Roka review: A Japanese robatayaki restaurant serving up grilled meat and seafood, sashimi and sushi
Roka is a Japanese robatayaki restaurant – basically BBQ, but with a lighter touch – serving up grilled meat and seafood, sashimi and sushi.
WHERE? 4 Park Pavilion, E14 5FW. On the first and second floors of Park Pavilion, that shiny enclave off the South Colonnade. Floor One is the main restaurant and wine/sake tasting area while floor two is home to the new terrace overlooking One Canada Square Park.
WHO? Rainer Becker, founder of Zuma in Knightsbridge, and group executive chef Hamish Brown, who had a successful career in New Zealand before he came to London.
ORDER THIS… Go for the grill over sushi – the lamb cutlets with a scarlet Korean spiced sauce is luscious and served with cleansing cucumber batons in a sesame dressing. The black cod with yuzu dressing is lip-smackingly sweet, but you can mop that up with a side of sweet potato in a bamboo husk rendered savoury by a whole roasted garlic clove and miso butter. Dessert-wise, the bestseller is a square of chocolate pudding that oozes a bitter green tea syrup, and a pear ice cream pierced with a slither of jivara chocolate.
BUSINESS OR PLEASURE? It was definitely business time when I checked into the Canary Wharf branch; bigger parties were accommodated on round tables of four or five – handy for addressing everyone at once – and the noise level was just right.
NEED TO BOOK? Definitely. Call 020 7636 5228 or book online at rokarestaurant.com
THE VERDICT? The atmosphere is business-like, yet buzzy, and the menu is modern without being mundane. There’s enough tempura and maki here to comfort the Far Eastern novice, but ample umami to sate a well-travelled foodie.
NEED TO BOOK? The sake menu goes on for days. Served by the glass or the carafe, ask the sommelier for the citrus yuzu sake. You won’t be disappointed.