Gabose Pocha

Awesome awesome place, I had a really great time here when I went there to celebrate my friends birthday. I just want to say for all of you guys who have not tried Korean BBQ this is a great place to go or to start.

Fun place where you are the cook!

This is a cute little Korean spot located next to Gabose, their other location. It’s located in a plaza and the inside is very clean and nicely decorated. They have a few tables and a small bar. The only times I’ve been there were after 10 pm and always sat at the bar. It’s usually moderately busy and they have karaōke on Saturday nights.
They always provide complimentary chips with three dipping sauces; some type of soy sauce, ketchup, and mayo. The chips are freshly made and it’s very tasty. I love their soju drinks. It’s a type of fruity sake like drink. I’ve tried a handfull of flavors and my favorite is the blueberry soju. I really want to try the watermelon soju next time. I ordered their Ramen noodles and it was really good. It had a good mixture of spicyness and an abundance of flavor. The last time I came, I took my friends from out of town and they participated in karaōke, which was a blast.
It’s a good spot for some late night entertainment and/​or snacking. I plan to come here during the day and see what the ambiance is like since this is more of a bar type atmosphere versus a restaurant.

This is hands down one of my favorite places to eat. I’m always impressed when I go out to eat at an restaurant that serves cultural food that people from that culture eat there! The charcoal pit is so fun… You must try the short ribs. They melt in your mouth! We love anything with the rice cakes and have had their soups and appetizers. Everyone is always efficient and happy to answer questions. It gets busy so I’d suggest coming early (5:30) or plan on waiting! Great place!!!

Awesome spot!
I’ve wanted to come here for some time now. and this place definitely lived up to its reputation.
We were greeted by the staff as we walked in and quickly led to a seat.
We started out with the watermelon soju which was really refreshing and a great palate cleanser between dishes. Presentation was great as it was served to us in half of a watermelon.
We also ordered the fish jerky, Korean BBQ ribs, the fried sweet potatoes noodles, and the abalone. As we waited they served us the house made chips with 3 delicious sauces and they even gave us a free pancake which tasted amazing.
All of the food came out quickly. and the added bonus was when the table next to us went to the bar and started singing karaōke!
Definitely a great night!

Excellent food, drinks and service. Must try the ramen nachos, bulgogi fried rice and the spam roll. They have great happy hour during the week. Also try some of the «shrubs»! They are much stronger than they seem. Strawberry basil was my fave. Will definitely come back here.

Wasn’t here too long. They are owned by gabose restaurant across the plaza and they recommended we have some drinks here before dinner.
Nothing too special but they have these specialty cocktails that were interesting. You should stop In and try them if you get a chance.

Well the place seems very interesting. You can cook your own food with charcoal or a stove top. If that’s not your thing you can order off the menu and let them prepare your food.
My son and I were looking for a tapas bar. This place is by far from being a tapas restaurant. We asked about the small portions and the employee didn’t know what we were talking about. So, if you are looking for tapas don’t go here, looking for some good sake this is the place.

Thanks so much to locals Samantha & Zach for picking us up at the hotel and taking us to this great spot.
There are actually two Gabose, a smaller BBQ spot behind the main restaurant. We did the BBQ spot. It’s so wild with disco lights flashing. The décor is simple, low metal tables and stools, and a large picnic table in the middle for large parties.
Hubby and I tried the shrub cocktails– fruit and herbs. I had a refreshing strawberry and basil, hubby did the blackberry and basil. Housemade chips and a pancake were served complimentary while we had a tough time deciding. Finally we chose– ramen tacos (an absolute must, crispy crunchy square of ramen with meat, cheese and sauce on top), the special octopus stir fry (tender octopus with quite a kick), pork ramen (savory broth with noodles and a hidden egg), pig’s ears lettuce wraps (eat your heart out Michael C, julienne cut fried ears with veggies and sauce in a leaf of lettuce. We were so full but found room to share dessert. Pat Bing Soo shaved ice with ice cream and coconut condensed milk on top, with cheesecake and pond cake bites, as well as mochi and lychee fruit.
Great experience with a fabulous Unilocal couple.

