Popular Hawaiian Poke Spot and Seafood Market Expands in Sorrento Mesa

Hawaiian Fresh Seafood recently relocated to a larger venue geared more towards sit-down dining at Centerpark Labs in Sorrento Mesa, where the working fish supplier is now offering an expanded menu from its takeout counter while running its wholesale operations out of the space. There’s also an on-site fish market where customers can purchase filets.

Situated just a few blocks from its previous location, the seafood specialist is now tucked inside a newly built, contemporary biotech building developed by Longfellow Real Estate Partners that has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, from communal tables and counter seating inside to patio tables and picnic benches on the outdoor turf. Hawaiian Fresh Seafood also maintains a poke shop at Liberty Station and a roving food truck.

Haley Hill Photography

With this larger footprint, the Market at HFS has been able to grow its menu beyond its popular selection of poke, which includes varieties such as ahi limu onion, firecracker salmon, and shoyu ahi. There are favorite dishes like ahi belly bombs (deep-fried ahi-belly), poke bombs (inari sushi topped with poke), and ahi kama (tuna collar served with ponzu) as well as additions like grilled or seared fish sandwiches and beer-battered fish and chips, made with New English Brewing’s beer and never-frozen fish.

Helen I. Hwang

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., the restaurant and market will eventually be sharing the space with a new satellite taproom from New English Brewing. The brewery, whose main production hub is located in Sorrento Valley’s SOVA Science District, tells Eater that the beer bar should be up and running by October.

When the Maui wildfires broke out, Hawaiian Fresh Seafood began contributing a portion of its profits to help those on the island. Though that fundraiser ended in mid-August, the company says that it may be raising additional funds for Maui’s rebuilding efforts in the future.