Roka Restaurant

Simply the best meal I have ever eaten, and I’ve eaten at some pretty cool restaurants in the past. Epic presentation, awesome sashimi. Not cheap but worth it!

Best sushi I have ever eaten. Amazing restaurant – definitely recommend.

I could not review Zuma without commenting on its partner Roka. A lovely japanese restaurant with brilliant decor and fantastic sushi.

Definitely my new favourite restaurant in London. Shame my bank manager doesn't agree. And going against the tide, I have to say it's a million times better than Zuma - which is my current least favourite place to go.

my boyfriend took me here when we first started seeing each other and boy did this place impress, and the food was so tasty i still think about taking a trip to London just to go have the tuna tarter. yum.

It has FOIE GRAS SUSHI.

Really, that should be enough to put food-lovers into a stunned silence (or set the anti-foie gras brigade into outraged flapping), but my God, if ever there was a time to roll out the "orgasm on a plate" metaphor, this is it.

I didn't try sushi for years - it's raw fish WTF? - but my worldly wise other half led me to Roka's doors in the manner of Dumbledore giving Harry a wand and booting him off to Hogwarts. Utterly delicious food, smashing cocktails (although downstairs' Shochu bar is a bit of a thrill vacumm) and a truly memorable experience. I also love the way the staff refer to you as either 'lady' or 'gentleman' in the manner of primary school Jeeves.

Fantastic sushi, vocalised my apprieciation throughout, it was perfectly presented, and it just melted In the mouth. Also it was so fresh I almost felt it flapping. We had no booking, and as it was just the 2 of us we sat at the central bar that surrounds the kitchen. Only drawbacks to the whole experience; the staff were too intrusive as they came a cleaning every 5 minutes, and the prices even for London were exorbitant.

Interesting Japanese food in flashy expensive, Charlotte Street. Yes, the atmosphere is very "cool and hip" - I don't mind as long as the experience is enjoyable. I've found the food to be utterly delicious each time I've been lucky enough to be taken there (that's 3 times nom nom nom).

If you do want to blow the bank, I recommend the Black Cod in Miso, the asparagus stack and the unbearably good chocolate pudding with maccha (green tea) centre. Roka is definitely way above my budget for everyday eating but as a special occasion blowout restaurant, it's one of the best in London.

No one seems to have a bad word to say about Roka and it largely lives up to the hype. The restaurant sells itself on the dishes from its open robata grill but the sushi and sashimi are also exceptional.

If you can, go for one of the tasting menus – highlights include wagyu sushi, grilled scallop skewers, grilled quail and their giant dessert platter.

It’s not cheap but I struggle to find much wrong with this buzzy restaurant and I’m usually very suspicious of over-stylised Asian places.

In short, Roka is one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at since I started blogging.

This is a great place and the food is amazing. I love it. The Atmosphere is great and nearby you have the Charlotte Street Hotel which is great for cocktails..

The first thing to mention is that the food was lush! So fresh and just damn tasty. I was vocalising all the way through…honestly think Harry & Sally x 10.

It could have been better signposted, I walked up and down Charlotte Street twice before I found it (but I am slightly blonde). Even on a Thursday evening the place was heaving but that did not impact the level of attention from the waiting staff. We were constantly attended to and they were more than happy to help work through the menu.

The sashimi was brilliant but that is a given so I will talk about the things I tried that was new to me and might be for you as well. The Ko Nasu (Eggplant) was magical. Seriously, it melted in the mouth and the flavours of the ginger and other marinade just made my tongue squeal. The asparagus with seasame seeds was also amazing, in fact my heart is skipping a beat as I write this - gosh food can evoke emotions - it was so exciting to eat something so familiar yet served up in such a different way.

The only thing I wasn’t so impressed with was the dark chocolate and maccha pudding (that had ROKA etched all over it!!) - it was YUCK but hey you might love it. It might as well have been marmite on a plate for me. There was some noxious looking green goo leaking out of it as well which I think the waiting staff (that recommended it!) mentioned was green tea something…It just looked like slime to me.

The ladies toilet (I can’t help but mention them in my reviews :blush:) was clean, small and dark. The lighting could have been better but I loved the dark wood and chrome. There were individual hand towels which I thought was a nice touch but no hand cream which was a bit blah.

We stayed upstairs in the dining area so I can’t comment on the bar below but it sounded really buzzy. I also know they do great cocktails or at least I have heard so but as I didn’t try any last night I can’t comment on this. My date and I went through a few bottles of rather lovely dry white wine though.

All in all, I found it a great dining experience but although the company was much better last night and the food just as good, I would still choose my Umu date over it as my Japanese restaurant of choice in London purely on the understated glamour & exclusive stakes alone (oops does that sound as shallow as it reads?!). The atmosphere is a LOT more lively at ROKA though so it depends on what you are looking for.