There was now doubt that a lot of people are destined to tackle the Top 100 Restaurants of 2015 that were still left on our list, and there are plenty. Gabose Pocha, which I never knew existed until the list came out was one places I would not of put on the top of my list, unless, of course Savanna would create a UYE here, and leave it to her to do so, one that would give me another perspective on dining from cultures far away from our borders, this one being Korean.
As soon as we walked in, I knew this was going to be one that I would have to let settle in. All the cool lighting among the backdrop of darkness gave it a club like atmosphere, which it is late at night. The music that was already playing was really great already and gave me more energy to get going here, and get going we did.
I had to get the live tank idea out of the way to decide whether I was going to even try live octopus or the Raw Sea Squirt that I had heard so much about on the previous reviews and pictures. I was not keen on that since I did not want to ruin my love for GRILLIED Octopus, and after looking at the menu and letting Savanna do the ordering of the other outstanding menu items that I never tried, I resorted to the fact that I was going to love this.
Before getting to the food, I could not believe how great of an idea the Watermelon Soju was. I never had Soju and to me it was like the Japanese version of Sake. Half a watermelon infused with the Soju, in fact not just infused but it was floating in the Watermelon and served by scooping it out into metal soup cups with handles and you just drink it up like soup. Looking up next at the «Shrub» drink menu, there were all sorts of different natural fruit flavored, soju mixed drinks to chose from I quickly figured out: SOJU was the Korean drink and it was good, lighter than you would think but ya feel it. Those drinks were served in a small glass dish to sip out of. I had the Banana Soju and sipped two of them as it was buy one get one happy hour. They were $ 7.00, a great deal for happy hour. Banana happens to be my favorite ice cream and drink flavor.
As for the food, we ordered a great assortment off their menu. I left it to Savanna to figure out a good selection of tapas sized dishes. Here is where Gabose Pocha earned their position in the Unilocal’s Top 100: the food. I was in heaven and even as I write this I am getting excited to list all these great dishes. My favorite NUMBER ONE was the Tofu Shiitake. Tofu was filled with Shiitake mushrooms and lightly fried. What made this even tastier was the Sweet Soy we dipped it into that smothered the bottom of the dish. I never had Kimchi before but the Tofu Kimchi was great. Two of the other favorites were the Ramen Nachos and the Pork and Beef Dumplings. I loved the texture of the fried Ramen and sauces and beef inside the Ramen Nachos and the Pork and Beef Dumplings, we could of ordered a couple more. I was looking forward to seeing what the Poncho Chicken Wings tasted like. Always love to try new flavors on wings and these had so many of the chicken wings I’ve had beat by a longshot. They know how to sauce them up. The pork ramen served in a metal shallow container was meant to have the noodles scooped out into another metal soup cup. So delicious and everyone should try this. All these different dishes with so many outstanding flavors. As we sat at a large wooden table, we all got a chance to order so many of these different dishes to share. That is the way to dine here, with other people, to make sure you can share so many different dishes. The deserts to finish were extraordinary and creative. Never had a shaved ice to mix in ice cream before, but this was great, and the rest of the deserts which we were all served at once were all incredible, with appetizing presentations.
Service was all part of the night: perfect and with the owner, Susan coming over with big smiles to help answer questions and see how we were doing, took a personal interest in us.
The whole night was really special and intimate, and we all had great conversation, mostly about all this great food no one ever had. So glad Reixa and Dana came. Nice to have a size group like this to try this kind of cuisine together and compare notes.
Savanna, thanks for taking the lead again. And thank you so much for letting me watch you eat the Sea Squirt. I can handle that.

