Grindz Poke (Brea) — Restaurant in Brea

I'm sorry, but this place has really gone downhill since re-naming as 'Grindz.' To give some examples; this place used to be 'Oke Poke.' It was decent at that time. But since their re-name, I found their poke bowls problematic for several reasons. 1. They were rather stingy with the fish portions. This is most apparent when you order the 1 protein small poke bowl. Literally, they don't even give you a full scoop of fish, it's like a half scoop and like 3 or 4 small pieces of fish at most. 2. The fish available for poke did not seem very fresh. When I stopped by to order my food for dinner, it was around 6pm, and when I saw the fish that was available, it looked old, slimey, and discolored, almost like it was leftover from the day before or older. 3. When I was asking for the veggie toppings to go on the poke bowl, not only was the server extremely stingy with the protein, she was also very stingy with the veggie portions too. I asked for the bean/soybean sprouts, and she only put two pieces on there, same for the onions, she only put two specks of onion and I had to ask at least twice for bigger portions. 4. The cherry on top is the payment kiosk asking for a tip. I'm sorry, but faced with this miserly service mentioned above, what the heck am I obligated to tip for? For getting less food and portions than when this place was operating as Oke Poke? When it was Oke, they didn't have these problems with stingy portions for the fish AND veggies/toppings, and at that time, I would tip a little because it felt deserved. Definitely not anymore. In fact, there's much better poke to be had elsewhere, even from the deli section from Asian supermarkets. Grindz is a no-go for me. Oke Poke was better, but that's no longer what this...

Update: recent visit 4/29/2023

Tako & Tuna Poke Bowls are my favorite!! 🐙

I usually get 2 (1 for lunch and 1 for dinner). And, I order the same exact thing for both. Makes it easy when ordering lol 😉

I love all the topping options. I usually get cucumber, edamame, seaweed, carrots, fried garlic, crispy onions and furikake. I got bean sprouts but next time I’ll opt out. My favorite sauces are the spicy Mayo and Eel sauce.

This was my 1st time going into Oke Poke. It looks like I’m becoming a fan of Poke bowls. I know…I’m a little late to the game lol 🤣 Nevertheless, I am a fan and want to try more Poke places.

I also realized that Tako was octopus 🐙 🤦🏽‍♀️ I really love the firmness of the octopus so it’s my new favorite 😊

I love all the topping options. My favorites are avocado, cucumber, edamame, seaweed, carrots, fried garlic, furikake and roasted sesame seeds!! I like the texture that it adds. The seaweed is fresh.

Proteins we tried were Tako, Salmon, Albacore and Tuna. Could have had more of the Poke. The fish quality/cuts could be better. For the price, it’s somewhat decent.

My favorite sauce is the...

Taste: You get what you've expected from "poke". Can't go wrong, it is okay

Portion: Depends on the employee. Sometimes you will get full container of food, or 3/7 filled. I do not recommend to select vegetables if you are hungry. (feel like they are feeding a bird😅)Just pick rice.

Service: I do not expect the good customer services from oke poke but they also do not care most of the time. Not sure it is because i did not tip much for To-Go orders ($1-2 for 1-2 bowls every time) or unlucky I went in their bad days.

Atmosphere: For sure i can clearly say, it looks like a store in sketchy area. Dirty window, empty hallway, no greeting from employees and not cleaned utensil area.

I feel like if they can provide better customer service and clean environment, more customers would go...