One of the best restaurants in London at the moment - Great people and the food is more than worth the money. Hard to get a table but once there you see why!

Roka, the Japanese entry in the Charlotte Street restaurant row sweepstakes, also has an establishment in London’s Canary Wharf, as well as outlets in Hong Kong and Scottsdale, Arizona… But don’t let that fool you. This is no run-of-the-mill mini chain chophouse. The food at Roka shows great & loving care in both preparation and presentation… as crowds at lunch and dinner clearly attest. And we were fortunate enough to dine here at midday – more like early/middle afternoon – on three occasions (on two of them, taking advantage of the highly unusual warm and sunny London weather to enjoy our food al fresco). The main focus of this attractively-appointed restaurant seems to be the large three-sided bar where pristinely fresh (and rather pricey) morsels of sushi are served up with flair and finesse. But take heart. Even if you’re not into raw fish, there is still a great deal to tempt your palate; as the real emphasis here, in my opinion, is on the exotically cooked dishes that are, quite simply, prepared to perfection. In point of fact, one could very easily go the tapas route, ordering a variety of small plates to savor and share – which proved an extremely satisfactory modus operandi during our three visits. To start things off, let me simply say that the vegetable tempura was the most celestial rendition of this particular dish that I have sampled anywhere. The batter was as light as a feather, literally melting on the tongue, and the vegetables themselves were cooked through while still maintaining their bite-wise integrity; and they were accompanied by two first-rate dipping sauces… one sweet, one slightly spicy. The table favorite, however, proved to be the beef, ginger, and sesame dumplings. The translucent wantons were absolutely ethereal and the filling of tender beef and delicate seasonings was irresistible.

I went to Roka this week on business and i don't have one bad word to say about the place,

the restaurant had a great atmosphere, great friendly staff, good wine and most importantly good food....we asked our waiter to serve us up a mixture of everything and he made the best choices....

then we headed to the bar downstairs called shock and this was very nice too...I strongly recommend you try this if you like Japanese cuisine

I really enjoyed to have dinner here.
The tasting menu is amazing, the place is beautiful. Service could be better.
Bia

I think Roka has a nice atmosphere
and the food was very delicious, but a lil expensive tho.
But to me it was kinda strange that when we read the japanese names of the dishes -as written in the menue - the waitress didnt have a clue what it was.
Nevertheless it's a very nice place and worth a visit!

Roka is a great place. We ate downstairs, the food was excellent and the service was good cnsidering the bar was so buys. Highly recomned this place.

Arrogant service spoiled the experience: the maitre d' (I think) refused to answer questions directly, and simple gave a tediously long, partly inaudible introductory speech in bad English about the restaurant. I would have walked out but for the fact that I didn't time to find another restaurant.

Roka rocks. The food and service were excellent. The sushi was the best I had ever had. I had a look at the bar downstairs which looked pretty cool but closed when I was there.

nice restaurant and the food is very good, but if I'm paying that much for sushi i'd like it to be a bit bigger its no different to my local sushi bar which is half the price. But its a cool venue and the cocktails are great. Good staff as well, very helpful with the menu.

Expensive, yes, but fantastic food. One has to remember that dining out is a complete experience, from your entrance to seating to the service, type of crowd, etc. In a word, the ambiance. From the moment we walked in, we were treated very well. We were seated in a back corner which was lovely as we didn't have servers bumping into us whilst serving other tables, and afforded us a great point of observation. I had seen the website beforehand and was pleased to see the restaurant was as nice as advertised. Our service was (shockingly) attentive and considering the crowd on a Saturday night, quite fast. There was a sweet sake that we tried (infused with melon I believe) that was fantastic. The sushi was incredibly fresh, particularly the yellowtail sashimi. It reminded me of some of my favourite sushi bars in LA and San Francisco. I've had better toro but it was still quite good. The cooked items were amazing. We had the quail in plum wine sauce, chicken skewers, beef teriyaki, and duck with honey sauce--all fantastic. And now for the price: For two people, including 3 bottles of sake, was £165. I was prepared to spend that much, but it does sadden me to think that I could get the exact same quality in the States for 1/3rd the price. However, whilst living in London, I can say this was one of the most memorable meals I've had here. I'd gladly come back, if not all that often.

Had the £50 tasting menu at Roka last night. It was nice but I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. To be honest, I found it disappointing after all the hype.


The sashimi starter was as good as my local Japanese restaurant. The cabbage was a spicy touch but served cold it didn't appeal that much. Asparagus was nice as were the dumplings and aubergine dish- again about the same standard as many a decent Japanese restaurant.


Sea bream in miso was the highlight of the meal. Creamy fish with a beautiful flavour. If all of the dishes had hit this note my review here would be much more favourable. Chicken yakitori had a burnt flavour and was really not that good (low point of the meal). Desserts were creative and fruity, a nice finish.


Overall a nice meal - nothing terribly wrong but also nothing special. We left a little on the hungry side having spent about £140. Would we go back? No.

Went to Roka on a Saturday lunchtime and found a bustling restaurant and wonderful sensibly priced food.

Don't let a fear of sushi etc put you off Roka as it provides food to suit all tastes. Try to get a seat at the counter for added entertainment.

Had both lunch and dinner at Roka and been impressed with the food, service and atmosphere. They have a good bar downstairs too.

Roka is definitely worth a look if you're in the area