Wow Bento — Restaurant in Irvine

This is the first time leaving 1-star review on Google because I just had the worst customer service ever. I hope no one will get the same experience since I am sharing the fair warning with my friends and family who used to go there.

This store handles raw fish, and I hope they take it seriously even though they might not do it for the customer service.

I am taking the time and leaving this comment because I hope the store management is aware of the level of their customer service and improve.

A worker (a male who spoke Korean) who answered my phone call was unbelievably rude and raised his voice with irritation when I addressed the issue with a misplaced item.

It would be much appreciated if he calmly asked the info instead of yelling at me and saying "WHAT'S THE PROBLEM !!??" "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO haha!!??" My husband was surprised because this worker's voice was too loud and he could hear him yelling at me on the phone.

Additionally, this worker was constantly talking to someone else in Korean while on the phone and laughing when I addressed there was a mistake in my order.

It was intimidating and humiliating to be treated that way while the store failed to meet the expectation of placing the requested food in the bowl.

I paid in full for the service they promised and added a tip to express my gratitude (being done online beforehand). I drive 30 min to get their poke bowls even though there are more options nearby my place just because it's recommended by my family member.

I am feeling terrible for the overall experience with this store. It felt like I did something wrong.

Sadly, the worker did not siggesst anything to compensate for the unsatisfactory service and said a very casual "sorry!" right before me hanging up the phone for the first time.

If this service is the store standard, sorry for asking too much! I hope you...

I ordered the Monster Bowl that includes 5 types of cubed seafood mixed in a tart poke sauce. It's hard to determine whether the fish was fresh from its taste since a cloy and creamy sauce containing mayonnaise was applied directly onto the seafood. However, based on the fact that Wow Bento occasionally sells out and the restaurant is closed on weekends, the high turnover suggests that all the ingredients they use are reasonably fresh. The cucumbers, avocado, and imitation crab in my bowl were pleasantly refreshing and definitely not spoiled.

My favorites in the Monster Bowl were the albacore and octopus. Through all the sauce, the albacore still retained some natural "seared" flavor. I particularly liked its meaty texture. The octopus was my second favorite. Because the octopus had been properly softened, it had the reasonable tender/slightly chewy mouthfeel.

Unfortunately, I was not a fan of the white rice and wasabi. I'm not sure if Wow Bento uses proper technique for preparing Japanese sushi rice, because the rice didn't taste like it was mixed with any vinegar. The white rice tasted very plain. In addition, the wasabi was the worst I've ever had. It was a watery paste that had originated from a cheap squeeze bottle. The flavor of horseradish was way too harsh and overbearing to be used in this...

Good quality poke, I just wish there was more!

Hungry and just looking to pick up and go, I came across this place. I’ve tried most of the poke spots in the Lake Forest area so I was hoping this would be my go-to. I’ve been here a long time ago and got a regular bowl, if I remember correctly.

This time around I ordered a Monster Bowl for pickup. The 5 scoops of fish sold me. So, I ordered all salmon, avocado, seaweed salad, ginger, crab meat, white rice, cucumbers, and medium spicy sauce.

It wasn’t long before my order was ready to be picked up. I hurried and grabbed my food and ate it when I got back to work.

What did I think of it?

Monster Bowl: 5 small scoops of fish on what seems to be the same amount of rice you would get in a regular bowl. It tasted fresh and delicious though. It just looked identical in size to my coworker’s regular bowl that I picked up.

Service was good, the staff is friendly.

Parking spots are available here and there. It’s a business complex so there’s always cars parked here (at least during the weekdays).

No indoor seating is available.

Definitely a place worth trying, see if...