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    Poke Life

    3.5 (74 reviews)
    ModeratePoke, Seafood, Hawaiian
    Closed • 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

    Order Poke Life Takeout or Delivery

    Poke Life Photos

    Business Info

    POKE LIFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

    Recommended Reviews - Poke Life

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    Jessica I.

    A good quick and easy lunch spot near the UCSF campus. I got the Poke Life Special Bowl with white rice only. It was a really generous amount of food and fish and I was definitely full after. I feel like Poke Life is a lot better bang for your buck and quality then the poke truck at the nearby Spark Social!

    "Crab" in the poke bowl - gray, cooked?, has a smell. I mean we all expect crab to be "imitation", but this was crappy, canned, mystery meat
    Ruby V.

    The "imitation crab" in the poke bowl was GREY, and seemed cooked and mixed with mayo?? Also had a bad smell!! Not at all the pink shredded fresh-tasting stuff you typically expect. The salmon was also not very fresh. None of the ingredients seemed quality!!! Honestly this was the worst poke bowl I've ever had. I don't think I've even HAD a poke bowl I didn't love before? All other poke bowls in my life: 7 to 10 (out of 10) Poke Life: 1 out of 10

    Spicy up Poke Bowl
    Nicole G.

    I got the spicy up poke bowl, and enjoyed it, however it could have used more fish! The service was quick, I was in and out in 3 minutes. The price is a bit high ($18 for the spicy up, $19 for a build your own bowl), but overall, I'd go again!

    Special bowl
    Jerry W.

    Wanted me some today and it was close by. I placed my order online thru their website managed by Ritual. I wanted something quick... I decided on the Poke Life Special Bowl ($15). Salmon, Tuna, Green and Red Onions, Carrots, Corn, Cucumber, Edamame, Seaweed Salad, Masago, Ginger, Wasabi, Jalapeno, Avocado, Fried Onion, Sesame Seed, Furikake, Citrus Ponzu Sauce, Spicy Mayo Sauce with White Rice and Mixed Green Overall the poke bowl was just OK... nothing to write home about... the rice was saturated with the ponzu. The fish was fresh. The problem was the ordering process. I website said the food was ready to be picked... i waited in line (only 1 customer at a time inside) when I got in, about 5 minutes past the pickup time, and said I was here for a pick up. They said "oh yeah" then started making it. I

    Small bowl with white rice, crab meat, corn, seaweed salad, and original shoyu and unagi sauce | IG: @nomwithelaine
    Elaine N.

    I went here around 12:15pm for lunch on Tuesday and there wasn't much of a wait. I got the small bowl with white rice, 2 scoops of crab meat (they ran out of unagi), corn, seaweed salad, and original shoyu and unagi sauce on top. I like that this poke place has warm white rice, cooked meat options, such as unagi, and you're allowed to add more than one sauce to your bowl too! The problem with this place it that the crab meat tasted fishier than the usual real crab meat I eat. I was hungry so I didn't want to waste too much of my bowl, so I ate the veggies with my rice instead. I'd recommend this place if you're desperate for poke. If you're looking for a good poke place with a bigger variety, then I'd recommend you try a different place. I wasn't a huge fan because of how fishy my crab meat tasted.

    Cashier

    My favorite Poke place nearby. Great Poke and the stuff is fresh. And little pricey but I think it's great to support your small local businesses. I am always full after eating my Poke bowl. The staff seem to work hard so it's worth going once in a while to support and eat good Poke. I couldn't handle the Poke from the groceries stores so this is worth

    Kim chee (left) musubi for $5.50 Regular musubi (right) for $4.50
    Rockne M.

