If you needed further proof that the poke boom isn’t over yet, California Gogi Grill at the Irvine Marketplace—which opened there a little less than two years ago as the expansion of the original Korean concept at University Center—has now transformed itself into H2O Poke & Grill. It serves poke in the style we are now all familiar, but also hibachi chicken, beef, and salmon bowls.
If that H2O name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s part of the Octopus Restaurant Group, which owned H2O Sushi & Izakaya in Costa Mesa up until recently. Though the two H2O’s aren’t affiliated, Octopus still manages Tomikawa in Irvine, which, to my knowledge, is not turning into a poke concept…yet.
H2O Poke & Grill, (Irvine Market Place), 13262 Jamboree Rd. Irvine CA 92602; http://h2opokegrill.com