Can’t comment on how expensive or not it was because I did not get to see the bill but I do know that I would happiy return regardless of who was picking up the bill!

It’s very hard to fault this Zuma sibling in Charlotte St, though the only good thing to say about the noise level on a Friday night is that it’s worse in the Sochu bar downstairs…But the ambience around the big robata grill is exciting, and the room is never less than packed with recession-proof diners (Heston Blumenthal was on the next table) who know that the food will be interesting and brilliantly prepared. We had the kani no kama meshi (the rice hotpot with crab and wasabi) which was like a totally novel risotto, delicious crunchy grilled asparagus with sesame, some very good tempura prawns, huge grilled scallop dumplings, a foie gras maki roll and some sushi and sashimi washed down with lots of Dog Point Sauvignon.

The dessert was less successful; a boat of all the sweets on offer, but one doesn’t go to a Japanese restaurant for the puddings!

About £80 a head, so take your No 1 wallet!

Very very good.

Very very expensive.

I love the room and the staff were bend-over-backwards helpful.

Sashimi was overpriced for what it was, and the fabled green tea dessert had disappeared from the menu.

Already planning a Christmas visit to dig into the tasting menu properly.

Go if someone else is willing to take you and if the idea of Foie Gras sushi doesn’t offend.

I love japanese food. Even more than chinese food, and considering I am of chinese descent, it means a lot.

I’ve been to Roka a few times, all were 'special occasions’. It’s that kind of place, with it’s trendy decor (love that bar made from a beautiful piece of tree) and it’s even trendier bar downstairs (overrated methinks). The main attention here, is it’s robata grill. Sitting in the middle of the restaurant, it’s hard to avoid the lovely smells coming from here. And it’s also the thing to remember when you are looking at the extensive menu wondering what to order.

Anyone who has been to Japan knows that the restaurants tend to specialise in a particular type of food. It might be something simple like ramen, or something special like hokkaido hotpot. So, when you go to Roka, look at the grill, look back at the menu and order something that will come off the grill. I have had the tastiest asparagus ever experienced from that grill. Lamb chops, smoky and marinated in a lovely sauce, amazing. And from the grill. Everything else, including the sushi - not bad, not amazing. Desserts - rather disappointing in fact. Service, pleasant. Bill, look away and drop your credit card quickly.

I’ll be back for sure - Roka sits in the list of places for those special occasions where I want to go somewhere nice and have a great meal. I’ve paid more for much less. Much much less.

Wanted to treat myself to a nice lunch. Went with a friend. The food was delicious, but the service was a bit lacking. I a college student and I look young--and so did the friend I was with. I don’t know if this contributed to the poor service we received, but it was very disappointing. When the bill came, we refused to pay the 'discretionary’ service charge and were harassed by the waiter. Definitely never going back. The only reason they get any stars at all is that the food really was very good.

I loved Roka. The atmosphere was buzzy, the food spot on. Scallops, dim sum, marinaded lamb was all meorable. It isn`t cheap but it far exceeds anything I`ve tried in other up market oriental restaurants. We didn`t book so we sat on the bar in front of the grill. I think I`d rather have a table if I were going with a party of four or more as you all have to sit in a row. The bar downstairs is intimate and dark with lots of stained wood and soft lighting but I wouldn`t go there for the bar alone. £9.60 for a glass of sauvignon was just too steep.

Let’s get one thing out in the open - my name is Alex and I’m a sushi fiend. Ok, now that’s cleared up, on with the review.

I like Roka but I don’t love it. Once again, trying too hard. What they do, they do very well but if they toned it all down a bit the experience would be enhanced significantly.

The decor is fantastic, very modern, chic and enticing. The staff are excellent, attentive and knowledgeable if just a bit cold.

About the food - when I eat sushi I look for three things; freshness, flavor and simplicity. If you’re adding all kinds of ancillary crap to a plate of sashimi then I’m immediately going to be suspicious of the actual fish itself. Roka cannot be faulted on the quality of their food though, it was fresh, flavorful and well presented. If they move away from the haute cuisine just a bit and focus on their great product just a bit more then they’d be able to compete with Zuma and Defune. Yeah, I said it, what of it. I think Defune is better.

One of the things that garners them an additional star in my book is their wine and drinks list. You’ll struggle to find better in quality of quantity.

I’d go back but it wouldn’t be my first choice.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m spoiled by the amazing Japanese food in San Francisco but I thought Roka was a bit too trendy for it’s own good. Our food was good but overpriced for what we received while service was friendly but amateurish.

If you’ve got a wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket and want to hang out with the pretty people, Roka is your place. If you want great food and reasonable prices I’d suggest you look elsewhere.

One of the best japanese restaurants in the capital. Glorious sushi, amazing cocktails and excellent service. Be sure to take someone special and either go on an empty stomach or a full wallet as the portions are tiny.