I have never been so disappointed about a restaurant. I have heard rave reviews about this place from several friends so I thought I'd give it a try. We were greeted when we came in, but it was not a pleasant greeting, the girl working at the first station was not pleasant or very helpful. This may just be my preference, but if you are the first person someone sees when they walk in the door, maybe add a little smile when greeting customers. They only have 2 bowl sizes here - "happy" and "happier" - 2 scoops and 4 scoops of fish, respectively. I got the happy bowl and my brother got the happier bowl. It's build your own bowl style and they do offer a wide variety of toppings for your bowl. I was not impressed by any in particular, just know that if you love toppings, they have a ton here. I got tuna as my fish and my brother got tuna, salmon, and albacore. Then we moved onto the sauce station which truly confused me. Instead of mixing the fish and sauce in a separate bowl and then adding it to the rice, they just take a ladle full of the sauce of your choice and dump it on top of the fish and rice. The fish doesn't get evenly coated with the sauce and a puddle of sauce collects at the bottom of the bowl. Terrible!!!!! We got the Yuzu Citrus sauce, which tasted ok, but honestly my entire bowl was ruined with the puddle of sauce on the bottom. I even had to ask for a new empty bowl to transfer the food over. Some other gripes I had about this place is that when waiting to ask for the empty bowl to transfer my food over, that same girl from the front was working the register and saw that she had a line forming at the front and completely ignored the customers, went around the counter and walked to the trash can and back, empty handed!! I don't know what the point of that was, but I feel as though she should have helped out the guests at the front. Finally, we got through maybe 2/3-3/4 of our meal when we gave up trying to finish it. We ate the fish, which tasted pretty fresh, however I did not finish the bowl. When throwing it away, we noticed the hole on the trash can is not even big enough to slide the bowls in - not a huge issue, but at least have some design in mind when getting those items! The opening is barely large enough for the "happier" bowl to fit through. Imagine multiple people with multiple bowls.. it would take a while to get them all in the trash in a cleanly fashion. I didn't have a good experience here and I probably won't be back or recommend it to friends or family. The price is ok for the amount of food. I'd rather spend $8.95 elsewhere for poke. read more

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Tried poke for the first time here! It was absolutely delicious. There are so many base and topping options. I liked how they had cucumber noodles as a base option - it was delicious. They have lots of fresh veggies like carrots, edamame, seaweed salad to choose from on top as well as mango salsa and watermelon which I thought was cool. They have many sauces and crunchy toppings as well. read more

Today was the WORST customer experience I have ever experienced in my life. Came here to get a bowl (ordered online). After a few bites, I discovered a small fine black hair IN MY BOWL. I notified the employee (avg. height, strawberry blonde) and got a new bowl made. Few minutes later, I FOUND ANOTHER BLACK HAIR (long & curly). See attached photo. My hair was tied back in a pony tail today & I am a light brunette/blonde as it is. When I notified the manager (named Suja or something similar/Asian ethnicity), she ACCUSED ME OF PULLING MY HAIR OUT and putting it in the bowl!! Are you kidding me?!!? Not only did she not offer a full refund or apologize, she continued to accuse me & would not share her name AND raised her voice at me. She stated she was the owner & was being disgraceful and rude. After working in service and food for years, I was appalled. I won't be returning & I hope all customers BEWARE of the hairy food you are likely to be getting if you eat here. read more

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The service was amazing and so was the food! The ingredients were very fresh and delicious especially the crunch, along with the unique sauces. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone around town. read more

