I’m always way too excited whenever a new restaurant, bar or store settles in Leuven. It’s the city where I spend most of my precious time, because as you’ll certainly know by now I’m one of Leuven’s 40 000 students. So nothing new when I heard my city’s first pokébar would establish itself soon!

Because of my eternal love for Leuven I’m always on the hunt to discover new places here. I almost make it a sport to have lunch, dinner or drinks in places I’ve never been to before! This is why I wrote a huge blogpost a couple of years ago, in the form of a guided tour on a day in Leuven. I’m sharing with you my fave spots in the student city, some of them so hidden you won’t discover them yourself unless being a local! Obviously, you can guess that when I heard I got to try Sticks & Bowls, a new place with a Hawaiian concept, I didn’t doubt a second.

But what’s a pokébar exactly?

First of all, you actually pronounce it as ‘pokay’: it took me ages to already figure that out. The poké foodtrend, which came over all the way from Hawaii, offers you a variety of healthy foods all together in a bowl. Poké means ‘to cut in pieces’, which sounds pretty logic in relation to the food’s presentation.

How it works

At Sticks & Bowls you first choose a base for your bowl: quinoa, sushi rice or a basic salad. Afterwards it’s decision time: do you prefer raw tuna or salmon, chicken or the veggie variant tempeh? Whatever you like, it will build the flavor of your pokébowl. For burrito lovers: you can also order your bowl in this form. Exactly the same concept, but all rolled up! I got the pokéritto Tasty Tuna with sushi rice, whereas my friends both ordered the Charming Chicken pineapple pokébowl. Side dishes like edamame or seaweed salad seemed really delicious to me, but unfortunately I already had too much to eat. Stuff to try on my next poké adventure!

The verdict!

My visit to Sticks & Bowls truly was one of the best lunch dates I’ve had in months. Portions are certainly not too small; which is a more and more common problem I’ve become familiar with in trendy lunch or dining bars. I’m already a huge fan of their tuna pokéritto (I’m a sucker for raw fish) and I highly recommend you their matcha juice. If you’re a sushi lover, you’ll be a fan of the poké concept too. Prices are fair in my opinion, since you’re getting a whole bowl of things that are good for you and your entire system. The tuna-mango-ginger combo was a great dealmaker for me. All flavors match, refreshments are original, the interior on point: it’s simply why this place gets a head of steam.

If you’re out for lunch, I advise you to eat in and claim a table with swings for two! You can as well take away or have your pokébowl delivered at home. So tell me, what will your next lunch look like?

❤ Sticks & Bowls, Naamsestraat 45, 3000 Leuven.