Since I missed Savanna’s UYE here a couple of weeks ago because of work, I promised myself I would come here to try out its menu since I have heard nothing but raves about this place.
This restaurant is owned by Fred and Susan Kim, who own the more fabouse Gabose, which is located in the same shopping center as Pocha. Once you walk in, you can tell the atmosphere here is different than from Gabose. While Gabose is more of a restaurant type setting, Pocha is more of a bar/​pub style restaurant, with a bar area and a TV constantly playing music videos of Korean hip-​hop as well as K-​Pop.
As I sat down, I was immediately greeted and given a menu, which is in both Korean and English. One side was for food and the other side were the drinks. I decided to do a bottle of Hite, which is a very nice ale beer which also helped to offset the spice from the dishes I had.
One thing I need to advise is that the dishes here are meant to be shared, so just be warned
I was told to get the ramen noodles so I ended up ordering the spicy ramen which comes with eggs and vegetable. The ramen was brought out in a silver bento box with a huge ladle spoon which is used to scoop the noodles out. I’m a huge fan of kimchee so once I saw a side of it come out with this dish, I took the kimchee and dumped those bad boys into the noodle. Let me tell you that adding the kimchee to the ramen, while good without it, just knocked this dish out of the park into one of my must-​haves when I come back
Afterwards, I ordered the Kimchi Doria, which is baked fried rice with kimchee topped with cheese. This was another spicy dish that was also filling. Like I stated earlier, I’m a huge fan of kimchee so I had no problem that it was all over the rice. This was another standout dish. Once I finished it I debated for about 10 – 15 minutes on whether to have a dessert. After journeying deep into my soul, I decided to venture and order their signature dessert: the Pat Bing Soo, which consisted of shaved ice topped with vanilla ice cream, chunks of cheesecake and pound cake, red bean mochi and coconut jelly. This was a perfect conclusion to a wonderful meal. I walked out of there stuffed to the gills.
What also gives this place five stars is the service, which was friendly and helped this newbie answer his questions. Also, the owner Susan Kim was present and sat next to me, whereby we had a nice chat about the concept of Gabose Pocha, how it came to be, and how the majority of dishes are Korea street food, they also have some fusion items (the ramen nachos); it was a very interesting conversation and the fact that she would take time off to talk to me really made an impression to me.
All in all, this place deserves all the hype; next time I come I plan on bringing more people and share dishes.

Where do I start?! I knew Gabose Pocha was going to be good, but this place wow-​ed me, and I’m kicking myself for not coming sooner! Seriously when can we go back people?
We need to first talk about the SERVICE!
Absolutely outstanding. Our server knew the menu inside and out and was able to answer all questions and really was passionate about the food and drink here. The owner stopped by a few times to check on us and sent out a few complimentary items for our group!
Gabose Pocha is not Gabose next door, and is doing things very differently. The inside vibe comes across lounge and you can tell this is a late night spot (I believe they are open til 2am some nights?). Music was bumping and I was really getting in to some of the Korean hiphop. Our group sat at the large picnic table right in the center of the restaurant surrounded by other cook top tables. Again, this is really a late night spot so at 6pm we had the place to ourselves. Around 7pm a few others trickled in, some even choosing to use the cook top, which meant the place got a little smokey, but the owners opened the door to let the place air out.
DRINKS
I’ve had Soju before and put it in the category of «liquor I don’t like». That was a mistake. Probably somewhat of a mental bias as it is pretty much a vodka/​sake hybrid, two things I hate, but it turns out I’ve just never had it served with such fruity flavors before. Our group shared a watermelon soju to start, yes served in an entire watermelon and it was phenomenal.
Happy hour (it may be Thursday only, and lasts from 6 – 9 or 6−10pm) means all Shrubs (another fruit/​soju mix) are BOGO which means $ 7 for two drinks. Your two drinks will come out together and you must do the same flavor for both, but come with a group and swap them around so you can try all the flavors. We tried the Pineapple Rosemary, Peach Mint, Banana and Strawberry Basil, with the Strawberry Basil being my favorite!
Nancy M. went the beer route and I was pleased to see a regular sized bottle of Hite was $ 4. (hiiiiiiiitttttteeeee) lol.
We also tried some apple infused soju sent by the owners and I loved it! Note to self **buy Soju, soak some fruit in it**
FOOD (the most important part duh)
Definitely come with a group. These dishes are meant to be shared and you’re going to want to try a few things. I’m hoping I can remember everything we ate.
**Ramen Nachos — Great blend of Mexican and Asian tastes. A good dish that everyone can enjoy.
**Fish Jerky — not for everyone but this island girl loved it. Where can I buy bags of this stuff?
**Dumplings — I agree with Nancy M here. Not my favorite.
**Squid — loved it!
**Pancake — the owners sent out a sample of a savory pancake. Again, another winner!
**Cold Tofu with Kimchee — I wish we had a picture that did it justice. I love kimchee, I love tofu, I love this dish. Didn’t hurt that it came out looking like art work.
**Hot Stuffed Tofu with Mushrooms — Get this! So good, we all wanted to lick the plate.
**Ramen Soups — A must try for presentation alone. Ramen came out a canister. Definitely different than anywhere I’ve seen.
**Omelet — Surprisingly good!
**Sea Squirt — $ 8pp (MP so pricing may vary). Adventurous Savanna had to order this. She wouldn’t do it again lol.
**Chicken Wings — two orders, both devoured. I think both orders were the Original flavor, and the sauce was amazing. Served with some pickled radish, I loved!
**BingSoo — if you’ve never had Korean shaved ice cream, you must try this!
**Ice Cream Sandwich — super cute on the plate!
**Ice Cream and Pancake — we all agreed this was delicious!
Shout out to everyone who came out to enjoy some different foods :) And to Reixa and Dana for coming to their first UYE!
PS — cheers to Nancy M. and her quote — «Yelp means I never have to eat alone again». Such meaningful words!

