they were the best fish tacos he ever ate.

Build Your Own Bowl

The Build Your Own Bowl part of the menu allows you to pick the size of your bowl, the protein, the sauce, and the toppings. You are welcome to build your own bowl of poke and can get a Small (2 proteins at 1/4 lb), Medium (2 proteins at 1/3 lb), or Large (3 proteins at 1/2 lb). They offer sushi rice, brown rice, cucumbers, mixed greens or mix and match of any 2 as a base. The poke options include ahi tuna, hamachi, seared albacore tuna, salmon, shrimp and dressed poke options of hawaiian ahi tuna, house shoyu ahi tuna, kimchi tako, and tofu mix.

Poke bowl with ahi tuna, salmon, cilantro, serrano chili peppers, mangoes, sesame seeds, tempura flakes, and furikake tossed in garlic sesame and house ponzu sauce with seaweed salad and crab salad

For sauces you can pick from classic shoyu, garlic sesame, spicy garlic sesame, ponzu, spicy ponzu, spicy mayo, spicy kimchi, and wasabi ponzu. Although not portrayed on their menu, they also have creamy garlic sauce and gluten free ponzu sauce. I personally like their house special ponzu sauce, the spicy ponzu sauce, and the spicy kimchi sauce. They offer a great variety of toppings including avocado and macadamia nuts for $1 each, and seasonal fruits, crispy garlic, seaweed salad, white onions, serrano peppers, sesame seeds, green onions, crispy shallots, pickled ginger, masago, cucumbers, tempura flakes, furikake, and wasabi.

Salmon Carpaccio lightly torched then drizzled with in-house Yuzu Ponzu sauce, and topped with micro greens, radish, and sesame seeds

The Daily Specials Board

You can’t talk about the menu without including a description of the ever-changing Daily Specials board at Fish & Things. When you walk in, look to the left of the register and you’ll see a board with their Daily Specials. I highly recommend checking out the Salmon Carpaccio, the 7 or 9 piece Nigiri, or the Crispy Poke Tacos Trio with one each of ahi tuna, salmon, and seared salmon. If you want something, just ask. The staff at Fish & Things are happy to accommodate your special requests. I have even seen them whip together a whole sashimi platter upon request.

Special Request Sashimi Platter with salmon, tako (octopus), hamachi, cucumber, radishes, masago, sesame seeds and furikake

What I Recommend

My favorite menu items at Fish & Things include the Crispy Tacos Trio (with one each of ahi tuna, salmon, and seared salmon tacos), the Ahi Poke Crispy Tacos, the Salmon Carpaccio, and any poke bowl made with ahi tuna, salmon, and either the house special yuzu ponzu sauce, the spicy ponzu sauce, or the spicy kimchi sauce. Their yuzu ponzu sauce is really something. They make it with fresh lemons and it really adds to the flavor of the fresh fish. The house special yuzu ponzu sauce also comes in a gluten free version. My husband loves the Seared Ahi Tuna Burger. My daughter Roxy gives the Seared Salmon Hand Roll and the Teriyaki Chicken a thumbs up.

In short, all of the menu items from Fish & Things Poke Bar are fresh and delicious. I really don’t have any reservations about recommending this place. The Ahi Poke Crispy Tacos and the Crispy Tacos Trio are a MUST TRY! Seriously, don’t go without trying them! JAX APPROVED! You heard it here first. Fish & Things Poke Bar has the freshest fish in town!