Ono Hawaiian Plates is putting six chefs, poke tastings and an all-you-can-eat luau together for its first Fall Poke Festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The October 25 event brings visiting chef Sam Choy to the North Loop restaurant and raises funds for Hope Chest for Breast Cancer Foundation.
The official event listing calls it the first annual Fall Poke Festival and Fundraiser. It runs Sunday, October 25, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Ono Hawaiian Plates, 337 North Washington Avenue, with tickets priced at $125.
Choy, billed by the organizers as the Godfather of Poke, joins Ono’s Warren Seta; Chris Ikeda and Curtis Dettman of Pau Hana and Lake & Irving; Yia Vang of Vinai and Union Hmong Kitchen; and Yo Hasegawa of Cafe Yoto. The six-chef lineup supplies the event’s exclusive poke tastings.
The luau reaches well beyond poke
The unlimited buffet is a separate part of the ticket, and the posted menu is substantial. Island-style dishes include liliko‘i-glazed baby-back pork ribs, kalua pork, teriyaki BBQ chicken, mahi mahi with chili beurre blanc, chicken long rice, garlic shrimp, chicken katsu, pancit-style fried noodles and pork adobo.
A carving station adds Hawaiian salt-and-herb-crusted beef strip with au jus and wasabi crema, pineapple-glazed bone-in ham and Portuguese sausage. A poke festival with a beef carving station has given the abundance enthusiast plenty to work with.
The cold selection includes sushi by Cafe Yoto, lomi lomi salmon, mac salad, pineapple coleslaw and other salads. Poi, steamed and fried rice, and garlic mashed potatoes round out the starches. Haupia pie from Pau Hana supplies dessert.
Tickets also include one drink from the featured beer, wine and cocktail choices, chef demonstrations, Hawaiian entertainment, prizes and giveaways. A cash bar follows the included drink. The published inclusions distinguish the chef tastings from the AYCE luau; the event does not advertise unlimited rounds of every chef’s poke.
A gathering in Ono’s North Loop home
The foundation’s event page says a portion of proceeds will assist a Twin Cities family affected by breast cancer. No donation percentage is specified.
Ono’s North Loop roots go back to 2019, when Warren Seta and Jess Kelley opened inside North Loop Galley. The business expanded at United Noodles in January 2024, then lost its original North Loop setting when the Galley food hall closed in May 2025.
A July 2025 owners’ announcement outlined their return in a larger space at the current Washington Avenue address. That independent restaurant is now the setting for the festival, bringing Ono’s own kitchen together with several collaborators for a four-hour afternoon of food and fundraising.
Tickets are offered through Ono’s website. Between the chef tastings, ribs, kalua pork, carving station and haupia pie, the practical planning question may be how much room to leave after the poke.
