A new restaurant serving poke and ramen, two of our family favorites, recently opened near the Westside Pavilion. Like moths to the flame, we paid Nishi Poke and Ramen a visit, a week after they opened.

Nishi is located in a mini-mall, taking over the space formerly occupied Yohana Sushi. With new owners, the restaurant has been given a makeover, with a counter in the front where you can place your order and dining space adjacent. It’s counter service, so you order and receive a number which you take to your table (or counter space) of choice.

If you’re not sure what to order, Nishi offers three signature poke bowls (which can then be customized), in addition to the build-your-own bowl option. A small gives you two scoops of poke, the medium three scoops and a large four, on top of your choice of base (white rice, brown rice or mixed greens).

Even though we ordered the same Ponzu Tuna Bowl, my bowl looked quite different from my husband’s, thanks to some tweaking on both of our parts. The Ponzu Tuna has both tuna and salmon in a ponzu sauce, cucumber, sweet onion, watermelon radish, masago (fish eggs), pineapple, seaweed salad and edamame.

There are also a selection of dry toppings, like crispy garlic, furikake and sesame seeds, to finish off your bowl.

Everything was fresh and tasty, and we polished off our bowls. My daughter, who is a ramen maniac, tried their tonkotsu ramen, one of three signature ramen. Normally the ramen would have had spinach, cabbage, bean sprouts, seaweed and green onions along with the pork tonkotsu, but my daughter is vegetable-averse so it was just ramen, broth and pork for her. Her only complaint was that the portion of noodles was too small – a good sign since she actually wished there was more to eat.

Should you be looking for a little something extra to go with your ramen or poke, there are a few appetizers (edamame, fried chicken) and hand rolls. The people working there were all super friendly and made an effort at good customer service. Even though they had only been open a week, they even had some repeat customers come in while we were there. Nishi’s a nice casual neighborhood restaurant that’s working hard to prove themselves. I’m rooting for them to succeed.

Location –  2536 Overland Ave., Los Angeles 90064
Website – https://www.nishipokeramen.com
Kid-Friendly – Yes
Kid’s Menu – No
Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly – Yes
Gluten-Free Options – Yes