Roka is a well known restaurant in London, specializing in sushi and robatayaki cuisine. There are three Roka’s in London – located in Fitrovia (Charlotte Street), Mayfair (North Audley Street) and Canary Wharf (Canada square).
Rainer Becker is the founder of this contemporary and stylish restaurant, little sister to Zuma. During a whirlwind tour of fine-dining Japanese restaurants in London, Roka is up there as one of the best.
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I booked the Mayfair restaurant as I knew it would be a well-rewarded and convenient stop after a day’s worth of shopping! (Ah it’s a tough life :p) I agree with the reviews that describe Roka as ‘relaxed yet elegant’. The light wood décor and open-plan suchi and robata grill area of the restaurant creates a warm and welcoming atmoshpere, without preventing a very sophisticated dining experience. The staff looked after us well and immediately took our jackets as we arrived, and seated us next to the large windows. We also had the option to sit at the robata grill counter which is the central feature of the room, I’ll make sure I do next time. Our waiter was happy to explain our tasting menu in detail and answer all of your questions, and even brought over a Sake specialist who gave us a few tasters of sweeter ‘desert’ sakes compared to a dryer, more rustic one. We both appreciated that extra attention.
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As first time diners, my sister and I ordered the tasting menu, which I highly recommend. We sat back and enjoyed an absolute feast of delicately prepared food appear on our table for the next hour. Not only was it a delight to our stomachs, but also visually, we were very impressed. We ordered 2 sake’s and 1 cocktail each (from an excellent cocktail selection) which altogether came to a price of about 100 UKP each. It’s not cheap, but for a special occasion or treat, it’s worth every delicious bite.
The only negative aspect was that my sister had asked them to bring out a special desert for me, which they forgot about. I guess a lack of communication. We were in a hurry to leave as we had booked a comedy-improve show at The Comedy Store (a must-visit!) so we didn’t have time to wait, although the waitress did apologise profusely and seemed rather embarrassed. Having said that, as soon as we hopped in to a taxi, reminiscing over the black cod dish soon made me forget about it all.
I love dining in Japanese restaurants, as you enjoy an absolute feast with such a range of dishes and flavours, yet still leave without feeling like you’ve gained about a stone in weight. I’ll be exploring more Japenese fine-dining in London each time I return, so will be posting reviews as I go along. Next on the list is Sake No Hana. For spring season, they will specially decorate their bar with a pop-up cherry blossom garden. I’d even just go to try the cherry blossom sake cocktail. It all sounds wonderful, I hope I make it in time!
Roka Info:
T: 020 7305 5644
F: 020 7499 1985
infomayfair@rokarestaurant.com
