Japanese Restaurant in Central London
Roka is an amazing Japanese restaurant in Central London with venues in Fitzrovia, Mayfair and Aldwych. There is also one in Canary Wharf. Their main focus is on dishes served from the Robata grill. This actually originates from the fishermen of the northern coastal waters off Japan!
We visited the Shochu Lounge on Charlotte Street which features a beautiful cherry blossom installation. It’s pretty dreamy.
Brunch Time!
The Sakura Sunday Brunch is available from 12.30-4pm and features two menus to choose from. Both of these offer a selection of ROKA favourites from the usual menu alongside cocktails and free flowing red or white wine or prosecco.
The cocktail selection includes:
- Wasabi mary: namida wasabi vodka, tomato, japanese spice mix, lemon
- Yuzu collins: roku gin, yuzu shochu, lemon, soda
- Shochu on the beach: jun shochu, cranberry, pineapple, passionfruit, lime
- Smoked pineapple shoga quiquiriqui mescal, pineapple, celery, agave
It’s always refreshing when cocktails are added to a bottomless brunch offering. However, the staff weren’t particularly forthcoming with topping up our drinks which we have fed back.
The Food
The brunch menu (£60pp) features a number of dishes. First, you have:
- Sashimi moriawase: 3 sashimi selection
- Sake no taru taru: salmon tartare with den miso and yuzu
- Iceberg salada no wafu: iceberg lettuce with caramelised onion dressing
Following this are:
- Tori to goma no gyoza: chicken, sesame and dark sweet vinegar dumplings
- Sake to avocado maki: raw salmon, avocado and asparagus and wasabi tobiko
- Watarigani: soft shell crab with roasted chilli dressing
You then get to choose one dish from the robata (from a selection of 5):
- Kobuta no ribs yawaraka nikomiyaki: baby back ribs with sansho and cashew nuts (optional dish – others to choose from)
- Hinadori no lemon miso yaki: cedar roast baby chicken with chilli and lemon (optional dish – others to choose from)
To finish off, you get a dessert sharing platter!
What a selection! Our favourite dishes included the Baby Back Ribs, which were delicious and topped with the perfect amount of sancho and cashew nuts. The sushi at Roka is always great and we loved the Salmon and Maki rolls. The Sashimi Selection was also so fresh. Presentation is also well thought through and executed.
Overall
Roka is an amazing Japanese restaurant in Central London and the Shochu Lounge is just gorgeous. The food is incredible with a great selection of signature dishes. Some Roka venues also offers a pre and post theatre set menu if you are looking for a cheaper offering.
East London Girl: Japanese restaurant in Central London
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