I was not impressed by this restaurant. Let's start off with the positives.The shrimp toast was AMAZING! compliments to the chef on that one. If the price point was more reasonable, I would come everyday just for that food item. $17 for 4 small pieces of shrimp toast is absurd!! Additionally, the cocktails were nice and strong!My friend ordered the drunken noodles and her noodles were undercooked.I think the sides are over priced. Especially the kimchi! The kimchi costs five dollars and the portion size was no bigger than the palm of a child's hand.Now onto the thing that I really didn't enjoy about this restaurant. When my friend and I arrived, we did not have a reservation. It was 4pm. As we approach the hostess stand she asked us if we had a reservation and we said no. she quickly told us that we had to leave within the next forty minutes in order to sit and be served due to other reservations. Her delivery was rude and curt. Keep in mind there was only one other party in the entire restaurant when we arrived. I'm not sure where her attitude came from, as far as them being busy and not having space to service us.When we were seated, I decided to move the candle that she placed in front of me because I didn't want it to be so close to my purse. It was a open flame. Literally 5 seconds later the hostess comes over, Moves the candle back towards my bag and tells me to leave it there because of whatever reason. I explained to her why I moved the candle but she did not care the listen.Overall I think I will not be returning to this restaurant. The service was not good and the prices were extremely high for the quality and quantity of food we received.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Jocie T
Food was so flavorful and refreshing. If you like spice like I do, you will love this place. It’s a small restaurant so you may feel a little rushed out but I understand why. Will definitely come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Spicy Pork Buns, Noodles
Mike
What a great experience! I mentioned it was my wife’s birthday when I made the reservation, and the extras the staff did for her were above and beyond. Our bartender/server Bridget was friendly and personable. She really made our dining experience special.Another person we thoroughly enjoyed was Julio. Every time he brought us a plate he described what it was and answered any questions we had. It really made for an intimate experience and my wife had a truly special birthday.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage
Paige Williams
The food here is PHENOMENAL!!! I got this noodle dish (forgot what it’s called) and it was like a flavor party in my mouth ?? you MUST come here!!! Also the vibe is super
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marigny Manson
Super awkward experience. We showed up on time for a 5:30 reservation at the bar. We ordered apps, cocktails and small plates. By 6:55 we were eating entrees and had half of our second drinks left. The bartender walked over said that their 7pm reservation has arrived and they needed our seats. She says she’d be bringing us the check and boxes for our food if we wanted. My husband was literally still eating his entree and he had to put it in a to go box. We tipped well on our $160 bill and left quietly. But honestly we were dumbfounded. I totally understand that they’re trying to manage their tables and that it’s a small space. But I wish we’d been given more than a 5 minute warning. Also, they had 10 seats open! I understand they had other people coming in but it just felt they had the option to ease us out in a kinder way. I’ve just never been literally asked to leave a restaurant while I was still eating.
Atmosphere: 1
Jack Bick
Some of the best food I've had in Durham. M-anything is a hit for me, and this was no different. We loved the gai lan (Chinese broccoli), the meat mandu (dumpling), the NASI GORENG (fried rice), the drunken noodles, and the RAJOGI (noodle dish) and the CHILI CRISP GARLIC FRIES W/ KIMCHI AIOLI. They also have some good whiskey, though it is overpriced. The only miss was the MEAT PLATE which is $48 but the meat isn't great. We also got the HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN cocktail and I was a bit underwhelmed for a $20 cocktail in Durham - it's basically a fancy japanese whiskey sour.The seating is casual and they aren't usually on time to let you sit or to give you your takeout order.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
T H
Korean ramen dish was mediocre. Basically ramen was cold and dumped into a hot soup. Hot tea was tasteless.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Noodles
Reuben Moore
Great, unique tastes.Say yes to the Blackberry Margarita.Parking: We walked about 10 minutes from the American Tobacco North Deck. Then 10 to DPAC and 10 to deck.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Justin Moore
Delicious tapas style dining, hard to go wrong with anything! The spicy pork buns were something special. Got there when they opened at 5 and easy seating at bar, but place filled up pretty quickly - I recommend making reservations. Will be back for sure!Parking: Easy walking distance from large parking garage (across from Carolina Theater)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Pork Buns, V Drunken Noodles
Food was great! Drinks were interesting but still delicious, server was great though she didn't tell us her name. Some items on the menu were not worth the price such as the meat plate costing $50 wasn't really worth it. Though all of what we ate was delicious prices are a little too much.
Staff could be more upfront about items that are no longer available. Otherwise pleasant and accommodating. Have eaten here plenty of times and have enjoyed my experiences previously. Price point quite steep currently but appears to be universal for restaurants right now.
LesMess
I love MSushi and MTempura, but had never eaten at MPocha. It is a small restaurant with a wonderful modern vibe. It can be a little hard for older customers to get into the seating at tables, because they are benches, but once in it's fine. Our waiter was very helpful in recommending the best dishes and we loved all of them. Dumplings, papaya salad, steamed buns with pork bq, Nasi Goreng were all incredible. Sharing is fun. It's a great value for this well prepared food. I will return again!
Wenyi Zhou
Wow. I was looking for a restaurant that serves dumplings to celebrate Lunar New Year and decided to finally check M Pocha off my list. Maybe I was hungry…but the meat Mandus were incredible! I went ahead and ordered the Army Stew and the photos/videos speak for themselves! Easily one of the best Asian restaurants I’ve been to in Durham. Will come back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Meat Mandu, Budae Jjigae Arm Stew
Danny Beckman
What a great experience. Just like all the other M restaurants.