Where has this place been hiding my entire life?! This place might easily be my new favorite poke place in San Diego! Trying to find the slightest bad thing to say about this place, but I literally have nothing Located in the Del Mar Highlands Shopping Plaza near Snooze and Jimbos; its hidden in the "fountain" area next to Pappalecco and the froyo place! I have come in twice so far and both experiences have been amazing! The workers are so kind and nice and pretty generous with toppings. Both times I've visited, I have ordered the custom bowls which comes in two sizes (Happy-"small" and Happier-"large"). First time I got the happy and was left still wanting more so I opted for the happier the second time around. My friend ordered the happier size the first time we went and they gave us free ice cream- so nice! Just like any other poke place, they have you choose your base (salad, rice, etc), second base (avo, crab meat, etc), fish choices, sauce, and toppings. But UNLIKE any other poke place, this place has some amaazing, unique options! -For base; they have brown rice, regular rice, quinoa, salad, cucumber noodles. They let you get 1/2 & 1/2 for bases so pick 2 if youre feeling adventurous (: -For 2nd base; they have avo, blue crab meat (highly recommend!!!!), cucumber, onion, etc -For fish; they have all sorts and they even have options for vegan/vegetarians like tofu, mixed veggies etc. I absolutely love the salmon & spicy sesame salmon (they let you sample this if your'e feeling unsure but I HIGHLY recommend especially if you like spicy). -For sauces; the mango habanero is SOOO good- perfect combination of sweet & a kick of spicy. Also love the citrus ponzu for a lighter taste -For toppings; GO NUTTTSS; I always LOAD my bowl with toppings and they have super unique options like watermelon radish, edamame, mango salsa (HIGH RECOMMEND), seaweed salad, grape tomatoes, cottage cheese, etc. My favorite part is the "crispy topping" options they have. I love the crispy onion & crispy rice pop cake topping to add that extra texture to my bowl. Overall, this place is AMAZING and has really stood out as one of San Diego's BEST poke places! read more

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Quality poke at a fair price! Sizes: - Happy Bowl (2 scoops of protein): $8.75 - Happier Bowl (4 scoops of protein): $10.75 I can usually eat a lot, but the Happy Bowl is usually enough to fill me up unless I'm feeling extremely hungry. What to get: - Salmon is excellent and very fresh - Avocado is very good and the first scoop is free - The spicy crab is very good, and the first scoop is free as well - The creamy miso sauce is awesome Tip: - Check-in on Yelp to receive 10% off your order! read more

Pokewan - Happier Bowl! $10.75 - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

Located near Happy Lemon and Swirls, this poke place is a great option for healthy eating (rewarded with dessert after). You can choose one of their preset items or build your own bowl of size either "happy" or "happier" (immediately thinking, 'why no "happiest"?' but realizing thereafter the serving portion would be a bit unfitting for poke). I'd recommend the "happy" (comes out to about $9 after tax) as it's a relatively filling meal, while "happier" is more value (for ~$11; also you get 4 types of protein instead of 2 for "happy"). They give you very small scoops of protein, which was a bit disappointing, but I got to pile a bunch of toppings (the usual, i.e. wakame, edamame, crabmeat, and the not-so-usual, i.e. mango salsa, canned pineapple). They also had crispy garlic and onion, which added a nice crunch to the meal. I recommend their Pokewan sauce, which is their most popular (provides a tangy flavor). Sure, I've seen poke places with better value and higher quality fish and other ingredients. But the employee was friendly and patient with taking our order. It's a great place for grabbing food either solo or with friends, would recommend if you're in the area! read more

Great flavor and toppings! Pretty generous with double servings of some of the toppings like seaweed salad. Love the black rice base for a more chewy consistency than white rice. Also a happy lemon for bubble tea after you eat there. On the negative side the protein scoops are small. Scoop of shrimp was like 2 small shrimps. And bowl size even for their larger bowl wasn't enough to fill me up. Would come back for the great flavor though. read more

Got the two scoop bowl with two scoops of salmon. The bowl was very small and pretty difficult to eat out of. I got two scoops of salmon, but it felt more like one because the scoop sizes are tiny. I had a lot of leftover rice and ingredients after finishing the fish. I like the variety of toppings they had, all of which tasted good though. I liked the garlic mustard sauce (you can't taste the mustard at all which worked well for me). The service was not great. The two female workers didn't seem too happy working there and I felt like I was annoying them when I asked for something. I am also skinnier than average and eat way less than most people and I was not full at all. I ended up going to Champagne Bakery next door to get more food. Sadly, it wasn't worth it for me. read more

Pokewan - Two scoops (Happy) - salmon only - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

Pretty good poke here - I ordered through yelp (ChowNow and PayPal) and picked up on my way home. It worked out pretty well - a little slow...so many middlemen. Yummy food. This particular location in Del Mar heights has friendly servers - I like it. There's usually plenty of parking these days (thanks, covid!), and seating outside. It's a quick, healthy lunch! read more

