California Poke Chain’s Debut Virginia Restaurant Is Scheduled to Open in June

A West Coast chain that encourages diners to mix raw seafood with kale, fish eggs, and tortilla chips is now hiring at its first shop in the D.C. metro area.

SoCal import Poke Bar, which Eater LA hailed as a new school eatery back in 2015, is opening its debut Mid-Atlantic location (8298 Glass Alley #100, Fairfax, Va) inside the restaurant-packed Mosaic District. The roughly 900-square-foot eatery is coming to the corner spot formerly occupied by local seafood market/cafe Mediterrafish which shut down last year; it moved to a larger location (2727 Merrilee Drive, Fairfax, Va) that remains a work in progress.

Though poke shops continue cropping up all over D.C., the dining trend hasn’t swept through the popular Merrifield eating and shopping hub. Neighboring restaurants Brine and Iron Chef House feature their own takes on raw fish, but Poke Bar should have the build-your-own-salmon-bowl market to itself — for now.

Eater staff/Eater DC

Poke Bar managing partner Ramez Wissa tells Eater the new location is scheduled to open by mid-June. It is projected to operate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

• The Most Anticipated Restaurants in D.C., Spring 2018 [EDC]
• What Most Annoyed Local Dining Pros in 2017? [EDC]
• Mediterrafish moves from Mosaic and scales up at Halstead Square [Northern Virginia Magazine]
• Eight Great New School Poke Places in Los Angeles [ELA]