Great place
I was not impressed by this restaurant. Let's start off with the positives.The shrimp toast was AMAZING! compliments to the chef on that one. If the price point was more reasonable, I would come everyday just for that food item. $17 for 4 small pieces of shrimp toast is absurd!! Additionally, the cocktails were nice and strong!My friend ordered the drunken noodles and her noodles were undercooked.I think the sides are over priced. Especially the kimchi! The kimchi costs five dollars and the portion size was no bigger than the palm of a child's hand.Now onto the thing that I really didn't enjoy about this restaurant. When my friend and I arrived, we did not have a reservation. It was 4pm. As we approach the hostess stand she asked us if we had a reservation and we said no. she quickly told us that we had to leave within the next forty minutes in order to sit and be served due to other reservations. Her delivery was rude and curt. Keep in mind there was only one other party in the entire restaurant when we arrived. I'm not sure where her attitude came from, as far as them being busy and not having space to service us.When we were seated, I decided to move the candle that she placed in front of me because I didn't want it to be so close to my purse. It was a open flame. Literally 5 seconds later the hostess comes over, Moves the candle back towards my bag and tells me to leave it there because of whatever reason. I explained to her why I moved the candle but she did not care the listen.Overall I think I will not be returning to this restaurant. The service was not good and the prices were extremely high for the quality and quantity of food we received.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 1
Food was so flavorful and refreshing. If you like spice like I do, you will love this place. It’s a small restaurant so you may feel a little rushed out but I understand why. Will definitely come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Spicy Pork Buns, Noodles
What a great experience! I mentioned it was my wife’s birthday when I made the reservation, and the extras the staff did for her were above and beyond. Our bartender/server Bridget was friendly and personable. She really made our dining experience special.Another person we thoroughly enjoyed was Julio. Every time he brought us a plate he described what it was and answered any questions we had. It really made for an intimate experience and my wife had a truly special birthday.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage
The food here is PHENOMENAL!!! I got this noodle dish (forgot what it’s called) and it was like a flavor party in my mouth ?? you MUST come here!!! Also the vibe is super
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Super awkward experience. We showed up on time for a 5:30 reservation at the bar. We ordered apps, cocktails and small plates. By 6:55 we were eating entrees and had half of our second drinks left. The bartender walked over said that their 7pm reservation has arrived and they needed our seats. She says she’d be bringing us the check and boxes for our food if we wanted. My husband was literally still eating his entree and he had to put it in a to go box. We tipped well on our $160 bill and left quietly. But honestly we were dumbfounded. I totally understand that they’re trying to manage their tables and that it’s a small space. But I wish we’d been given more than a 5 minute warning. Also, they had 10 seats open! I understand they had other people coming in but it just felt they had the option to ease us out in a kinder way. I’ve just never been literally asked to leave a restaurant while I was still eating.
Atmosphere: 1
Some of the best food I've had in Durham. M-anything is a hit for me, and this was no different. We loved the gai lan (Chinese broccoli), the meat mandu (dumpling), the NASI GORENG (fried rice), the drunken noodles, and the RAJOGI (noodle dish) and the CHILI CRISP GARLIC FRIES W/ KIMCHI AIOLI. They also have some good whiskey, though it is overpriced. The only miss was the MEAT PLATE which is $48 but the meat isn't great. We also got the HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN cocktail and I was a bit underwhelmed for a $20 cocktail in Durham - it's basically a fancy japanese whiskey sour.The seating is casual and they aren't usually on time to let you sit or to give you your takeout order.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Korean ramen dish was mediocre. Basically ramen was cold and dumped into a hot soup. Hot tea was tasteless.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Noodles
Great, unique tastes.Say yes to the Blackberry Margarita.Parking: We walked about 10 minutes from the American Tobacco North Deck. Then 10 to DPAC and 10 to deck.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious tapas style dining, hard to go wrong with anything! The spicy pork buns were something special. Got there when they opened at 5 and easy seating at bar, but place filled up pretty quickly - I recommend making reservations. Will be back for sure!Parking: Easy walking distance from large parking garage (across from Carolina Theater)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Pork Buns, V Drunken Noodles
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was great! Drinks were interesting but still delicious, server was great though she didn't tell us her name. Some items on the menu were not worth the price such as the meat plate costing $50 wasn't really worth it. Though all of what we ate was delicious prices are a little too much.
Staff could be more upfront about items that are no longer available. Otherwise pleasant and accommodating. Have eaten here plenty of times and have enjoyed my experiences previously. Price point quite steep currently but appears to be universal for restaurants right now.
I love MSushi and MTempura, but had never eaten at MPocha. It is a small restaurant with a wonderful modern vibe. It can be a little hard for older customers to get into the seating at tables, because they are benches, but once in it's fine. Our waiter was very helpful in recommending the best dishes and we loved all of them. Dumplings, papaya salad, steamed buns with pork bq, Nasi Goreng were all incredible. Sharing is fun. It's a great value for this well prepared food. I will return again!
Wow. I was looking for a restaurant that serves dumplings to celebrate Lunar New Year and decided to finally check M Pocha off my list. Maybe I was hungry…but the meat Mandus were incredible! I went ahead and ordered the Army Stew and the photos/videos speak for themselves! Easily one of the best Asian restaurants I’ve been to in Durham. Will come back again!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Meat Mandu, Budae Jjigae Arm Stew
What a great experience. Just like all the other M restaurants.