    The unfortunate side of Yelp (sometimes): I literally live in an apartment complex across the street from Poke Life, and have chosen not to visit them solely because of the ratings I've seen on Yelp. Being an elite for so many years, I've learned to take things with a grain of salt but admit that sometimes fall into the bandwagon effect. Today, however, I was walking my dog and saw a young lady in the park eating a poke bowl and spam musubi. I HAD NO IDEA THEY SOLD MUSUBIS. Being from Hawaii, musubis are my life, and literally, my nickname in this app is 'spam-eater' Rockne. So seeing this in the park, I decided to finally check them out. This location is quite convenient for me. It's located in a corridor next to Starbucks and close to UCSF. The location inside is mostly the kitchen and behind the counters, however, they have an outdoor seating area for patrons. I always appreciate a large menu, easily viewable by folks. The staff was super nice and friendly and very welcoming. For my meal, I got: - Spam musubi for $4.50 - I've gotta say, the price is hefty but I appreciate the sign in front of the register explaining the price inflation reasoning. Besides that, I told my partner that this is probably the best musubi I've had in the bay, thus far. When I eat a musubi, there's only one way to make it - a THICK cut slice of spam (you'll get 8 slices to a can; you can also cut 9, but that's it), marinated and cooked in teriyaki sauce, AND furikake on the rice before closing it with nori. It's not either/or - it's AND. This place does it and they do it well. Kudos - besides the price, I LOVE LOVE LOVED it; admittedly, I'd spend that much on it any day - Kim chee Musubi for $5.50 - - Miso soup for $2.00 - Interesting, they added corn and julienned carrots to the miso, in addition to seaweed and tofu. Didn't detract from the soup or add any additional element for me; was nice and tasty - Maui onion chips for $1.36 - Glad they have the Hawaii brand Maui onion chips here. FWIW, you can buy a large bag of that at Costco, however, for a quick fix, this is the place to get it from Overall, great place! I think I'll come back and try the poke bowls next time. I'll for sure be back for the musubis alone!

    Spicy Up with salmon and spicy tuna
    Janice C.

    It seems like the poke trend is going strong! It's so easy to miss Poke Life unless you're purposely going to Starbucks located next door. But once you walk in, you'll pleasantly discover a small thriving poke place that also offers acai bowls and spam musubi. They have short hours of opening (11am to 3pm) which obviously caters to the UCSF lunch crowd, but the bowls here are $2 cheaper than what you would get at Poke Delish from Sparks. A small bowl of the Spicy Up ($10.95) includes two scoops fish (salmon and spicy tuna) over half greens and half brown rice with all the toppings I want: cucumber, corn, seaweed, ginger, carrot, masago, sesame seeds and additional crunchy toppings. I did add mango for an additional 50 cents, but I felt like that wasn't worth it since I only saw 4 cubes of mango. I also don't like my poke covered with too much sauce, so I'll tell them to go easy next time. My friends coconut mango acai bowl looked good, but I did notice the super gritty texture of the acai. Plus, for $7.95 they served it in a disposable soup cup, not a bowl. Do get the spam musubi! it was nicely seasoned and gives you a generous amount of rice. With all the construction action happening around this area, Poke Life is a nice addition to the neighborhood.

    California Surf Bowl
    Gerard Y.

    I was in the area for a doctor's appointment and wanted some poke. A good amount of tuna was given and I liked that I could choose to get my poke bowl with brown rice. Everything tasted fresh to me. A good option in the area.

    Make your own large bowl w. salmon, crab, and unagi + mango = $15.30 after tax
    Vy T.

    A good addition to the neighborhood! This shop is conveniently located right next to the starbucks on mission - across from UCSF campus, Gladstone institutes, kaiser, and other facilities. The GOOD: + A slab of unagi comes at NO extra cost :) + Fresh crab and salmon options + Lots of free toppings -- even without the mango and the avocado addition, it's enough to top your bowl to the brim. The MEH: - I got a server who was a little skimpy on the fish and the mango lol.... I know it's petty to complain about a couple extra pieces of fish, but I couldn't help but feel a little cheated. The female server before my male server gave her customer huge scoops without thinking... ehh, i'll stop complaining LOL - My total for a large 3 fish with mango came to be around $15.50. Pricey, but I thoroughly enjoyed my meal!

    Large Poke Bowl
    Jessica G.

    This place has been here for quite some time, but never got around to trying it since the poke bowl place at the farmers market every Wednesday seems more appealing too me. I got a custom made large bowl with two scoops of salmon and one scoop of ahi tuna, half white and brown rice, cucumbers, edamame, seaweed salad, corn, carrots, masago, fried onions, sesame seeds, and furikake, topped with a mix of citrus ponzu and spicy mayo. Overall, I felt like the quality of the fish was just average, not super fresh, but also mixed with some unnecessary veg/seasoning. One plus is that you don't have to pay extra for the seaweed salad, since I've seen a few places that charge for that. The spicy mayo was actually spicier than expected, but not bad. The ponzu sauce I felt like was not as flavorful as I would have hoped. And the rice was a bit too warm, which warmed my fish up more than I would like. I only tried their poke bowls, but would come back for the acai bowl one day. They seem reasonably priced.

    a person holding a bowl of food

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    4 years ago

    Very typical poke place. I had the poke life special bowl, everything tasted fresh and they gave a decent amount of fish.