I lived in lauderhill for a split second in 1999 and i. cant say if I remember this being here. On a balmy November night I am here for my first visit. I don’t know anything about this specific type of food so this really is going to be.interesting. the restaurant is very bright and kinda empty. which is a good thing. I think the only time I ever saw Korean food was on Anthony Bordaines show. I went inside and found Michael and Goldie C and Savanna and sat across from rexia! then dana (whose first event was this one) came and joined us!!!
We began with the watermelon drink. it was really delicious purée of melon with their sake/​vodka liquor in it… really great tasting! We ordered appetizers and food was all over the table. I ordered the fried dumplings (I wasnt a huge fan personally but everyone at the table enjoyed them) and the grilled octopus who savanna said was squid. it was ok but not really what I expected because it had a red sauce and not a hot sauce on it… eveyone else liked it… just not me too much and then for my main course I ordered the spicy ramen. It came in its own case that kept the broth and noodles steaming hot. Boy it was a delicious spicy noodle soup with fresh slices of jalapenos cut up in it along with diakon (japanese pickled pickle) and kimchee to make it even hotter. I really enjoyed my soup (I also dished out 3 bowls besides mine thats how huge it was so everyone could try some. The tofu dishes (Fried stuffed tofu and the tofu with the kimchee and seaweed dishes were OUTSTANDING!!! Just delicious beyond words. I would definitely have those dishes every time I would visit for sure. I tried the fried fish skin which was sweet and fishy at the same time and crunchy. it was interesting. The ramen noodle nachos were delicious I would eat those again for sure. The chicken wings were very good and came with pickled radishes that were cut in cubes. those were really great!!! Savannas right I love the food that crunches too! Then out of the BLUE (pun intended) our CM Blue A popps in! We all cheered! What a nice surprise! I love seeing him! I was telling him that to me Unilocal means I will NEVER have to eat alone ever again! What a great feeling to know I have friends that love food as much if not more than I do and I also enjoy their company! Next thing we know there are 3 different desserts on the table (thanks again for those Blue!!). One was a traditional Korean shaved ice concoction with chocolate syrup whipped cream leechee pieces and also pound cake pieces man that was GREAT! The other two both had ice cream with one shaped like a fish that was an ice cream sandwich and the other was a warm cinnamony bread pudding thing… both of those were to die for. I also want to say thank you to Gabose for the complimentary apple drink they poured for all of us. that was such a nice touch to do that for our table and they also put Korean pizza on both ends of the table for us at no charge. Thanks so much for those great added touches. A table near us was cooking their own food like a private hibache at their table. that was smokey but really cool to see because the slab they cooked on was a sheet of glass that was thick not on any steel or teflon! All in all it was an excellent UYE so thank you Savanna for making that happen as our Unilocalie awards approaches it was a great way to continue the party up unto of big event saturday. We also found out that spring break for 2016 is being held in none other than San Diego. that was the cherry on top for sure for the evening. Thanks Gabose for the fine hospitality and great food tonight. I will return!

