We have been members of UCSF Barak Recreation Fitness Center since 2007 across the street from Poké Life on Owen Street in Mission Bay neighborhood. Given we are at the gym usually three times a week for the last decade my wife and I have often walked over to order Poke lunch. The resturant is take out order only mostly with a few tables outside . I usually get the standard Spicy tuna, salmon, brown rice and salad bowl. We typically take home to eat---which I can rarely complete in a single meal given the abundant size. My wife likes to mix it up each time with a custom order. The poke is very fresh, good variety, tasty and generous on each bowl offering. This poke place is our "go to" after working out at the gym, is very convenient and delicious. If you are in Mission Bay neighborhood it a great place! read more

See all

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! read more

Poke Life - menu - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

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! read more

Poke Life - Spicy up Poke Bowl - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

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 read more

Poke Life - "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 - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

Got this house poke bowl. Ingredients were fresh, didn't even need soy sauce or ponzu. Just a little swirl of the special sauce and good to go. So yummy. Good ratio of rice to salad mix too. read more

Poke Life - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

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 read more

Poke Life - Special bowl - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

It's not a bad option for walking distance lunch from UCSF. Pretty straight forward build your own poke bowls. I feel like it's faster and easier to get to than Spark Social. Poke bowl: Half salad, half brown rice Salmon Citrus ponzu And basically all the free toppings. The poke bowls are about average. The servers are nice and efficient. Can't complain! read more

Went there before the gaints game to grab something light. The poke bowl is amazing and fresh! Staff is super friendly. Gotta get the poke bowl pair it with the spicy mayo. It's the bomb. read more

I ate your food make me sick and went to ER last night. I ordered your poke bowl on December 30 2024. After I got home, I saw the salmon is not really fresh, it's already dark , but I did not realize will be that bad. I thought you may put soy sauce in, and I didn't think too much. After I ate, the first night I started fever. The second day, I had really bad stomach pain, high fever, body aches. So I went to Emergency Room on the last day of 2024 and the first day of 2025. read more

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 read more

Poke Life - Cashier - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

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. read more

Poke Life - Small bowl with white rice, crab meat, corn, seaweed salad, and original shoyu and unagi sauce | IG: @nomwithelaine - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

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! read more

Poke Life - Kim chee (left) musubi for $5.50 Regular musubi (right) for $4.50 - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Update: This was not a 3rd party order, I walked in and ordered my food directly and was eating it as soon as I got to the break area the next building over. read more

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. read more

Poke Life - Spicy Up with salmon and spicy tuna - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

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. read more

Poke Life - California Surf Bowl - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

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. read more

Poke Life - Large Poke Bowl - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

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! read more

Poke Life - Make your own large bowl w. salmon, crab, and unagi + mango = $15.30 after tax - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

Came here today for lunch after finding it on Yelp. The shop itself is pretty small, with very limited seating options inside, and quite a few more tables on the outside. The staff here was very friendly, however the options were very limited. You choose between a large or a small bowl, white rice, brown rice, or mixed greens, a choice of 8 proteins, and some toppings. Certainly less options to choose from than most other Poke places. I went with the small bowl today, with salmon and prawns as my two proteins, and topped with some fried onions. The salmon and prawns were definitely fresh and pretty good, but the real rockstar of the bowl was definitely the fried onions! They were very flavorful and reminded me the fried onions I would buy in Taiwan. My only complaint however was the portion size. The individual scoops were tiny, and probably consisted of 3-4 prawns, and roughly equal # of pieces of salmon. And my entire bowl was probably half full when all was said and done. The entire thing felt more like an overpriced appetizer than an actual meal. Speaking to my client whose site I was working out of this week, they also agreed with my assessment of the serving size based upon their experience coming here. If they increase the scoop size, and increase the variety available, this place would be a real winner. As it is however, it's not a bad option for poke. But I probably wouldn't go out of my way to come here. read more

Poke quality was alright. But the service was honestly frustrating - I got a bowl and then asked for spicy mayo on the side after I had bought the bowl and they tried to charge me a dollar ? Also just weren't that nice of people. The imitation crab has no flavor tasted watered down? Sadly not the best experience :( read more

The poke here was not that great unfortunately :( I got like 4 tiny pieces of salmon for my whole bowl and the price was pretty expensive for how little fish I got. The taste itself was fine, a little too heavy on the seasoning. I don't think I would come back here cause it just didn't seem like a good deal for the amount of food. read more

Poke Life - a person holding a bowl of food - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

Decent spot with reliable poke served fast. Bit of a hard spot to park, but easy to walk and right next to Starbucks. Good covid protocols and good tasting tuna. read more