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    Ordered online, food was ready on time and quality was good! Friendly staff upon arrival

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    Ask the Community - Poke Life

    Unco Frank’s

    Unco Frank’s

    4.4(133 reviews)
    4.0 mi•Inner Richmond
    •$$

    A hidden gem! What an amazing place. We visited on 9.9.26 after going to the deYoung museum. We had…read moreto try the Hawai'ian cuisine. Small dining area with one server who was attentive, pleasant, and knowledgeable. I chose the lumpia--it was excellent. My late mother-in-law was Filipina--and this lumpia was even better than her recipe as I recall. It was crunchy, not greasy, had an absolutely delicious meat center, and was twice as long as what she made. It paired well with the Italian arneis by Angelo Negro Vino Blano, as well as my companion's Kahlua pulled pork sliders. Beautifully plated. The tall ceilings feel expansive and provided a great venue for the old school albums spinning very interesting collection of music such as New Low by Mk.gee. Huge cool art on the wall, with a playful tiger. Huge wall art display of wine crates. Lovely open-air seating as you walk in through the entrance. Very happening place. What a delightful find.

    was thrown off at first since the inside was a bar, but high treason serves unco frank's food…read morealongside their bar drinks. came on a saturday around 7pm and it was pretty busy when we came in, so our large party of 9 was seated along the wall bar seats. our group was doing a food crawl down clement, so we didn't want to order too much. we ordered 2 pupu platters, a mac salad, fried rice, and 3 drinks. after we ordered, a high treason staff member came up to our group to give some of us menus; they say we didn't order enough food and that they wanted more on our tab. this made me and others in my party feel very uncomfortable, and it made me feel that we weren't welcome/took up too much space. someone from my party was honest with them by giving them context on our food crawl plans, but it still felt awkward after. this left a really negative impression of both the establishment and my thoughts on the food. auntie rob's fried rice (5/10): ginger was very overpowering and sauce was too salty for me. not my fave mac salad (3/10): VERY mayo and pepper heavy. i prefer a slight sweetness, little pepper, and less mayo-overly dominant mac salad pupu platter: da works fries (5/10): sirscha aioli is just spicy enough for me (a subtle kick). fries weren't crispy enough for me. kimchi cut through the heaviness of the spam and aioli which was nice. kalua pig sliders (6/10): pulled pork was better than i thought; normally i don't like smoked meats but this was subtly enough but still balanced out the slaw/aioli well. mochiko chicken (4/10): thick breading and chicken was not the juciest. bit too dry for my liking. i would not come back again. the interaction we had was so uncomfortable and didn't sit right with me, and the food was mediocre. i was mainly disappointed by the service (and the food by association) which is unfortunate as i love supporting aapi-owned businesses.

    Photos
    Unco Frank’s - Interior

    Interior

    Unco Frank’s
    Unco Frank’s - Interior

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    Interior

    Liholiho Yacht Club - Chicory Salad ($21)

    Liholiho Yacht Club

    4.5(3k reviews)
    1.9 mi•Lower Nob Hill
    •$$$

    Amazing food and dining experience. Though we sat at the bar (walk in), the hospitality, attention…read moreto details and food were fantastic. I ordered the pork chops - fat and juicy. Well balanced with vegetables and a nice lightly tangy sauce. The calamari has many vegetables fried together. Crispy and lightly crunchy. However, it was a bit on the saltier side for me. Finished it off with the Hawaiian cake and it was delicious. Torched marshmallows on the outside with a big scoop of ice cream on the inside, with a base of an ube cake. This dining experience was excellent. Also fascinating to see the open kitchen in the back where all the chefs are busy curating an excellent meal. I would suggest to get reservations otherwise you could wait up to 45 mins on a weekday (like I did) I came back to try a few more dishes. And my newly added favorite is the fried chicken. Super juicy, even with the white meat. The thousand island - like dressing was the perfect combo.