After trying out Gabose, we had to try their sister restaurant next door, Gabose Pocha. As our server from Gabose told us, it is more of Korean street food so it is a bit more casual. We were in for a treat.
Going with a Chef is the way to go because they just want to try everything. Our table ended up with a ton of dishes. Ramen noodle nachos, Octopus, spicy pork belly (cooked in the middle of the table), pork ramen, Bulgogi, spicy chicken wings, and of course their Hite beer and sake!!! They also offer LIVE FROM KOREA menu. There’s a water tank with the selections written on the board.
The décor makes it feel like you are outside on a street in Korea. While we were there we saw a lot of Koreans coming in, that is a great sign of an authentic place. We stayed until close and there was a lady eating chicken feet, she offers some to me and tells me they are a great source of collagen in it. Her skin looked phenomenal so I said «Why Not?» She handed me gloves, apparently they were also dipped in a very spicy sauce.
What a fun experience!

Every bit as wonderful as the «big sister» Gabose next door, but in different ways. Pocha’s staff are even more lovely than Gabose’s. The menu is smaller and full of street food type items and exotic live seafood. They do great shrubs (fruity cocktails) and have some really good tap and bottled beers like Floridian, Jai Alai and Brooklyn Brown. The ambience is karaōke/​nightclub complete with loud music and digital light shows. The menu always includes some special dishes, this time we tried the bulgogi ramen nachos, which was phenomenal. And the fact that you can eat here until 2am is great for people like us who sometimes forget to stop working.

I heart Korean food. I heart drinking. And I heart Asian drinking traditions. So when I came across Pocha about a year ago on Unilocal,I was looking forward to the day Id get here, toss back rounds of sochu, sing some K-​Pop and enjoy some Korean munchies with my folks!
Finally that time came, but unfortunately we were a bit let down by the overall experience. A Korean pub, IMHO, should be lively and exciting, and while the décor here was clearly inspired by the pubs overseas, it fell a little short overall in the atmosphere and ambiance. Mainly the let down was that the patrons seemed more into eating, than drinking, and that kind of dulled the experience.
The menu however, was definitely inspired, and very interesting, though also a slight let down in some ways. We tried the Watermelon Sochu cocktail, which was tasty and refreshing. We opted to have it without the sprite and found it quite delicious. Food wise we tried the wings, the raw calamari salad, the grilled calamari, and the sea eel trio (special of the night). The wings were the only thing we loved, everything else we found to be not as described or just off in some way. For example, the grilled squid turned out to be stuffed with some fish cake and the tentacles, the raw calamari salad had a slightly fishy flavor, and the sea eel is served bone-​in, which would have been a red flag for us if we’d known that when ordering.
The staff was nice, but not overly welcoming, and while they were more than willing to explain anything, from our experience they fell a bit short there too.
Overall, Id hoped this would be my new favorite secret spot for Asian flavors in SoFla, but the experience really left me wanting more. Id go back if someone asked me, or I was there when the live octopus is available (around $ 50!), but otherwise I’m not sure I’m likely to return.
I encourage everyone to spread their wings and try it out though! You may find it right up your alley!

Forget the commi’s. How about the Korean invasion?
First it was Hyundai with their 10 year power-​train warranty.
Then it was Samsung with their Iphone conquering Galaxy series.
Then the unspeakable happened, God fearing Americans started chanting «Gangnam style?».
Eventually even I succumbed to Korean imperialism, becoming entrapped by my discovery of Gabose Pocha!
Gabose Pocha is the brainchild of husband and wife duo Fred and Susan Kim, who are also the proprietors of the famous Gabose Korean BBQ next door. Pocha is a Korean style bar that serves shrub cocktails and Korean style pub food.
For Koreans who miss the streets of Seoul or westerners seeking culinary adventure, Pocha fulfills the needs of both with tables serving rare and unique seafood/​meats flown in from Korea. Don’t expect to hear Adele or Lorde as K-​pop is played in the background until 2 a.m. every night.
According to Fred Kim: «We’re the first authentic Korean pub in Florida.»
Friendly is an understatement in regarding the service. I cannot remember the name of my server, but she was a gem… a priceless Jade Buddha. I really can’t recall the last time I experienced service with such candor & professionalism. 5.0 Stars.
She actually made me a complimentary Korean pancake on one of the table grills to try since it was my first time there. It was absolutely delicious! 5.0 Stars
The menu is loaded with Korean favorites:
Ramen, Udon, Korean beers, many Korean sides, Tang (soups), Jigae (kimchi soups), shrub cocktails, Korean drinks (Soju, beksoejoo, makoil, bokbunja), Wine, Deserts (Hodduk, bingsoo, samanko), Anju, Chicken wings & shake, Live imported from Korea (squid, abalone, sea squirt, sea cucumber, octopus) etc.
Ordered:
Seafood ramen — was delicate, spicy with a clean finish. I loved the unique contraption it was served in. The kimchi served with the ramen was simply perfect. 4.5 Stars