Nice food and Friendly staffs. I choose happier (big size) due to hunger. Every ingredients was so fresh. The poke was sooo.. good! I was full and satisfied. My son asked me to come again for dinner after eating lunch. It was cozy place, either. We'll definitely visit again. read more

Great quality, but portions are way to small and the price is way to high. Very clean place, clerk mixed up our order as well. Still hungry, the 2 protein deal is like an appetizer. read more

EXPENSIVE. TINY PORTIONS. TINY BOWL. UNFRIENDLY STAFF. WHY? THIS BUSINESS IS A JOKE. $40 for a couple of bowls and 1 drink is $40. I'll go to a restaurant next time. YIKES! Came over last week and it was quiet. Everything was neat and clean. The food was okay. BUT MAN, the PORTIONS ARE DOWNRIGHT TINY! The poke bowl happy is 1/3 the size of what I normally get at other poke places - this is SO EXPENSIVE!!!! read more

We live nearby and are so excited that they opened this up! We've been here twice so far and both times, I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of variety and quantity they can really pack into those seemingly small bowls. I love all the different toppings that they allow you to pack on to each bowl. In terms of fish... I like the salmon-has the best texture and taste. The tuna, shrimp, and albacore could be fresher but is still decent. Favorite toppings: (I pretty much get everything) Seaweed salad-Love the crisp texture and flavor Watermelon radish-adds a nice refreshing crunch Edamame Green onions Roasted garlic-who doesn't love garlic chips? read more

Pokewan - Love how they really pack it all in!! - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

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We came here for a quick lunch and we were not disappointed by the topping options or the quality and freshness of the poke! Their poke bowls come in two sizes and they are a great price for the amount of food you get. Their fish selection is standard salmon, tuna, scallops, and albacore, but all were super fresh looking! They also offer a huge range of toppings, including fruits, mozzarella balls, mango salsa, and guacamole. Their sauces are also very good, and they first mix the poke in a sesame oil before adding a soy or mayo based poke sauce. Also, the prices were great--the large added up to be around $11. This place definitely has potential and is a cute, quaint spot for a quick lunch. read more

Pokewan - Happier Poke Bowl - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

Since visiting the Del Mar Highlands Pokewan for the first time 6 months ago, I've been back several times and have NOT been disappointed. The consistent quality of the food and service has been outstanding! Once I find a dish I like, I usually stick with it, but with Pokewan, I trust their quality, so I've tried a bunch of different things...and am so happy I did! There's a lot of options in the area, but when I find myself driving by, I always stop at Pokewan! read more

Pokewan - Emily serving up a poke bowl. - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

I try to come here for lunch or dinner whenever I get a haircut in the local area. I absolutely love this place! The employees, and the owners (haven't met them but I think I could guess who it was) are absolutely fantastic people. This food is so fresh and great. You don't even know how happy I get when I get in my car and head home with food from there. They always pack my bowl so much, I always feel like I'm getting more then other places. There resultant is so clean and ingredients always look fresh as well as the kitchen. Please keep up the good work, everything is beyond excellent and words can't even explain how pleased I am to come here. Like I really do appreciate it. read more

This is the best Poke place in town. I love that you can pick-and-choose what you want in your bowl. Plus they offer a diverse set of offerings in seafood (tuna, albacore, salmon, scallops, spicy tuna, tofu,...) and extra goodies that go on top. Yes, the price is a little high, but honestly I think you get what you pay for, which is a high quality delicious Poke bowl! My only gripe on this place is that their sodas/drinks are way over priced. When my out of state brother flies in for a visit he always asks for Pokewan. North SD county this place is a winner! Let's make sure this place does not go out of business during the COVID-19 era. Order to-go and order often! read more

This is the best poke I've had!!! And the best variety of toppings!!! I'm Asian, I'm a fisher woman and I cook..so this place is amazing!!! Tip add pokewan sauce on the hot white rice to make the bowl more flavorful read more

Pokewan - Doing damage on the best tasting poke ever - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

I think the portions are too small for the size"happy" . I also told them i didn't want the sauce to be spicy and said not spicy three times. I kept on asking if they had eel sauce, instead they just put the regular dark sauce in my poke and the entire thing was spicy. They didn't even care they made my order wrong. read more

Went there to buy take out... I suggest the seaweed, ginger, cucumber, turnip....etc....should be in a separate container, these items were on top of the fish and rice and the sweet and sauer dressing of the salad ruined the taste of the poki. Perhaps I have to bring my own container next time! read more

Pokewan - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

By far the best in the county that I have been too. Always fresh, always good. Service with kindness and a smile.