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

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

Great spot for a quick, fresh and tasty lunch! I'm always on the lookout for poke places, and was psyched that this place opened up so close to my work! My fiancée and I tried a custom poke bowl with both their salmon and tuna, and both were very fresh tasting and well dressed with soy and sesame oil. Definitely go big on all the toppings, and give their spam musubis a try! My only reason for not giving 5 stars is that ideally I'd like to have even more protein/topping options, like different kinds of seaweed, but that may just be me being greedy read more

Poke Life - Couldn't resist taking a bite out of their tasty spam musubi - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

The poke is good and fresh. Plenty of options. Any reviews saying otherwise are likely privileged douches who think popcorn goes on poke. The staff is super friendly and clean. I've got lunch here 2-3 / wk before covid for a year straight. I've come with co workers and friends. . The food and service is always top notch. Never had a bad experience in any way. . Highly recommend. read more

Our team ordered catering from here this afternoon and Poke Life did not disappoint. Even though our order came an hour earlier than expected (better early than late, right), we couldn't be happier with the results! There was plenty of add ons for our bowls with lots of options to choose from. They even brought ice to put under the salmon and tuna so it can stay fresh. What a great touch! However, if you order catering, expect them not to provide bowls or utensils with your order. Other than that, I would definitely order from them again soon! read more

Soooo disappointed by the acai "bowl." Seriously the worst ever. For $7+ it was basically 2 tablespoons of acai (if you could even call it that), with way too much honey on top and maybe less than $1 worth of fruit...i thought it looked like a decent bowl until i realized the bottom was an inch+ layer of dry granola resembling uncooked oatmeal. The acai was gone after two bites and i was left to choke down the rest. Girl cashier has had major attitude every time I've been there (i do get the musubi once in a while when I'm in a crazy hurry). If you don't want to work there then quit your job and stop looking so sad behind the counter... it's offputting. I was also grossed out by the fact that when i walked in, someone's to-go order of actual POKE waiting to be picked up was just left out on the counter on a warm day, instead of waiting in the fridge. Since the musubi often takes time (hey at least the Spam is freshly cooked), i sat there for 15 minutes and when i left, guess what? Poke still sitting out on the counter!! I hope whoever ate that bowl didn't have to spend the better part of next day on the toilet. I haven't tried the poke yet, but perhaps that's my problem... I've been ordering the wrong stuff. read more

Poke Life - Disposable soup cup. 2 tablespoons of acai. Too much honey. WAY too much granola. Boo. - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

ONE WORD: AMAZING! Came here to eat today because I was craving for some Poke :) Today I ordered a regular bowl with a base of white rice and mixed greens, two scoops of Salmon, original sauce, and with toppings of cucumbers, carrots, mangoes (extra 50 cents), furikake, and fried onions. read more

Poke Life - The Interior (sorry for the big letters I posted this on my snapchat). - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

Out of all the poke places in the city I've tried, this one is definitely my favorite. The protein and vegetable options are all very fresh, healthy and plentiful. One aspect I appreciate about this place is how the fish is pre-marinated with flavors that aren't overpowering, but instead complements and truly melds beautifully with the other counterparts of your bowl and toppings. I chose to assemble my own poke bowl, although there were preset options available. My picks were salmon, tuna, brown rice, greens, all other vegetable toppings, avocado, scallions, fried onions, sesame seeds, wasabi and spicy mayo. In my opinion, the prices were very reasonable for the portion sizing. Honestly, my small poke bowl was filled to the top and I could barely contain it all in the bowl. I snuck a few bites in so I could close the lid. I was stuffed after I finished the entire thing. Another plus about this place is that they offer acaí bowls and spam musubis if you're craving other healthy options. I definitely have to stop by again when I'm in the area. read more

Poke Life - Menu - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

I always thought that California poke was pretty good until I went to Hawaii. No poke can top Hawaiian poke. However, this place was not that bad. Located right next to the Starbucks on the UCSF campus. Their fish tasted pretty fresh and I actually liked the salmon. It was not that much for how much you pay though. A small bowl is $10.95 + tax. They do put a lot of veggies. You can either get their menu'd bowls or create your own for about the same price. The scoops of fish were small and the slices of fish were also small. It's a small store and I haven't been there during lunch/dinner rush, but I would assume it to be too small of a space if they had a crowd. They also sell spam musubis and acai bowls. read more

I have been coming here for tasty poke bowls about once a week for some time. Unfortunately they now only offer a "large" poke bowl for an increased price. the value it just not as good, especially by the time you add a tip. I understand prices need to increase sometimes, but for the price of their only size bowl, I'm better off walking to Spark for lunch. read more

