If there's any doubt that OC isn't even close to being saturated with poke shops, there's three more new ones. Poke-Ria, by the owner of Heat Nightclub in Anaheim, has now opened in Irvine's Heritage Square-its fourth outlet. It's not to be confused with Poketeria, which opened at Santa Ana's Hutton Centre. And then there's Pokeworks, which also opened officially this past weekend—as part of a chain that already has locations in New York and Northern California.
Poke-Ria, 14370 Culver Drive Suite 2C. Irvine, CA 92604.
Poketeria, 2 Hutton Centre Dr. Ste 203, Santa Ana, CA 92707
Pokeworks, 15333 Culver Dr #410, Irvine, CA 92604.
Brea's Tempo Urban Kitchen has now opened a second restaurant in Anaheim Hills. The menu at Anaheim Hills is similar to the “Baja Cuisine” the Brea branch serves, with tacos, steaks, and flatbreads topped with ceviche and chorizo.
731 Weir Canyon Rd. Anaheim, CA 92808
California Fish Grill has now opened a branch at The Marketplace in Irvine, it's fifteenth in the chain.
13780 Jamboree Road, Irvine, CA 92602
Meanwhile in Downtown Santa Ana, Gu Ramen has taken the spot vacated by Paninoteca Maggio. It's the second OC restaurant for Gu Ramen, which has a branch in Laguna Beach. Both restaurants specialize in ramen in tonkotsu-style broth and tapas-style appetizers that include potstickers and sliders.
304 North Main St Santa Ana, CA 92701
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.