3 stars because the food was pretty good, although I have had better. It just rubbed me the wrong way when they legit charged me extra for an empty bowl when I asked for one. It also sounds like they might charge extra for a lid? I'm not sure on that one but the lady made sure I was actually eating there when I said "for here" because my bowl wouldn't come with a lid. I didn't end up needing a lid after so I don't know what would have happened if I ended up asking for one. read more

With all these new poke places poppin up in SD, I like that Pokewan is trying something a little different with their selection of components in their bowls. The first thing I noticed was that they offered quinoa (+$1) as a base, in addition to the regular rice and salad options. I got a 4 scoop bowl (happy: 2 scoops; happier: 4 scoops of fish) with white rice. I got salmon, double tuna, and a spicy sesame salmon (kinda like spicy tuna, though it wasn't something I would order again). They also had a wide variety of toppings, including mango salsa, crispy wontons, goji & blueberries, watermelon radishes, and more! Overall the fish was fresh and the toppings were fun kicks to the bowl. My only con would be that the fish was not tossed or marinated in the poke sauce like most places, but just drizzled on top, so the fish wasn't as saucy as I'd like. Next time I'd like to try their jolly ice cream and dole whip!! read more

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We go here once or twice a week and it really seems like rice portion is getting smaller and smaller each time we go. Our bowls are shrinking. I can not wait for the poke place to open at one paseo just so there are options when quality or service isn't good here. I remember when smaller portions started to happen at urban plates and I feel like when Mendocino opened the portions went back to their normal. The food is good (minus the Cheetos topping) so put up with it but once there are more options we will be gone! Inconsistency is really frustrating and can ruin a good meal. The service here is mediocre at best and always check any to go orders before u leave the store. They have made mistakes 3x for us so we no longer make online orders. Bring back the crispy onions and please dump the Cheetos! read more

If you like being treated like a 2nd class citizen. Come here! "Grace", the lady who makes the Poki Bowls, does an amazing job... showing how to have literally ZERO patience with customers. She couldn't wait 5 seconds for me to ask my wife what she wanted (we speak a different language) and started noticeably getting upset even though we were the only customers there. Half way through ordering. Her boyfriend came in though the door and then, you wouldn't believe!!!! She just could not wait to serve him! She got so impatient with us, while I was mid sentence- ordering a drink. She charged my card. Gave it back to me and ran to greet him!!! What a great girlfriend!! :-) happy to see, hope she has more patience in her relationship with him, than she did with us!!!!! Food was good though. read more

i've been coming here for years and it's always been so amazing! i usually split a happier bowl with my partner and it's more than enough -- they are very generous with the portions! everything tastes so fresh and delicious! read more

I've been to over half a dozen poke places all around San Diego, and this one tops them all. This place is so good, I'll often make the 25 minute drive over there during my lunch break just to get a bowl, even though there are other poke options a lot closer to where I work. What makes it so good, you ask? The ingredients. Not only are there a large variety to choose from, there are some ingredients that you just don't see anywhere else. For instance, they offer "cucumber noodles" as a base, which is basically shredded cucumber. I'll go half brown rice and half cucumber noodles every time I go; shredding the cucumber this way gives it a thin, cool, crunchy bite that goes so well with the rest of the food. They also have a mango salsa and watermelon radish, which I've never seen anywhere else. The mango salsa adds a layer of cold, sweet flavor while the radish adds a nice crunch. They even have a good variety of "crunch" options at the end like fried garlic, wonton chips and tempura bits. All of these ingredients just pair so well with the poke and other ingredients, all of which taste very fresh. Definitely give this place a try the next time you're in the Del Mar area. read more

Shrinkflation is real. I have gone to the place for a couple of years but hadn't been in the past few months. Was craving poke so I went in and ended up with half the food I used to get for the same price. Super disappointing. These guys used to really load up for you. Not worth $18 anymore. read more

