Roka London

[RedRum]

Has anyone eaten there recently? My missus saw the chef Saturday Kitchen, and thought the food looked interesting. I said that before we book I should consult with my uber-informed eGullet peeps

I was surprised I cannot find anything with the search function. also surprising is that the online menu does not show prices....

Many thanks

Edited June 29, 2009 by RedRum (log)

[joesan]

Been there many times. Like it. Bring lots of money!

Try the bar downstairs too - very atmospheric...

[sunbeam]

Has anyone eaten there recently? My missus saw the chef Saturday Kitchen, and thought the food looked interesting.  I said that before we book I should consult with my uber-informed eGullet peeps

I was surprised I cannot find anything with the search function. also surprising is that the online menu does not show prices....

Many thanks

←

I havent been there for years - it was expensive and crowded and at that time there was a tendency to seat the micro slebs first. A classy night out, tho but and good food

N

[RedRum]

Been there many times. Like it. Bring lots of money!

Try the bar downstairs too - very atmospheric...

←

any idea how much is the tasting menu? I would rather splash the money to our local Midsummer house, or some other stared restaurant if Roka is on that price...

[david goodfellow]

Has anyone eaten there recently? My missus saw the chef Saturday Kitchen, and thought the food looked interesting.  I said that before we book I should consult with my uber-informed eGullet peeps

I was surprised I cannot find anything with the search function. also surprising is that the online menu does not show prices....

Many thanks

←

Nic Watt is a class act, seen him a few times on Saturday Kitchen and really like the look of his food, so Roka is down on my list, but when?

Wish I could give a report, but thanks for reminding me, I shall move it up my list a little

In the meantime if you fancy cooking some of his food, have a look at his recipes on Saturday Kitchen

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/food/recipes...=27&submit.y=19

[david goodfellow]

Not bang up to date, but well worth a read for a flavor of the place

http://www.andyhayler.com/show_restaurant....=269&country=UK

[nikkib]

i've been a few times - delicous food - not cheap though and you can easily get carried away if you don't keep an eye on it but truly delicious!

[gavinhanly]

There's supposed to be a new Roka opening in Canary Wharf - has anyone heard any info about that?

[david goodfellow]

More staff than customers here today is perhaps a sign of the recession, quite a few of said staff seemed to be eastern european which somehow jarred on the authenticity front.

All of the restaurants in Charlotte street were dead, and as I gazed across the road to Pied a Terre(closed) I was glad not to be in the restaurant business at this point in time.

I like the room and wanted to sit at the square wooden bar watching the action on the robata grill and see the chefs prep the food.

Nic Watt was not in the kitchen today, although I was informed he is still in the country, as I was under the impression he was in Oz.

There are two tasting menus on offer, 11 courses at £50, or 13 courses at £75. I can only assume that these courses would be really tiny, as our choice off the carte was to be a bit of a mixed bag.

Soft shell crab with garlic, soy mayonnaise.

Ama Ebi-sweet shrimp.

Chicken skewers with spring onion

Quail marinated in plum wine and red miso.

Scallop skewers with wasabi and shiso.

Butterfish tataki with white asparagus and yuzu shallot dressing.

Foie gras with umeshu plum and nama nori.

Rice hot pot with King Crab and wasabi tobiko.

Now hands up, Japanese food appeals more to my wife, however some of Nic Watt's food on Saturday Kitchen has struck a chord with me.

The best dishes were the Quail, Foie Gras, and the Chicken skewers.

The best of all, and good value for money was the Crab/rice hot pot, a type of Japanese risotto.

Sweet shrimp ( three ) were miniscule and at two quid each, was taking the pith.

Butterfish was fine, as was the soft shell Crab but I was'n't wowed.

I think my expectation level was higher than the kitchen could deliver, and even though the food was good, I was a tad under whelmed.

As has been touched on above its easy to run up quite a bill on these tasty little morsels, some smaller than the gratis amuse bouche usually offered at our normal dining places.

I am glad to have tried this place out, all in all it was enjoyable, I do however find it over rated.

We would return, but not in a hurry as there is still a multitude of other places to try.

Food £76.70

1 Asahi beer £4.30

1 Hakushika (saki) £5.80

Service charge £11.69

4 glasses Thames water FOC

Total £98.29

[Bapi]

F**k me ! You get around a bit don't you David?

[olicollett]

F**k me ! You get around  a bit don't you David?

←

Doesn't he just! I think he keeps this place alive!

[david goodfellow]

F**k me ! You get around  a bit don't you David?

←

Doesn't he just! I think he keeps this place alive!

←

I do my best

Had a very good lunch at Texture on Saturday also, may post it later.

[david goodfellow]

Nic Watt was guesting chef on Saturday Kitchen along with Galton Blackiston of Michelin starred Morston Hall.

I missed the start and a bit of his dish. My wife wants me to cook it for her will look at it on i player later.

Anybody been to Roka recently? and I would love it if someone could post a review of Morston Hall.

Ta.

[Pam Brunning]

Here we are David I did the report for our magazine, it was 2 years ago but a lot of friends have been on our recomendation recently and say it is just as good.

