Zeke’s Beans & Bowls

My boyfriend and I love Zeke’s. We go to the on Granby all the time and are welcomed by smiles and happy people. However, their other location in Virginia Beach is nothing like it. The atmosphere seems snobby and the employees are terribly slow. I called in two smoothies hoping they would be done by the time I showed up and paid. I ended up sitting in Zeke’s for 40 minutes! On the phone the kid said they’d be ready in 15 min. I don’t know what’s with this place, but the smoothies were both really thin and not thick and creamy like my smoothie usually is when I get it from the Norfolk location. We went up to ask for our money back and the kid kept saying no no they’re about to come out, 5 more minutes…15 minutes later and I get a watery smoothies. Will not be coming back to this location ever.

I’ll pass next time. This is typical of the new style of «no service» service industry restaurants. I got an OG bowl but all you could taste was heavy sesame oil, not the tuna. It was still good but… expensive given its just tuna drenched in sesame oil. Also, I like vintage and I get the theme but does it have to look so minimal investment dirty? A little fresh fabric and some furniture polish go a long way… lots of tragic artwork too. The bartender/​cashier was nice but had that dilligaf thing going on… it could be so much more.

Well first off, let me just say that after living in Hawaii for 13 yrs I thought I had finally found a place all the way in Virginia that served poke. After reading the reviews I begging my friend to come with me and excited to try out this place. Needless to say I was majorly disappointed. The girl at the counter informed him of the famous poke everyone orders so my friend decided to go with it. I gave this place 2 stars for the atmosphere and cucumber water. After reading the menu and prices it was highly priced for what it seemed to be worth. Anyways, my friends poke bowl was alright … It didn’t have much favor… just sesame oil and seeds. Literally… Lol. His sea weed salad had a strange flavor and so he asked for extra shoyu sauce. The same went for my spicy poke bowl. I had to add extra siracha and shoyu for flavor. Now until I got to the cucumber on the bottom of my bowl. Holy$hit my cucumber was spoiled rotted! They gave me a bowl with spoiled cucumber. YUCK! You could even visually see it was spoiled! My theory is that they use the cucumbers from the water dispenser to use for the bowls … Lots of things were running through my mind and I was extremely disappointed. I kept my mouth shut and took it with a grain of salt to never come back to this place again. So disappointed!!! Once we got the bill I was in shock!!! For 2 lg poke bowls and one smoothie came out to $ 46. WTH?!? They charge you a dollar extra if you want brown rice (which we both had). All smoothies are $ 8 and they aren’t anything to even brag about. While eating our bowl at the bar area I noticed that the poor girl behind the counter was very timid and kept forgetting coffee for other customers; I’m thinking it’s because she was trying to eat her own poke bowl while in the process. All I can say is that I’m not a fan of this hipster place and I won’t be coming back. If you do decided to try this place out… make sure your cucumber or sea weed salad is NOT spoiled on the bottom of your poke bowl.

Excellent Poke! Came here with my wife and daughter and we were all impressed. I went with the Cali Bowl, which has avocado and Sriracha mayo and it was phenomenal! My wife had the spicy bowl, and the taste lived up to the name. Our daughter had the OG Bowl, consider it the entry level Poke bowl, if you’ve never had it. All three tasted extremely fresh. I think the Cali was the table favorite. Come check this place out, you won’t be disappointed.

I got the O.G. Poke bowl. It’s hard to mess up poke and the only complaint I have is about the rice they use in the bowls. I wouldn’t doubt if they used minute rice for the poke bowls. I won’t be going out of my way like I did my first visit just to get some poke from Zeke’s. The drink that I had eased the pain of the minute rice in the bowl. I got the fresh watermelon juice and that was very refreshing on a hot and humid day.
If I happen to stumble upon Zeke’s again when I’m out of other places to eat, I’ll give it another shot. I’ll probably just go for the Watermelon juice though.

I’ve only had Poké once before, but the Poké I had at Zeke’s was far superior to what I had previously. This place is very casual and inviting. The girl who took care of me was incredibly friendly and informative regarding the menu items. I ordered the Spicy Poké with brown rice, and it was absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to go back to try some of the other items on their menu, plus they have great coffee. I left feeling full, healthy and happy!

For a place where the atmosphere is similar to a college hipster’s dorm this is about as good as it gets. The acai bowls are to die for I’m glad my wife introduced me to Zeke’s. I also have to say I love that the owner supports artists and sells the paintings. 5 stars for everything.

Ordered two large poke bowls for takeout. Food was average, but way overpriced. They even have hidden fees for takeout. On top of the already pricey poke bowls at 15 per bowl, they also charged a food prep fee and a credit card fee along with a lowest suggested tip amount of 20% on their iPad pay app. This place is not worth the hype and will not get another cent from me.

