Sushi Roka Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Poway

I’ve been coming to Sushi Roku since I was younger, and it used to be one of my favorite spots, especially for the bento box. Recently, my mom and I decided to visit again after years, hoping to relive those good memories. Unfortunately, this visit was very disappointing due to the service we received from our server, Alyssa.

From the moment we started ordering, Alyssa came across as cold and dismissive. When my mom ordered the ceviche, the dish that arrived was completely different from what we expected. It looked more like a whole fish rather than the chopped, marinated style we’re used to. My mom didn’t even touch it, and we kindly asked if we could return it. Instead of handling the situation with professionalism or understanding, Alyssa responded with a sarcastic, “Well, what were you expecting?” which we felt was completely uncalled for.

Additionally, I had ordered spicy yellowtail, which I confirmed with her could be made spicy. When it arrived, it was plain yellowtail with a side of sriracha. That’s not what I ordered, and again, the issue was brushed off.

Throughout the entire meal, Alyssa’s attitude remained consistently rude and unprofessional. There was no warmth, no sense of hospitality, and it honestly felt like we were being treated as an inconvenience rather than valued customers.

What made it more frustrating is that my mom has actually been to this location several times this week and is familiar with the usual level of service. This time, however, was enough to make us both decide we probably won’t be coming back, especially not if Alyssa is our server again.

Despite the poor service, my mom still left a 22% tip because we understand the importance of tipping in this industry. That said, good service should come first, and this experience was a huge letdown. If you visit, just be mindful of who your server is — because our experience with Alyssa was extremely disappointing and not what we’ve come to expect...

TLTR: unorganized sushi chefs but understanding supervisor. This place ruined my celebration meal and nine month pregnancy craving for sushi.

I first found out about this place when I was pregnant and my husband promised to buy me sushi here to celebrate after giving birth. We live nearby and didn’t want to leave the newborn with her grandparents for too long so we just drove over to order takeout tonight on a Sunday.

We ordered 4 sushi rolls and a chicken plate and the waitress told us it would be 20 minutes. After 40 minutes had passed I noticed she went to ask the white haired chef about our order and he told her they’re only worried about the people dining in so he hadn’t worked on my order. The waitress didn’t come to update us on this. Five minutes later I asked her on the status and she said it would be another 20 minutes (even though the chef had already told us he wasn’t gonna work on takeout orders). I told her to just give me a refund and I believe she went to talk to the supervisor to see what they could do. The supervisor came to tell us that she could give us a refund and tell the chefs to rush out our order. She went to talk to the dark haired chef and he told her our order was so easy. She then told us that they could have our food out soon but wouldn’t refund us if that was the case. I didn’t want to wait another hour so I took the refund and she still did allow me to take the chicken plate that was finally ready.

There was another gentleman waiting who came right after us so who knows if he ever...

Located next door to Fed Ex in same plaza as Brigantine. Plenty of parking.

Came for lunch on a Tuesday. Not only do they have lunch specials until 2:30, but they have Happy Hour all day Monday to Wednesday! What a steal on prices.

We got the salmon teriyaki bento box that came with miso soup, rice, 4 piece CA roll, ginger salad, and mixed tempura. The mixed tempera was the same size as my entree mixed tempura! Had I known that, I wouldn’t have ordered the entree.

Also got two rolls, the crunchy shrimp roll and chili mango roll. I prefer my crunchy roll to have more tempura flakes. I’m a sucker for rolls with mango. The chili ponzu gave a tiny kick and the mango was sliced really thin giving you a slight sweet and tart refreshing taste.

I’ve had better Takoyaki where there’s more octopus. This one had a lot of the doughy wheat flour and one full chunk of octopus. I like mine chopped up in many pieces to have it evenly distributed in every bite. Otherwise, each bite consist of all dough and one bite with the octopus like in this case.

All in all, it got crazy busy during lunch. Great quality food, quick service, loved the options. Nice size dining and bar seating. I will need to come back and sit at the bar to have some amberjack...