The new South Bank venue borders on a fast food eatery with a Subway service model, but the huge hype surrounding its recent opening (perhaps due to the six month delay from building issues), its pedigree and the boom in the Hawaiian classic poke (pronounced poh-keh) bowls across the country make it seem worthy of closer inspection.

From the Ole Group, the team behind popular Brisbane eateries including Mucho Mexicano, Ole Tapas and Mister Paganini, Suki offers just two dishes: poke bowls and sushi burritos (a wrap with either nori or a flour tortilla).

Diners order at the counter and can choose one of the pre-existing combos or walk along the glass cabinet, picking their base (think different rices, green leaves or quinoa), hot or cold protein (fish, tofu, chicken, prawns or beef), dressings (perhaps togarashi mayo or mango, lime and chilli), salads (maybe orange, carrot, kale or corn) and top it off with the likes of pickled ginger, sesame seeds or avocado.

Each topping is manned by a different friendly and patient staff member, who gently guides first-timers through the ordering process before they pay at the end. It’s a fast and efficient process, which can seem a little hectic for the uninitiated, but is ideal for anyone in a hurry.

For those with a little more time on their hands to enjoy their meal, the venue has a buzzing super cute anime or harajuku girl-esque dining space in baby pink and turquoise with low and high long communal tables.

We went off menu in our ordering, taking full advantage of the opportunity to design our own dinner.

Our first combo was a sushi burrito ($12.95) using a tortilla topped with white rice (the only choice and a little unnecessary, especially on the carb front), katsu chicken, chilli, bean sprouts, spinach and carrot squirted with mild wasabi mayo.

The chicken had come straight out of the kitchen so was hot and tender with fine breadcrumbs and the salad ingredients were fresh, but there simply wasn’t enough of them to balance out the generous amount of rice. Next time I’ll be sure to pack it with more greens and go for the nori to avoid the carb overload.

We nailed it, however, with our next choice a poke bowl ($12.95 regular, $14.95 large) with black rice, fresh chunks of tuna, slippery edamame beans, sticks of capsicum, mandolined cucumber, baby spinach and halved cherry tomatoes tossed in a citrusy fresh yuzu dressing and topped with zingy pickled ginger and daikon. Healthy and beyond filling, it’s the type of meal that leads to feelings of virtuosity.

The kingfish in our other bowl could have been a little fresher, but the classic dressing of soy, sesame oil and ginger was a winner. There’s also a range of beers and ciders available which work well with the Asian flavours of the dressings.

With its fast, friendly and fresh approach, Suki is a satisfying choice for a quick, casual and fuss-free meal.

This review originally appeared on couriermail.com.au.