london
Roka Charlotte Street
• Japanese• Fitzrovia
About the restaurant
Like the somewhat similar Nobu group, Roka has gained a reputation for a buzzing atmosphere, high prices and a party crowd, but underneath it all is a focus on great Japanese cooking and superb ingredients. The group also operates five other sites in London and one in Dubai.
The Charlotte Street location is huge, and serves hundreds of covers per day between its dining room and bar counter. If you’re lucky enough to claim a seat at the latter, you can watch its team of skilled chefs prepare dishes, just a metre or so away.
The strength of the food is just as much a part of why this group has remained popular and expanded, emphasising carefully sourced sushi and sashimi alongside robatayaki – a type of Japanese cooking done on flaming robata grills. Wagyu beef, Japanese hot pots, black cod and spicy skewers are just some of the dishes that keep people coming back for more, while a tasting menu at £70 provides genuine value.
Reviews from the Web
Critic reviews
The Infatuation
The menu is made up of the usual crowd pleasers of sushi, black cod, and so on, and is what we like to call in technical terms ‘perfectly good’ for the price you pay.
The Guardian
What made me pleased to be here? Apart from the trick door, pretty well everything
Standard
Roka is still hard to book and they're not just fobbing you off over the phone: it packs out most nights with a chatty, preening, rather good-looking crowd.
The Independent
Everything about the place, with its golden honeycomb walls, was warm and inviting.
Time Out
The knotted wooden counter, framed by glass cases displaying the day’s produce, is filled with expectant punters enjoying the show.
The Nudge
The food at Roka – contemporary Japanese dishes, with a focus on delicate sashimi and beefier grilled dishes – is consistently exquisite, despite now being served up in four locations.
- 37 Charlotte St
- W1T 1RR
- London
- +44 20 7580 6464
- Visit website