I ordered a happier bowl at 6:45pm for take out. Drove home 20 mins later and found that their scallops was bad. It smells really REALLY bad. I called Pokewan at 7:20pm to let them know that the food they served is bad and to throw it away before giving selling it to someone else. The response from Pokewan employee and assistant manager has been lackluster to say the least. The apology felt forced. They took down my name and number and was going to have the manager called me back. They only offered to a free bowl if I go to pick it up again tonight (another 40min round trip) or store credit, only after I mention if there was going to be some form of compensation or accountability. I decided gave them a call again and request for a refund for my purchase. Currently hoping that i won't developed a stomachache. read more

Pokewan - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

I got a custom poke bowl and it was really good! I got the Golden Miso Sauce, which another yelper recommended and I'm glad I did. The Golden Miso sauce is now my favorite sauce. The krab was a little spicy but very good! The whole bowl was good. The only reason I give it 4 stars is because it is pricier than other poke places. I expect to pay a lot for poke obviously, but the two scoop bowl is very small. It looks like it belongs on a kids menu. read more

This place is awesome, I visited this place three times during my stay in Del Mar and love how fresh the poke is. The service that I received ranged from mediocre to great during my various visits. Oh and it wasn't until my last visit that I found out they have dole whip!! Yummmm! :D read more

Pokewan - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

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Super Delish food. This place has healthy choices and plenty of Alcohol. Sharing the South America food, we loved the authentic different from just a burger. read more

Nice place, very clean and welcoming. This was my first time eating here and I will be coming back many times. Staff was friendly and engaging. There are many options to choose from which made this visit exciting and new. I love poke and sushi, and this will be my new go to for poke! All the ingredients look good and I will need to break away from my normal selections to try them all. Thank you for the fresh food and pleasant experience. read more

One of the best poke bowl places I've been to so far. The main issue with most places is consistency. You may get a decent bowl most of the time but all it takes is one bad experience to really turn you away from that place or raw fish altogether. I'm not usually that picky and consider myself pretty brave when trying raw foods, but have been tempted to stop eating poke altogether after one experience with frozen fishy tuna. I've been to pokewan atleast a dozen times and it has been consistently good every single time. The fish is fresh, along with the toppings and there are many to choose from. I hope they don't change a thing because I'm running out of poke spots to go to. read more

The toughest thing about this place is figuring out what to include in your bowl! They have 6 different stations to choose what you want: Base, Protein, Sauces (Base and signature), Toppings, and Crunch. I went with the "happier" selection, which allows you 4 scoops of a protein of your choice. For only $2 more, it's worth it if you're hungry. I had a mix of the cucumber noodles and white rice and one scoop each of scallops, shrimp, salmon, and tuna. I went with the spicy base and pokewan signature sauces. They weren't all that spicy, but did add a little extra kick. When adding the toppings and crunch options, my bowl was almost about to overflow. It was a bit hard to eat those first few bites without spilling all over. I was able to finish, but it was very filling. It would probably be wise to just get the 2 scoops of protein if you aren't a big eater. I'm not a huge poke fan in general, but for a nice change of pace meal, this place fits the bill nicely. The food was fresh and the amount of food is ample for the price you pay. read more

Pokewan - Happier Bowl - Poke Near Me - San Diego, California

I always come here for a quick lunch, I did that last Monday and I ended up with a terrible food poisoning that night. So from now on I will abound this place read more

I usually love Pokewan, but we went last night and had to wait for 45 minutes to start our order. We ordered 4 of their larger bowls and received tiny portions. To be fair, it was a new employee and the poor boy was stressed out because the line was out the door, but when I pay $60 for 4 meals I would hope to at least be served the 4 scoops of fish you are supposed to get. I wanted to contact customer service directly as I was so disappointed by their portion sizes, but they don't even offer you an opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, we will not go back. read more

Best poke in town. I love all the different salads you can add to your bowl. Service is great too

I probably come here at least twice a month with my Dad. The staff are always so wonderful and the food is top-notch. We came in a half hour before closing today and the two people on staff cut an avocado for us and gave us a bunch of extra fun sauces. Just awesome! read more