Simple
“The Poke Bowls are delicious, and the bento boxes are enough for 2 meals.”
“Definitely try the bubble tea here as they stew the pearls til it's perfectly chewy and sweet!”
“I ordered a jasmine milk tea with no boba( the way i like it) and a Spicy Tuna Pokē bowl with brown rice and corn flakes.”
Simple
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This place just opened near Chinatown so I thought I would give it a try since this is the summer food that everyone's been talking about. Poke and Pokemon Go just goes together. So, before heading out in the boiling heat wave, I'd made sure I looked through the Yelp photos and see if I like anything. Which I did, the king crab poke caught my attention.
I finally made it to Simple while battling the heat wave. I ordered the king crab poke with mixed greens and another salmon poke with white rice. The place is really small with limited seatings. There was a couple of people waiting for their order and I can say they are pretty fast considered how only one person worked in the kitchen area.
The prices are also decent. I can say it's pretty cheap actually considering its fish and crab. Cheaper than most Poke prices at least. And most importantly the fish and crab is fresh. My king crab bowl tasted fresh, sweet, and juicy mixed with the hot aioli sauce over a bed of mixed greens is delicious! The wonton strips also added a nice crunch to the texture. The salmon rice bowl was wonderful and deliciously fresh as well.
They also serve bubble tea and other stuff but I didn't look into it. I will be back to try their other items.
Ordered the spicy tuna poke… didn't know what to expect since the pokebowl is not entirely customize-able but it came with avocado so I already knew it was going to be good. And guess what? The pokebowl was super delicious! High quality, fairly priced and filling, I recommend this place to everybody especially since it's conveniently located in Chinatown. Wait time isn't long either. Only downside is the limited seating but if you manage to get a seat like I did, you will enjoy the setting especially the cute decor. Definitely my new go-to poke spot!
With all the poke spots that have been popping up in NYC, I'm really glad one made it to the Lower East Side. Their bowls are very reasonably priced, around $10-14 for a filling meal. Service was quick and staff was friendly too. My boyfriend got the salmon bowl and I had the ahi tuna. We both enjoyed our bowls, but I do wish there were more than 3 slices of tuna in my bowl, especially compared to the mound of salmon cubes in his bowl. The tuna itself was seared well, but it was drowning in the aioli and I had to scrape it off in order to taste the fish. In addition, their bowls are preset and not customizable, so it was kind of frustrating because it came with ingredients I don't really like, such as beets, oshinko, and ginger. I think I would've liked my bowl a lot better if I could've customized it, like at other poke spots. Overall, you get value for your money here, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to come back.
After coming here a few times, I can whole-heartedly say that this establishment deserves 5 stars.
Food? Impeccably delicious, beautifully presented and extremely well priced. Where else in NYC can you find poke bowls for UNDER $10? Here at Simple!
Drinks? High quality and fresh. They use Harney & Sons tea for their mixed tea drinks and a siphon to brew their coffee (which btw is the coolest thing to see). Definitely try the bubble tea here as they stew the pearls til it's perfectly chewy and sweet!
Decor? SO FLIPPIN' CUTE! Everything about this place screams 'authentic'. From the hand-drawn stools to the handmade food figurines plastered on the walls, Simple is decked out in fun knickknacks that give it a cozy vibe.
Service? A+. The place is small, which means lines can form pretty quickly, but this doesn't stop the owner from patiently answering everyone's concerns. Everyone who works here is so sweet that I almost find myself coming here just to say hello.
Bottom line: Simple rocks and is worth the trip. Also, be sure to ask them about their dessert 😉 It's a cooler and more refined version of the ever so popular raindrop cake.
Poke is the newest food craze sweeping the nation. I love Simple for serving up deliciously tasty poke bowls without the New York premium.
Salmon Poke Bowl (~$10) – You pick the fish, the base, and the topping that you want. I went with salmon, salad, and wonton chips. They toss the salad with a light Asian dressing and then load up your bowl with guac, edamame, carrots, cucumbers, and an orange wedge. Delicious and healthy!
If you're looking for a light meal, Simple's got you covered. You can also get katsu curry here if you're looking for something heartier.
I enjoyed my poke so much. So much.
This whole poke craze was kind of random to me. I feel like I've had chirashi sushi at a bunch of Japanese places and that it wasn't so different.
After trying my first bowl of poke earlier at Simple because Yelp said so, my earlier confusion has been tempered with satisfaction and delight that I could get some for less than ten bucks!
I had the salmon with brown rice-so good, tasted light but was so filling-let's just I had my happy face on after lunch today.
This mom-and-pop shop serves the biggest, baddest bowls of poke I've seen since the poke craze hit NYC!
For me, the poke bowl is less about the fish – although the quality of the fish and the marinade are still important – and more about the toppings. Simple truly delivers with a wonderful variety of toppings that come with every poke bowl, from fresh guacamole to edamame to purple and green wakame. Everything was delicious! I'd knock off a half star for the quality of the fish though. I'm not sure if it is the cuts of fish themselves or the way the sashimi cubes are prepared, but my tuna had quite a bit of tendon (? the white stringy stuff) in it which made it difficult to chew thoroughly. Otherwise, the entire bowl was extremely enjoyable and we devoured everything!
The cafe itself is very small, but there's quite a bit of seating. It just requires some careful maneuvering. Thankfully, they do a great (and polite) job of getting people to finish up their food and relinquish their seats so that it didn't take long for us to grab seats after our food was ready, even during peak dinner hours.
I can't wait to be back to try the bento boxes or another poke bowl!
Simple-y wonderful!
I've walked by Simple a handful of times but on the opposite side of the street, before ducking into Vanessa's or Shu Jiao. From afar(I'm blind), it looked like a cute spot, possibly serving up Instagram-able desserts. Today, after our first choice for dinner didn't work out, Simple came up in our search and off we went. I had an aha moment once we turned the corner.
The inside is so cozy and cute. Cute paintings. Cute drawings. Cute stools.
So their main offerings are curries, poke bowls and teas. My friend and I split the hamburg curry and the spicy tuna bowl.
Both dishes were solid. The spicy tuna bowl was definitely one of the better ones I've had during this poke craze that has taken over NYC. This bowl is supposed to come with avocado, hijiki seaweed, green onions, mango, cucumber, masago, cilantro and ginger umami. I noticed a few substitutions — I had beets and carrots, no green onion or cilantro. No matter, all the flavors from these ingredients melded wonderfully together. The brown rice was also cooked perfectly. The bowl was quite large too — I had trouble finishing it.
The hamburg curry was also good. The patty was as advertised, grilled perfectly. I've had better curry but their version was fine. Lighter and runnier. This dish was also served with a potato croquette which was extremely crispy and creamy.
The staff was very warm and welcoming. Prices are very reasonable. I'd totally come back to try more of their menu and some teas.