The short little lady is rude. First I called and she put me on hold for 30 minutes. Then I called back and it went straight to voicemail. Then I walk in and I'm sure it was the same lady. Because she took my order with the most horrible attitude ever. It's my first time here and she acts like I'm suppose to know how things go. I'm not sorry you work in a city of people who are demanding but you chose to so suck it up and smile and change your attitude. Never will I come again. And I could have been a USUAL. BUT THE LADY MAKING THE FOOD EXCELLENT SERVICE. read more

Poke Life - It the lady in the front. - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

Hate to be this harsh, but it really is one of the worst poke bowls I've had in the SF Bay Area. Not a lot of fish options at all, and all of them are heavily seasoned with sauce and onions+green onions. If you're allergic to green onions like me, there really is no fish option for you. I ended up choosing crab meat and spicy tuna (only seafood options without green onions mixed in) as my 2 proteins and my friend opted for the salmon. Neither of us enjoyed our food as the fish really just did not taste fresh and the sauce was a bit too much. The service was nice though. It is enough food to give you a full meal if you're in the area and just need some food. But if you're looking for good poke, I'd say go somewhere else! read more

EVENT: I'm starving... looking for food... I'm always looking for food.. AND coffee! One of my favorite place to visit when I'm hungers and need coffee at the same time (there's a starbucks next door - thank goodness!) FOOD: LARGE Poke Bowl: I'm all about the large bowls - I usually get salmon, tuna, and spicy tuna... and get EVERYTHING that's FREE! I have no shame! Maybe sometimes once in a while I'll do a *treat yourself* and get some avocado for an extra dollar or so! Ponzu is my favorite and sometimes ask for extra ponzu so it's like soaked in my whole grained rice (y'all know gotta balance the good and bad foods, hehe) BEST MISO soup ever! Tofu, seaweed, carrots, tons of little bites and pieces - so delish! NO LIE... *MUST GET* loveeee their miso soup... super savory and salty... my two favorite flavors! Excellent! read more

At first I was skeptical but it actually turned out to be a pretty decent stop for poke. The bowls were quite plentiful with their servings. Unlike many other poke shops, this place actually serves real crab as opposed to the imitation crab (and doesn't charge you extra). The fish and greens were fresh. The miso soup was a nice addition (be sure to use your Yelp check-in for this). Of note, this place also serves unagi, but you need to ask for it since it's not kept at the front. Overall, I'd love to come back and get another order. read more

I'm a sucker for delicious poke and OMG this place is GOOD. Just had lunch here and cannot wait to come back. They have pre-set menu selections as well as a build-your-own bowl. I opted for the large with tuna and salmon scoops, half/half brown rice and greens. If only it was open on evenings and weekends...a girl can dream. read more

Poke Life - Large poke bowl with tuna + salmon + half/half brown rice & greens. - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

While it's been awhile, the thing that stood out to be the most was the overabundance of sesame oil on the tuna + green onions Rice was overcooked and the salad was overdressed Fish quality was sufficient but nothing to rave about Overall Thoughts Not my go to spot for poke read more

This place has the most worst customer service ever! No wonder why there is always turnarounds, they cant keep their workers probably because of this particular asian lady and her rude attitude who may be the owner or something (she is always there). She always looks mad and irritated as if she hates coming into work, it definitely shows in her face and her attitude. How can your employees be happy if youre not happy at work? Their food is just ok, but I still come in because its the closest poke shop around my work. I was coming in regularly, up until that one particular lady helped me. Being pregnant, I kindly asked her if she can bake my salmon because I cant intake anything raw. She completely rolled her eyes and rudely responded, "we dont do that." In the past, few other service members were able to heat it up for me, but in this case - she is just plain lazy and didn't want to do extra work or something? There was no one else in the store! For that, I gave up on this business and decided to make a further drive for better poke and service. read more

Tried this place out for the first time - it was pretty solid in my opinion! A small bowl is $10.95 + tax, and quite filling. I opted for the "California surf" preset, and the crab and salmon were both delicious. Although I initially felt it didn't look like a ton of protein, once mixed up the ratio works out (their small bowls come with two scoops, and the scoops are on the larger side.) One thing I would comment on is that sauce distribution (or quantity?) could be better, as it took quite a bit of mixing to get a particularly dry section of rice incorporated with the sauce. However, the flavors were great overall and everything tasted very fresh. The place is still quite new, so service is probably a bit slower now than it will be, but I'll definitely be back! Maybe I'll try a custom bowl next time... read more

Poke Life - California surf bowl, small (brown rice, greens, salmon, real crab, ponzu, cucumber, corn, carrots, edamame, furikake, sesame) - Poke Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

The entire nearby area could use more food options and this is probably why this place continues to exist. It's not bad but it's not great either. Definitely is just your standard basic poke bar, with half the options of other poke places I frequent. $10.95 for small standard bowl. I wasn't hungry afterwards but not satisfied either. If you don't mind the walk, you should go up to Sparks Social for food truck options. read more