So once again a brand new cool little restaurant has opened up in Illovo and this time it’s not even down the road from me, it’s literally across it and it serves the most delicious poke and breakfast bowls and shakes! Ono Eatery has just opened its doors and behind them, you will find the cutest little restaurant complete with wooden swing chairs in the window and a pretty banana leaf canopy made out of white metal that hangs over an olive green banquette.
I follow quite a few foodie Instagrammers, like Morning_Temptations (follower her, she’s amazing) who make the most awesome looking breakfast bowls and I always think to myself – Damn if only I lived in that person’s spare room, or under their bed so I can just pop into the kitchen in the morning after they have made and photographed their creation for the day and be like ‘Hey dude, I’ll eat that for you if you don’t want it’.
At least now I don’t have to imagine being that weirdo anymore because I can just take a hop, skip and a jump across the road and order my very own Breakfast Bowl.
At Ono (Hawaiian for delicious) you have a selection of delicious sounding Bowls, but if none of them take your fancy or if you want to substitute one ingredient for another then you can totally build your own and the same goes with their Poke Bowls and Protein Shakes which is really cool!
My friend Nicole and I paid them a visit today and landed up having quite a few firsts, which was pretty awesome. Like we both had black rice for the first time ever in a Breakfast Bowl and a Poke Bowl, so we experienced it in a sweet and savory way, it was so so good! If you go I would totally recommend you order the Black Rice Pudding Bowl which is made up of warm black rice, strawberries and delicious coconut cream. It was like having oats, but very fancy oats if that makes sense.
We also tried a Matcha and Mint Smoothie Bowl made with frozen bananas, pineapples, matcha, oats and almond milk, topped with strawberries, coconut flakes, and black sesame seeds. I really liked this a lot! It was rich, but in a good way and super filling, not to mention really good for you.
P.S: This particular dish, as well as a few others on their menu is vegan and can also be made into a gluten free bowl.
Another one that we tried was a Beetroot and Tumeric Chia Seed Pudding Bowl, which is chia soaked in coconut and almond milk and then infused with whatever combo you choose. It was nice, but I could only have one spoonful because of the texture, which was a bit on the wobbly side of life. I’m sure loads of people will like it, but it was not my cup of tea.
The last thing we tried and only because I’m a bit obsessed with Poke Bowls at the moment and Nicole promised to share it with me, was a California Salmon Shoyo, which came with salmon, black rice, seasonal salsa, spring onions, edamame beans, avo, beetroot, and ginger. It was so tasty and like with all Poke Bowls you just feel so healthy eating them! I have said it before and I will say it again, I could have one of these every single day! And like I mentioned above apart from the five variants on offer you can totally customise your own bowl if you want! I like the idea of coming up with yoru own combo.
So if you find yourself in sunny Illovo be sure to pull into the Ono Eatery, everything is served in ready to go crockery so that you can pop in and out if you are in a rush or if you are looking for a quick bite to eat. They also open at 7:30 am every day except Sundays (closed), so nice and early if you’re looking for a healthy breakfast or a Beetroot Super Latte, which was yet another first for me! This week has been full of them!
Address: Illovo Junction, 1 Corlett Dr, Illovo, Johannesburg
Telephone: 073 506 3207
If Poke Bowls are your thing also check out my review on Momo Soko, another gem that has just opened up in Illovo!
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