    Very average. There is a hidden 6% charge that probably should just be baked in the menu price…read more Although the menu prices were overpriced as it is, so I see why they sneak this on. Even at pier 39 it's only 5%. Food was fine. Waitress' recommendations were not great, and she tried to push over ordering. Doubt I will return based on the price/ value ratio. Definitely not upscale ambiance, but priced as such. Was hoping to be wowed. But was kind of a dud.

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    Liholiho Yacht Club - Looking towards front

    Looking towards front

    Liholiho Yacht Club - Poppyseed Beef Tongue Steam Bun ($24)

    Poppyseed Beef Tongue Steam Bun ($24)

    Liholiho Yacht Club - Poppyseed Beef Tongue Steam Bun ($24)

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    Poppyseed Beef Tongue Steam Bun ($24)

    Pa'ina Lounge & Restaurant

    Pa'ina Lounge & Restaurant

    3.9(948 reviews)
    2.5 mi•Lower Pacific Heights, Japantown
    •$$

    We were having dinner nearby last Friday night and decided to stop by what's been one of our…read morefavorite bars only to learn that Paina's last day of service was Saturday July 11 :/. They had a final closing party this past Saturday, and we knew we had to stop by for few last drinks and bites. It was low key kinda sad as we had to say goodbye to some of our favorites. Over the years (past decade or so now) we've gotten to know the staff and this spot has been a spot where we knew we'd get great service, good convos, and of course tasty wings, totchos, and $1 oysters on Thursdays. Shout out to Matt, Tracy, Jeremy, and their entire team for the amazing hospitality over the years. Paina closing is a reminder that it's important to not take your favorite restaurants/bars for granted because you never know when that final day will eventually come and when it does it comes way too fast. I hope the team reads this as I just want to say THANK YOU for everything and that you will be missed. The memories and moments I've gotten to enjoy here over the years won't be forgotten!

    So bummed to hear Pa'ina Lounge & Restaurant is closing due to the sale of their building. I've…read morereally come to appreciate how it's become an easy spot for chill weekend brunch in Japantown (when there isn't a game on). The other plus is that the folks working here are absolutely lovely and sweet. Even on busy night like wing Wednesday, they never fail to bring both efficiency and a smile. Speaking of wings, the house Pa'ina flavor was really tasty. Even un-sauced, they were tasty. You will be missed Pa'ina!

    Photos
    Pa'ina Lounge & Restaurant - Spam Musubi

    Spam Musubi

    Pa'ina Lounge & Restaurant - Lamb Sliders

    Lamb Sliders

    Pa'ina Lounge & Restaurant - Rock a hula goblet

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    Rock a hula goblet

    Hawaiian Drive Inn - Lemon pepper mini plate

    Hawaiian Drive Inn

    4.2(527 reviews)
    4.0 mi•Excelsior
    •$

    We noticed that there are various Hawaiian Drive Inn locations across the Bay Area and decided to…read moredo a not so scientific approach to figure out which one is the best. We started off with what we call the OG location, closest to where we grew up, the Excelsior Hawaiian Drive Inn. We called in our order ahead of time because it was around lunchtime and there's always a long line. When we got there about eight minutes later, we paid (it's cash only), and we're on our way in less than two minutes. For fairness, we will be comparing the musubi and chicken katsu rice plate to compare. This location's food is made to order so it is still burning hot when we get it. They musubi was the perfect ratio of fluffy rice that stayed in one block to a 1cm thick slab of katsu. The oil that was used to fry the chicken was clear and clean. The sauce is the cherry on top of the perfect combo of carb and protein. The chicken katsu in the rice plate is the same melt in your mouth cuts of chicken in a crispy light batter. You get a large helping of rice and a macaroni salad that's light on mayo and complements the plate well. They come with a sauce that's not too salty or oily. This Hawaiian Drive Inn, in my opinion, is the best one in the Bay.

    No frills spot that is always a classic for Hawaiian BBQ! I usually get the chicken katsu platter…read more I love how crispy the chicken is, and their mac salad has great flavor. I have also tried the BBQ chicken and BBQ mixed plate, which are both solid options. Generous portions. Service is always fast and friendly. Highly recommend this spot if you are craving a delicious and filling rice platter with Hawaiian BBQ!

    Photos
    Hawaiian Drive Inn
    Hawaiian Drive Inn - Fried fish (5 pieces) $11.50

    Fried fish (5 pieces) $11.50

    Hawaiian Drive Inn - Outside

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    Outside

    Poke Life - poke - Updated September 2026

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