Ordered a large OG poke bowl with white rice. Overall the taste was ³⁄₅ or simply eh. The poke was nothing special. Tastes simply of sesame oil with no soy sauce or ponzu.
Service was average. Nice self serve cucumber water. If you are looking for a place to study and to hangout with hipsters then Zeke’s is the spot.
1 star off for tip option only ranging from 20% upwards for a to-​go bowl
1 star off for price point (large poke bowl + white rice =$ 17). You can go to Costco and purchase twice as much.

So my parents just recently relocated to Virginia Beach. It was my first time visiting them so of course I had to resort to good ol’ Unilocal to find me some badass spots! My sister and I were craving acai bowls and Zekes was the first one to come up. When I found out they also serve poke bowl. Omg it was over. I made my dad stop what he was doing and take us. We were stationed in Hawaii for about 4 years and I fell in love with their poke and acai bowls. And honestly it’s been really hard finding places that even come CLOSE to anything made in Hawaii.
Ok so first of all, the shop is really cute. I love their décor, mismatching furniture, paintings and random objects hanging all throughout. Super chill and a slight hipster vibe. The guy taking our orders was cool, nice– but maybe its just me being from Los Angeles, I’m all about Unilocal so I was like «I’m visiting and I heard great things about you guys on Unilocal!» he just kinda looked at me like I was weird for saying that… I was kinda like oh okay, lol. I’m guessing it’s more of a thing over here, idk I always seem to strike up a fun convo when I tell people I heard about their location from Unilocal: o)
But anyways, We ended up getting two Breakfast Acai Bowls, a Spicy Poke Bowl with brown rice, and a smoothie (I can’t remember what flavor my dad just created his own) Everything was amazing! The fruit on the acai bowls were fresh and perfect, a little runnier than I like it but still great! Now the Poke bowl is where I fell in love with this place. It was super and I mean SUPER spicy (sriracha, wasabi, crushed red pepper– hi hello) but surprisingly it wasn’t overpowering, it was so flavorful, definitely high quality. Make sure you grab some water because it is a nose runner. IT was only $ 10 for a small, but it was pretty big! The three of us shared it just fine, but honestly next time I’ll get a large just for myself. Hehe! And just for that dish I will be back next time I visit!
Free wifi!

Was on the hunt for something local, healthy, and new yesterday while my Texas friend was in town for a girl’s weekend.
I’ve seen Zeke’s on Unilocal a few times and was intrigued by these Poke bowls. After showing her the menu and some photos we decided to give it a try.
It’s easy to find with a good amount of street and rear parking so we didn’t have any issues there.
Once inside the place is all charm. There are random objects and antiques and art gracing the walls — the furniture is worn and comfy and mismatched. There is a ton of seating along the windows which have a wrap around bar.
The guy behind the counter was very friendly and helpful — I told him we were Zeke’s «virgins» and he easily and happily answered all our questions.
I went with the Kale salad and added some tofu since they were out of avocado. It comes with a healthy serving size of kale, sliced cucumbers, carrots, sesame seeds, sesame oil, shay, pickled ginger (yum), almonds and brown rice. I added the OG Poke tuna. It was delicious. Very filling.
My friend ordered the Southwest Poke bowl. Tuna, cilantro, jalapeño, sweet onion, green onion, cumin, mild chipotle and pineapple with brown rice. She really liked hers as well.
If I hadn’t already had a fruity drink earlier I’d have gotten the Watermelon Juice because I wanted it REALLY bad. Next time!
Great food — good service — and great atmosphere. I want to try a few of their sandwiches. I’ll be back for sure.

So INCREDIBLY disappointed with this location. I am an extreme Zeke’s Norfolk fan and was in the beach area at lunchtime so I thought I would try their Virginia Beach location.
First off, the guy taking the orders needed us to repeat our order several times. I’m an easy going girl and this did not bother me until the orders came. They were incorrect. Very incorrect. When dining with individuals that have food allergies and food preferences it’s important for a restaurant to get these correct. The vegetarian was given chicken and was told it was tofu. The individual that ordered spinach and cucumber got lettuce and carrots. I was given the crab and tuna. My shellfish allergy was very glad that I caught the mistake. I get the whole buyer beware thing but there should be a little responsibility in service.
Now for the food. How can one make poke salad bland? Like how exactly is that even possible? It’s like ordering hot chocolate and only being given warm milk. Clearly the girl that ordered the tofu did not eat hers. So that was clearly a waste. The chicken got passed off to the girl that ordered it. She claimed that it was so bland she couldn’t tell the difference between the tofu and chicken.
We won’t be back.

