Here’s the newest dining option at the Tacoma Mall food court

Tacoma’s getting another poke bar. This one’s at the Tacoma Mall food court.

Mix Poke Bar’s opening is set for Wednesday (Sept. 19), if all goes as planned.

Mix opened in Bellevue Square two years ago and also runs a food truck.

The food court location will be a poke bar with something new attached.

Owner Bee Meas, a Browns Point resident who attended Stadium High School, also is opening a sister cafe, Sip + Spoon, at the mall food court in the same space as Mix Poke Bar.

Sip + Spoon is a beverage cafe with a broad menu of milk tea, fruit tea, fruit slushes, acai bowls and other styles of drinks such as Mexican mangonadas (with the option of a tamarind straw), horchata, matcha lattes and Thai tea.

The poke side of the business is just as you’d expect. Its menu is built around the classic Hawaiian dish of marinated, cubed raw fish.

If you’re thinking you’ve been reading a lot about poke lately, you’d be right. Mix joins a growing list of new restaurants with an emphasis on poke that includes Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max in downtown Tacoma, Poke Pop in Fircrest, IC Poke in Lakewood and Zen Ramen and Sushi Burrito in Parkland.

Like Poke Pop and IC Poke, Mix is a choose-your-own adventure focusing on customized poke bowls.

Diners choose a raw fish, cooked fish or vegetarian option that includes tofu and avocado. Next, diners select from add-ins such as rice, seaweed salad, sauces, edamame, pickled ginger, fish eggs and furikake.

Think of it as building a fish-rice-veggie bowl the same way you would build a sandwich at Subway or a burrito at Chipotle.

Bowls at Mix will cost about $12. Diners also can buy poke-by-the-pound.

“We are fully customizable,” said Meas, who said that since opening the Bellevue location, they’ve learned that poke bowls are a great option for those with food limitations or allergies. It’s also diet-friendly with adjustments that make it a good option for carb avoiders as well as those who want to eat vegan or gluten-free.

“We train our staff so they know if somebody says they’re on a diet, we have options,” she said. “We kind of cover all the bases.”

She added, “People can make it as healthy as they want and as unhealthy as they want. It really, truly is customizable.”

Like Mix, Sip + Spoon will offer gluten-and-dairy-free options.

Kevin Singharaj is the chef of the recipes and sauces at Mix and also the co-founder. He’ll oversee the Tacoma location. He previously was a chef at Nobu in Lanai and Waikiki.

Mix Poke Bar and Sip + Spoon

Where: Tacoma Mall food court, 4502 S. Steele St., Tacoma

Info: mixpokebar.com

Hours: Same as mall hours, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday

This story was originally published September 17, 2018 at 4:00 PM.