Jumukbab (rice ball) — were huge and very filling, they weren’t as flavorful as I would’ve liked. I would be careful of ordering the rice balls as they can fill you quickly. 3.0 Stars
Strawberry basil shrub cocktail — was sweet strong and just classy, I really enjoyed it. 5.0 Stars
I nearly forgot the complimentary chips, they went great with the dipping sauces. 5.0 Stars
I really enjoyed my time here, as I also had an extended pleasant conversation with the manager on varying things relating to Korea. I’m definitely coming back!

Awesome spot! Same owners as Gabose next door, this place made me feel like I was in Asia! Loud Korean Pop music plays, along with Korean videos. The walls have funny artwork. We were greeted by the friendly staffed with homemade chips and dips including siracha, and a miso mayo. We also were brought a complimentary Korean pancake filled with veggies and topped with ketchup and cheese! Baked on the grill right in front of us!
We ordered the curried pork cutlets which came with rice beans and a cole slaw side– all delicious! We also had the spam sushi which was surprisingly great! The special that night was a bulgogi ramen dish so we had to try! It was amazing! Baked ramen with bulgogi, spices, sauce and cheese! Tasted like a Korean lasagna!
The table behind us were drinking drinks out of a watermelon! This looks like a fun spot for drinking as well.
I will be back!

So my boy and I tried this place after scouring Unilocal for a good Korean place to eat. Growing up with Korean food and being a Korean street food connoisseur I was in the mood for ddukbokki () so, here we came.
The boy is a true whitebred southern picky eater, so I explained to him that they had bulgogi (marinated beef) fried cheese rice and he LOVED that. I ordered the ddukbokki and goon mandu (), which had this weird gravy-​like substance on it, but it was good.
Nice complimentary fresh potato chips and buchimgae () was provided, along with kimchi and takuan (). Being fabulous, we also ordered the half-​sized watermelon soju drink which was fantastic. There are plenty of great other food items to try and we’ll definitely be back.
The servers were great and very engaging and spoke Korean. This is definitely geared toward the younger generation, so be prepared for Kpop stars serenading you while you eat.

I’m pretty happy all these new Korean businesses are opening up, first the Korean bakery in Davie & now this! It’s the perfect place for authentic Korean food. Walking into Gabose Pocha reminded me of the «restos» in the Philippines, bar type places with dim lighting, music playing, paired with a full menu of delicious food. Basically a good place to eat, drink, and hang out with friends. Plus the music isn’t crazy loud so you can actually here each other (unlike some places). We found the K-​pop videos playing on the TV entertaining too.
The waitress was super nice and helpful– I liked that she gave us a complimentary Korean pancake and fried chips to snack on while waiting for our food. We asked if this restaurant had the same owners as the Gabose next door & she said that Gabose is from the 1^st generation & Gabose Pocha is from the 2^nd generation, which I thought was pretty cool.
Looking through the photos on Unilocal,I knew this would be a place that would tickle my taste buds. The spicy pork on the grill (a must have), the spam roll, pork ramen, grilled squid, kimchi– ahh it was exactly what I was craving. For my drink, I order the watermelon basil shrub, which was sweet & strong (in a good way). I’m definitely coming back & taking my friends drinking here– I wanna try their watermelon soju (served in half a watermelon).