M Pocha

Just had a wonderful experience at M Pocha. Sat at the bar and was waited on by the bartender who also designed the cocktail menu. Can't say enough, the food was excellent and the cocktails inventive and delicious. Looking forward to them opening the new test kitchen in Cary. Hopefully our bartender will be asked to design their cocktail menu as well.

It’s Saturday and date night with the most awesome husband. He surprised me with a special tasting menu at M Pocha. We arrived before the restaurant opened for dinner. A line quickly formed consisting of parties all with reservations. We huddled outside reading the posted dinner menu. There were “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” from all the excited patrons. The doors opened and we were invited into M Pocha by a very sweet and personable hostess. The restaurant filled up immediately. Note: Make sure you make reservations. The husband made the reservations and requested we be sat at the bar so we could watch the chefs make the food. The bartender greeted us and explained how the menu worked including the small plates, medium plates, and entrées. We placed our drink orders of lychee sake sangria and sunset rose then our first two small plates of gai lan and meat mandu. The gai lan sat in a savory brown sauce topped with charred Brussel sprout leaves. We could have eaten plain white rice with just the sauce. It was absolutely delectable. My husband ordered two medium plates of chicken karaage and Pocha burger with a side of fries. The chicken karaage were succulent chicken thighs perfectly deep fried served with leafy greens and side of smoky hot sauce. His Pocha burger consisted of two different patties - brisket smash and meatloaf - both grilled to medium perfection and served with a tangy orange sauce on a potato roll. I ordered Nagasaki champon. It was a hearty broth of pork and chicken marrow with pork belly, cuttlefish, shrimp, and mussels served with ramen noodles. The dishes were well timed as we finished one dish another came out. There was never a lull or delay as the chefs worked well orchestrated preparing dish after delicious dish. When I say everything was flavorful and delicious, it is an understatement. The menu items were sheer perfection. We told the bartender and chefs multiple times we wanted to eat everything on the menu. Before finishing our meal we had already made plans to return with friends and family. This is our second experience with the M family restaurants. M Pocha definitely lives up to the M moniker.

3.5 out of 5 for take away. The broth for the Nagasaki champon was delicious and rich and a crowd pleaser. The instructions for boiling the noodles was helpful. We also ordered 5 additional dishes, and while the flavors were great, there was quite a bit of grease in the spicy pork buns and the xiao mian noodles. The pork belly on the chashu don wasn’t melt in your mouth tender— it required a steak knife to cut into pieces. The soft boiled egg had a perfect cook. The nasi gongreng was well seasoned and quite tasty, but the sunny side up egg still had a bit of raw egg white on top. The mango papaya salad wasn’t as well rounded in flavor as we anticipated— it was primarily sour with some fish sauce. Overall, would need to try again while eating at the restaurant to give a better rating.

M Pocha is a great little spot for a date night with plates to share! Food comes out as it is hot, so it is fun to eat in rounds. We got the spicy pork buns, pork dumplings and the Shitake Jiajang. The buns were very fluffy, but the ground pork was just ok to me because I am not a big meat eater. The dumplings were DELICIOUS and the noodles were total umami in the mouth! Service was amazing - waiter was so attentive and kind, and gave great recs. Loved sitting in bar at the window. Now we need to come back and try the late night menu! :)

Shitake jjajiang was ok but expensive for what it is. Presentation was meh and I feel like it could have been better with more vegetables and maybe some tofu for protein. The mushrooms were very flavourful and the spice level was good (I can't do too spicy). Vegan mandu was delicious but it only comes with 2 (larger) dumplings for $8 lol. I enjoyed my meal but def wouldn't come back

This is our favorite M restaurant! Awesome staff, interesting and delicious food and reasonably priced. Let's start with the shrimp toast with is both crispy and juicy. A fried food lover's dream! The nasi goreng and the Chashu Don are loaded with spices and interesting flavors. Chicken Kara age must be double fried because it's so crispy! Probably the only thing that we didn't love was the kimbap which was a little bland after trying all the other dishes. For libations, the Kikusui Funaguchi 'seasonal green' was a real treat but is only released once a year around October so grab it if available.

We love ALL the M restaurants! Everything we’ve ever tried, from any/all of the menus, has been absolutely delicious. They have our complete trust and we always know we’ll be more than satisfied. And as if that wasn’t enough, the staff are friendly and very tentative. If you haven’t tried, you should. Good vibes. Fabulous food. Our favorite place to eat out.

Absolutely delicious and an amazing take on Asian fusion. I would never usually order Mac n cheese at a restaurant but their Lobster Mac n Cheese has a very refreshing Asian twist to it and is honestly the tastiest I’ve ever had! Their steamed buns were also to die for. I highly recommend you try this place out!