Why is this place so far from where I live? I can live off of everything on their awesome menu. Everything was so nutritious and the stuff I got off their menu was so tasty and I could taste the natural ingredients they use for their food!
I ordered a small spicy tuna bowl with out rice and a piña colada.
The spicy tuna roll was pretty spicy and it had a lot of flavor! They substituted the rice with more cucumbers and the whole thing was sprinkled with a crunchy wasabi pea dusting. I added avocados for 2 dollars, which I thought were a little pricy for like four slices of avocado. This was pretty spicy and I can’t really eat spicy stuff, so maybe next time I will try their pineapple and tuna bowl.
Their piña colada was not sweet at all. It tasted like real coconut juice with a tiny bit of sweetening and it had real coconut flakes in it! If you’re looking for a sweet piña colada, this is not for you…
Their décor is eclectic. They have mismatch furniture and random items in their store. It’s a nice place to sit and lounge with your friends.

There’s nothing better than a nice healthy bowl of goodness. I try my best to drag a different friend in here every month, if not more. They’re always blown away!
Everything they have here is better than expected! The Special Keali Bowl is a favorite but the PB&J takes the cake! I have no doubt in my mind that I could have it for every meal of the day for the rest of my life!
I have a friend that lived in Hawaii for 14 years, and she didn’t believe that there were good poké bowls so far away from Hawaii. Her mind was blown!
If you’re looking for a little pick-​me-​up, be sure so snag one of the tasty pour over exotic coffees that they brew up with Three Ships Coffee and some fruit! It seems like they cycle through them so there’s something new to try on your buds put that pep in your step!
Breakfast/​lunch/​dinner/​brinner, whatever time of the day you feel like enjoying some awesome food, a hot cup of Joe and local art, stop in and be at peace with your mind and belly.

Ordered:
O.G. Poke w/​white rice (Large), Spicy Poke w/​brown rice (Small), Strawberry Banana Smoothies, Watermelon Juice
Pros:
Both O.G. and Spicy Poke were good, large size was more than enough food, small size was just about enough, staff was friendly, casual dining environment.
Cons:
Both white n brown rice tasted like they were old/​dried/​hard (Growing up eating rice everyday, I know when the rice is not cooked perfectly), smoothies ($ 8) n the juice ($ 4) were good but they are still a bit pricey.
Overall, will try other options on the menu next time I visit.

This place gave me the chance to try poke bowl for the first time. Tuna is expensive, and they made that clear in their pricing. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t go back again because of the prices, but this place has inspired me to make my own poke bowl from now on.
The atmosphere is very nice. Paintings on the wall and nice genres of music.
Finding parking is pretty tough.

I just moved here from Hawaii 5 months ago. I lived there for 15 years and took the fresh poke bowls for granted.
Here at Zeke’s it tastes like its been frozen BUT it’s the best (& only place thus far) that I’ve found with poke bowls. It isn’t Hawaii fresh ahi but it’s pretty damn good. I would definitely recommend to other people.

I have to say… after eating pokē (I just refer to it as ‘ahi tuna, though I’m unsure if the tuna is yellow fin), I miss Hawaii. I really liked this joint and can’t wait to try other dishes on the menu. Now it’s an internal struggle when I’m in the area whether to go to Gringos for a fish taco or Zeke’s for some ‘ahi tuna! They are both fantastic. Or better yet… say it like a local bruddah or sista, it broke da MOUF!
Kailua representin’!
Now for the love of God would someone open up a Beard Papa’s?!

I ordered the «breakfast bowl» which looked really healthy with strawberries, blueberries and bananas on top of granola and frozen acai. With a cup of amazing coffee, it was quite tasty. My only complaint (and it’s only because I’m old) is that the combination of hot coffee and frozen purée was a bit jarring and hurt my fillings. Therefore, I’d suggest that you go with the iced coffee.
Really neat vibe going on here with the art and the surfboards.

I love Zeke’s. It is on the expensive side definitely, but so delicious.
My boyfriend and I came here one random day for lunch, and noticed the crazy and eclectic décor. Very different.
I had the OG poke bowl. Amazing. I love tuna, and the flavors were amazing.
My boyfriend got the spicy bowl. He said it was great too. I would have tried it, but I don’t do spicy!
For dessert we decided to split an acai bowl. Delicious also!
The only negative — the price! For the 2 poke bowls, 1 acai bowl, and 2 watermelon juices — it was $ 50. Understandable because I know sushi grade tuna isn’t cheap, but still, $ 50 for a casual, random, weekday lunch is steep.
It is soo yummy though, so as much as I complain about the price, I will return.