Celebrating its 10th anniversary, West Hollywood-based Sweetfin Holdings is expanding its menu beyond poke bowls with the help of an acclaimed chef with a two-Michelin-starred restaurant.
Developed in collaboration with Chef Daniel Patterson, the new menu contains three new sections – warm bowls, salads and sides – and adds about 13 items to the plate. Beginning Jan. 12, customers can get a first taste at the Sweetfin branch on West Third in Beverly Grove, which Sweetfin dubbed “Innovation Kitchen.”
The new warm bowls, which include multiple protein options with Asian flavors, are inspired by guest feedback to have other options than eating raw food items, said Seth Cohen, Sweetfin co-founder.
“People, when they eat out, they still want to have food that tastes great and it’s craveable and also a bit indulgent,” said Cohen. “We’ve done a really good job of intersecting the two of health and indulgence to create this new menu.”
The restaurant chain was one of the poke bowl pioneers in L.A., bringing its iteration of the Hawaiian cuisine to the West Coast in 2013 with its first brick-and-mortar shop opening in downtown Santa Monica in 2015. Cohen shared that the next trial point will be the Sweetfin location in Venice Beach on Abbot Kinney Boulevard.
Out of the niche
Health food is coming up strong. Deloitte headlined a 2025 survey with “consumers want to eat their way to better health,” finding 76% of Americans preferring food over medicine to boost their well-being. Cohen agreed: “transparency of what’s going in your food, cleanliness of ingredients, high protein is really in right now.” He also noted that 10 years ago, consumers wanted restaurants which specialize in a niche. Now, flexibility is all the rage. With a more cautious consumer base – as Riverside-based restaurant consultant Robert Ancill noted in a report – Sweetfin is taking its sweet time about expansion, preferring measured steps over a rush to the counter.
“We wanted to be really deliberate about growing this new concept, because ultimately with the consumer, you have one chance to make an impression,” Cohen said.
