Eat Poke: A mixed bowl with tuna among the highlights but there is a price problem

Outside the Gherkin isn't the prettiest setting but streams of office workers lining up in uniform in front of a handful of street stalls is a nice sight, in an entrepreneurial way. There are only a few stalls as part of this KERB thanks to a large Ai Weiwei installation taking up the majority of the courtyard and they're busy.

KERB happens fairly regularly in different places around London. Sometimes outside the Gherkin, sometimes by West India Quay, sometimes by Kings Cross, and other times by Paddington. Sometimes they do festivals. It's good to check the website to be sure.

Address & Time - KERB festivals (check the website to find them)

Website - eatpoke.co.uk

Twitter - @eatpokelondon

Prices - Salmon poke: £6.50; Ahi (tuna) poke: £7.50; Tofu and Shitake poke: £6. Avocado extra: £0.50; Kimchi extra: £0.50.

The queue for Eat Poke can take a little while, especially because these fishy lunch-time bowls have lots of bits. There's the fish (or tofu and shitake), the black rice, the wakame salad – carrot, raddish and seaweed, plus pickles on the top and furikaka seasoning – THEN you can have avocado and/or kimichi as well, for a little extra. 

Poke (pronounced poh-kay) is a Hawaiian raw fish dish, sometimes called a sushi salad. It's generally tuna or salmon marinaded in a soy sauce based dressing, and luckily, it can come in a bowl. Remember that this is the year of the bowl. That's what has been actually written.

Inside your (very trendy) bowl, the food is OK. The tuna was marinaded well, not too much, so the great fish felt like the main flavour. The kimchi I opted for on the side was spicy and lovely, adding a bit of extra tang to the salad around it. The black rice was disappointing, not working at all on its own but all right if mixed with the sriracha aioli on the side. 

The bowl (the all important bowl) felt a bit small – the price tag added to that feeling. The tuna bowl is £7.50, with added kimchi it came to £8, a single bowl for £8 should either be astounding food or at the very least big enough that you're struggling to finish it. The salmon bowl starting at £6.50 is a bit better but you would still expect a fair amount of fish to justify that label.

If you decide to take a lunch break wander to try out the new dish, its cold nature usefully means it travels well. Travelling with it might even give some parts a bit more time to soak up other flavours, a little bit of that kimchi with every bite wouldn't be a bad idea.