Booking three weeks in advance we were unable to get in for dinner, bed and breakfast on a Monday night so had to content ourselves with a quaint B&B just down the road overlooking Morston Quay.

A different four course, no-choice menu, is offered each

evening and this includes nibbles, appetizers, coffee and petit fours for £44 a head. We were asked when booking if we had any dislikes so that an alternative dish could be

offered.

Galton trained under John Tovey at Miller Howe and this was very evident in the lightest of pastries and the subtlest of flavours.

The wine list is arranged in grape varieties, which is easy on the single varietals but gets a little

complicated with the blends. We ordered a half bottle of

Menetou Salon Clos de Blanchais Henri Pelle 2004 at £12.00 and a bottle of Mornington Peninsula ‘Ten Minutes by Tractor’ (with a name like that we had to try it!) 2003 Pinot Noir at £25. The Menetou was an excellent example of a French sauvignon blanc, making one wonder why we bother with this grape from anywhere else in the world. We enjoyed a glass with a scrumptious canapé of a tiny cheese pastry case filled with a mushroom duxelles topped with a soft boiled quail’s egg and hollandaise sauce. The pastry was rich and friable and the whole thing just melted in the mouth. I think the comment was, ‘wow, if the rest is as good as this we are in for a superb evening.’

As the first course was a terrine of foie gras with new season grouse we asked the extremely competent young sommelier to serve the Pinot Noir with the starter and the rest of the white with the fish course, this he did with alacrity. The terrine was perfect, meltingly tender grouse breast layered with the best foie gras I have eaten for a long time, served with a dash of blackberry conserve. The Pinot was soft, fruity and a delicious example of the grape.

The fish course was Chowder of Stiffkey cockles with Grilled Fillet of Sea Bream. The fillet was perfectly cooked with a lovely crispy skin. It was resting on a bed of just the right number of cockles to give a delicate flavour that would

enhance but not overpower the bream. The surrounding chowder was light and velvety. We cleaned our plates with the plentiful home made bread which was the only minor disappointment of the evening. It was a slightly sweet, light (milk?) dough used for both the olive and sea salt loaf and the plain rolls, we found them rather bland.

Roast rump of well hung lamb was pink, tender and juicy, accompanied by a ‘rustic ratatouille’ which still had texture and lot of flavour. There were fondant potatoes to soak up ample quantities of tasty lamb jus.

The menu said ‘Sable of Norfolk Strawberries’ with blackberry ripple ice cream and custard but we were told that instead of sable there would be strawberry soufflé. I did wonder if, even in this obviously well ordered establishment, that maybe someone had burnt the shortbreads! The hot soufflé was perfect, drizzled with hot cream anglais and an ideal complement to the ice cream. Himself decided to opt for the alternative of the cheese board which I must

admit looked very impressive. Seven English cheeses – well that’s what we were told but they had slipped a Vignotte in – presented on individual cheese boards with homemade biscuits and a fruit bread that was very good. With the cheese board we were given a ‘cheese menu’ so that we could look them up as we tasted. Portions were generous so I didn’t get told off when I tried tasting them. They were all top quality cheeses in the peak of condition.

The young staff were very competent and unobtrusive but on hand when required.

The restaurant was full on a Monday night and without exception the diners were all couples. We spent the evening chatting to a pair on the next table and retired with them to the conservatory, where we spent a very sociable hour chatting over coffee, truffles and some super hot petit fours, crisp on the out side and meltingly delicious inside. The company was so good that we suddenly realised all the lights were out and we were the only ones left. Our

companions had a room, they had booked some months before, as they were staying for Galton’s cookery class next day. The front door had to be unlocked for us to stagger out to our B&B across the road.

[david goodfellow]

Pam, you have done me proud with that review.

Glad you mentioned Galton,s time with John Tovey, we had our honeymoon in the Lakes at Sharrow bay and were booked for a stay at Miller Howe.

We never had the pleasure of a Tovey meal, because the room we were given was really very poor for the premium prices that they charged. We did not stay and moved to somewhere else.

I wonder if he worked there at the time?

He comes across as a really super laid back type of guy, cooking classical food that his customers enjoy, using whatever is available on the day.

Thank you for that

Sounds like a visit is in order

[Pam Brunning]

We never got to Miller Howe but John Tovey used to come down to London to the Atheneum to cook for the Society. He was good but his style of food was a bit sweet for my taste. The last I heard of him was from one of our members who visited him at his home in SA after he retired.

[olicollett]

I was thinking about giving Roka a go as I've yet to sample any of the high-end Japanese restaurants in London - is it the best bet? Umu seems to get mixed reviews (I know the food is somewhat different there) and the other option seems to be Zuma, but I understand that's even more expensive

[IanT]

I'm a fan. The robata dishes are pretty much all excellent. Most of the best dishes are off the robata grill - the lamb chops, aubergine, chicken wings, sea bream, duck, quail are all outstanding. Also the king crab hot pot (to share). Its not a place to go and eat sushi though. If you are keen to try some really good sushi then I'd suggest Sushi of Shiori (similar level to Umu though a lot less expensive).

[olicollett]

Well, we're booked in for next friday so I'm looking forward to it

I've still not tried Atari-Ya in Ealing for Sushi which is criminal given it's just down the road from me during the week!