Part of a four part chain in London (at time of writing) serving decoratively served Japanese food in a stylish venue - very good value for unlimited booze brunches at the weekend
ROKA is a chain of Japanese dining concepts serving robatayaki cuisine (mainly using a charcoal grill) with 5 branches in London. I have been to this local branch a fair few times and each occasion has provided satisfactory dishes but usually with a seemingly hefty price tag for what has been enjoyed. The star in their arsenal seems to be their bottomless Sunday brunch for the best value of money for unlimited refills, but this occasion was good for taking advantage of the eat-out to help out reduction and see what some dishes can be enjoyed on a budget. I would still say it was fairly pricey given that much of the meal had derived from the vegetable garden and also were very small portions for the more expensive items (just under £60 for the salads and elements of tuna and average nigiri ebi / shrip and that is with the reduced 15% less VAT). ROKA seems to do a good job of making these dishes look very pretty to justify the price rather than reflect any soaring food costs of lettuce and salad.
Food grade: 61%
ROKA has four venues in London (at time of writing) and the Australian owner is proud that each one is individual and does not conform to a chain ethos of being exactly the same. The design here is very different from its counterparts and the wooden-panelled interior is stylishly done with a bar and eating area overlooking Canada Square which, with its two large screens is very often used for major sporting events with many sat on the grass in a picnic way (indeed as was I for the Olympics when I was living in Canary Wharf). So whenever this happens, or even if there is no such occasion, the view is still quite a pleasant one here.
I had the pleasure of weekend brunch here on two occasions and it proved to be very good value for money – a buffet with many hot and cold options that were all frankly lovely to choose from and unlimited blini cocktails in the process(!). At the time that was £40 per person, but I see the price has been taken off the website now (as at Feb 15) making me believe that this has risen a fair amount as the ‘secret’ of this value is now out. For families there is also a clever crèche area in the far corner of the bar corner, separated for toddlers.
Some very good experiences had here but the amber flags I would raise here as a precaution are that mid-week you may very well find yourself in a testosterone-fuelled environment from the charged-up city goers and this, I have noticed, is usually followed up by the reliable following of dolled up women that have come in from a train ride finishing at Liverpool St station, who wish to meet the former, mentioned clientele in order to possibly never pay for the same meal ever again.
Food Grade: 67%
My hobby-turned-passion began to evolve during my assignments to London where I was fortunate enough to be able to explore all the Michelin starred restaurants in my spare time and as a result, I gradually built up a catalogue of all these venues.
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